Barbecue Can Be Deadly
8.0
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Sho Tanaka is fired up to support his sister, Jenny, and spice up his life post-nursing career...
Murder on Oak Street (A South Shore Mystery #1)
Book
New York, 1904. After two years as a coroner’s physician for the city of New York, Daniel...
Historical Mystery Cozy
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2200 KP) rated A Second Chance at Murder (A Love Or Money Mystery #2) in Books
Mar 9, 2018
This was a wonderfully creative cozy. The mystery kept me guessing until the end, and the disappearance added a nice element to the story. The characters were strong as well. The race aspect was kept as a sub-plot, and the location in Spain was brought to life so much that I now want to visit.
NOTE: I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2016/01/book-review-second-chance-at-murder-by.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
The Study of Secrets
8.0
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There could be nowhere more fitting for English professor Lila Maclean to spend her sabbatical than...
Death at Wentwater Court (Daisy Dalrymple, #1)
8.0
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This first installment of a cozy mystery series transports listeners back to the bygone era of 1923...
Twisted (Pretty Little Liars, #9)
8.0
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It's been a year since the torturous notes from A stopped and the mystery of Alison DiLaurentis's...
Midge (525 KP) rated The Birthday Mystery in Books
Dec 29, 2018
First, we are introduced to Jenny who is catering for the twenty-first birthday party of upper-class twins, Alicia and Justin. In her late twenties, Jenny is an impressive woman. Curvaceous and sexy, she’s a modern single woman, living the lifestyle that suits her – that of a travelling cook. Her famous father is a ‘celebrity’ cook, divorced from Jenny’s mother. Jenny is happy travelling the country catering for events and cooking great food. She is on a mission to bring back traditional home cooked food and to offer new and exciting recipes made with fresh ingredients. She arrives at the twins family country house located in a picturesque and charming village and is immediately met by the police. A young man has drowned in the pond. Was it an accident or murder?
The birthday party goes ahead and then, just after midnight, everyone gathers for a champagne toast . . . and one of the guests falls down dead. The police are baffled and there is a whole party full of suspects.
Jenny finds crime very distracting, especially when there is chocolate to temper or pike to poach. She is very observant, with an agile mind and an amazing ability to interpret clues and hidden meanings. Her wit and sense of humour help her sanity when all around her, people are dropping like flies. When it comes to someone possibly adding the extra ingredient of poison to her own precious recipes, Jenny isn't going to take it lying down. She has a reputation to protect.
Jenny Starling won't stop until the murderer is found.
There are many suspects in this mystery, clues a-plenty and red herrings all the way through this book. It was a thoroughly satisfying read and I often found myself asking the same questions as Jenny and I was kept in suspense to the end. The pacing in "The Birthday Mystery" was very good and I never lost interest, as it wasn't long before something intriguing would happen. Things came together for a great finish and wrapped everything up very neatly.
I'm definitely looking forward to reading the next novel featuring Jenny Starling very soon and other books by the author, Faith Martin. "The Birthday Mystery" whets your appetite for more to come.
My thanks to NetGalley, Joffe Books and the author for providing me with an advanced copy of this novel.
The Great Witches Baking Show (Great Witches Baking Show #1)
Book
A baker with secrets Witches in trouble The cameras are rolling Ready, set, die. Poppy...
culinary cozy mystery
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2200 KP) rated It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Murder in Books
Oct 29, 2021 (Updated Oct 29, 2021)
Those new to the series are in for a treat. Yes, this is a different cozy series since we have mobsters as characters and it is set in Queens. Yet these elements don’t overwhelm, and this feels like a cozy series. That’s mostly thanks to the characters, who come across as very real and likeable. In addition to the puzzling mystery, there are multiple sub-plots, which keep things hopping as we read the book. I did feel the climax didn’t quite work. Our questions are answered, but it was just a bit much. There’s plenty of Christmas spirit in this book, including a hilarious sub-plot about a Christmas light display contest. We get seven recipes and a couple of event tips at the end of the book. Fans new and old will enjoy spending this Christmas with Mia.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2200 KP) rated Mrs. Claus and the Nightmare Before New Year’s in Books
Sep 25, 2024 (Updated Sep 25, 2024)
If you haven’t read this series yet, you are in for a treat. Yes, it is a cozy as you are thinking it might be, and the author has done a great job of building that cozy world for us to escape into. Yet the mystery is still well done, and April works hard to solve it. In the end, the clues lead her to a logical conclusion. The characters are as charming as ever, and the new ones fit perfectly into this world. I had to laugh and grin at the antics the characters get up to as the story unfolds. Fans of the series will delight in the latest entry. If you haven’t picked up the series, change that soon. After all, skipping it might just put you on the naughty list.
