Reading Fanatic Reviews
Cozy MysteriesMissing You by Shereen Vedam
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Missing You*
Spy Heroine in Cozy Mystery?
I am a big fan of cozy mysteries, so I was intrigued by this book. Cozies usually take place in small, made-up towns full of quirky characters; the mystery of themselves can be either silly or serious. I found I didn’t particularly like this book because I just couldn’t get behind the idea of cozy mystery heroine being an actual spy. Whenever the heroine mentioned her job, it just didn’t ring true for a cozy mystery. It seemed to make the whole book too serious for a cozy. Also, parts of the book took place outside of a small town (yes, I know it is listed as a travel mystery!); to me, that is one of the requirements of a cozy (that and an amateur sleuth). The concept just didn’t work for me. The writing itself is fine, at times humorous though not as often as is usually the case for a cozy mystery. It took a while, too, to get to the actual mystery of the book; it felt like the book meandered for quite a while without much purpose (or interest). The romance line fell flat for me as well. I’ve read other books by this author and enjoyed them, but this one was not my cup of tea.
The Medium Place by Erin Huss
Available at Amazon
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The Medium Place*
Another Paranormal Cozy in this Humorous Series
I had thoroughly enjoyed the first book of the series, so I was very pleased to see this show up at one of the book review sites that I use. I looked forward to starting it because I had hopes that the author would continue to amuse me with the delightful Zoe, her zany neighbors, and her spirits.
I was not disappointed, I am happy to report. This book is as humorous, if not more, so than the first but not in the way that feels over the top. It feels just right and very appropriate for Zoe and the crazy characters that live in her small town. What an unusual spirit to approach her! One with terrible wounds and such a mystery to figure out, made all the more difficult and conflict-inducing because the sheriff sees Zoe as a suspect.
If you enjoyed the previous book, with Zoe’s humor and interesting relationships with those living and dead, you will most likely enjoy the second book of the series as well. If you enjoy paranormal cozy mysteries, you should give this author and this series a try.
A New Witch in Town by Jenny Bankhead
Available at Amazon
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A New Witch in Town*
Paranormal Cozy is Missing Some Pieces
Lorna has inherited an English cottage from an old aunt. She decides to give up her job and no-good fiance in Tennessee and start a new life in England. The cast of quirky characters starts coming around the new place and introducing themselves. Lorna has barely settled in when a murder rocks the sleepy town of Tweed-upon-Slumber. Lorna’s inquisitive nature makes her want to help figure it out.
I was intrigued by the concept of the book. I love a good witchy paranormal cozy mystery. However, I was put off by several elements. There was quite a bit of head hopping, even just for brief moments. Occasionally, the author switched to an omniscient viewpoint, telling us things that the character couldn’t know or wouldn’t know yet. At the very outset, several things just didn’t ring true to me. They are tiny details, but enough to affect my suspension of disbelief. For instance, her aunt has only recently died, but the house is in total disarray with cobwebs, lots of dust everywhere, and rotting furniture. Even if it took Lorna a while to settle her affairs in the States and get to England, this doesn’t seem like it would be accurate; could the place get so bad so quickly. Another tiny quibble was that the author stated that Lorna only was given a small snack on her transatlantic flight; having just done one not too long ago, you usually do get a proper meal.
The book started with a bit of an informational dump about Lorna’s past and all that brought her to claim her inheritance in England. The parade of neighbors didn’t feel quite right either. Cozy mysteries definitely need to have a cast of quirky characters, but we’re not usually introduced to them one right after the other in one setting. Typically, the protagonist will meet someone around town or at an event. It almost felt like an information dump for characters!
Inexplicably, this cozy mystery takes place in the 1990s. I’m not sure why the author felt the need to make it happen that long ago. It was simply jarring when I first read the word “nineties” in relation to time. Before that, I had assumed it was contemporary, so I had to read that line more than once to understand the context of the word and that it’s a story that supposedly takes place twenty years ago.
