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…