A Merry Little Murder Plot by Jenn McKinlay

A Merry Little Murder Plot by Jenn McKinlay

by CarolNo Comments
I am a sucker for Christmas cozies. So, even though A Merry Little Murder Plot is the 15th in the series and I haven't read any of the others, I picked it up. It worked fine as a stand alone for me. I'm sure reading them all in order would have given me more background on the returning characters, but I never felt like I was missing out on something I needed to know. This winter, the Briar Creek library is hosting a a writer-in-residence, thriller author Helen Monroe. She's a bit stand-offish, but writes in the library daily and participates in talks required by her contract. Lindsey Norris, library director and our amateur sleuth, starts to get concerned when another newcomer, Jackie Lewis, is overly interested in the author, maybe even a bit stalkery. When Jackie is found dead, electrocuted by Christmas lights and holding Helen's manuscript, Helen becomes the main suspect. Lindsey isn't sure she's guilty, but she...
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A Killer Christmas by Jessica Fletcher and Terrie Farley Moran

A Killer Christmas by Jessica Fletcher and Terrie Farley Moran

by CarolNo Comments
I don't read Murder, She Wrote mysteries often, but I always enjoy them. I grew up watching Jessica Fletcher and the other characters on tv and still turn it on occasionally. It's Christmastime in Cabot Cove and everyone is gearing up for the holidays. This year, the town is going all out as it tries to be named the state's best holiday destination. Eve, however, is more concerned with selling the old Jarvis place. Her job gets more difficult by the minute, First, missing, presumed dead, Kenny Jarvis shows back up. Then, the potential buyer's wife dies, possibly murdered. This one takes its time getting to the killing, but it's fun to get caught up in all the town drama and Christmas planning. I loved the small Thanksgiving dinner and all the Christmas events, but if you're here solely for the murder mystery you might be disappointed. The mystery was fine. There were several suspects even if it was rather...
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I’ll Be Home for Mischief by Jacqueline Frost

I’ll Be Home for Mischief by Jacqueline Frost

by CarolNo Comments
Poor Holly. It's Christmastime again at Reindeer Games Christmas Tree Farm and, for the fifth December in a row, someone is killed. I thoroughly enjoyed this one. The setting is wonderful. Mistletoe, Maine sounds like such a cute place. I love how close Holly and her family and friends are. They have fun together and work together and they're people I'd like to hang out with . Holly and her husband, Sheriff Evan Gray, have a good relationship. The plot was put together well and it moved along at a good pace. We have several potential suspects and the whodunnit wasn't overly obvious. The book and the series are so Christmassy. From the town to the food to the way the man was killed, it just screams Christmas, which I enjoy. It would be a perfect December read. And it has several touches of Christmas magic that set it apart....
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Rockin’ Around the Chickadee by Donna Andrews

Rockin’ Around the Chickadee by Donna Andrews

by CarolNo Comments
Rockin' Around the Chickadee is #36 of the Meg Langslow books, a series I dip in and out of. I think that's part of my problem with it. Andrews does a good job with the characters growing and changing, but I only catch bits of it. But it's way too long a series for me to go back to the beginning. Meg is a blacksmith, wife of professor/ actor Michael, mother of twin boys, assistant to the mayor, and a member of the quirky Hollingsworth family, and, of course, our amateur sleuth. She wears a lot of hats and in each book one or the other seems to be at the forefront. This time, being a member of the Hollingsworth family is at the top of the list. Her grandmother is hosting a conference highlighting the Presumed Innocent organization and several of the family members are helping by being on panels or making sure it all runs smoothly. While most attendees...
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Sleep in Heavenly Pizza by Mindy Quigley

Sleep in Heavenly Pizza by Mindy Quigley

by Carol2 Comments
Sleep in Heavenly Pizza is the fourth in the Deep Dish Mystery series but the first I've read. I knew it centered around a pizza shop, obviously, but had a different kind of restaurant in my head. Delilah & Son is way fancier than our pizza places generally. Of course, I live in the land of Steubenville/ Ohio Valley pizza and my favorite pizzeria doesn't have any place to sit and eat, either inside or outside, but they do have a stack of napkins on the counter in case you want to eat in your car. They certainly wouldn't be catering the upscale Chrismukkah party the book opens with. The party winds down a bit early when the hosts' family drama gets out of hand and glassware is broken. The next day one of the guests is found dead in a pile of snow being used for a sculpture competition, and of course the guests and catering staff come under...
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Between a Flock and a Hard Place by Donna Andrews

Between a Flock and a Hard Place by Donna Andrews

by CarolNo Comments
I've been putting off writing a post about Between a Flock and a Hard Place because I really don't have much to say about it. I've read a few in the Meg Langslow series, but not enough for me to quite understand her character. She's a blacksmith, which doesn't come up in this one. She's also the mayor's assistant of some kind. Maybe because she always has her nose in everything in town so she might as well get paid for it? And I don't understand why the titles are all bird themed. Granted the wild turkeys are funny. We do eventually get to the murder. Mrs. Smetkamp is dead and there are several people with motive to have killed her. And several others who just seem shady. I do like the secondary characters, from Meg's kids to the townspeople. They're a quirky bunch and they do make me laugh. I listened to the audio and the narrator did a...
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