Amateur Sleuth

In Blackburn’s latest cozy, Summer Merriweather, owner of the Beach Reads bookshop, has a special Valentine’s Day event lined up, and invites Lana Livingston, a famous author who has reimagined Romeo and Juliet with a happy ending, to lead the festivities. Summer doesn’t realize that Lana recently became a widow and is being investigated for the murder of her husband. Things worsen when Lana has tea during her bookstore appearance and is later found dead of poisoning in her hotel room. The main suspect is Glads, the woman who served the author tea during the event. A ruthless detective wants answers, and to save her friend from being railroaded, Summer gathers a group of amateur detectives, including her ex-boyfriend, to solve not only who killed Lana but maybe even who murdered the author’s husband. Fans of cozy mysteries will find everything they love here, and even though this is the third book in the series, both newcomers and readers of the previous entries will find it worthwhile.

Dawna Carpenter runs a hardware store in downtown Pine Bluff, Oregon. She struggles to keep it going, especially after the death of her beloved husband, Bob. The building shares space with a boutique, and the woman who runs Lipstick and Lace is a real piece of work. A real-estate developer in town has bold plans to open a luxurious hotel, but when he’s found dead in the hardware store’s bathroom, Dawna’s life gets turned upside down even more than she thought possible. The quirky cast of characters, the slowly building mystery, and the light-hearted tone make Hammers and Homicide a terrific debut. Charles also does an outstanding job of addressing how people deal with the grief of losing a loved one, without being overly depressing. Readers will be fixing to read more mysteries of this series and Paula Charles.

In cozies, we often meet our hero when they are in a state of flux, and Death by Demo is a classic example. Jaime is recently divorced—her husband was having an affair—and the prenuptial she signed without reading has left her nearly broke. She and her ne’er-do-well ex-husband ran a highly successful construction and interior design firm in Charlotte, NC, but now all she’s left with is a dilapidated Queen Anne style house and her best friend’s couch. While everyone expects Jaime to sell the house, she takes a certain liking to it and decides to renovate it on her own. That’s part of what makes this book so interesting, watching Jamie—who’s a real carpenter—put the historic home back together while she ruminates on how her life fell apart. But in the midst of some serious demolition, she comes across a body walled up in her new home. Tragic, for sure. But also annoying, as the house is now declared a crime scene and Jaime is forced to abandon the one thing that’s keeping her sane. Until it dawns on her that maybe law enforcement needs a little help. Well-written, nicely plotted, with great insights into the renovation industry and a cute and sensitive next door neighbor. Cozy readers will delight in this discovery.