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Farm Fresh Murder by Paige Shelton

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


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I finished my work book at lunch today. It was Farm Fresh Murder by Paige Shelton, and it’s the first in her “Farmers’ Market” series of cozy mysteries. The main character is Becca Robins, who owns a small farm and sells her produce and preserves at the market.

Becca is keeping busy with creating jams and preserves from her produce, selling at the market, and helping her twin sister get ready for an upcoming dinner to celebrate all the vendors at the market. When one of the vendors is murdered at the market and Becca’s friend, Abner, is considered the prime suspect, she can’t help but get involved. Abner wouldn’t harm a fly, and Becca aims to prove it. Soon she’s asking questions, visiting other vendors at their homes, and traveling to another market. Becca uncovers an old love quadrangle, and she can’t help but feel it holds the key to the current crime, if only she can figure out how the pieces fit.

I liked this for the most part. The farmers’ market was a new angle (for me), Becca has a couple romantic interests, and the narrative unfolded in a sensible fashion. It would have been nice to see less sleuthing from Becca and more of her living life. Characters were three-dimensional, including her dog, Hobbit. My enjoyment of the book was lessened by the foolish (read “stupid”) things Becca did in her zeal to prove Abner innocent.

Favorite line: She was old enough to have gotten over the need to have everyone like her all the time.

Average cozy mystery, average score of three.

( Trope Test )

Knit Fast, Die Young by Mary Kruger

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


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Finished reading my work book at work today, with time left at lunch to spare! It was Knit Fast, Die Young by Mary Kruger. This is the second book in the “Knitting Mysteries” by the author. The main character is Ariadne “Ari” Evans.

Ari is pleased to be attending the Freeport Wool and Yarn Festival, where she encounters old acquaintances and meets new people. One of the attendees is familiar to Ari—Felicia Barr, of Knit it Up! magazine. Felicia is known to be a mean girl, and no one wants to get on her bad side and get dissed in the magazine. When Ari dashes out in the rain to get coffee at one of the other buildings, she didn’t expect Felicia to stumble into her arms, any more than she expected to see a knitting needle sticking out of Felicia’s back. Now the woman is dead, and there are several suspects on-site, including Ari. She swore she wouldn’t get involved in another murder investigation, but Ari is uniquely suited to assist her kinda-sorta boyfriend, Detective Josh Pierce. Josh is hoping Ari can help unravel the mystery before anyone else dyes. Hah!

I didn’t really care for this. Fabric arts are not my cuppa tea, but I could have overlooked that if the story itself had been more enjoyable. Most of the action took place over the course of one day and in one location—the fairgrounds where the murder took place. As a result, I was left feeling like I didn’t learn much about any of the characters nor the (typical series) setting. Ari did provide some helpful clues, but she made a cringe-worthy false accusation of one of the other suspects. I also didn’t like that her friend, Diane, took every opportunity to snipe about Josh. Give it a rest! Also ( Editing error, ahoy! )

Favorite lines:
♦ “Spinners and knitters and murderers, oh my.”
♦ “I’ll put the skating back on. Michelle Kwan can take your mind off anything.”

I’d give this 2.5 stars if I could. I’ll be kind and bump it up to a three. It was no better than average, in my opinion.

( Trope Test )

Extra Sensory Deception by Allison Kingsley

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


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I completed the book Extra Sensory Deception by Allison Kingsley last night. It’s the 4th in her “Raven’s Nest” series of cozy mysteries with a paranormal element. The main character is Clara Quinn.

Clara owns a bookshop, The Raven’s Nest, with her cousin, Stephanie. Clara has also inherited the Quinn Sense, which is an extra-sensory ability that allows her to tell if someone is lying, and she occasionally has visions. When Clara’s boyfriend, Rick, asks her to put up some posters for the rodeo coming to town, the clown on the poster leads her to a vision of death and danger. Rick is excited about the rodeo because one of his buddies, Wes, will be participating. He asks Clara to accompany him, and she reluctantly agrees. Clara is surprised to enjoy herself at the rodeo, until a woman is found dead and Wes is tabbed as the main suspect. Now Rick is asking Clara to question some of the female participants to see if they know of anyone who may have wanted to kill Lisa Warren. Although Clara has sworn off investigating murders, she and Stephanie are soon haring off hither and yon to follow up on leads. When Clara’s sleuthing hits too close to the truth, it’s her own life that may be in danger.

