These cozies are from a variety of sources, all actual books. Some from my local used and new book shop, Booktrader of Hamilton, some from Barnes and Noble and a couple from the library. In no particular order:
Murder at the Beacon Bakeshop was excellent! I love lighthouse settings. I enjoy the lighthouse library series by Eva Gates so this one caught my eye. This is a bakeshop set in a repurposed lighthouse. The owner is somewhat repurposed herself, a former wall street mover and shaker, she had her life up ended and has cashed out her fortune and taken her chances on this new venture. When a customer dies on her opening day, it seems like her new life it at risk. Enjoyable read with great characters and good pacing.
Death in a Budapest Butterfly has a great cover and seems like it was a theme that should have been right up my alley. I just didn’t really connect with it for some reason. The family owns a tea shop and caters parties and events. A guest who is not popular with some of the other people at the event dies suddenly and the family finds themselves under scrutiny. Others might like this one.
A Twist in the Tail is the first in the Oyster Cove Guesthouse Mystery Series. The mystery heavily anthropomorphized cats, much of the story is from the cats point of view and the human sleuth or lead is almost an aside. This is not really my type of cozy. I am more drawn to cats as companions or at most the cats from the Cat Who… books.
And Then there were Crumbs is the first in the A Cookie House Mystery series. Kate McGuire, pastry chef, has relocated to Florida after a pretty awful series of events. She takes a job as counter help working under a curmudgeonly bread baker. When an evil developer, is there any other kind in the cozy mystery world, ends up dead, Kate’s new boss finds himself in a jail cell. Kate rallies the local community to keep the bakery going and solve the crime. Excellent first in a new series.
Death in Bloom is the first in the A Flower House Mystery Series. Sierra ends up with a lot on her plate as she leads her first flower arranging class, and has a student keel over dead. At the same time her boss takes off for parts unknown, a stranger arrives to rent to rent the apartment upstairs, and she gains a dog by default. The murder investigation turns nasty as a series of break ins seem designed to up end the flower business or to intimidate her. Sierra and the cast of side characters make for a fun read. Good first in a series.
Killer Chardonnay is the first in a wine themed cozy mystery. Parker Valentine is attempting to open her own winery but her opening is marred by the death of a famous wine critic. When that death is deemed murder and the finger is pointed at her, she feels that she has no choice but to investigate. Shady characters abound in this Colorado setting. It seems like the food and wine industry is cutthroat indeed.
The Angry Grey Cat Reads 