mystereity's reviews
1164 reviews

I requested this when I saw it on NetGalley; I read the first book, Dead As A Doorknocker, a few weeks ago, so it was nice to have that background when I started this one. Buck, Whitney and Sawdust are back, this time they've just bought an old, disused church and parsonage with plans to turn it into a playhouse and café entertainment value.  But trouble begins before they can even swing a hammer when adjacent property owner Nolan claims he owns the property, a delivery man is found dead after delivering stained glass windows, and then Nolan himself is found dead.  Are the deaths related? Whitney and Sawdust go to work to find a murderer.

I loved the first book and this one was even better, and I would say this can be read as a standalone or an entry into the series, as there were very few references to the earlier books. I love the little bits of humor and absurdity, from finding a horse standing in the middle of the church to Sawdust's thoughts about kitty friend Cleo and the playhouse and cafe idea was amazing, definitely a place I'd love to check out!

The plot really shone in this one, I loved that the plot wasn't one seen often in a cozy - I won't expand on that, as it would definitely clue readers in to where to look, so there weren't a lot of clues pointing at anyone in particular.  A lot of it came down to observation, sleuthing and interviewing, but there was enough there for me to chew on as I read and I didn't guess the culprit until the conclusion (where hero cat Sawdust saves the day yet again!) Delightful from start to finish, this is definitely a great cozy series for young and old.

If I had to sum up this book in one sentence, it would be superbly plotted, rich in detail, realistic and organic.  I'd been meaning to get to this since I got it on NetGalley and I'm sorry I didn't move this farther up on my overloaded TBR list sooner!  I hear a lot of good things about this series from my cozy mystery friends and when I saw this one, I knew I had to give it a try.  I think I've tried every flavor of cozy mysteries except yarn cozies - well, until now! And I liked this one right from the first page; some writers have that amazing way of drawing you right into their world from the start and this one definitely did! 

Casey is prepping for a yarn retreat at Vista Del Mar lodge and conference center when she's accosted by the manager, Kevin St. James, who tells her the inn is overbooked.  Now, if I was Casey, I'd tell him to go out back and...well, use your imagination...but Casey is a lot nicer than me and was able to smooth the ruffled feathers so that self-help guru Jordan can run his fatally flawed retreat where he can torture people for money. As this is a cozy mystery, someone ends up dead, then another and Casey steps up to the bat to solve the mystery.  

This is the first book I've read in the series, I really enjoyed it and I'm definitely going to go back and read the earlier books to learn more about the main characters, as most of the character development in this one went to the assorted retreat people, which I rather enjoyed. A lot of times you don't get to "meet" the victims before they're killed (which is true of the first death, but not the second) so having some context gave the crimes greater depth. I loved the surprise twist at the end when the culprit was apprehended (never saw it coming!) and I loved how it was all wrapped up. But what I liked best was the balance between the smaller side plots that added more depth to the story  without detracting from the main plot, which moved quickly without sacrificing detail but not overloaded with what felt like filler. Just a great cozy mystery from start to finish with great characters, a rich plot and baked goods.  Perfect!

This one was AAAAAAAdorable! Some people have comfort foods, some have comfort shows, I have comfort series.  This is one of them and it's 60% because of Owen and Hercules and 40% everything else,  I admit I'm biased. 

In this one, Mayville Heights is wrapping up its summer music festival with a local band who hadn't played together in years. The act was a big hit and it was all people could talk about for days - until one of the band members, Mike Bishop (mild mannered endodontist by day and rock star at night) is found dead in his home from a head injury.  Quickly ruled a homicide, Marcus begins his investigation along with reopening the death of Mike's grandmother who died several months previously in what was then deemed a medical event causing a car crash.  

This wasn't an elaborate plot and after a major clue was revealed early in the investigation, I figured a lot of it out.  And that didn't hamper my enjoyment in the least!  I loved the plot, it was both poignant and tragic, and the many hilarious Owen and Hercules scenes kept the mood light (I want an Owen and Hercules calendar! I'm fangirling hard right now.) and I loved all the genealogy, I even learned a few things.  I also loved the description of Zorro's act, I can't believe no one figured it out before then.

