When her best hope of saving her storm-damaged library is found murdered, senior librarian Cleo Watkins hits the road in her bookmobile in search of justice.
Septuagenarian librarian Cleo Watkins won’t be shushed when an upstart young mayor threatens to permanently shelve her tiny town’s storm-damaged library. She takes to her bookmobile, Words on Wheels, to collect allies and rally library support throughout Catalpa Springs, Georgia.
However, Cleo soon rolls into trouble. A major benefactor known for his eccentric DIY projects requests all available books on getting away with murder. He’s no Georgia peach, and Cleo wonders if she should worry about his plans. She knows she should when she discovers him bludgeoned and evidence points to her best friend, Mary-Rose Garland.
Sure of Mary-Rose’s innocence, Cleo applies her librarian’s sleuthing skills to the case, assisted by friends, family, and the dapper antiquarian bookseller everyone keeps calling her boyfriend. Evidence stacks up, but a killer is overdue to strike again. With lives and her library on the line, Cleo must shift into high gear to close the book on murder in Better Off Read, the charming Bookmobile series debut by Nora Page. (Summary via Goodreads)
I really thought I knew who the bad guy was. I was pretty certain I had it in the bag but Nora Page really tangled it up in Better Off Read. But hey I am not complaining at all !!
Better Off Read is a captivating page turner and Page has you falling in love with librarian Cleo Watkins, her cat, Rhett Butler, and the town of Catalpa Springs, Georgia...close to Florida but not too close for Cleo.
Even though Cleo should have retired already, her love and devotion of books keeps her young. And even though the library isn't open due to storm damage, she still has the bookmobile, Words on Wheels, to keep her busy. However, when a grouchity old neighbor is murdered and her grandson, Ollie, is the main suspect, Cleo will do whatever she can to prove his innocence.
Better Off Read will keep the reader thoroughly engrossed with the murders, secrets, blackmailing, grouchy old people you cannot help but laugh at, (we all know 1 or 2 in our own lives) the food, the relationships, dogs and a cat !!
Page has done an excellent job setting the stage for future Bookmobile Mystery books and I, for one, will have my library card at the ready.....
Review by Missi S.
In the first of a delectable new Southern-set baking cozy series, Sophia Cummings, pastry chef extraordinaire, must craft the perfect cake for an old friend’s wedding while sifting through the suspects in a murder.
Bucolic Rumford, Kentucky has glowing fields of bluegrass, a fine selection of bourbons, and now a professional pastry chef. Broken-hearted Sophia Cummings has come home from New York City. She’s not there a minute before she’s charmed into making her high school friend Charlotte’s wedding cake. The kitchen at the Rumford Country Club seems perfect until Chef Emile’s body is discovered, sprawled near the stove, a cast iron skillet on the floor close by.
With one look at the shiny, new frying pan, Sophia knows it’s not Emile’s. She offers her knowledge to Sheriff Carter and her talents to Evelyn, the manager, who needs an interim chef. The mood in the country club is grim: Emile’s peppery personality had burned members and staff alike. Sophia wonders which one of them burned him?
Perfect for fans of Joanne Fluke and JoAnna Carl, Cake and Punishment―with authentic Southern recipes!―will satisfy your sweet tooth. (Summary via Goodreads)
Grab a glass of sweet tea or a cookie before you pick up Cake & Punishment by Maymee Bell. You will want a sweet treat while you are reading it !! ( You can thank me later....)
Cake & Punishment introduces you to Sophia Cummings who returns home for a "short" visit after catching her boyfriend in the act. She thinks that she is only home for a short time to mend her broken heart but her mama, Bitsy, has a completely different plan.
Within a matter of a New York minute of being back home in Rumford, Kentucky Sophia has agreed to make a wedding cake for her friend Charlotte. As they are discussing the cake at the Country Club, they happen upon the body of Emile, the head cook of the Country Club.
All Sophia wants to do is make Charlotte's wedding cake but when the manager of the Country Club hits the top of the list of murder suspects, she finds herself knee deep in investigating. This puts her in hot water with the Sheriff. Unfortunately Bitsy and friends are hoping to keep Sophia and the Sheriff together personally ..... not professionally.
