Best in Snow by David Rosenfelt

Best in Snow by David Rosenfelt

by Carol2 Comments
Best in Snow is the first Andy Carpenter mystery I've picked up. I couldn't resist the adorable cover and Grover Gardner as narrator. It worked fine as a stand-alone for me, although I'm sure I would have known more about Andy and the other recurring characters had I read the series from the beginning. At 24 books, that's not going to happen. This time around, Andy finds a dead body while walking his dogs. A former reporter for Andy Carpenter is an almost retired defense attorney with more than enough money, so he can pick and choose his clients- unless his friend and newspaper editor asks him to help out a former reporter charged with the mayor's murder. Then he doesn't get much of a choice. Andy is clever and sarcastic and downright funny, all of which Gardner pulls off perfectly. The dialogue is entertaining and the dogs are all adorable. The plot was well-done, with plenty of twists and turns,...
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Half-baked Holidays by Kat Bastion

Half-baked Holidays by Kat Bastion

by CarolNo Comments
Half-Baked Holidays is a collection of novellas full of romance and holiday fun. They're short and pretty much rely on love at first meeting, but I thoroughly enjoyed them. All of the characters are charming or adorable or sexy. The stories are light, with attraction and flirting and learning about themselves and each other, but no major complications, no major tensions, just sweet stories. There's no cheating on each other, no love triangles. There's also no sex, just plenty of kissing and holding hands and cookies and hot chocolate. I don't know that I had a favorite story - they all made me smile....
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Murder at the Christmas Cookie Bake-Off by Darci Hannah

Murder at the Christmas Cookie Bake-Off by Darci Hannah

by Carol8 Comments
The Murder at the Christmas Cookie Bake-Off cover is absolutely adorable and honestly may have been the reason I picked it up. It's the second in the Beacon Bakeshop series but worked fine for me as a stand-alone. Lyndsey wants a perfect Christmas, she's got tons of lights for her lighthouse bakeshop, her family is coming, and her bakery is filled with all kinds of goodies. Then, of course, things start to go awry. The town announces a Christmas cookie contest with a celebrity judge, hoping to draw more tourists and their money. Every business that wants to participate, and everyone does, must have a signature cookie set out for visitors, then there's voting and a live finale. Except, most business owners don't bake or don't have time to, so Lyndsey's phone starts ringing off the hook for "signature cookies." She is overwhelmed until Carol Nichols arrives out of the blue and takes over most of the baking. And then the...
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The Old Fox Deceiv’d by Martha Grimes

The Old Fox Deceiv’d by Martha Grimes

by CarolNo Comments
The Old Fox Deceiv'd is the second in Richard Jury series, but can definitely be read as a stand-alone. This time around, Jury is sent to Rackmoor to investigate the killing of a woman whose identity is in question. If she really is the prodigal ward returned, old jealousies, angers, and future inheritance money all come into play. Jury is patient and thorough. As expected, he is focused on solving the mystery, but his soft side does come out once in a while. I was happy that Melrose Plant was back in this one. He is again Jury's sidekick, providing a sounding board and doing a bit of his own investigating. The townspeople and those at the house are an interesting bunch, from the broke artist to the child living more or less on his own with his dog. The situation at Rackmoor is complicated and full of emotions and secrets. The plot has some surprises and the major clue was...
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The Starlight Mint Surprise Murder by Marla A. White

The Starlight Mint Surprise Murder by Marla A. White

by CarolNo Comments
Mel is a former cop, now the owner of the Babbling Brook Inn. When she finds a guest dead in front of the fireplace in her lobby, her instincts won't let her believe it was a simple heart attack. The Starlight Mint Surprise Murder is a fun, Christmassy novella. Mel is a good character, smart, tenacious. She's afraid the death will scare guests away from her inn, so decides she has to do some investigating with the help of a local restaurant owner, Jackson, and the town doctor. At the same time, she's trying to perfect her grandma's cookie recipe for the town's contest. A good cozy mystery sleuth always has to juggle real life and solving the crime. I was suspicious of the killer pretty quickly and it turned out I was right. That didn't stop me from enjoying the book though. The clues are well-placed and the story moves along quickly. We had a couple of suspects and Mel tries...
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The Twelve Deaths Of Christmas by Marian Babson

The Twelve Deaths Of Christmas by Marian Babson

by CarolNo Comments
It's twelve days until Christmas and all of the lodgers in Maude's rooming house are getting ready for the holiday - shopping, decorating, expecting guests. Outside of their door, there's a killer loose in London. The police are clueless, the victims seem random and a different method is used each time. The writing was clever. We have scenes from the boarding house, scenes with the police and their investigation, which are in the third person. Interspersed among them are chapters from the killer's first-person point of view, showing what they are feeling and thinking, but without giving away their identity. I didn't love The Twelve Deaths of Christmas, the senselessness of the crimes that kept the police from catching the killer was also what kept me from really enjoying it. The end tied things together alright, but I tend to enjoy traditional puzzle mysteries and cozies more than serial killers, even when it's Christmas....
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