Category Archives: Cozy Mysteries

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Killer in the Kitchen is the second Chesapeake Bay mystery by Judy L. Murray.

Lizzie, Helen’s daughter, is the host of a popular cooking show. Upon hearing that Roberto, the popular chef and main attraction of the show, wishes to sell his house, Helen visits the set to meet him. When she visits the second time, she is just in time to see Roberto collapse, poisoned.

Worse yet, Lizzie had also tasted the food and is slightly affected.

Helen jumps in with both feet to identify who might have murdered Roberto. Now its personal since the shooter clearly considered Lizzie only as collateral damage.

There are suspects aplenty. Besides Roberto’s partner Adrian, Dana is another host who was pushed aside and lost a huge percentage of her ratings. The food stylist, Mariah, is another suspect, this time with an important secret.

The characters shine here. Although I had a suspicion about the murderer’s identity, I kept reading. I felt like I knew the characters personally and I was engaged in their lives.

Highly Recommended.

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Murder comes home is the third in the Hometown mysteries by Rosalie Spielman.

A television crew has descended on Aunt Edna’s home. Ricks and Picks is scouting for more antiques and collectibles (Think Antiques Roadshow.) The discovery of a box of letters sparks an investigation into the history of the house and the family that owned it before. And the mysterious death of a so-called orphan girl.

At the same time, undercurrents in the television crew begin to cause problems in modern times. The ’67 Mustang Tess and her aunt – the Shecanics – are restoring for sale is taken from the garage. When it’s found, the Ricks and Picks cameraman is found dead of carbon monoxide poisoning, zip tied to the steering wheel. Tessa and Aunt Edna are on the case.

I love these books. Tessa and Aunt Edna are fully realized. I wish I knew Aunt Edna. The other characters are real individuals. And the mysteries aren’t bad either. I hope Spielman continues this series.

Highly Recommended.

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This week I read Death in the Orchard by MK Graff.

This is the third in the Trudy Genova mysteries. Trudy is a nurse. In the previous two entries, she is hired as a medical consultant to verify the information in television productions.

Death in the Orchard is a little different. Trudy, and significant other Ned, are on their way to Schoharie County to visit Trudy’s family. Her brother and wife are having a baby.

But Trudy has another agenda. Her father was murdered years ago and she has always thought there was more to it. The reader knows there is. A recent parollee hires on because he is looking for money buried in the orchard.

Then his body is discovered shot on the steps. It doesn’t take much imagination to realize someone else might know about that money!

Recommended.

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Now that Malice Domestic is over, I can review the books from the panel I moderated: the importance of setting.

Heather Weidner almost needs no introduction. The author of several series, Twinkle, Twinkle au Revoir is the latest in her Mermaid Bay series. And a funny book it is too. The Love channel (a thinly disguised Hallmark Channel) comes to town to film a new movie. Ruby, the owner of the B&B, is being driven crazy by all the quirks of the actors. But business is booming is the Christmas Shop run by Jade Hicks.

Then the body of an annoying reporter is found and someone tries to murder the male star, Raphael Allard. Laugh out loud funny.

Peril at the Pool House is also written against the setting of a beach community. Helen Morrisey, a realtor/detective, has sold a Victorian beauty to Elliot Davies and wife Allison. Elliot is running for office and holds his kick-off in the house.

But rumors that the house is haunted appear true when strange events begin happening at the house. Then the body of his assistant is discovered in the pool house, bludgeoned to death.

The case takes a turn when Helen discovers a connection to a cold case.

A twisty mystery and good characters make this one shine.

Hammers and Homicide by Paula Charles takes place in a hardware store – a pretty unusual setting. Dawna is struggling to keep her hardware store going after the death of her husband. The job gets much harder when she discovers the body of a murdered man in the store bathroom. Warren Hardcastle was not popular in town but now Dawna is one of the suspects. Dawna and her daughter April jump on the case.

A touch of the supernatural makes this one a little different. Funny and fun.

Finally, Cathi Stoler’s book is a little different. She wanted to become a spy as a child and that shows. Nick Donahue’s significant other Marina are drawn into a complicated mystery that starts out simply enough with the death of a horse. The location moves from New York City to Dubai to Kentucky as Marina and Nick, a professional gambler – now there is a profession you don’t see very often – investigate.

This series has a real Robert Ludlum – Bourne vibe. Enjoyable.

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I met Mindy Quigley at Malice Domestic and, as usual, following my practice of reading something by every author I meet. I read Six Feet Deep Dish.

And what fun it was too.

Delilah O’Leary can’t wait to open her gourmet pizza restaurant in beautiful Geneva Bay, Wisconsin.. This has always been her dream. But the day before opening, her wealthy boyfriend dumps her, leaving her with an armful of bills.

Then, on opening night, Delilah finds her aunt’s caregiver Jeremy shot dead – and her aunt holding the gun.

To make matters worse, the detective, Calvin Capone (yes, the great grandson of THAT Capone) closes the restaurant while the investigation is ongoing. Needless to say, sparks fly between Delilah and Capone.

Written in a snappy style with several engaging characters – Delilah’s Aunt Biz is my favorite – this cozy is a treat.

Highly Recommended.

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I read two books this past week, but will save the one for Heather Weidner. She is on the panel at Malice Domestic that I am moderating. I will blog about all four of those books at the same time.

Speaking of conferences, I read the first in a series of my table mate at the Suffolk Mystery Festival.