I liked aspects of this book and disliked others. Most of the narrative was taken up with Clara’s sleuthing. Even when she was at work or just out and about, she was trying to glean clues. I didn’t like that she and Stephanie misrepresented themselves to gain access to people who wouldn’t have given them the time of day otherwise. Clara’s mother was annoyingly meddlesome. I liked that she could communicate with her dog, Tatters. At the end, however, she did something so egregiously stupid that I could only shake my head. I mean, how dumb can you be? Other things that annoyed me:
( Spoilers!! )

Favorite lines: “I’ve sworn off chasing after killers.” // “Since when?” // “Since I was nearly killed by one.”

“Didn’t know I was holding my breath” line: Clara let out the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.

I liked some things, disliked others. Average score of three.

( Trope Test )

To Fetch a Felon by Jennifer Hawkins

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


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I completed the book To Fetch a Felon about an hour ago. I tried to finish last night, but it was late, and my eyes were getting heavy. Hee! The book is the first in author Jennifer Hawkins’ “Chatty Corgi” mystery series, featuring Emma Reed, who longs to open her own tea shop, and her corgi, Oliver. Emma can hear Oliver speak, although no one else can.

Emma has left London and her stressful job in finance behind. She returned to the village in Cornwall where her family spent holidays when she was a child. Emma has her eye on the old tea shop in the village, which has been closed for years. Unfortunately, she has a run-in with the current owner of the building when the woman scolds Emma for allowing Oliver off-leash. To make amends (and hopefully to get back on Victoria’s good side), Emma bakes some scones for her. When she arrives at Victoria’s cottage, however, she finds her dead. As a child, Emma was always looking for some mystery to solve, which is why she is curious about this case. When another visitor to the village, a journalist, asks if she’d like to investigate with him, Emma takes him up on it. Both of them are convinced that a local cold case has factored into the current crime. Someone in the village is keeping secrets, and it may take a corgi’s nose to sniff out the criminal.

This was cute and fun. What I really liked is that, although Oliver can “talk” to Emma, he relates information based on his own, canine nature. He has his own names for people (“Nervous Lady”, “Pale Man”, etc), and most of what he discerns is through scent. Of course, Emma doesn’t dare get caught carrying on a conversation with Oliver, and she struggles to find a way to pass on information that he gleaned from his nosing around. Characters were portrayed wonderfully, and I enjoyed meeting new people along with Emma. The narrative proceeded at a smooth yet quick pace, and the story was engaging.

Favorite lines:
♦ “It sounds like you’re ready to open yourself to some new chances and some old dreams.”
♦ “I’d hate for my bit of breaking and entering to keep me up past bedtime.”

Lively and entertaining, four stars.

( Trope Test )

Impurrfect Magic by Paula Lester

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


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Last night I finished an ebook. It was Impurrfect Magic by Paula Lester. It’s the first book in the “Unfamiliar Magic” series of paranormal cozies. The main character is Ivy Patterson.

Ivy has ditched her old life in favor of moving back to her hometown, where she works in her uncle’s produce store. Uncle Vincent is training Ivy to take over the business, with an eye on retiring once she’s ready. Things are going well until Ivy finds her uncle dead in the store. While his death appears from natural causes, Ivy can’t help but wonder. When a black kitten emerges into the shop from a secret, back room, Ivy stumbles upon her uncle’s secret. He’s been running a side-hustle—using his magic to do odd jobs for people. It forces Ivy to confront her painful past—her mother once declared that Ivy’s magic was dark and that she must never use it. However, Vince also had dark magic, and Ivy doesn’t believe he ever used it to cause harm. At the kitten’s unspoken urging, Ivy begins to piece together the last few days of her uncle’s life in an effort to find who may have wanted to kill him...and why.

