December 2022 New Cozies

 Thank you to the authors, publishers, and NetGalley for providing these ARCs in exchange for honest reviews. The recipe reviews and food pairing found on my Instagram feed  are of my own doing. 

DECEMBER 27TH RELEASES

Muffin But the Truth
A Bakeshop Mystery
Ellie Alexander
St. Martin’s Paperbacks

 

An Executive Team that needs more than just building, hires Jules and Torte to cater their roughing it and rafting retreat complete with all the glamping essentials. I am not sure that toxic truly illustrates just how bad the work relations are with the Bamboo group, the boss would make a great victim because no one seems to like her and she doesn’t seem to like her employees. While the employee that everyone says good things about ends up as the victim. The whole time I am reading this story I am wondering to myself why these people have not found new jobs and moved on! Needless to say there are plenty of suspects; there are also plenty of likable characters thanks to Jules and company. Torte would be an amazing place to work or frequent, between the menus and those who create such tantalizing food and drink.  Then there is Jules and Carlos who make a dynamic and loving couple and have worked hard to achieve their happy ever after. No need to read the earlier installments of the series as the backstory is worked in where and when needed, but you are going to want to go back and start at the beginning.  Not to mention the great collection of recipes that you will acquire with each book.  

Rum and Choke
A Chloe Jackson Sea Glass Saloon Mystery
Sherry Harris
Kensington Cozies

No one mentioned the Florida Panhandle Barback Games to Chloe, nor did they mention that she was going to be representing the Sea Glass Saloon, or that it would be against “ringers” who doubled as professional athletes of sorts. Former librarian now bartender in training and half owner of the Sea Glass saloon, Chloe Jackson, is well settled in her new lifestyle serving drinks and running on the sandy beach, she has discovered her groove and a little romance. It will be easy they said, they would prep her they said, plenty of time (10 days) to get ready. She wasn’t planning on having to do a little reconnaissance either, that is a job for Ann Williams the local fixer and descendant of the notorious John Lafitte. Speaking of Ann, she needs Chloe’s help too, to locate a treasure and to find out who killed the one contestant whom Ann knew the world renowned triathlete better than most of the locales, seems that they had some history.  There are so many things to keep Chloe busy, so many places to go, people to see, questions to ask, near misses to miss. Surely your interest is peaked? One of the best parts about this series is that Chloe is so fun to follow, completely relatable, and she shares plenty of backstory so you don’t have to know how she ended up in Emerald Cove or who all the players are since there is a list of Heritage Business characters at the start of every story.   So do you know how to make a lime rickey? Well you will after reading this cozy, maybe look up the recipe and enjoy it while you’re reading. 

  

DECEMBER 6TH RELEASES

Frozen Detective: A Piper and Porter Mystery
Amanda Flowers
Hallmark Publishing

It is the end of the year, when the world seems to slow down and the PI jobs seems to have gone cold. For Darby Piper and Tate Porter, background checks pay the bills but they aren’t any sort of exciting. A weekend at the exclusive Garden Peak Lodge and the threat of murder on New Year’s, now that sounds a bit more exciting. The only drawback is the rather rude and uppity female client Tate was friends with back in high school. Of course that was a while ago, and nobody stays the same. Dressed to the nines with champagne flowing and amazing food to snack on (check out the recipe for Goat Cheese Phyllo Puffs located at the end of the book) Darby and Tate get busy posing as a couple while looking for possible threats. Little did they realize that their very own client would look to be guilty, of course the spouse is always first on the suspect list. A weekend for people to pitch their beauty/skin care ideas to Dr. Garret Madd owner of MaddlyCare. So why is he being threatened and who would profit the most from his death? Cecily (do not call her CeCe) was going to be replaced by a younger spokesmodel, but was that all she was being replaced for or was there more. Not everyone was able to pitch their ideas and no all ideas were accepted, could it be an unhappy guest. Then there is the fact that Cecily is looking to sell the lodge, which was bequeathed to her by her late father with the understanding that her half-brother would continue on as ski instructor with a place to live. The job goes from looking for a threatening note writer to looking for a killer and having to share the scene with the cops, or rather with Darby’s ex-boyfriend Austin Caster who seems to have no respect for Darby’s abilities even after she figured out who had caused the death of her past partner, Samantha Porter, Tate’s aunt. There is lots of action, mystery, suspects, misdirects, and plenty of subtle warm fuzzies between Darby and Tate, or rather Tate is trying to be warm and Darby gets a little fuzzy with trust issues (due to being dumped, thrice by Officer Austin) and past relationship regrets (not that she would ever tell Austin that she missed him…sometimes). I am rooting for Tate since Austin just can't seem to appreciate or value Darby's abilities. 

