Tag Archives: book

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Larceny and Lace by Annette Blair

This is the second book in the “A Vintage Magic Mystery” series.  I liked the first one, A Veiled Deception enough to pick this one up to read.  I have mixed feelings about this cozy.  When it comes to cozies you expect to suspend your disbelief and when it comes to paranormal cozies, doubly so.  There are just some places that the character’s reactions veer off into the ridiculous.

There is plenty to like in Larceny and Lace.  I love the theme, vintage clothing and the covers of this series are beautiful.  I like the relationships between the main characters, Madeira & Eve, Madeira & Dante, Professor Dad & Aunt Fiona, and Madeira & “Weiner”.  The setting  and the idea of a  shop in a former funeral home and the discussion of the features of the building is all fun and interesting.  Sort of a re-purposed building vibe, like those shows where people make homes from old churches, schools, cargo containers or airplanes, etc. The mystery plot itself is good, too.

On the flip side, too many unnecessary characters flitting about the story, this seemed to slow the book down and cause me confusion at times, which leads into another issue.  The writing felt really scattered for some reason, disorganized almost.  Usually cozies are light, quick reads but here I sometimes felt lost.  Finally…the puns, really unrealistic punny dialogue that went along with some unrealistic behavior.

I am undecided over whether to try another book in this series.

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Lost and Fondue by Avery Aames

 

This is the second book in the “A Cheese Shop Mystery” series by Avery Aames.  I finally got to it in my TBR pile.

Fun cozy mystery, but not as quick a read for me as the first.  I think there were so many characters and location changes (a closed winery, an inn, the shop, etc.) that I had to read more carefully. Many new characters and recurring ones from the first book round out a robust cast.

The mystery was well done and I really had no idea “whodunnit” until Charlotte, the protagonist, did.  Charlotte is a good cozy mystery sleuth, in that she actually investigates the mystery.  I prefer that to sleuths who just seem to stumble on the resolution.  I enjoyed all the cheese information (I love cheese and food themed cozies so this is a great combination for me).  This outing was very romance light, almost a passing note, which was fine with me because there was so much else going on in the story.

All in all, a good cozy mystery with a bit more reading “meat” in it than the average cozy.  The first one in this series, The Long Quiche Goodbye,  is still my favorite so far, but I intend to read the next one, Clobbered by Camembert, soon.

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Bran New Death & Peach Pies and Alibis

 A new series from Victoria Hamilton, who also writes the Vintage Kitchen Mystery Series, which I love.  Bran New Death does not disappoint!  From the setting, upstate small town in upstate New York to the protagonist Merry and her friend sidekick Shilo, everything is well crafted and written.  The mystery has all the twists and turns and reveals of family secrets that you want in a cozy mystery.

The basis for this book and indeed the series is that Merry has inherited this castle in the small town of Autumn Vale from a basically unknown family members.  She is a widow and pretty much alone in the world.  She moves into the castle with the expressed purpose of getting it ready for sale, but you definitely get the impression that she is there to stay.

The town has it share of quirky or eccentric characters, but they don’t overwhelm the plot.  The theme, muffin baking, is also kept low key.

Another highly recommended cozy mystery from Victoria Hamilton!

 

Next up, Peach Pies and Alibis by Ellery Adams.  I enjoyed the first book in this series, Pies and Prejudice.  These books are well written, the story line is well crafted and the characters are engaging.  The book definitely lives up to the series name – charming.  I would  call this second book in the series much more a paranormal than a mystery.  In the first book, the paranormal element was a light feature of the story but in this book it definitely takes center stage.

Fans of Charlaine Harris’s Southern Vampire series will probably enjoy this as a lighter version- no vampires or werewolves in sight yet, but an assortment of other “fey folk” and much magical action incorporated with realistic features.  Think fairies that pack guns!

Fans of paranormals will definitely enjoy this!