A fun story. Ivy is likable, as were other characters in her “orbit”. Of course, she encountered some unsavory characters over the course of her investigation, but they were only transient. The kitten, Tabby, had magic of her own, but she was not a talking cat. That was refreshing. The narrative unfolded at a sensible pace, although the majority of it was consumed with Ivy’s sleuthing. There were some minor editing errors, such as one character whose name was alternately spelled either Shye or Skye

Favorite lines:
♦ I changed my jeans because the first pair got too tight in the dryer. I swear it was the dryer.
♦ “Hey, didn’t you die yesterday?”

Enjoyable—four stars.

( Trope Test )

Purrs and Peril by Jinty James

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


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Have just finished reading Purrs and Peril by Jinty James. It’s the first book in the author’s “Norwegian Forest Café” series of cozy mysteries. The main character is Lauren Crenshaw, who owns and runs the café with Annie, her Norwegian Forest cat, and her cousin, Zoe.

Lauren enjoys her life, running her café with her cousin. It’s even a certified cat café so that Annie can interact with customers. Lauren and Zoe are shocked when they learn one of their regular customers, Steve, has died. When the police determine he was poisoned, the cousins begin to suspect everyone, even elderly Mrs Finch, who’s been teaching them to knit. However, with Annie’s help, they soon zero in on the killer. Unfortunately, the killer is zeroing in on them, as well.

This was cute enough to be termed cutesy. Very little drama, but that can be refreshing at times. Characterizations were okay, and the plot made sense as it progressed. I did get annoyed with how each time Lauren interacted with the detective (or thought about him), she thought of him as “Detective Denman—Mitch”. Typically, a character does the opposite: thinks of the police officer by his first name before mentally correcting herself and reinforcing his title. I half expected her to whip out a spiral-bound notebook and begin writing “Mrs Lauren Denman” on it. Sheesh.

Favorite lines:
♦ “I told myself if my cat wasn’t scared of the weather, then I shouldn’t be, either.”
♦ “There’s just something about him that makes me wonder if I’ve committed a crime I’m not aware of and he’s going to arrest me.”

Fun, but rather basic. Average score of three.

( Trope Test )

Murder Can Mess Up Your Masterpiece by Rose Pressey

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


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I got through Murder Can Mess Up Your Masterpiece by Rose Pressey earlier this evening. It’s the first book in her “Haunted Craft Fair” cozy mystery series. The main character is artist Celeste Cabot.

Celeste is excited to take her vintage Shasta travel trailer to a local arts and crafts fair to display and sell her paintings. She’s doing well until a customer returns one of her paintings, insisting it’s haunted. Another vendor at the fair notices hidden images in all of Celeste’s paintings—images she doesn’t recall creating. Adding to the weirdness is when Celeste is visited by the ghost of the woman in the allegedly haunted painting. Worst of all, however, is when Celeste finds the snarky manager of the craft fair, murdered outside of his own trailer. Determined to find out what’s going on, she begins snooping for clues in hopes of finding a killer before the end of the fair.

The story was cute and lite for the most part. The paranormal element was fun, and I liked Celeste’s chihuahua, Van Gogh. I love cozy mysteries with female amateur sleuths, but I want them to have a reason to investigate. In a typical first-of-series, it’s because the main character finds herself at the top of the suspect list and is desperate to clear her name (Note to authors: this trope has been done and overdone to the point of being boring). However, Celeste had no good reason to investigate. Worse, she was clumsy and ham-handed about it and ended up alienating most of the other vendors with her snooping and spying. Characters were a bit flat, the writing was somewhat stilted, and the narrative was rife with plot holes and editing errors. ( SPOILERS )

This is purely subjective on my part, but I didn’t like that Celeste had two potential romantic interests vying for her attention. Pressey has used that same device in at least one other series of hers. Finally, most of the narrative was consumed with Celeste and her awkward investigation. If you’re there to sell paintings, why waste so much time acting like Nancy Drew? I prefer it when a story depicts more balance with the main character’s investigation, occupation, and relaxation.

Favorite lines:
♦ She was a few strokes short of a finished portrait.
♦ “He’s as useful as a pogo stick in quicksand.”

I wanted to like this story, but too many errors and inconsistencies ruined my enjoyment. Two stars.

