Lighthouse? Check. Library? Check. Library cat? Check. Wedding? Check. Amateur sleuth? Check. Murder? Of course, check. There is a little bit of everything cozy in Something Read, Something Dead. Lucy is the assistant librarian at the Lighthouse Library in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. She is helping her cousinContinue Reading
A Dangerous Collaboration between Veronica and Stoker’s brother, the Viscount, result in a much more gothic entry in the series. Veronica Speedwell is not your typical Victorian woman. She doesn’t believe in marriage but does believe in male companionship. Veronica has a career as a lepidopterist, or butterfly researcher. SheContinue Reading
In House on Fire, Leigh and Pete are returning home early from their fifth wedding anniversary trip when they get a call from Leigh’s fourteen-year-old daughter, Chrissy. She is calling from the police station, where her stepbrother, Pete’s eighteen-year-old son Kip, is in custody. Kip was planning on spending theContinue Reading
Beautiful Bad tells the story of Maddie and Ian’s relationship that ended in murder. The story starts with a bang: a female calls 911, a child screams in the background and the call is abruptly cut off. When police arrive, they find a large bloodstain on the open concept kitchen’sContinue Reading
The third Lobster Shack mystery, Drawn and Buttered, is another great cozy mystery. It’s Halloween in Mystic Bay Connecticut. A giant Lobzilla goes missing! Houses are broken into but nothing is taken! A witch is afoot! Someone is murdered (of course)! Allie is out of her ankle cast but cannotContinue Reading
With insane killers imprisoned in a castle fortress rumored to house the Devil himself and a brutal serial killer terrorizing nearby Prague, the Devil Aspect has plenty of plot and a whole lot of creepy, gothic atmosphere. It is 1935 in a rural village outside Prague. A new psychotherapist arrivesContinue Reading
Silent Patient is a spellbinding whipsaw of a thrill ride where you won’t see the end coming! Alicia kills her husband who she appeared to be head-over-heels in love with. She is arrested, tried, found guilty and taken to a mental health facility. Throughout the ordeal, Alicia refuses to discussContinue Reading
The Murder Pit is a witty take on Victorian London with frequent humorous potshots at the Holmes canon that also contains an intriguing mystery. If you ever wanted more humor in, say, the Hounds of the Baskervilles, this book is for you! Arrowood is a consulting detective for the poorerContinue Reading
How many books in this series am I going to read hoping they return to the interesting plots and non-stilted dialogue of the first few? It appears at least one more called the Chocolate Cream Pie Murder. Hannah is once again being harassed by the annoying Ross. Usually I wouldContinue Reading
Married Superior Court Judge Juliana fails to use good Judgment and has an one-night stand at an out-of-town conference. Juliana decides to never repeat her mistake and returns to her courtroom. Unfortunately, she then sees the man sit down as a member of the defense counsel. The man blackmails herContinue Reading
After She’s Gone was named Best Swedish Crime Novel for good reason—realistic characterizations, a compelling mystery, and a haunting setting. Swedish Police Detective Malin is called back to her rural hometown to investigate the murder of a five-year-old girl. Ironically, Malin found the girl’s skeleton eight years earlier when onlyContinue Reading
A historical mystery set in 1926, but written in 2018, describes a Death at the Wychbourne Follies. Lady Gertrude Ansley was an actress before landing her Marquess husband and retiring. Wishing to relive her youthful adventures she invites her fellow actors to her country house, Wychbourne Court. She hopes toContinue Reading
In the Wedding Guest, Alex Delaware and Milo are back in the 34th police procedural in their series. A scantily clad woman is found garroted and posed on a toilet during a wedding reception. The venue is a seedy former strip club, which fits in with the reception’s theme ofContinue Reading
Death by Committee is a cozy mystery that emphasizes romance and quilting more than sleuthing. Abby’s recently deceased elderly Aunt Sybil left her a house. Abby hires several goats to eat some overgrown foliage in the backyard. One goat uncovers Dolly, Sybil’s rival, who is buried in the backyard inContinue Reading
Criminally Cocoa is a chocolate amuse bouche for fans of the Amish Candy Shop series while awaiting the next full-length series entry in June 2019. Bailey takes her Amish cousin, Charlotte, to New York City to tape the pilot for Bailey’s new cable TV show, Bailey’s Amish Sweets. Luckily, CharlotteContinue Reading
A terminally ill man calls his family and friends together to compete for his entire fortune in a Testament to Murder. Malcolm invites his ne’er-do-well nephew, Hugh, and Hugh’s gold-digging American wife, Patty, for a weeklong visit to Malcolm’s extensive estate. Malcolm’s ex-wife, Cecily, and his ex-partner, Howard, along withContinue Reading