Because of the odd setup on several points, I can’t fully recommend this book.
Irish Aisles are Smiling by Laura Dunham
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, Scribd, 24 Symbols, Mondadori, Angus & Robinson
Irish Aisles are Smiling*
Fun Murder Mystery in Ireland
Wedding Belles, the wedding planning agency, is taking the show on the road to Ireland! This book had just the right amount of humor without being over the top. I visited Ireland some time ago, so I particularly enjoyed the descriptions of driving on the other side of the road. The author describes the settings well, enough that you can visualize the interesting places that the characters are at but not so much that you feel dragged it down by too much description. I quite enjoyed this book because the writer had the right balance of suspense, quirky characters, and humor.
Fudge and Murder by Maisy Morgan
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Fudge and Murder*
Slow-Moving Cozy Mystery
When the book opens, Grandma Mary and grandson Tripp are enjoying a relaxing weekend in a cabin owned by the parents of one of Tripp’s friends. At a swimming party later, one of the dads falls off the roof to his death. Is this simply an accident or has the man been murdered? Officer Preston will be leading the official investigation, but Mary and Tripp can’t help joining the investigation.
I enjoy cozy mysteries a lot. I will admit that I’m used to certain pacing and conventions in them. For instance, the murderer or foul play usually happens pretty quickly, usually within the first 8% to 10% of the book (and sometimes even sooner). That was not the case here. In this book, the man didn’t fall from the roof until around 27%. The time before that was spent showing Grandma and grandson’s evolving relationship as well as the newly forming relationship between the friend’s entire family and Mary and Tripp. I felt like I kept waiting for something to happen. I knew this was a cozy, I knew from the blurb that a murder was involved, so I felt like I kept turning pages waiting for the story to really start. The pacing of the rest of the book—the part after the murder—felt slow to me. Because so much time was taken before the murder, I didn’t feel like there is enough space left to build the suspense, throw in red herrings, and otherwise develop the normal plot devices needed in a mystery to keep you turning the pages.
Snow Mercy by Wendy Meadows
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Snow Mercy*
Of Murder and Muggings
Sarah and Amanda are just out shopping when they are accosted by a short man who wants to mug them. They don’t take him too seriously, and soon they decide to get him a bite to eat and perhaps buy him some better clothes. Soon, a man is murdered, and the would-be mugger is suspect number one. The ladies don’t believe he’s guilty and set out to protect him and figure out what actually happened. Manford’s past comes back to haunt him.
I’ve read quite a lot of books by Wendy Meadows, and I don’t quite recall the problem that I’m seeing in this book being in the other ones I’ve read. For whatever reason, in this book, she does a lot of head hopping. Scenes, to me, flow more seamlessly if they’re in the head of one character for discrete chunks of time. At times in this book, the viewpoint character shifted from paragraph to paragraph, which is disconcerting and jarring. There is a lot of humor in this book; the first scene of the near mugging is actually quite humorous as the women just will not take him seriously. The book has sufficient suspense and mystery surrounding Manford, with good twists and turns that kept me turning the pages to see how it would turn out.
Death of a Debtor by Jenna Harte
Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Death of a Debtor*
Coming Home Again is Not Easy
Sophie Parker has returned to her hometown with her tail between her legs and barely two dimes to rub together after her father and brother were imprisoned for running a Ponzi scheme. Sophie isn’t finding much forgiveness from people she knew all her life even though she had nothing to do with her family’s criminality. She works as a pirate wench at a theme restaurant to pay the bills, and it’s barely doing that. Right when she’s about to suffer some embarrassment about not being able to pay for her groceries even though she has coupons, her old crush from high school steps in, pays, and helps her save face. Soon, however, things go from bad to worse when that crush is murdered, and Sophie is suspect number one.
