Cozies

Lately I have been obsessed with cozy mysteries.  They are very relaxing yet there is still the challenge of the mystery.  Some of my favorite include the Tea Shop Mysteries, Cackleberry Club, and Scrapbooking Mysteries all by Laura Child.  Then I have added the Book Shop Mysteries by Lorna Barrett, the Molly Malone Mysteries by Maggie Sefton, and the China Bayles series by Susan Wittig Albert.

I am returning to a few other series I started in the past, such as Diane Mott Davidson Culinary series and Carolyn Hart Death on Demand.

There is a bonus to most of these.  Most come with recipes.  For one of my creative challenges I will try a few and post my results.

But for now, I am gearing up for the Bout of Books read-a-thon.  I won't have time for much else!

First Chapter Tuesday

"I tell you, Trish, we're all victims."

Victims?  In the town voted safest in all of New Hampshire?  Tricia Miles raised an eyebrow and studied the septuagenarian bookseller before her over the rim of her cardboard coffee cup.  Here it comes, she thought wit dread, the pitch.

Lorna Barrett.  Murder is Binding.  New York:  Berkley Prime Crime. 2008

Deadly Politics

Recently I visited the Cozy Chicks site and read a wonderful post about the Virginia suburbs of Washington, DC.  I made a comment and in the author's response she mentioned areas of DC that we both knew very well.  In addition, she mentioned the first book in her Molly Mallone mystery series.  I was intrigued so I bought that book.

I enjoyed it very much.  I must say it kept me guessing.  In fact, the ending left me wanting (maybe even needing) more.  While the story and characters are important, for me I began reading to feel the setting.  Sefton captured Georgetown perfectly.  

I am not a great "reviewer" so I have included a snippet from Amazon.  It says it best.

From Amazon:

A gripping new mystery from New York Times bestselling author Maggie Sefton 

Molly Malone was driven from Washington, D.C., by political back-stabbing, scandals, and personal heartbreak. But now she’s starting a new life in the one place she swore she’d never come back to.

When Molly’s only Washington job prospect falls through, her politico niece, Karen, sets her up with a position in the office of a freshman senator. As the former wife of a congressman, Molly is alarmed to hear that Karen is having an affair with her boss,  congressional chief of staff Jed Molinoff. Just days later, Molly finds Karen shot to death. Discovering that Molinoff has ransacked Karen’s apartment, Molly investigates further . . . and finds herself in the crosshairs of a shadowy political group that’s killing anyone who gets in its way.

"Maggie Sefton's foray into political intrigue is a marvelous look at the shady underbelly of insider Washington...A tightly plotted tale of treachery."
—MYSTERY SCENE MAGAZINE

"Sefton has a sharp ear for dialog and knack for writing strong female characters that serve her well as she ventures into suspense."
—LIBRARY JOURNAL

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Books and Beat

"That's what I thought, since Michelle found the body."  Andrea swiveled in her chair to face Michelle.  "I'm really sorry you had to go through that, Michelle.  I remember how I felt when I found Max's body in the old barn."  (245)

Joanne Fluke.  Wedding Cake Murder.  New York:  Kensington Publishing Corp. 2016.

Tricky Twenty-Two

The Stephanie Plum Series by Janet Evanovich possibly has the best cast of supporting characters of any series around.  Stephanie is no slouch but the gang that surrounds her is the wildest.

In this latest book of the series, Stephanie is still working for her cousin Vinny the bail bondsman who works for his father in law in the mob.  Her job is to find the people who fail to appear at court costing Vinny (and the mob) their money unless they are found.  Stephanie must find a college student who beat up the dean and is now on the run.  She could go it alone but since the files are all online now, the file clerk Lula is her assistant.  

Lula is a "big" beautiful former 'ho.  Her obsessions include shoes and food.  When Lula leave Stephanie literally holding the lunch bag, everyone knows there must be trouble.  Later, when a group of frat brothers lock geese in Stephanie's car, Lula releases them only to be rewarded by being pooped on.  Not to worry this just gives her a chance to change her hair color from lavender to bright yellow.  Lula is laugh out loud hysterical and my favorite character.  If I ever meet a 'ho, I hope she is just like Lula.

Another great character is Grandma Mazur.  Since her husband died, she lives with Stephanie's parents,  Her antics (especially with guns) has driven Stephanie's mother to drinking and Stephanie's father to mumbling.  Grandma Mazur is not ready for a retirement home.  She still enjoys a night on the town especially if it includes a wake or a funeral.  In this book, the widow is bored with her husband's wake so she bolts leaving Grandma Mazur enthusiastically greeting the mourners.

Finally, the men in Stephanie's life are hot.  Ranger a sexy bondsman turned security expert is eager to keep an eye on Stephanie and to add extra protection.  Not to be outdone, Joe a Trenton cop provides a relatively normal love life. Well, usually, sometimes....oh ok it is hot too!

