Cozy Mystery – Page 29 – Carol's Notebook

Hot and Sour Suspects by Vivien Chien

February 2, 2022April 27, 2022 by Carol6 Comments

Hot and Sour Suspects is the 8th in the Noodle House Mystery series and I've read them all. I like Lana. She's funny and sarcastic, a little reckless, and she loves donuts. She is surrounded by quirky friends and a warm, loving family who only nag her occasionally. She manages the family's Ho-Lee Noodle House in the Asian Village shopping center. This time around, after an evening of speed dating at the restaurant, a man is dead in his apartment, and Rina, one of Lana's friends from the mall, is clearly the prime suspect. Megan and Lana decide they need to prove Rina's innocence, even if Rina herself doesn't want them digging around. I love the characters in this series and the setting. It does always make me want to order Chinese takeout though. The mystery in this one was fine. Lana has help from both Megan and Kimmy and they do make a fun, mildly incompetent, team. Lana's detective...

Body at Buccaneer’s Bay by Josh Lanyon

January 18, 2022January 19, 2022 by Carol4 Comments

Ellery once again finds a dead body, this time while diving with his boyfriend, Chief Police Officer Jack Carson. The body is sealed into an old diving suit they find in a shipwreck. Then, Odette Wallace, a wealthy widow, hires Ellery to find out who is trying to kill her. Apparently, she's a big believer in the ability of amateur sleuths. Of course, the two mysteries are connected The mystery was interesting. Everyone on the island has an idea about who the man in the suit was, but no proof. Odette and the step-children are not the nicest people, and Ellery probably shouldn't have taken the case but he needs the money. Ellery figures out the solution in the end, just a step or two behind Jack. The wrap-up was a bit anti-climactic though. Ellery is his usual smart, but bumbling self. Jack is very competent, and to me his concerns regarding Elliott getting swept up in cases make sense. I...

Mistletoe, Moussaka, and Murder by Tina Kashian

January 4, 2022January 4, 2022 by Carol1 Comment

Mistletoe, Moussaka, and Murder is the fifth in the series, but the first I've read. I never felt lost. The author did a good job of introducing the characters and giving me enough background to let me feel like I knew them well. At the same time, I might have cared more about the relationship between Lucy and her boyfriend, Azad, which took up a lot of the book. The mystery itself was well-done. The victim was not a nice person and there were plenty of suspects in town. Lucy had a reasonable reason to be investigating - one of her friends is the prime suspect. The clues were placed well, along with a few red herrings. The story started off well, but the middle was a bit too slow and plodding. I did have a guess who the killer was, so that might have been a bit too obvious since I'm rarely right. I think this is the last of...

A Corpse for Christmas by Rena Leith

January 3, 2022January 3, 2022 by CarolNo Comments

A Corpse for Christmas is the third in the Cass Peake series, but the first I've read. For me, it took a while to get all the characters straight, and I think if I had read the series in order, that wouldn't have been an issue. I also would have felt like I knew at least Cass and the other recurring characters, including Doris the ghost, better. Cass takes on the job of doing a new video for a local college and hires some young people to help her out. It's the holidays so the campus is pretty empty, making it easier to film locations, but while working, Cass and her crew stumble onto a murder. Her obligatory cop boyfriend, George, doesn’t like her getting involved, but Cass of course can't let it go, especially when a neighbor asks for her help. There's a lot going on here. We have the project for the local college; it's Christmas so Cass' brother...

A Murder Yule Regret by Winnie Archer

December 15, 2021December 15, 2021 by Carol2 Comments

A Murder Yule Regret is the 7th in the series, but the first I read. It worked fine as a stand-alone, but I think I would have enjoyed it a bit more if I knew the characters better. Ivy is a good character, curious, caring. She's a freelance photographer and an assistant in the bakery. Her photos are important to solving the case, but to be honest I was more interested in the bakery and the bread than I was about her photography business. I'm not sure if that's because I haven't read earlier ones in the series or not. Or because I really love bread and this book has inspired me to try some baking of my own - or at least plan to try some baking of my own. I have a recipe and ingredients, just haven't started yet. The first victim is a "journalist" found dead at the bottom of a cliff during a party held by film...

Murder at the Christmas Cookie Bake-Off by Darci Hannah

December 4, 2021December 3, 2021 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...