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The Lewis Man & Death in Four Courses

four courses lewis man I read a couple very different mysteries last night.  The first was Death in Four Courses by Lucy Burdette, the second in the Key West Food Critic series.  In this book Hayley is covering a foodie conference with her mother along for the ride.  Hayley’s mother is a great addition to the cast and Gloria becomes slightly more prominent as well.  The keynote speaker is murdered and Hayley’s friend is accused and this kicks off the sleuthing.  This was a good cozy mystery.  I didn’t like it as much as the first in the series, but it was still a fun, quick read.

The Lewis Man by Peter May is book 2 in the Lewis Trilogy.  Fin is such a sympathetic and even noble character and he pulls you into the story.  This is an emotional and suspenseful read as Fin explores Marsaili’s family background in the wake of a body that has been discovered in the peat. At the same time Fin’s son is dealing with his own issues with Donna and his daughter.  The overarching theme in both the books I’ve read so far is memory.  In this book, personified by Tormod MacDonald, Marsaili’s father and dementia sufferer.  The search for the truth and the consequences are what drives the plot.  Excellent read.  I can’t wait to read the next book, The Chessmen.

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Organize Your Corpses & Beef Stolen-off

organize beef

I have been looking forward to Organize Your Corpses for  a while, the theme of a professional organizer really interested me.  This cute cozy mystery did not disappoint.  The main character, Charlotte Adams, was likable and professional (for the most part).  She has enough flaws to be human and seem like a real person.  The mystery was well done with an interesting twist at the end.  Well written, with a plot that flowed at a good pace.  I look forward to reading more in this series.

Beef Stolen-off is the second book in the Clueless Cook Series.  I liked the first one enough to read this one.  There is quite a complicated plot line involving a haunted lake house, cattle rustling, a stroke victim unable to communicate something vital, and a whole slew of cowboys and cattle ranchers along with the already established characters from Jordan’s apartment building and newspaper job.  The mystery tied up neatly in the end and there was a reappearance of a love interest from the first book.  This was an okay cozy mystery, but it seemed to me that there were too many characters and it made it difficult to get invested in any of them.

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Defending Angels by Mary Stanton

 

I have had this book sitting on my nightstand for a while (I was cheating and piling new books on top of it instead of below).  I purchased it at the strong recommendation of a friend and really against will.  🙂

I don’t generally read paranormals and I really don’t read religious reads and I really don’t care for “angel” books, so…anyway.

After reading it, I have to admit it held my attention and skipped along at a pretty good pace.   I had some issues with the book but not what I would expect. There is really no “preachiness” that I thought for sure would be there. The angels are not the sickly sweet, Lifetime TV movie types so that was good as well.

If I had to characterize this, I would definitely say that it is much more of a paranormal than a cozy.  The mystery takes a back seat to the celestial beings. I don’t want to reveal too much but it is hard to discuss my issues with the book without saying something.  The protagonist, Brianna, behaves…really strangely at times and doesn’t really sleuth.  Things that should terrify and upset her don’t really and other times she is a violent rager with no real cause.  She doesn’t have concerns or ask questions that I (and any rational person) would.  This may be due to something revealed towards the end, but that was not really made clear, it is just my supposition.

My other issue is that the ending felt really rushed…We had the reveal for the story on the temporal plane, but when it came to the celestial one, it just ended quickly and with no detail.  It seemed really odd because the angel story was the main story line throughout.

I am intrigued enough that I will buy the next one and see if it resolves these issues.

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#24hourreadathon – Working Stiff, Murder Uncorked, Carbs & Cadavers

uncorked carbs murder uncorked

Three more cozy mysteries that I finished last night and early this morning.  I picked up all three of them at my independent local book seller, Booktrader of Hamilton.  I am sort of participating in the 24 hour readathon hosted by Brianna’s Bookish Confessions.  I jumped in last minute and just grabbed a pile off of my TBR stack.

http://24hourreadathon.blogspot.com/2013/12/24-hour-read-thon-sign-up.html

I had read a wine oriented cozy a while ago and I picked this one:  Murder Uncorked up because I thought that it was in the same series, but I don’t think so.  This was one of those OK reads, difficult to write about because everything was okay.  I did enjoy the information about  food and wine pairing, but I didn’t really “get” the protagonist or the romantic lead.  Sometimes I wasn’t sure if their behavior was supposed to be comedic, as in romantic comedy??  This book did read more like a romance than a mystery.  I am not sure if I would read another in the series.

