Tag:

Cozy

Review

This Is Not a Game

by Brian Kenney

A classic “locked-mansion” mystery set on Michigan’s actual Mackinac Island, which in off-season has a population of a mere 500. And the only way to get on or off the island is by boat or chartered plane. Mimi—as curmudgeonly as she is humorous—is a well-established resident who’s invited to an opulent party cum auction by Jane Ireland, a super-rich neighbor (who’s dating her own son-in-law). Mimi decides to bring her granddaughter Addie, hoping to use the party as a way to mend their fractured relationship. Wouldn’t you know, a big storm blows in, effectively cutting off the partygoers from the rest of the population. Anxiety producing for sure, but when Jane is found dead—and she’s only the first victim—all hell breaks loose. Lots of the fun in this book is thanks to granddaughter Addie, a gamer who produced Murderscape, a hugely popular video game, while her fiancé claims to have done most of the work. See you in court, Mr. Wrong! Addie’s expertise helps solve many of the problems while moving the story along. Also, like a cloud hanging over the evening, is the blackmail threat that Jane sent to Mimi and that Mimi hasn’t shared with anyone. Does Jane’s murder invalidate the blackmail? Closed circles are hugely popular these days, but this title puts an unusual and playful spin on the proceedings.

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Review

Death and the Old Master

by Brian Kenney

Set in the rarefied atmosphere of a Cambridge college, this excellent mystery has Detective Chief Inspector Arthur St. Just interrogating a wide assortment of characters—from the college porters to art historians, from curators to super-rich American graduate students—all to discover who killed Sir Flyte Rascallian, the master of his college and a renowned art historian. Why kill Rascallian? Because, we are led to believe, he may have recently inherited a Rembrandt, unleashing no end of speculation. Excellent art mysteries are always rich in atmosphere and complex in plot, and Death and the Old Master does not disappoint, bringing the reader as far back as the Monument Men (and Women) who worked during World War II to recover and restore stolen cultural treasures. A sophisticated and effortless read that is one of Malliet’s very best.

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Review

Sleep In Heavenly Pizza

by Brian Kenney

Settle in for a truly wonderful read as Geneva Bay, Wisconsin prepares for the holidays. For pizza chef Delilah
O’Leary, and her crew, a glitzy Chrismukkah catering gig in one of the local mansions gets things started, but when Delilah’s family shows up out of the blue with their own set of hostilities and anxiety-producing behavior in tow, things take a decidedly unpleasant turn. And any hopes that the next day’s annual snow-sculpting championship will cheer everyone up—Delilah attends with now-boyfriend Detective Calvin Capone (yes, that Capone family)—are dashed when a corpse is found frozen in the ice. Quigley employs a large cast of characters, from the formerly incarcerated and now dishwasher “Rabbit” (where did he disappear to?) to Sonya, Delilah’s bestie who helps Delilah sort out her relationship with Capone, to Delilah’s grumpy sister Shea, who most definitely has something up her sleeve. The miracle is that we can follow each character with ease, their identities are so well drawn, while caring about each of them. Add to this a bucketful of red herrings sure to send readers in a dozen different directions. Fire up the pizza, cue Mariah Carey, and make sure the cat is comfortable: cozies just don’t get better than this.

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Review

Schooled in Murder

by Brian Kenney

It’s wonderful to be back in the graves of academe, especially when we are in the expert hands of Victoria Gilbert, series serialist (meaning she writes several series!). This book launches a new series, and it’s just a wee bit meta. Jen Dalton, mystery author and English professor, gets tangled in a real crime—the murder of a colleague—while, of course, writing her own mystery. If she doesn’t manage to solve the crime happening in real life, then one of her students, a talented writer in her own right, will likely be proclaimed guilty. Lucky for Jen, she has a gang ready to help her out—who needs the police?—from a cafeteria manager to a librarian to Zachary Flynn, the incredibly annoying campus shrink whom Jen can’t help but find attractive (it’s right out of Smart Women, Foolish Choices. Wonderfully paced, brimming with great characterization, and with a terrific lead in Jen, this novel will appeal to many mystery readers, from cozy lovers to those just seeking a good, traditional read.

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Review

Haunting and Homicide

by Jeff Ayers

“Lou” Thatcher runs a ghost-tour company in New Orleans, and it’s popular with both the residents and tourists. The tours are so in demand that Lou is contemplating hiring help to run two per night. Lou has the perfect resume for the job, since she can see ghosts. A competitor who consistently clashes with Lou, Adam Brandt, declares her a fraud and wants nothing more than to shut her down and steal her clients. When he’s found murdered, she’s not surprised, but that’s when her life turns upside down. The cute cop considers her the prime suspect, and the ghosts she can see are not very talkative. You would think that Adam would steer her in the right direction of the person responsible for killing him, but he didn’t see who it was, and he also thinks Lou is responsible. The backdrop of New Orleans shines in this fun and chaotic tale of Lou, her gift, and her efforts to prove her innocence without looking like she needs to be hospitalized for talking to folks who are “not there.” This reviewer is dead serious that this haunting and homicide is a terrific series start.

