And Then There Were Crumbs #TheCozyMysteryBookClub January Book!

 I am glad that The Cozy Mystery Club is kicking off 2022 with this book, the last couple of books we read were more miss than hit for me, so it was nice to start the year with this solid cozy.  You can join us on YouTube tomorrow for the live stream.  Ben and Angela are always fun when they talk about cozies!

I

 think this is a really good start to a cozy series.  I love the location and while there are a lot of characters, we really get to know the key people around Kate.  I enjoyed how residents of the town embraced Kate right off the bat, it made me feel like I was in Hallmark Movie.

A couple of things make this book a stand-out Cozy.  First of all, the way the killer angle is approached is so clever!  (I cannot say more, you must read this book!) and secondly Maxi is a fantastic sidekick, she isn't just comic relief, she is right there in the thick of it with Kate and lends a lot to the story. She is more a partner-in -solving-crime than a sidekick, I really enjoyed that part of the book.

Oh, I almost forgot one more trait this book had that made it rise above many cozies for me.  Kate has a small almost magical skill.  I am a huge fan of an amateur sleuth that has one unique skill that sets her apart.

5 stars! 

Death Bee Comes Her - The July Book of the Month for The Cozy Mystery Book Club!

 

 

 Join us tomorrow for the youtube live stream! There are some great DIY honey recipes in this book. I am definitely going to make the salve for the dog's paws for our dog. If you like a cozy mystery where the amateur sleuth is very connected to her cozy companion, you will like this book. If you are looking for spooky season reads, this one is pretty Halloweeny! 

 Overall I thought this was a decent first book in a cozy mystery series, I found the sheriff to be very cookie cutter and I thought the other love interest would have more to do with the central mystery. This book could have been turned into a real psychological thriller if Porsche was the murderer instead of the best friend...but don't worry this is cozy! 

I really enjoyed the honey recipes, tips, and general information about bees shared in the book. I thought Wren was likable enough, I didn't really connect with her that much. I appreciated that for a change, our main character called a lawyer instead of running around talking to everyone and waiting to get themselves arrested.  However, I felt that we don't really learn very much about Wren in this first book, lots of backstories to come I assume. 

 My star rating is 3.5. The best part of the book for me was bee talk.

Let's Hope This Warm Up Is Here To Stay! Plus! NEW Cozy Series Book- Farm to Trouble!

Prolific cozy mystery writer Amanda Flower is out with a new series.  I was drawn to this series by the fresh look of the cover and the fun title. I'm excited to say this is the book of the month for June's Cozy Mystery Book Club. I am reading it early because this is when I was able to borrow it from my library! 

This is the story of Shiloh Bellamy who grew up on a farm in Northwestern Michigan and then moved to California where she built a career as a television producer.  Now she is back in her hometown to help her very taciturn father save their farm which has gone fallow (i.e. weeds no crops).  First, she finds out the family home is in terrible shape and then she stumbles across a dead body.

I had trouble reconciling Shiloh's career as a television producer, a tough job that requires the ability to lead as well as sell people on ideas and meet tough deadlines, with her passivity and lack of self-confidence in the book.  Far too often people berate her, far too often she is running here and there chasing after things other people want her to do.  Her personality didn't match a successful 38-year-old television producer. 

The person who is killed is a terrible person, that is always a plus in my book when it comes to cozy mysteries. However, in this book, Shiloh has more than a couple of unpleasant friends and family.  I didn't enjoy spending time with them as the book progressed. 

Cozies are so much about plucky MCs and Community.  I love reading about protagonists who aren't afraid to ask questions or speak up for themselves and in this book Shiloh doesn't advocate for herself and is surrounded by people who are family who mistreat her and acquaintances who call her a murderer and a killer from the moment of the murder. 

This is a three-star read for me. 

*****

Can you believe it is already just about mid-May?  My oldest has finished his Junior year of college and second son is finishing his first year of college finals this week, and my youngest child is at an AP test right now.  We can taste summertime! However, the weather has been more like the Ides of March than the cusp of summer for the past week. My weather app says we should start seeing 70s by next week; but, that is what the app said last week and all we got were the mid-50s.  Not Cool Mother Nature!  --Well really, it is cool, that's the problem!  

Time files! 

Ready for some Coziness? #NetGalley #PintofNoReturn

 Trinidad is one of the three former wives of a white-collar criminal named Gabe.  She is now divorced from said con-man and has relocated to her ex-husband's hometown.  Why?  Well, the only good thing he seems to have done was leave her a building in Upper Sprocket, Oregon.  Trinidad Jones is opening an ice cream shop that will feature fantastical giant shakes with loads of toppings that she calls Freakshakes.  Just a few weeks before her July 4th opening, Trinidad stumbles across a dead body.  

Dana Mentink's book includes everything that makes a cozy a cozy.  We have a quirky small town, We have an amateur sleuth who is new to town. Trinidad has this wonderful dog named Noodles who flunked out of service-dog school and was rescued by her. Trinidad makes a friend and that draws her into the murder investigation.  Trinidad also meets Quinn the nut farmer who is a military veteran that is also the caretaker of his brother. I can't imagine anyone reading this book and not thinking Quinn is a great guy.  There is a real tender friendship, leading to affection and a future romance (?) between Trinidad and Quinn that is so lovely to read. 

The suspects all have good motives and the red herrings and clues make perfect sense in the story.  I appreciated that in this series the police chief is not a love interest, and she is portrayed as very competent at her job.  Additionally, as the story and the sleuthing goes on, Trinidad isn't out running around putting herself in danger and leaving the police investigation out of the loop. 

I think this is an excellent example of a cozy mystery and I would recommend it to anyone looking to start reading the genre.  I'm looking forward to reading more in the series!

5 stars, I don't really have any complaints! 

I received an ARC of this book from #NetGalley, #PintofNoReturn.  All of the opinions are mine!