Overall, I enjoyed going back to Mayville Heights and seeing old friends and I look forward to catching up on the rest of the books.

 I love a good ghost story and I enjoyed the 17 in this book and wish there was more. The only criticism I have is that it could be edited a bit to read more smoothly, I had a hard time differentiating between the psychic and the scientist because it would switch every other paragraph with nothing to indicate a change in speaker. But I did enjoy the investigations and would've appreciated more of the photos they talk about in the book 

 
I got this from BookSirens a bit ago and saved it for British Cozy Mystery book bingo. I really enjoyed it, the dry humor, the little barbs here and there, the quips, very entertaining. And although this is a novel written in 2020, it did very much sound like a Wodehouse novel, and thematically it was not unlike a Poirot novel. Thoroughly entertaining from start to finish.

Once I settled in to the story, the characters introduced themselves; main character Anthony "Anty" Boisjoly is a well-to-do gentleman and after finishing his schooling at Eton and Oxford, he's content to...well, just be. In my head, my mental image of Anty was a younger Hugh Laurie during his Blackadder days. I loved Anty, from the games he makes up (I'm going to play quite right, m'lord some time!) to his rather plucky manner of interrogating suspects.

In the book, Anty receives an urgent telegram from old school chum Fairfax (known by his nickname of Fiddles) begging him to look into the mysterious death of his uncle, Sebastian. Arriving at Fiddles's family manse in Fray, Anty finds a locked room mystery - who killed uncle Sebastian and how? The door was locked from the outside and the lock was tampered with, so how was the murderer able to get in? The rest of the family hide important secrets, hampering Anty's investigation and after a second locked room murder, Anty dutifully investigates, to the anger of Inspector Ivor but nevertheless prevails and solves the crime.

From start to finish, this was delightful; humorous, lighthearted and challenging. enjoyed every minute. On my way to pick up book 2! 

I didn't write a review when I read this, but I do remember that I enjoyed it.  Felt like reading a classic novel, had that old-timey charm to it but was not a really in depth plot, which made for a quick read.  Liked the characters a lot and I plan to read the rest of the series.  

 This was my Holiday theme read pick for the Creature Christmas and it was purrrrr-fect! (Yeah, I went for the cheap pun. It's Christmas, I'm allowed) This was a heartwarming tale that would be perfect as a Hallmark Christmas movie!

When Cait finds out that reclusive millionaire Balthazar Pottage sent eviction letters out to the tenants of his apartment building giving them 3 weeks to move out, she's determined to help the many people she knows who live there, Cait follows Balthazar's cat Ebenezer, back to the estate where she strikes a deal. If Cait can find Balthazar's long lost son, who was kidnapped over 20 years ago, then Balthazar will bring the building up to code and gift it to the tenants. It's a big task to solve a cold case and Cait manages to do it by Christmas. It was pretty easy to figure out what happened right from the start but it was full of holiday cheer and the spirit of the season and made for a perfect Christmas read. 

 I picked this one up for the Inn the Spirit of Christmas square on the Holiday Theme Read and really, I can't think of any other series that would've been so Merry Christmas-y cozy than Wagtail with Twinkletoes and Trixie in their Christmas sweaters and elf hats. That cover is adorable beyond words and I loved the cover's tie-in with the story. In this one, Holly is gearing up for Wagtail's Christmas celebrations when the Thackleberry family checks in and OOP! Surprise! The Thackleberry family are Holly's secret crush Holmes's soon-to-be in-laws, as he is engaged to Norma Jeanne. Determined to be the bigger person, Holly pastes on a stiff upper lip and busies herself with all the Christmas activities but can't help becoming involved when patriarch Dale is found dead, stabbed to death inside a 40 foot inflatable Grinch. As Holly helps Officer Dave investigate, Dale's irascible and sharp-tongued wife, Vivi, is also found dead.