I just LOVED the Southern town feel of Cake & Punishment !!! And having the main character a baker who only wants to bake treats and make everyone feel good is always a win in my book. The relationships that develop throughout the story leave the reader looking forward to the next installment of The Southern Cake Baker Mystery series. I, for one, cannot wait to see what recipe Sophia bakes up.....
I love that some cozy mystery books include recipes in the back of the book and with Cake & Punishment I took advantage of that. My mom and I baked up Kentucky Derby Pie which was featured in the story and I can say it was a winner !!!! Take a look.....
Review by Missi S.
For fortysomething Poppy McAllister, taking a stroll down memory lane in Cape May, New Jersey, isn’t just awkward—it’s deadly.
Newly widowed and stuck in a middle-aged funk, Poppy has been running on cookies, infomercials, and one-sided chats with her cat for months. There’s no way on earth she’s attending her twenty-five-year class reunion—especially after receiving a very bizarre letter from Barbie, the popular cheerleader who taunted her all through high school. At least, not until Poppy’s best friend practically drags her to the event . . .
Using the dreaded homecoming as an excuse to visit her eccentric Aunt Ginny, Poppy vows to leave Cape May with pride and Spanx intact. Too bad Barbie is still the queen of mean at the reunion. And worse, that her dead body is lying right in front of Poppy’s old locker. Singled out as the killer, it’s up to Poppy to confront her past and clear her name. But between protecting her aunt from disaster and tackling a gluten-free diet, can Poppy crack the case before she’s voted “Most Likely to Die” by the murderer?
Includes Seven Recipes from Poppy’s Kitchen! (Summary via Goodreads)
If you graduated from high school in the late 80's like me, you will really appreciate a lot of things that Class Reunions are Murder has to offer. Libby Klein takes the reader on a nice journey down memory lane.....and there are TWO mysteries !!
Class Reunions are Murder starts with you getting to know Poppy who is dealing with the death of her husband. All she wants to do is stay in her pj's, eat, sleep, and hang with her cat Figaro. Unfortunately her best friend Sawyer persuades her to go back home to attend their 25th year class reunion. As much as she doesn't want to go, she also doesn't want to let her friend down. Plus she will be going back to her childhood home and seeing her Aunt Ginny.
As in a lot of schools, Poppy and Sawyer and their friends dealt with "bullying" and the head of the "bullying club" was Barbie and Barbie hasn't changed at all. So when Barbie is found dead with a pompom stuffed in her mouth at the reunion people aren't overly shocked. Unfortunately she was found in front of Poppy's locker by Poppy !!
Even though the list of suspects is long, their old classmate, Amber, who is on the police force now only has eyes for Poppy.
While Poppy tries to stay out of jail for a murder she did not commit, Aunt Ginny has a huge problem also. Aunt Ginny is trying to stay out of the nursing home !! An employee from the Department of Youth & Family Services has been coming around saying that they have received numerous complaints that Aunt Ginny is unfit to live alone. Aunt Ginny make be a number of things, but unfit is not one of them.
Even though there is a lot going on in Class Reunions are Murder, Klein has the ability to keep the reader completely focused and so engrossed in the story that you feel like you are right there in New Jersey. You will instantly fall in love with Poppy and appreciate her strength and determination.
I had an extremely hard time putting the book down and when I got to the end and both mysteries were solved, it was mind blowing..... But nothing could have prepared me for the way Klein ended the book....an ending with a HUGE opening.... I cannot wait until I get my hands on the next book in this series, Midnight Snacks are Murder, to see where things are heading for Poppy and Aunt Ginny..
Review by Missi S.
The old lady's body lay at the foot of the stairs. The police believe it was an accidental fall that killed great-aunt Jane. Young Australian Belinda Lawrence is convinced it was murder and when she inherits her great-aunt's ancient cottage and garden on the outskirts of Bath, England, she finds herself deep in a taut mystery surrounding her legacy.
A second vicious murder by a ruthless killer intensifies the tension and Belinda, now under threat herself, is befriended by two charming men: her neighbour Jacob and real estate agent Mark Sallinger. But can she trust them? And what interest has befuddled antique dealer Hazel Whitby in the cottage? (Summary via Goodreads)
When you read the brief description of Capable of Murder by Brian Kavanagh on the back of the book, you know that Great-aunt Jane is going to die. There is hardly a surprise there and you may even know that after Belinda, her great-niece and main character, receives the letter asking her to visit that she will be dead upon Belinda's arrival.