Sleuthing in Stilettos
A Resale Boutique Mystery
Debra Sennefelder
Lyrical Press

Kelly Quinn has had a tough year, the death of close cousin, being forced to keep a secret for the sake of family, and the possible loss of a lifelong friendship. Keeping busy seems to help, there are always new consignors and the Shop Small Saturday event planning helps, but is it too much? Things seem to go missing and Kelly isn’t remembering to lock doors or send messages, is she getting overwhelmed?  Kelly doesn’t think so, and when she and her part time Boutique clerk Breena find shoe store owner Miranda, dead and Kelly’s uncle Ralph standing over her body…Again, Kelly is asked to help family and make sure that uncle Ralph is off of the suspect list. It shouldn’t be too hard, not one single person has said one good thing about Miranda Farrell’s return since she left Lucky Cover twenty years ago under a dark cloud and two dead husbands. Kelly is the sort of sleuth who can ask the tough questions, although it doesn’t make her popular. She is also smart enough to share what she learns with her sort of boyfriend, Detective Nate Barber. So many suspects and are they ever touchy about being questioned, are they hiding something or is it a bit of red herring? Plenty of backstory, so yes this is a stand-alone cozy mystery but you will want to read the others to see just how much Kelly has become a party of the community which has become part of her family.  

November 2022 New Cozies

Thank you to the authors, publishers, and NetGalley for providing these ARCs in exchange for honest reviews. The recipe reviews and food pairing found on my Instagram feed  are of my own doing. 

NOVEMBER 29TH RELEASES

Bake Offed
A Five Ingredient Mystery
Maya Corrigan
Kensington Cozies

 Did you see that book cover, how could you not want to pick it up and give it read? Bake Offed offers the plot of a bake off and a mystery convention with an added hook of a “locked room” who done it. Not to mention the unique history behind Granddad’s recipe box, what an incredible and valuable find that offers a unique recipe for this themed bake off. That very recipe box goes missing after the completion of the bake off contest. Granddad is sure that fellow contestant and rival recipe columnist, Cynthia Sweet must have sticky fingers. Before he is able to do some private investigating, Cynthia turns up dead in a locked room with a tea kettle whistling.  In order to help Megan keep this even on track, Val and Granddad must; in Holmes-like fashion, eliminate all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.  Many suspects for both the murder and the theft of the book come to light but how did they do it?? Recipes from the bake off and some created by the Codger cook and based on the characters from the game Clue are found at the back. I highly recommend this story and the Mrs. White bean chili, scrumptious!  

Bread Over Troubled Water
A Bread Shop Mystery
Winnie Archer
Kensington Cozies

Yeast of Eden is hopping every morning with regulars who drop in to get the delicious and freshly baked goods (recipes provided at the end of the book) from Olaya Solis and staff. That is, until a patron is found dead from poisoning that may or may not have been in his usual Tuesday morning order, a sourdough roll. I would have gone for the breakfast cookie, myself. There is no way that Ivy Culpepper, part time counter clerk and professional photographer is going to let anyone malign her home away from home and the friends she calls family.  Charismatic and soon to be divorced, Josh Prentiss, is a man thought to be a saint by by the athletic department especially the football boosters and a well-to-do financial advisor who is quite tech savvy. Maybe too savvy when it comes to a certain dating app…just ask Olaya’s sister, Martina.  There are plenty of suspects including the widow who isn’t grieving and a harem that is missing him and some of their money. Which leads to Ivy pulling out the sleuthing skills, teaming up with her octogenarian neighbor, Mrs. Branford, and track down the answers, while also getting things ready for the big party.  While this is a stand-alone mystery, and there is plenty of back story to keep you from being lost, it is always more fun to “see” the characters develop not only through a single storyline but the entire series. From Ivy’s arrival back to town to present day as she plans for her future with Miguel, after so many years.  

