What Cozy Are You Reading? > Likes and Comments
I was on vacation this last week, so here are a couple of books to catch me up:
Killer Kung Poa by Vivien Chien https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Murder at Rough Point by Alyssa Maxwell https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I finished The Incident of the Book in the Nighttime by Vicki Delany
. Book 10 in the series. Gemma is in London for her sister's wedding. Good mystery and description of London. She stays in touch with her Cape Cod crew too. Very enjoyable.
Mark wrote: " Murder at Rough Point by Alyssa Maxwell https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...."
That one is interesting because she had to guess and make up the details since Doris Duke completely renovated Rough Point and that's the way it's set up now. I hear Newport is crowded this summer but I hope to get down there again soon when the crowds thin out a bit. Maybe when Murder at Arleigh comes out and I'll take that. Arleigh is long gone. *sigh* Next year is Rosecliff but I prefer to avoid the crowds so I don't think I'll go read it on site.
I bought Rough Point when I was there last October. Since I'm in So Cal, it's the only time I've been there, but it was fun to go since I'd just started the series when I was there. Gives me a different picture of the places now that I've been there.
Mark wrote: "I bought Rough Point when I was there last October. Since I'm in So Cal, it's the only time I've been there, but it was fun to go since I'd just started the series when I was there. Gives me a diff..."It's fun to walk in Emma's footsteps and see things from her time that are still there. I did a quick tour and a visit to Salve Regina University to see a clothing exhibit. I found Emma's work suit on display. Then I quickly looked at the outside of Ochre Court, I've been inside. Then next door is Vinland and across the street is Wakehurst. That one looked familiar on the book cover and even more so in person and I have a memory of being outside there playing in the big tree but no memory of WHY we were there. Then up the street is The Elms which you can't see over the wall and Chateau Sur Mer. Then we went to look at the church Emma attends and the old jail (now inn) where Brady was locked up in the first book. I've been to The Point neighborhood but not yet by where Gull Cottage is supposed to be. I circled it on a map in case I can get out there.
I used to live a little closer to Newport and whenever we had visitors we wanted to impress, we'd head down there and walk on the Cliff Walk or visit Beechwood, the living history mansion. I live farther away now, still in the region but not as easy to get to Newport. A lot closer than So. Cal. where I have never been!
I don't like the TV series Gilded Age, because I find the mystery novels more interesting. But now I see the show is covering the Black elite in Newport and THAT I want know more about.
I love using novels as guidebooks through historic New England. It makes history come alive.
Got three more cozies coming this week. Starting things off with
Death Comes to Marlow by Robert Thorogood. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Mark wrote: "Got three more cozies coming this week. Starting things off with Death Comes to Marlow by Robert Thorogood. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."love this series.... i finished the ARC for death on the marlow belle.
Mark wrote: "Got three more cozies coming this week. Starting things off with Death Comes to Marlow by Robert Thorogood. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."Love this, as well. I have "Poisons" coming up next.
I'm closing out the month with
Resort to Murder by Annie McEwen https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I read Aunt Dimity Slays the Dragon
. A Renaissance fair has come to Finch. Lori manages to find a something suspicious in the opening ceremonies that leads her to investigate. It's a fun light mystery.
Reviews for some of the cozies I read on our recent vacation :From Beer to Eternity
Gone But Knot Forgotten
Death of a Cupcake Queen
Live and Let Chai
Fatal Cajun Festival
Zermeena wrote: "I read Aunt Dimity Slays the Dragon. A Renaissance fair has come to Finch. Lori manages to find a something suspicious in the opening ..."The twins cracked me up in that one. This book marks a turning point in the series and it gets better from here. Still waiting for a publication date for the next one.
QNPoohBear wrote: "Zermeena wrote: "I read Aunt Dimity Slays the Dragon. A Renaissance fair has come to Finch. Lori manages to find a something suspiciou..."I'm glad to hear the series gets better. I really liked the early books, but the more recent books are so-so. I have Aunt Dimity Down Under checked out to read soon.
Zermeena wrote: "I'm glad to hear the series gets better. I really liked the early books, but the more recent books are so-so. I have Aunt Dimity Down Under checked out to read soon...."That one's mostly a travelogue but introduces a delightful new character. However, it's also a sad story. I tried the Anzac biscuits but couldn't get the cooking time just right. The first batch was burned, the second batch wasn't baked enough but it was tasty.
My first review of the month is
Edam and Weep by Linda Reilly https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
My reading time was cut in July by work. Yesterday (Sunday) I picked up and read Deadly Drafts by by Courtny Bradley. It’s the start of her Literary Stitches series. It’s an enjoyable read with good characters that I want to know more about and see “grow” though the series.
I used it to fulfill a category in a challenge I’m doing (https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...). It fits the prompt: Follow in Your Friend's Booksteps: Read a book that one of your Goodreads friends has already read
I was introduced to this book by beachbum bookworm (Tiffany) when she listed it in her YouTube post NEW COZY MYSTERY Releases Part 2... (May11, 2025). I TBRed it. She followed that up with a short video review Deadly Drafts by Courtny Bradley... (May 27, 2025), then with a more formal review in her May COZY MYSTERY Wrap Up... (June 12. 2025). I've linked her YouTube channel below. Tiffany rated it “5 cups of coffee,” her highest rating. I planned to read it in July, but wound up shirking work with Sara Fields’Boston Kings (romance) instead.
*beachbum bookworm YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@theBeachbumb...