I really don't care how the plot progresses.  I simply want to see what Lula and Stephanie get into and how Ranger and Joe get them out of trouble.  All this goes with Grandma Mazur running in and out and Stephanie's parents nearly blinding themselves with eye rolls.

I can't wait for Twenty-three.  

Eggs In Purgatory

Remember this blog is connected to the challenge posed in A Daily Creativity Journal and today's "assignment" was to use food that was in the house for our project!  

I recently started the Cackleberry mystery series by Laura Childs.  I am a huge fan of her Tea Shop mysteries.  Since I am up to date with those books, I went in search of a new one and was happily satisfied with this.

Three women who by their own description are on the north side of 40 have opened a restaurant in an abandoned gas station.  With a book nook and a knitting corner, the cafe is a big success.  They are the hit of the town.

One day after Suzanne's lawyer stops by with some papers for her to sign, his body is found in his truck behind the Cackleberry Club.  How can Suzanne let this go?  She and her buddies Petra and Toni are off to find the truth.  Luckily, their restaurant is popular and gossip abounds along with several clues.  It makes sleuthing more intriguing.

There are bumps along the way with more crimes and not without accusations but in the long run Suzanne finds the guilty party.  

Technically, my eggs are in the Inferno but they had to go through limbo to get here.

Predator

I read books in order.  The thing that I love about series is that you get to see the characters grow.  It gives the author a chance to gradually develop their personalities.  Another thing about series is that story lines can branch off in very different directions over the course of several books.  Finally, villains can pop in and out leaving the reader unsure about their fates.

I am reading the Kay Scarpetta series in order.  Patricia Cornwell is doing everything I want in a series.  Scarpetta is changing over the course of the books.  Her relationships with Marino, Wesley, and Lucy are expanding and contracting as in real life and the quirky villains are in and out like restless children.  I love that.  Who is going to re-emerge next?

Predator is the 15th book in this series.  Publisher's Weekly some interesting comments about it.

"It's not often a crime novel offers such a smorgasbord of oddball elements, including autopsy advice, methods of combating tree blight, the use of spiders in sadomasochist torture and couples covering the sexual and psychological waterfronts. There's even a little nasty fun at the expense of television psychoanalysts."

But, are these characters growing or shriveling?  Publisher's Weekly goes on 

 "Her Dr. Kay Scarpetta is all snarky professional reserve and personal insecurity. Self-loathing lesbian niece Lucy, sounds properly troublesome and troubled, with an added catch in the throat due to a secret she's keeping. Pete Marino, the bullet-headed, gym rat security chief of the Lucy-originated National Forensic Academy, sounds so gruff and aggressive, he should be kept on a chain leash. And Scarpetta's inamorato, Benton Wesley, whose study of mass murderers' brain patterns gives the novel its title, is, as his name suggests, the very model of a dry, annoyingly passive-aggressive personality. The joke here-intended or not-is that the novel's protagonists are almost as mentally or emotionally disturbed as its homicidal villains."

This isn't my favorite of the series.  In fact, I started to give it up at several points.  I like to have some clues leading to the identity of the "bad guy."  In this book, the big reveal comes out of nowhere.  I didn't see hints leading to the conclusion.  It was almost too neat or something.  

The one thing I am looking forward to is seeing Dr. Self again.  She is a real doozy of a character.  Too good to just drop.

 These quotes from Publisher's Weekly appear on the Amazon page for Predator.  Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 

Footnote:  I want to make sure that I give credit for using snippets of that review.  It validates my opinion of the book but the words belong to the review.

Scraps and Paper Planes Flying Along the Road

Creativity can be painful.  Thinking of things to meet the daily challenge can be a challenge in and of itself.  Create something from paper without using scissors or glue...and no drawing at all.  That just hurts my brain.  Luckily for my teachers, I was never a paper plane flying ace but in keeping with the theme "Book Road" I made the effort to create a plane.  Don't judge.  I am good of lots of other things.

Today we stop along the Book Road in New Orleans with a book that incorporates uses for scrap paper.  Keepsake Crimes by Laura Childs is the first in her scrapbooking mystery series.  Carmela Bertrand owns a scrapbooking shop in New Orleans.  She has a good business that thrives particularly because she has a small group of regulars who spend lots of time and lots of money there. They also act as sidekicks in her adventures.  

In Keepsake Crimes, Carmela is newly separated from her husband who has decided his stodgy banking position no longer suits him.  He is off to the Bayou to photograph nature sans wife.  She has been left behind to handle their friends, his family, and the police.  There has been a murder and Shamus is a prime suspect.  Although she is hurt and angry at his departure, Carmela can't believe he is guilty so off she goes to investigate.

In addition to the mystery, there are scrapbook tips and recipes included and there is a great picture of life in New Orleans.  This particular book gives a peek at Mardi Gras from the perspective of the home town folks.  Like Childs' other two mystery series,  there are strong women and an assortment of kooky characters.  I am well into the Tea Shop series and just started the other two.  Childs hasn't let me down.