Murder on a Class Trip
Maya and Sandra Mystery 
Lee Hollis
Kensington

Sandra and Maya are two different and complex characters who, like ying and yang, they complement each other’s differences. Maya, a former cop turned PI has a hard outer shell but a soft heart, and Sandra Wallage is as elegant as silk having spent the last two decades as a senator’s wife but is also made of tougher stuff as a result of those  DC years. Both are excellent moms who would do just about anything for their high schoolers (who happen to be dating each other, awkward for the kids). Speaking of high school, the annual trip is coming up and they need chaperones. No one wants to have their parent chaperoning the trip, and news flash, not all parents want to go either. Such is the case in this story, but without Maya Kendrick there won’t be a trip, and Maya isn’t going alone, her partner in crime solving, Sandra, will going along for the ride.  Next stop, Washington D.C., the place where politics can be cutthroat and perception is everything. It looks bad for Senator Wallage, who swears he is innocent, of both an affair with his intern and her death.  Sandra knows that her soon to be ex-husband has his flaws, but he isn’t a killer. This is fast paced cozy with several interesting characters creating multiple avenues of inquiry and the culprit was a complete surprise. There is plenty of backstory included so this can be read as a stand-alone. Looking forward to what life brings to Sandra as she navigates being single. 

Steeped in Secrets
(A Crystal & CuriosiTEA mystery)
Lauren Elliott
Kensington Books

An excellent start to a new series, with an engaging story, a multi-layered mystery, and a little brogue from Mr. McHeart-Flutter. I was all in from the first page and didn’t want to put it down until I got to the end, leaving me to ponder about how long am I going to have to wait for the next one to come out. Oh, and I have a craving for a proper Irish stew. Shay has not had the best of luck and none of it due to her choices, she didn’t choose to lose her parents, she didn’t choose to have a philandering–thief of a husband, she did not choose to have her professional reputation take a hit, but she shoulders on.  A mysterious inheritance takes her back to her childhood home where she reconnects with her sister, becomes a bit of a mentor, and meets a police detective turned pub owner. The clues were well placed and I was able to only figure out a small portion of the mystery thanks to the red herrings. I look forward to seeing how the series progresses. Sláinte, to Lauren Elliott on this great new series!

NOVEMBER 8TH RELEASES

Grilled for Murder
A Sophie Kimball Mystery
J.C. Eaton
Beyond the Page Books
 

The smell of a slow roasted BBQ is so much better than a garbage transfer station in one’s backyard, right?!?! So says the residents of Sun City West, which will play host to a Food Network sponsored Slow Roasters BBQ challenge and the pinochle crew has made the cut with their special marinade. There are the usual laughs with Sophie Kimball aka Phee, talking to herself or rather trying to talk herself down as she “investigates” the death of Cosmo Pruett, chairman of the Maricopa County Planning Commission and also happened to be on the opposing BBQ team. Herb’s name ends up on the “persons of interest” list, which means Phee will have no peace until she listens to her mom and gets sleuthing, whenever and where ever. That will have to include a trip to the dog park with Streetman for insider info. It is not a Sophie Kimball mystery without Streetman, the neurotic chiweenie and this time he has dragged a friend along (literally). What you should know is that Phee has never called herself an investigator, she is the bookkeeper for the two man investigative agency, and regardless of how successful she is at discovering the truth aka keeping Harriet’s book club ladies and Herb’s pinochle crew calm, she will not consider getting a degree in criminal investigations until Phoenix gets a foot of snow. It could happen…