I finished Swan for the Money
It was OK. It was fairly obvious what happened once the clue was revealed. It wasn't as funny as some of the previous books.
I'm kicking off the week with
A Trace of Poison by Colleen Cambridge https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I finished Littered with Trouble today. I liked it a lot. I am a cat person so the cat and books were a great combo. I would definitely go to that book store. Mystery was well plotted out. Look forward to book 2
Tea with Jam & Dread
This was a very enjoyable mystery. I liked meeting Lady Frogmorton- finally! Lily gets nosy and takes the lead in this investigation. There are plenty of suspects and I never guessed who the murderer was! I stayed up late and now I'm tired and my full review will have to wait.
I read Yarned and Dangerous
and I loved it. It follows the basic cozy formula for a first book and it worked well. I've already started the next book. Sadly there are only two books in this series.
I've got reviews of a couple of next week's new releases this week. Up first is
Fatal Sign-Off by Sarah E. Burr https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
My second pre-release review of the week is
Halloween Night Murder, a novella collection with stories by Leslie Meier, Lee Hollis, and Liz Irelandhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I read A Knit before Dying
. I love this 2 book series. Does anyone know why the author didn't write more in this series?
Kicking off this week with
For Duck's Sake by Donna Andrews https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Zermeena wrote: "I read A Knit before Dying . I love this 2 book series. Does anyone know why the author didn't write more in this series?"I wish I knew, I really liked both books too. I wonder if the decision to stop after two books lies with the author or the publisher?
Barb wrote: "Zermeena wrote: "I read A Knit before Dying . I love this 2 book series. Does anyone know why the author didn't write more in this series?"..."
I'd bet it was the publisher, but I don't know for sure.
My review of
Peril on the Indian Pacific by C.A. Larmer is here https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished a book by one of our featured authors just in the nick of time :) My review for
Murder in a Scottish Shire -> https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Zermeena wrote: "I read A Knit before Dying . I love this 2 book series. Does anyone know why the author didn't write more in this series?"
~and~
Barb wrote: "I wish I knew, I really liked both books too. I wonder if the decision to stop after two books lies with the author or the publisher?"
~then~
Mark wrote: "I'd bet it was the publisher, but I don't know for sure."
I read the series--well, the two books--in 2021. I, too, enjoyed them, rating both 4 stars, and wanted more. I agree with Mark that it could be publisher-driven, though most of the "discontinued" series seem to be three-and-dones.
I looked her up. She writes under another name, Susannah Hardy. There's a Greek to Me series (now TBRed!) under that name that, like the Tangled Web series, hasn't had new additions since 2016. However, that series is a three-and-done (for now??). Her website doesn't appear to have been updated since 2016 either. ???
BTW, there's another Susannah Hardy listed here who writes romance, which now that I've seen...TBRed! (Both look cute.)
I read A Limited Edition Murder
This one was BETTER than the last but the whodunit was still kind of obvious. I'm not sure the villain's motive was valid but they believed it was. I liked the English village setting and Addie's new friends. She's made a new life. I'm not sure how Addie is able to work and stay so long after changing plans last minute but I think she should stay. She seems happier in her new life.
I read in someone's review and confirmed with an obituary, the author has died and the book coming out next month is the last of the series so I think I will conclude the series here. I'm happy with the way things are wrapped up for Addie.
I finished If the Shoe Kills by Lynn Cahoon. Just an okay cozy. Book 3 in the series. I like some of her other series better. Characters are kind of bland
I'm starting off the month with
Whiskey Business by Adrian Andover. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I finished Sad Cypress
by Agatha Christie. One of the lesser know Hercule Poiret books but it was excellent. Very good mystery.
I just finished reading
and It was as good as ever... Loved the ending. Thank you NetGalley
marita wrote: "I just finished reading and It was as good as ever... Loved the ending. Thank you NetGalley"Glad to hear. I'm looking forward to reading it myself.
My second book this week was
A Murder Most Fowl by Carmela Dutra https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
My review of
All the Devils Are Here by Louise Penny is here https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I'm trying to get into the habit of posting my reviews here, but keep forgetting. My most recent cozy finishes :Murder at the Christmas Cookie Bake-Off
My review -> https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A Murder Most Fowl
My review -> https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Seven Reasons to Murder Your Dinner Guests
My review -> https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I'm starting off the week with the disappointing
The Tell-Tale Homicide by Daphne Silver https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Mark wrote: "I'm starting off the week with the disappointing The Tell-Tale Homicide by Daphne Silver https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."It does need editing. The author was supposed to work on correcting it before final publication. Hmm maybe I should reread this and go on an EAP tour of Baltimore.
QNPoohBear wrote: "Mark wrote: "I'm starting off the week with the disappointing The Tell-Tale Homicide by Daphne Silver https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."..."
EAP? Edgar Allan Poe?
Nell wrote: " EAP? Edgar Allan Poe?"Yes this novel has a Poe theme. I THINK the real life Poe books will be on display in the Baltimore Public Library's special collections area next month. They have a Poe collection anyway.
https://www.prattlibrary.org/assets/d...
He actually is supposed to haunt the Providence Athenaeum ...
QNPoohBear wrote: "Mark wrote: "I'm starting off the week with the disappointing The Tell-Tale Homicide by Daphne Silver https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."..."
I read a published copy, and the changes weren't made before it was printed.
https://www.goodre..."
I was surprised as well. This is book 4, and there is a book 5, which may be the final in the series. Haven't read it, so I don't know for sure.