And if you read the entire description on the back of the book, you see that Belinda does not agree that her aunt's death was an accident and you will be so engrossed in the story and her interest in finding the killer that when someone else ends up dead, which we were forewarned of, it will totally blow your mind and make you STOP reading while you TRY to grasp this person's death !!
Kavanagh grabs the reader from page one and continues that hold until you read the last words. And not one to ruin anything for the reader but the last paragraph will have you extremely overjoyed that Capable of Murder is the first installment in the Belinda Lawrence Mystery series and there are more great books following it.
Now that Belinda is finally settled into her new home in this quaint English village and she has TWO murders solved, she can sit back, relax in her new home and garden, and get to know the area. I'm sure nothing else could possibly go wrong..... But if you are a huge fan of Capable of Murder like me, we can only hope something goes bad....
Review by Missi S.
Agnes Blythe and her glamorous Aunt Effie must take a break from restoring their inn to rake in the clues when a local mechanic is murdered in national bestselling author Maia Chance’s charming second Agnes & Effie mystery.
It’s leaf-peeping season in Naneda, New York, and Agnes Blythe has settled into helping her eccentric Great Aunt Effie restore the Stagecoach Inn. It seems nothing can shatter the golden idyll―or the ka-ching of cash registers―until a mechanic at Hatch Automotive is found bludgeoned to death with a wrench.
Sweeping into action, Agnes and Aunt Effie are on the scene, when a tourist-laden motor coach breaks down outside of town. The Stagecoach Inn isn’t exactly ready for guests, but Agnes and Effie agree to take in a group of seniors while they wait for repairs. But then, Agnes finds herself pulled into the investigation when she learns her new boyfriend, gorgeous Otis Hatch, is the Naneda Police Department’s prime suspect.
With bodies falling faster than the foliage, Agnes must leaf through the more viable suspects and clear Otis’s name of murder in Bad Neighbors, the charming second Agnes and Effie mystery from national bestselling author Maia Chance. (Summary via Goodreads)
Following Agnes and Aunt Effie around is exhaustingly fun !!! I love the Agnes and Effie Mystery series by Maia Chance. There is NEVER a dull moment when reading these books !! And Bad Neighbors does not disappoint !!!
If you are a fan of cozy mysteries you know that the premise of these books is that they are usually set around a small town where everyone knows everyone. Yes there is a murder and yes the main character who knows next to nothing about solving the crime jumps full force into solving the case. This is not because the law enforcement in the town can't do it but because either the murdered victim is someone close to the main character or the main suspect is someone close to the main character. And in Bad Neighbors the main suspect is Agnes' boyfriend, Otis....so naturally Agnes and Aunt Effie are on the case !!!
But with it being the height of the fall foliage season in Naneda and the whole town is involved in the
annual Harvest Festival a murder is not something the town wants people focusing on.....especially with a judge in town judging all of the festivities.
While Agnes and Aunt Effie are hosting a few stranded tourists who are having vehicle trouble, they venture around town asking innocent questions trying to prove Otis is innocent but then when another member of the community is found murdered as well, it makes things more difficult.....
I am always amazed at the talent that authors have with their story telling and the way they circle around things and have the reader believing one thing but then as quick as you turn the page, you are being taken down yet another believable path...... And Maia Chance has you turning pages faster than the leaves are changing color and convinced that you know who the real killer is until Aunt Effie lights up another cigarette and with that the tables turn yet again......
So go to your comfy place with your beverage and snack of choice and hunker down for a while. Once you open Bad Neighbors you will be in for a while......
Review by Missi S.
A charming and clever traditional mystery debut set at a bucolic Welsh convent, The Shadow of Death introduces Sister Agatha, a mystery-loving nun who finds herself in the midst of a real-life murder case.
The sisters of Gwenafwy Abbey have cherished their contemplative life—days spent in prayer, reflection, tending the Convent’s vegetable gardens and making their award-winning organic cheese, Heavenly Gouda. Life seems perfect, except for Sister Agatha, a die-hard mystery fan who despairs of ever finding any real life inspiration for her own novel. That is, until the Abbey’s sexton is found dead under an avalanche of gouda. Despite the reservations of the local constable, Sister Agatha is convinced it’s murder and the game is afoot.