I loved Sophie’s character. She lived life in the highest echelons of society, and now she’s doing what she has to do to survive. She’s resilient and resourceful and still has an honest pride and self-esteem despite what life has thrown at her and what others think about her. Like all good cozies, this book had a cast of quirky characters, including the Sophie’s Aunt Rose, whom she promised her father she would help take care of, and a diverse group of people in a couponing group who help her figure out the murder. I think it’s a fun idea to use couponing as the basis of a series of cozy mysteries. I love cozies, and I don’t think I’ve seen that particular spin on a cozy before. The dialogue is snappy, and Sophie’s interior monologue shows both her humor and her desperation, making her a real character. The book has some odd problems with grammar, punctuation, and usage. She had more creative comma issues than most. But this didn’t detract from the story, and I feel like this is a great start to a fun new cozy mystery series.
Oopsy Daisy by Lucy May
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Oopsy Daisy*
Daisies Galore!
In this installment of the Charm Cove mystery series, daisies are literally falling from the sky. First it is just a little, but daisy dumps from the heavens just keep happening. They soon overrun the town, and these flowers don’t seem to die or wilt. Magical people in the town attempt to stem the daily tide, but it only gets worse. The daisies start to change color, and soon they are acting like aggressive vines that can even take over a house. What are the residents of Charm Cove to do?
If you’ve enjoyed previous installments of the Charm Cove mystery series, you will most likely enjoy this light and fanciful tale about the town being overrun by, of all things, daisies. Even if you haven’t read other books in the series, the author does a good job as at peppering in a little background about the town and the characters here and there as you need to know. Refreshingly, she doesn’t do an information dump, as often happens in later volumes in a series. The town is full of quirky characters, like a good cozy. So far, all the books I’ve read in this series are wicked good paranormal cozy mysteries—pun intended!
Birthday Pie Burial by Diana DuMont
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Birthday Pie Burial*
Who Would Murder an Old Main in His 100th Birthday?
Nearly all of Sunshine Springs has turned out for Edgar’s 100th birthday. Izzy is there supplying boozy and non-alcoholic pies for the celebration. Edgar’s plan for a big speech after the fireworks doesn’t transpire because, while the sky is alight, somebody shoots Edgar. Who in the crowd would have wanted Edgar dead? Initial thoughts turn to Edgar’s new thirtysomething girlfriend, but Izzy doesn’t think that’s quite right, so she and Sprinkles decide to investigate.
If you read the previous book in the series about fictitious Sunshine Springs located not far from San Francisco, then you know about Izzy, who owns Drunken Pie Cafe, and her Dalmatian, Sprinkles. Izzy is a would-be amateur sleuth who is now looking into a second untimely death. Like any good cozy, we have a small town with quirky characters and a plot that twists and turns, with a few red herrings thrown in. The author’s writing style is very easy to read, and Izzy is a smart woman who’s fun to watch as she tries to unravel the clues.
Oh, and I totally want to try the apple bourbon pie or the lemon vodka pie!
If you like cozy mysteries with a slight culinary bent and an intelligent heroine, you might enjoy this book and the series.
Bridge to Eternity Romola Farr
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Free with Kindle Unlimited
Bridge to Eternity*
Not Just Any Property… or Place
Audrey decides to buy an old boarding school in the north of England; she’s from the south. The place has been empty for a long time, and she was able to get it at a reasonable price. The realtor wasn’t pleased to get this assignment, as she felt that it would never sell. But it did; Tina feels guilty that she didn’t disclose the place is supposedly haunted. Even as Tina tried to prepare the property for sale, it gave her a creepy feeling. When’s Audrey moves in, we meet a quirky cast of characters from the neighboring area. Audrey finds an old diary that details events of a particular time at the school. Audrey even meets a widower who is of interest to her, but what secrets is he hiding?
I felt this book meandered a bit. The writing could have been tightened. Quite often, I just didn’t feel like much was going on, or I wasn’t sure where a scene was supposed to take me. The book also jumps around a bit in time, which seemed a little confusing on occasion. There is an essential mystery here, but I felt like its resolution was abrupt. The main text takes up about 82% of the book. The rest is the first act of a play that Audrey and Tina supposedly act in.
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