There was a lot going on in this one, which kept the plot humming along and it made for a quick, easy and enjoyable read. It just oozed Merry Christmas from every word, from the secret elves working to make Christmas a happy one for needy families to the pet friendly Christkindl Market to the sledding competition, it was holly jolly from start to finish. The murders, not so jolly. Well, the first murder was not so jolly, the second one...well...you have to be there. I admit I didn't figure out the culprit before the end, so that alone made for a great ending but Holmes's fiancée getting her comeuppance was the icing on the Christmas cake (song plays in the background...you know which one. Read this book and it'll be playing in your head too!) I also have to add, there was one dropped clue and I'm scratching my head over if it was dropped purposely or just got lost in the details.

Overall, a great Christmas read that would put even the Grinch in the holiday spirit.

 

I picked this one up for the r/CozyMystery Discord book club read for April. And, as a chronic procrastinator, I waited until the last days of April to read and review it. That's how I roll.

In a nutshell, Astrid runs off from the home she shares with her doctor husband after catching him in bed with one of her colleagues. She joins up with her friend Sam, a photographer who is working on a coffee table book of hidden tourist gems in Europe and the last chapter involves taking a week long Orient Express style train trip along the coast of Spain. The morning after boarding, Astrid and her friends discover a murdered man, become suspects and must work fast to find a murderer.

While there were a few things I had issues with (which I'll get to next) overall I thought this was a cute and charming book. I liked Astrid and Sam, I thought they were likable and if the series goes further, I'd be interested in seeing them progress and have more dimension to them. I loved the location porn, from the small Spanish town of San Sebastian to the views from the train as it wound its way across Spain and Portugal. Enviable, where can I sign up?

But there were issues that I chalk up to a writer with a lot of good ideas, but without a lot of writing experience. And that's fine, everyone has to start somewhere. The main issues I had is that the MC, Astrid, didn't sound like a woman who has experience as a jet setting career woman, she sounded much younger, like early 20s younger. Astrid is also from England and yet the tone of the book sounded very American. And that's fine, because I'd be more annoyed if the tone stayed the same and the author just sprinkled a few Britishisms like "Quite right!" or "I'll just have a spot of tea" as if mentioning tea is enough to make a book sound more British. I'm not sure about where the author is from (not that it matters) but if she is English, I'd expect it to sound more English-y (Yes, I said English-y, you know what I mean) The plot was also simple and formulaic, and I think if some things were researched a bit further and the book edited to tighten up the plot, this would be a 5 star book. An example, after they found the body of the victim, the train's security chief told Astrid and her friends to "go back to one suite until they could be questioned" and although I'm not in law enforcement or the legal profession, my thought is that if they were, in fact, legitimate suspects, they wouldn't be left unaccompanied to wander back to their suite and hang around cooking up a story and hiding evidence. Then again, perhaps that was a clue? Hmmmm. Now I'm rethinking that assessment.

Overall, I'll give this one 3 stars because I did enjoy it, at around 150 page, it was perfect for an evening read and despite the issues, I will probably pick up other books in the series, particularly if the writing and the characters progress.

 

 I picked this one up for the r/CozyMystery Halloween theme read. I've never read this series before, so I can safely say this can be read as a standalone.

Absolutely loved this one, it had everything I want in a cozy; a twisty plot, charming and likeable characters (I loved Rory and Liz, they were a fantastic team!) realistic police interactions and procedures (often a sticking point for me!) and a great atmosphere.

But the plot was the star of this book; Zelena, a former child actress, goes missing, which triggers an email to her friend, Rory. Rory contacts her detective boyfriend Martin Green and begins to search for Zelena, who is later found dead. While I figured out the WHO before the end of the book, I never saw the WHY coming, although the clues were all there. The side plot, concerning escalating Halloween pranks (that skeleton in a hammock is on the cover for a reason!) made for a great distraction/red herring that muddied the waters even further. Really, this was a superbly written plot that kept me guessing all the way through.

A fantastic read and I'm definitely going to pick up the other books in the series. Can't recommend it enough!