Cozy Mystery – Page 34 – Carol's Notebook

Fatal Fried Rice by Vivien Chien

February 2, 2021February 18, 2021 by Carol6 Comments

I love that Lana decides to take Chinese cooking classes without letting her family know. It just feels so in character. And of course, her teacher would end up dead, killed after the first class. Lana found the body, so is apparently the number one suspect, even though she didn't know Margo Chan. Lana has to find the real killer before the detective on the case decides she's guilty. Aside from finding the body, Lana doesn't have much of a connection to the case, which makes her "snooping" a little awkward. Why do the people she questions tell her anything, aside from her reputation maybe? And why does Detective Bishop seem so convinced Lana's guilty? The plot fits together well, although the solution is a little weak. Lana is a fun character, smart, a little reckless, caring. Her usual Watson is her roommate Megan, who was working a bit too much this time around, leaving Lana with another friend, Kimmy, as...

Premeditated Mortar by Kate Carlisle

January 25, 2021December 3, 2021 by Carol4 Comments

I have not read any of the previous Fixer-Upper mysteries, but I have watched a couple of the Hallmark shows, so I kind of felt like I already knew the characters and town. Shannon owns a construction company, and she's been hired by a good friend to help renovate one wing of The Gables, a former institution. The entire property is being revitalized, and Rachel is overseeing the project. Rachel has convinced Shannon's boyfriend, Mac, a famous writer, to become one of the investors. When Shannon and Mac do some exploring, they find a mysterious stranger running around the abandoned property. Later on, he shows up as part of a group of protestors against the project. Even later on, one of those protestors ends up dead, the body found by Shannon of course. How are the secrets of The Gables past threatening people now? The Gables is an interesting location, and I enjoyed all the descriptions and scenes that took place...

Mistletoe Murder by Leslie Meier

December 30, 2020December 30, 2020 by CarolNo Comments

Mistletoe Murder is the first of the Lucy Stone mysteries, set in the fictional seaside town of Tinker's Cove, Maine. Lucy is mom to three, wife to Bill, and second shift telephone sale rep for the community's biggest employer, Country Cousins. As you can guess from the title, it's Christmastime. While on break one night, Lucy finds her employer, Sam Miller, dead in his car, a murder staged as suicide. But who would want to kill the company's likable boss? Though Lucy is busy with Christmas preparations, she can't resist doing a little investigating of her own. When friendly local policeman, Barney, loses control of his vehicle and ends up in a coma, the stakes rise. What did Barney know that made him a threat to the killer? I like the small town atmosphere. Meier does such a nice job of capturing everyday life, whether that’s working in a call center, everyone in a small town knowing one another, or covering childcare...

A Resolution at Midnight by Shelley Noble

December 11, 2020December 11, 2020 by CarolNo Comments

A Resolution at Midnight is the third book in Shelley Noble's Lady Dunbridge historical mystery series. I didn't read the first two books, and I think I would have enjoyed this one a bit more if I had. This mystery itself worked well as a stand-alone, but I was missing out a bit on the characters' backgrounds. We start the story with Philomena Amesbury, the young Dowager Countess of Dunbridge - Phil to her friends - is getting ready for her first Christmas in New York. She gets a note from Mr. X sending her to a theater, where she ends up sitting by a dead (murdered) man. She, of course, then gets wrapped up in the mystery of who it was and who killed him. I guess a little more information on how she ended up working for Mr. X and why she puts up with him. Mr. X never seem to share information and doesn't give her much...

The Hour of Death by Jane Willan

December 2, 2020December 3, 2020 by Carol2 Comments

I picked up The Hour of Death because of its Christmas-time setting. It's the second in the series, but the first I've read and it worked fine. I felt like I got to know the characters well. I got enough background but not too much. I enjoyed Sister Agatha for the most part. She's smart and tenacious, if a bit overly suspicious. Amateur sleuths pretty much have to be though. I could have done without her constant reference to other fictional detectives. Don't get me wrong, I adore Gamache and Jessica Fletcher, but she referred to them way too often. She stands on her own well, she doesn't constantly need to refer to other detectives. The nuns are an interesting group of women. While they do pray and sing and worship, they also make cheese and text each other and have an artist as a tenant. I think the Advent touches were some of my favorites: the hymns, the idea...

The Diva Wraps It Up by Krista Davis

November 25, 2020November 24, 2020 by CarolNo Comments

It's Christmas time in Old Town, usually a wonderful time of year for Sophie and her neighbors, but this season we have a sprinkling of murder and mayhem. Horace Scroggins falls from a balcony during his office Christmas party. Baxter Babineaux, Sophie's neighbor falls off of his ladder decorating his house for the Annual Christmas lighting Contest. And then, at the annual Christmas Cookie Swap hosted by Gwen Babineaux, tempers flare when Gwen snaps unflattering pictures of Natasha, Sophie's rival domestic diva and girl friend of Sophie's ex-husband Mars. After the cookie Swap, Gwen is found murdered, wrapped up like a Christmas present complete with a bow in Natasha's garage. Obviously, Natasha comes under suspicion, but it turns out that there is more than one person who may have had a motive. Apparently Gwen has several secrets and what if the other accidents were not actually accidents. Sophie and her friends need to find out who in their neighborhood is...