Home is where the murder is

is the first in the Hometown Mysteries series.

Tessa Tresswell returns to Idaho after a twenty year career in the armed forces. Although Tessa is struggling to adapt to civilian life, she enjoys working on fixing cars with her Aunt Edna. Her family hopes she will stay, but Tessa isn’t sure.

Then Tessa finds a dead body in the park. She doesn’t know Augie That but her family does; he claimed that their property, including the garage and the store, was half his.

To make matters worse, the sheriff just happens to be Tessa’s high school love.

When Aunt Edna is arrested, Tessa knows she will have to investigate and make sure justice is done.

Lots of fun at the same time it deals with a serious subject: returning vets. Highly Recommended.

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I finished the L.A. Chandlar series (so far). I read the Pearl Dagger.

Lane and Finn continue their search for the heir to the Red Scroll gang – Daphne – following her to London. Lane meets Finn’s family and together they uncover the secret behind the accident that almost killed Finn.

A meeting in a pub also reveals the secret behind the pearl dagger.

I hope Chandlar writes a fourth since there are still loose ends remaining.

Lots of fun.

I also read The Murder in Trastevere by Jen Collins Moore.

Fran, an expat who has lived in Rome for ten years, has made it her mission to meet all the new expats. Her parties are legendary. But now her husband is divorcing her and running off to California with his new girlfriend. Now Fran is throwing a party for Rowena, who has achieved a promotion. But Rowena, a vegan, dies from poison and Fran is the prime suspect.

And someone is trying to kill her. She is pushed into the street right in front of a bus.

Finally, realizing she has to take charge of her own investigation, Fran begins to look into Rowena, her husband, her assistant and more. Along the way, Fran discovers who her real friends are.

Nicely framed around Frans study of Caraveggio, the investigation takes Fran all around Rome. I did not see the solution coming. Highly recommended.

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As I begin preparing for Malice Domestic, (I am moderating a panel on setting ), I read a book by a featured author. Peril in the Pool House by Judy L. Murray, is the third in the Chesapeake Bay series.

At an open house party, thrown for the announcement of Eliot Davies’ candidacy as well as a welcome to their old, thoroughly renovated house, the body of Eliot’s campaign manager is found stabbed to death in the pool house. Who could have wanted this woman dead?

Helen Morrisey, the realtor who sold Eliot and his wife the house, and sometime detective, begins to poke around. Although warned off by her off and on love interest Joe McAlister, Helen knows Eliot and Alison have sunk every penny into the house – turned into a B & B – and they’ll lose everything unless the murderer is found.

Helen is an engaging detective with an unusual Detective Club. It is an imaginary one including such luminaries as Jane Marple and Nancy Drew.

I enjoyed this so much that I will go back to the first one and read all three. Lots of fun.

I also read The Paris Mistress by Mally Becker.

This is the third of the Revolutionary War series. I have enjoyed all of them but this one is my favorite so far.

Becca, along with her mother Hannah and mother-in-law Augusta, travel to France to meet Daniel Alloway. Becca and Daniel plan to marry in France. Almost immediately, Benjamin Franklin asks Becca and Daniel to listen and report back. Franklin knows there is a spy in his household reporting to England. Reluctantly, the couple agrees.

The visit goes from bad to worse. The body of the young man, Jude Fenimore, who’d traveled to France on the same ship with Becca, is found dead on the roof of Franklin’s house. The magistrates in France refuse to allow Becca and Daniel to marry (all for frustrating bureaucratic reasons) and Daniel is attacked.

Now Daniel insists Becca, her mother and mother-in-law return home before something else happens.

Highly recommended.

Currently Reading – and Current Events

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If you are a writer, especially an unpublished one, add the following program to your calendar. The panel will be discussing our differing paths to publication. This is not to be missed.

Maven of Mayhem Program

My Path to Publication

Mally Becker, Jacqueline Boulden, Chris Keefer, Robert Knightly, Eleanor Kuhns, AmyPatricia Meade, and Lida Sideris.
Join us for an inside look at the many paths to publication.

Register Here for Zoom link: https://upperhudsonsinc.com/event/mavens-roundtable-my-road-to-publication/

Business meeting for members only at 10:30 am Eastern.

Program (free and open to the public) begins at 11:15 am Eastern.
Bethlehem Library, 451 Delaware Ave, Delmar, NY 12054

And now for Currently Reading

I read two more Bucket List mysteries this past week. These are very light and, although not Holiday themed, perfect for this busy season. The skinny dipping Grandmas are mixed up in murder once again

In Murder under the Covered Bridge, the ladies are planning a racy calendar. As Francine and her husband, suitably costumed in Victorian clothing, are acting out the illicit relationship between Francine’s ancestor and coachman, gunshots pepper the covered bridge. When the shooting stops, Jonathan goes out to investigate and discovered a severely wounded man who turns out to be Francine’s cousin William. Why did he crash the photo shoot and what secrets does he hold? A series of misadventures, including a fire and a seance, abound as the ladies stumble their way to the solution.

In Murder at the Male Revue, a male strippers troupe offers the chance for one of the ladies to cross off another item on her bucket list. But at the first performance, Camille is found stabbed to death. The first suspect – her nephew Eric who is the owner of the Male Revue. But as our intrepid women investigate, they discover their neighbors had many secrets and some the murderer was willing to kill for.