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Review

The Mistletoe Mystery

by Brian Kenney

Are you one of the many fans of Molly the maid? Then you’ll love Prose’s latest work, a novella—this reader finished it on the flight from Boston to New York—centered on the holidays. Since Molly’s much-quoted grandmother has died, the holidays just haven’t been the same. This year, though, boyfriend Juan Manuel is determined to bring joy to Molly every day of Advent. But when a few shadows pass over Molly’s work life in the Regency Grand Hotel, she’s suddenly doubting Juan, love, and their future. What a perfect stocking stuffer!

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Review

Death at a Scottish Christmas

by Henrietta Thornton

Christmas and cozies just go together. And the setting of this particular cozy series, Sea Isle in rural Scotland, is even more perfect than most for a Christmas tale. The seaside town where American doctor Emilia McRoy has made her home celebrates in a big and inclusive way, with traditional Christian festivities rubbing elbows with celebrations like Viking Yule and the Swedish St. Lucia Day. This year, an internationally famous band with roots in the town is visiting, adding at first to the excitement and then to Emilia’s tradition of investigating killings in Sea Isle. Taking the criminal side of the investigation is the doctor’s nemesis/crush Constable Ewan McGregor. Their future possibilities are already happening in the burgeoning, and cute, relationship between Emilia’s assistant, Abigail, and Abigail’s love interest, Henry. The four have their work cut out for them as they pry into secrets in the band’s relationships while dodging the media in a town that wants to help but is naive to the dangers afoot. The great cozy setting is matched here by the lovable but flawed characters and the tricky whodunit element. Readers won’t see the ending coming and will be eager to get Connelly’s two earlier books in the series (An American in Scotland and Death at a Scottish Wedding, both published earlier this year) while they wait for this one.

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Review

A Grim Reaper’s Guide to Catching a Killer

by Brian Kenney

Middle-aged, mid-divorce (although she is still in love with her husband), and mid-pregnancy, Kathy Valence is a no-nonsense, shoot-from-the-hip type of character. She keeps busy working for S.C.Y.T.H.E. (Secure Collection, Yielding, and Transportation of Human Essences), helping transport the souls of the recently departed on to their next phase, until the soul of one of her clients, hip and happening 17-year-old DJ Conner, gets misplaced. Conner insists he was murdered by someone at S.C.Y.T.H.E., and that it is up to Kathy to track down the murderer and find Conner’s soul. All within forty-five days, or else he’ll become a ghost, destined to wander the Earth (no pressure!). What’s so lovely here are the overlapping needs of the characters. Kathy, whose fears and anxieties hold her back from accepting love. Simone, Kathy’s husband, whose only desire is to be allowed to love Kathy and their baby. And Conner, who wants to identify his murderer, be saved by Kathy, and find the love he missed on Earth. Poignant and pleasing, this successful supernatural mystery will long be remembered.

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Review

Knife Skills for Beginners

by Brian Kenney

Cooking as entertainment, from reality shows to competitions to documentaries, couldn’t be more popular, and Murrin’s decision to set Knife Skills in the heart of a London cooking school is a smart one. Located in an old mansion in the super-posh Belgravia neighborhood, the school—which is residential—offers week-long classes for small groups of a dozen or so. The students, a bit of an odd crew, are super excited at meeting their instructor Christian Wager—he’s sort of a Gordon Ramsay type. When Christian shows up, one arm in a cast, and announces that he’s passing the class on to his good buddy Paul Delamare, the class groans in disappointment. Paul isn’t a celebrity like Christian, but he’s a darn good chef, and slowly the class warms up to him. Until there’s a murder as gruesome as you can imagine (hint: cleaver) and the class rather ghoulishly wants to continue the course—corpse be damned!—and with Paul the number-one suspect. From here, the book spirals out—there are red herrings galore, and nearly everyone seems to be a suspect at one point or another. Lots of fun to be had, especially with the characters Murrin creates.

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Review

Olive You to Death

by Jeff Ayers

South Cove, the number one tourist trap on the Pacific Coast Highway, becomes a haven again for mystery and intrigue. Jill learns that the venue where she and her police detective boyfriend, Greg, will get married, is unavailable, and she begins to sweat. Another wedding between local antique dealer Josh and his younger girlfriend, Mandy, goes awry when she vanishes without a trace. Was she kidnapped, or did she bail on the wedding and run away, like most of the locals think? An old journal that Josh discovers proves problematic when a professor he was conferring with dies under mysterious circumstances that appear to be related to the journal, which just might contain a treasure map. Jill wants to solve both the disappearance of Mandy and who killed the professor, but she’ll have to do it behind her fiancé’s back. Cahoon juggles a lot of details, but it all works with her charming town and compelling characters. The multi-layered mysteries keep the reader both guessing and turning the pages. Even 16 books in, the series still seems fresh and engaging. Whether your first visit to South Cove or your 16th, it’s a town where you will want to stay for a while.

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