Cozy Mystery – Page 39 – Carol's Notebook

Murder Lo Mein by Vivien Chien

June 3, 2019June 7, 2019 by Carol7 Comments

This is the third installment in the Noodle Shop Mystery series. Lana Lee is now managing her family's restaurant in the Asia Village plaza, but of course nothing's ever quiet in her life. There's a noodle competition taking place and Peter, the chef at Ho-Lee Noodle House is one of the competitors. Then one of the judges is killed and Lana and Megan decide they need to investigate, after all they have experience now. The mystery was well-done. The first victim had several enemies, he was a bit of a jerk. But when a second judge is killed, it becomes more confusing. Lana's questioning at times becomes a bit pushy in this one, and I got a little tired of everyone telling her she should keep out of it, as if she didn't know it already. Amateur detectives know they should leave it up to the cops, but just can't. And she has a bad habit of getting caught alone...

Dim Sum of All Fears by Vivien Chien

May 24, 2019May 24, 2019 by Carol7 Comments

First off, I love the covers of the Noodle Shop Mysteries. I'm not usually much of a cover person, but these just look delicious, are bright, have a bit of humor, I think, with the soy sauce (?) pouring into the skull shape. Dim Sum of All Fears is the second in the series. It could probably be read as a stand-alone, but I'm glad I read the first beforehand. It gives you a better picture of the family relationships and the people at the Asia Village shopping center. This time around, a good, if new, friend of Lana's has been murdered, along with her husband. Turns out there was a lot Lana didn't know about the couple, but still wants to see the killer brought to justice. Since their success in solving the last crime, she and her roommate, Megan, decide that they need to do some digging around. There are several suspects, turns out the husband was not only...

Death by Dumpling by Vivien Chien

May 21, 2019May 21, 2019 by Carol11 Comments

Death by Dumpling has been sitting on my Kindle for longer than I'd like to admit. I know why I picked it up originally. The cover is great, it's set in Cleveland, and it sounds like a fun mystery. I am so happy I finally got around to reading it. Lana is just quirky enough. She's a bit down on her luck and has been moping around her apartment a little too much, but there's nothing like being a potential murder suspect to get you out of the house again, at least if you've decided you need to solve the case before you or a friend is found guilty. The Ho-Lee Noodle House is in an Asian-themed shopping center. They're are plenty of regulars at the restaurant and most of the staff at the various shops all seem to know each other. It's like a little community, and a lot of the folks are connected, friends, family, so when one of...

The Loch Ness Papers by Paige Shelton

April 10, 2019April 12, 2019 by Carol9 Comments

The Loch Ness Papers is #4 of the Scottish Bookshop Mysteries. It does work as a stand-alone but like so many series books, it's better if you have all the background and know the characters and their quirks. And the books are all set in and around a unique little bookstore in Edinburgh, Scotland, so really, why wouldn't you want to? Delaney and her handsome-as-all-get-out pub owner Tom are getting married in a week or so, but of course, a mystery has to pop up. Delaney meets the slightly-off-his-rocker Norval Fraser who is a firm believer in the existence of Nessie and has a houseful of papers and artifacts to try to prove it. The next day, Norval's nephew is found murdered and Norval is hauled off by the police - and Delaney needs to help him out. I feel like I am just repeating things I've said before. Delaney and her friends are warm and smart and funny. The setting...

Murder on Pointe by C. S. McDonald

March 21, 2019March 21, 2019 by Carol9 Comments

C. S. McDonald had a table at a craft fair my mom and I went to before Christmas, and of course, book tables always draw my attention. McDonald told us a little about her Fiona Quinn, a cozy mystery series set in Pittsburgh. Yeah, I was sold. My mom picked up the first two for me, signed, provided she could read the Christmas one (#2) after me. I was hoping to get the Christmas one read in December, but since that didn't happen I decided to go ahead and start with the first, Murder on Pointe. Fiona and her old friend, Silja, a ballerina in the show currently playing at the Benedum, go out for a bite to eat. When they get back, however, they discover that one of the other dancers has been murdered. Silja's not a suspect, but handsome Detective Landy finds out that Fiona used to be a dancer, so he convinces her to join the cast and...

Cherringham, Episodes #10-12 by Matthew Costello and Neil Richards

March 19, 2019March 19, 2019 by CarolNo Comments

There's been more murders in dear little Cherringham. And of course Sarah and Jack have to solve them. I enjoy these novella length mysteries. They're long enough for clues and suspects, but short enough that they have to keep moving. In "A Deadly Confession," the cops think Father Byrne died of a heart attack, which is true, but his old friend is convinced there's more to the story. Once again Sarah's internet skills come in handy. I like the old-fashioned denouement here, something this series doesn't usually have. It drags the whole motive(s) out into the open, but allows for a bit of grace in the handling of the whodunnit. Jack and Sarah have to solve the crime in "Blade in the Water," because there's no real evidence that a crime, aside from vandalism, has occurred. That's one of the tricks with cozy mysteries, giving a legitimate reason for the amateur and/or retired detective to need to solve the case, a...