I had wanted to read Working Stiff for a while, it was recommended highly on a couple of cozy mystery boards and blogs.  This was the first in a series and as usual there was time spent drawing the characters, the relationships and the settings in preparation for the rest of the series.  I liked this one enough that I will definitely try another in the series.  You do need to suspend your belief to a certain extent over the whole, “I was an O.R. nurse and I quit with no notice when I caught my surgeon husband with the HEAD nurse and got hired to be an Deputy Coroner with no forensic training just because I know the Coroner”… ok.

My favorite of the three by far was Carbs & Cadavers.  Loved Professor Henry James and his Flab Five crew.  The book was well written and the characters were fun and interesting (no stereotypes here).   The mystery was well crafted and had a nice twist near to the end.  There is a slight hint of  romance, but nothing that overwhelms the mystery.  I do like my mysteries with some romance, but not at the expense of everything else.  The supper club theme was fun and I look forward to seeing how it continues.  I didn’t find out until I was done that J.B. Stanley is another pseudonym for Ellery Adams, whose Charmed Pie Shoppe mysteries I like.

 

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shoe done it by Grace Carroll

Last night I couldn’t sleep so I read shoe done it by Grace Carroll instead.

The writing in itself was fine, but the mystery or at least the villain was obvious (at least to me) and the sense of place seemed off.   My  main issue was that the characters weren’t really that likable.  Grasping, shallow fashionistas, not really anyone I could relate to and I do like clothes and fashion.  I enjoy other fashion based cozies, such as Meg London’s Sweet Nothing’s Lingerie series, Annette Blair’s Vintage Magic Series and the Ellen Byerrum’s Crime of Fashion series, so it was definitely not the theme was the issue.

I was looking forward to this one for a while so it was disappointing that it didn’t work for me.

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Liver Let Die & Thyme Out

 I picked up this book today and read it mainly because I had accidentally bought the second book in the series and didn’t realize it until I went to read it.  Luckily my second hand bookstore had this one, so I was able to get it.

Fun, quick read with a food related theme.  The protagonist, Jordan, is covering a food column in a small local paper while the regular writer recovers from an accident.  The story was fun and the mystery had lots of twists and turns.  The included recipes are okay, but not really anything I would make.  The theme was interesting, but I did have one issue with it.  Jordan is a total non-foodie who got roped into the food column, hence the series name A Clueless Cook Mystery.  She starts completing her column by presenting other people’s recipes as her own…hmmm isn’t that a problem??  Maybe it is just me.

Other than that I enjoyed the characters and the mystery.  I will definitely read the second one since I already have it, Beef Stolen-Off.

The second book I read today was Katie Fforde’s Thyme Out .  I will have to say that as far as I am concerned Katie Fforde can do no wrong.  I love her books and read as many as I can find here in the US.

The heroine, Perdita, is a plucky gardener making a living, barely, through her own hard work.  This is a typical Katie Fforde protagonist, women who get on with life, not necessarily glamorous or wealthy but not victims either and that is what I like about them.

Perdita’s ex-husband unexpectedly reappears in her life and that drives the plot along with a family crisis.  I don’t want to say much more.  There is the all important happily ever after at the end.

Anyone who loves romances, not the young adult kind that all seem to revolve around teens, but one with real adults will enjoy this book.

 

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A Deadly Grind by Victoria Hamilton

 

 

Yesterday I picked up a few cozies with some of my Christmas money and I read this one last night.

I really liked the writing style of this book!  Well written dialogue and a well crafted mystery plot with red herrings all the way up the end.

The main character is Jaymie Leighton, a complicated woman, who yearns for a simpler time, hence her interest in things vintage, particularly homemaking or kitchen related.  She is a great character, not a stereotype at all and on top of that I was able to relate to her.  The theme of all things vintage kitchen was charming as well.

Highly recommended cozy. I will definitely be continuing this series!