Armed only with the notes she’s scribbled during her favorite podcast, How to Write a Mystery Novel, as well as a lessons learned from crime heroes ranging from Hercule Poirot to Stephanie Plum, Sister Agatha leads the nuns of Gwenafwy Abbey (and her unwitting sidekick, Father Selwyn) as they begin a race against time to resolve the death of Jacob, save the Abbey, exonerate a beloved postulant, and restore the good name of their cheese. Perfect for fans of G. M. Malliet and M. C. Beaton, The Shadow of Death is divine entertainment from a talented debut writer. (Summary via Goodreads)
The Shadow of Death by Jane Willan is a refreshing change in the cozy mystery book category. The story is centered around a convent and the main character, Sister Agatha, sets out to solve a murder that occured at the Abbey. Of course, Sister Agatha seems the most likely candidate to investigate seeing as she is writing a mystery novel .....
I, for one, when I think about convents and nuns and the life within will admit that I have an "old-fashioned" outlook on what goes on. I have this image of dark and dreary living quarters, limited color, a lot of silent prayer, everyone being very serious and even boring but that is not the case at all with the residents of Gwenafwy Abbey !!! They have cell phones, they make their own cheese, Heavenly Gouda, to sell, Sister Agatha is writing a mystery novel, the Reverend Mother has a basketball on her desk and is known to shoot hoops outside the kitchen late at night, another nun is writing comic books, Sister Agatha and Father Selwyn visit a pub called Saints and Sinners, Father Selwyn drives very fast and the nuns drink wine !!!
I loved so much about The Shadow of Death ..... it really is unlike other cozy mysteries.....and Jane Willan has taken her life and love as a pastor and combined it with her imagination and talent and have provided the reading world with a masterpiece !! I could not put the book down..... I was drawn to every aspect of the story and really, really want a cup of Welsh Brew and a scone......
I highly recommend changing it up a bit and picking up your copy of The Shadow of Death and letting Willan take you on an eye-opening and pleasant journey.....
Review by Missi S.
When Carrie Ann Cole bakes a lemon meringue pie to die for that actually kills someone, she must find out who the real killer is before her time at the Kensington Palace expires.
The elegant Orangery at Kensington Palace is the perfect setting for the bridal shower of Carrie Ann Cole’s best friend’s sister. Personal chef to the royal family, Carrie Ann’s pie theme is naturally winning. But a waiter later keels over dead into the lemon meringue pie she leaves as a thank-you to the staff and Carrie Ann realizes that somebody slipped a mickey into that meringue.
Her floury fingerprints are all over that pie and the authorities suspect her distress is a cover-up for murder. Carrie Ann must set out to clear her name if she wants to stay at her dream job any longer. But all too soon, another body drops in the Orangery. This time, it’s the Orangery chef.
Murder won’t crimp her style, and as bodies pile up, Carrie Ann uncovers palace intrigue, London nightlife, and British pies scouring for the killer in Lord of the Pies, the witty follow-up to Nell Hampton’s Kale to the Queen. (Summary via Goodreads)
I fell in love with Carrie Ann in the first Kensington Palace Chef Mystery book, Kale to the Queen. And now with Lord of the Pies, the second book in this series, I am even deeper in love with her. Not only do I love Carrie Ann but I love everything from her friend Penny to her sexy gardener, Jasper, to Carrie Ann's kitchen and her cute living quarters, to the dishes that she creates for the Royal family......and the storyline !!! Whoa !!!
Living and working in Kensington Palace has got to be the BEST job and life you could want. Yeah I know there is a lot of pressure to do your job and keep your nose clean but how hard can it be ? Well Carrie Ann seems to have NO problem getting in the middle of things even when she's just hanging in the kitchen cooking......
Nell Hampton introduces you to more employees of the Palace as well as some friends of Penny's. And with the introduction of these people, you see some "off the clock" relationships and love triangles that will have your grandmother blushing. And even though Carrie Ann wants nothing to do with married chef's and all-night clubbing, she does want to make more friends. So against her better judgement, she finds herself in the middle of lies, dead bodies and the need to again clear her name and do her best to honor the employee handbook regarding staying out of the tabloids........
I love when a book is based in London and when it's based around Kensington Palace, that's even better !!! And I know you will also !! If you haven't picked up one of Hampton's books yet, I highly recommend doing so. And grab a pint or a cup of tea and a scone and settle in...... You will want to stay for a spell......
Review by Missi S.