( Trope Test )

The Murder Before Christmas by Michele Pariza Wacek

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


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I finally finished reading The Murder Before Christmas last night. It wasn't a bad book; I've just been that busy. This is the first book in author Michele Pariza Wacek's "Charlie Kingsley" mystery series. I understand this is a spin-off of another series, but I never felt as if I was floundering for not having read the others. The main character is Charlie Kingsley, who creates custom teas and tinctures.

Charlie has a knack for curing what ails her clients with her teas, but she is not in the business of crafting love potions, not even for a young, pregnant, desperate woman who wants to rekindle her romance with her husband. Charlie sends Courtney on her way, but when she learns later that Courtney's husband died of poisoning, she begins to wonder if Courtney could have killed him. When Courtney's mother, Violet, comes to Charlie to ask her to investigate, Charlie reluctantly agrees. Soon she's questioning the victim's business partner, his alleged mistress, and his first wife. What Charlie learns is that there were many people who had a reason to murder the man, but only one of them went through with it.

This certainly had lots of twists and turns. Characterizations were okay. I would have preferred that the entirety of the narrative was not consumed with Charlie's investigation.

Favorite line: "Well, that was pretty unproductive. Unless you count yourself added to the suspect list. Then, it was definitely a win."

Basic mystery, three stars.

( Trope Test )

Tart of Darkness by Denise Swanson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


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I finished reading my 'work' book at lunch today. It was Tart of Darkness by Denise Swanson. This is the first in the "Chef-to-Go" cozy mystery series, featuring novice chef Danielle "Dani" Sloan.

Dani's life is in a downward spiral. She's recently learned her boyfriend already has a fiancée, and she's quit her HR job for a large corporation after having to fire an entire department and sign an NDA over it. Things improve, however, when she inherits a house from a family friend. Now Dani has the opportunity to launch her own catering business, which has always been a dream of hers. After a catering gig goes awry and the guest of honor ends up dead, Dani is interrogated by a local detective. Fortunately, one of her college-aged boarders knows the head of campus security, an ex-policeman named Spencer, who steps up to help. Desperate to clear her name, Dani launches her own investigation, aided by Spencer. What they find is that the victim had several enemies, all of which will make figuring out who killed her extremely difficult.

The story was interesting. The college campus setting was different. Characters were three dimensional, including the odious Detective Mickeloff and the snide Regina, who deserved to die in my opinion. LOL! What I didn't like is that the killer came out of the blue. Dani and Spencer had their eyes on a few suspects, but this person was not on their radar. I prefer it when the author builds the clues and the case to allow the mystery to be solved by the mc (and perhaps by the reader as well!).

Favorite lines:
♦ "If Ron Weasley can end up with Hermione Granger, anything's possible."
♦ "It's icier than a whore's heart in here."
♦ "My policy has always been never to make a woman mad. She can remember shit that hasn't even happened yet."
♦ She wondered if anyone else had ever dispensed advice about BDSM at a funeral.

I liked the book, but as far as cozies go it was just average. Three stars.

( Trope Test )

Pooches, Pumpkins, and Poison by Carolyn Ridder Aspenson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Tuesday night I finished reading Pooches, Pumpkins, and Poison by Carolyn Ridder Aspenson. It's the first book in her "Pooch Party" cozy mystery series. The main character is Missy Kingston, adoption manager at the local animal shelter.

Missy is looking forward to the local Halloween festival, where she plans to have one of her pooch parties--an event that allows people to meet and interact with available dogs. While the festival is still in the initial planning and setting up stage, Missy comes across the dead body of the woman who was organizing the event. When the woman's estranged husband is arrested, one of Missy's friends tells her he doesn't think the husband is guilty. Missy starts asking some questions, only to have her own brush with death. Rather than be cowed, Missy digs in further, determined to find out who committed murder and has it out for her.

Interesting story. I liked Missy as a character. She's tough and resilient but also soft hearted to the dogs in her care. Most of the narrative was consumed with Missy's sleuthing; I would have liked to see her doing other things.

Favorite lines:
♦ I might have had a few more pet peeves than I cared to admit.
♦ Those people that say they don't like gossip? I've never seen any of them walk away when someone's telling them some.

Entertaining and worth a read. Four stars.

( Trope Test )