This, Days of Wine and Roquefort, is book five in the A Cheese Shop Mystery Series by Avery Aames, who also writes as Daryl Wood Gerber.  Charlotte once again finds herself embroiled in a murder, this time she is on her own as Jordan is away under police protection waiting to testify for the government’s case.  The victim is somewhat of a mystery all on her own.  Charlotte’s cousin thought he knew her but really didn’t know all that much.  Why was she killed?  Was it something from her past?  Did her troubles follow her from somewhere else to Providence?  Or did she fall into trouble once she landed on Charlotte’s doorstep?

Jealousy, greed, possible affairs, and scandals from the past are all possible motives that Charlotte sifts through trying to get at the truth. In her personal storyline, Charlotte is dealing with the separation from Jordan and the from her cousin and his children who have moved out into their own home.  There is a lot going on with investigating the murder, in the town and in Charlotte’s personal life to make this a fast paced cozy mystery read.  A Cheese Shop Mystery Series is a great series overall and this is another good book in the series.

  This is book number 5 in the Cookbook Nook Mystery Series, Grilling the Subject.  The sleuth, Jenna Hart, finds herself investigating the death of an obnoxious neighbor to clear her father.  Along with the murder investigation, a Wild West Extravaganza is in town adding to the drama, Bailey is in the midst of wedding planning, Jenna and Rhett’s own relationship is heating up, and finally, is  someone following Jenna?  If so, why?

The murder plot is well done and has plenty of suspects and clues to keep you guessing, but Jenna’s personal life is equally important in this outing in this series.  Jenna Hart has shown a great deal of character growth since this series began, as have some of the other recurring characters.   It has been a lovely series to read  and get to know the characters over the course of time.  Highly recommended cozy mystery read!

  The second book of my snow  day is book 5 in the A Comfort Food Mystery Series by Christine Wenger, It’s a Wonderful Knife.  In this outing, our sleuth Trixie is almost out of commission right from the beginning from an accident, but she doesn’t let that keep her from investigating the death of one of the locals who was in the middle of organizing the town’s Christmas pageant.  Lots of snow, Christmas cheer, family feelings, clues, suspects, and glimpses of small town life unfold on the pages of this mystery.  We get to meet a few more of Trixie’s family members and even some of Ty’s.  ACB features prominently in this book as she did in the fourth book.

A fun, fast paced cozy read, with a bonus Holiday theme!  Unfortunately, it is my understanding that this series has been cancelled by the publisher, however the author may be considering self-publishing.  Crossed-fingers!

Snow day this morning, so I had the opportunity to lay in bed and finish this lovely cozy mystery, Macaroni and Freeze, book 4 in the A Comfort Food Mystery Series.  I have had this book on my shelf for a while but I have been in somewhat of a reading slump that I seem to be coming out of so I will head right into book 5.

In this book in the series, Trixie finds herself hosting a Cook Off fundraiser to benefit the town’s library. A celebrity chef checks into town to host the event, but doesn’t check out…alive at least.  Trixie is once again embroiled in a murder case after literally stumbling on dead body.  There are suspects with personal motives, professional motives and just old fashioned greed.  Trixie and ACB traipse through the never ending snow interviewing suspects, tracking down clues and comparing stories trying to trap a killer without getting arrested by Ty in the process. There is a side plot dealing with Alzheimer’s and plagiarism that is well done as well.  Anyone who has contributed to church, community or school cookbook’s would find that an interesting part of the plot.

Another well written outing in the A Comfort Food series!

  Finished this gothic horror ghost story of a sort from the author of Fingersmith just last night.  Very well written, with the center character being a dark, gloomy house, The Hundred, now neglected and falling down around its family who can ill afford to maintain it or even heat it.  The house fills the thoughts of all the characters.  For Roddy, it is a burden, a duty.  A symbol of his failure and later and something to be feared.  For Betty, it is a creepy symbol of an age that is past  and should be put to bed.  Dr. Faraday holds it in almost child-like reverence leading to obsession.  No one is neutral about The Hundred.  Strange things happen, creepy things.  They can certainly be explained away in the light of day.  Or can they?

The story progresses at a good pace and the tension builds up with each new event.  Parts of the book are left to the readers interpretation, who is “the little stranger”?  Very well written atmospheric horror with great attention to the details of life after WWII in Britain.  The great change to the fortunes of many of the estate owning classes and to the economy in general is shown through The Hundred itself and through Betty’s character.  I am not a big reader of historical fiction, but I did enjoy this one.

Two very different reads!  I am almost finished with P.D. James’ Adam Dagleish series and The Murder Room is book #12 in that series.  The murder involves a family owned museum dedicated to the period between the wars.  The family has its conflicts, as all families do, but when one of them ends up dead, Dagleish and his team are left to unravel the clues.  Was he killed due to museum business, something else with the family, his own personal life, enemies in his career?  As Dagleish digs into the mystery he uncovers more and more connections and possibilities, leading to yet another murder opening up further connections.

A well written mystery with complex characters, in particular the character of Tally Clutton is remarkable.  I always enjoy P.D. James writing and the way she crafts her stories and creates authentic feeling interactions between people and within families.  Another great read in the Adam Dagleish series.

I do read some non-fiction and have been reading quite a bit about intermittent fasting and Dr. Jason Fung, so I picked up his book, The Obesity Code, on Kindle.  I have a personal interest in this topic as I am in the process of losing weight myself and I have a  maternal family history of diabetes that I am strongly fighting against developing.  I will also say that I take most “diet” book with a grain of salt in that they tend to pick and choose their “scientific” research.  Their “data” tends to be skimpy or non-existent.

I am really impressed with the extent of his research.  I would say the last third of the book is footnotes and annotations to studies to support his statements.  This is not a diet book in the sense of “eat this”.  Rather it is more along the lines of discussing insulin resistance and the role of hormones, insulin in particular and the development of the obesity crisis since the 1970s and of obesity in the individual. He also demonstrates the reaction of different sugars and sugar substitutes in your body, not just to your sugar levels but to insulin as well.  A few key ideas:

• We eat too often, not necessarily too much
• Dieting is not a calories in vs. calories out model
• Throughout history humans have always followed a feast and fast model
• Much of what we have been told is good for us since the 1970s in terns of diet and nutrition is based on no scientific evidence or data at all.

There is so much I could say about this book, but you really need to read it for yourself.  If you are interested in food science, nutrition, health or diabetes, it is a fascinating read.  I actually purchased a second copy in paperback so I could annotate and highlight and I never buy 2 copies of a book!