Cruisin' thru the Cozies Reading Challenge discussion
2018 Level 4 (Super Extra)
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Lena's 2018 Challenge
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17) Creeps Suzette by Mary Daheim (trapped in a mansion, the odd numbered books in this series are all trapped in a mansion somewhere. I'm hoping the author switches it up in future books)
Lena wrote: "Looks like I have some reading to do :)Culinary
Death by Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake- Sarah Graves (bakery in Maine)
NEED ONE MORE
Animal
Mission Impawsible- Krista Davis (Pet-friendly hotel wit..."
Better Off Read sounds like a mystery I would enjoy--anything involving libraries, bookstores, or bookmobiles! I look forward to reading it!
I loved Better Off Read, I highly recommend it! It was one of my favorite I've read this year so far.
Craft mystery - Twisted Threads by Lea WaitSoooo good!
Lena wrote: "Craft mystery - Twisted Threads by Lea WaitSoooo good!"
This is another series I'll have to try--sounds good! I enjoy the different needlework mysteries!
I'm about 20% into the second and I am hooked in a big way!
Craft mystery #2 Threads of Evidence by Lea WaitReally good! I have a library book to get through and then I’ll be revisiting Angie :)
18) Thread and Gone by Lea Wait. I didn't like it quite as much as previous ones but still very good. I'm definitely hooked on this series.
Do you know if she will have any more books out now that she’s so sick? Thanks.
She's sick? I had no idea! I hope she's better soon :(
Lena wrote: "She's sick? I had no idea! I hope she's better soon :("Unfortunately, she was recently diagnosed with terminal metastatic pancreatic cancer. I just thought you might have read something about any new books she might have coming out.
Oh, no, that's sad to hear!
That's so unfortunate. Glad she seems to have a close family to support her through it.
19) Dangling by a Thread by Lea Wait.Great book, great series, nuff said :)
Don't know if it really counts but culinary mystery #2 Stowed Away by Barbara Ross (Maine Clambake series). It's hard for me to compare these since I've been reading them as they come out and not one after the other but I had a hard time putting this one down. Really good series!
20) Antiques Wanted by Barbara Allan (Trash N Treasures series)I love this series (do I say that about all of them? lol!) I love Vivian and the stories are hard to classify but very cozy, very funny, the shifting viewpoint gives a nice variety. I highly recommend these.
Read Herring Hunt by V. M. Burns as second historical (kind of a cheat because it's about a woman writing a historical mystery but I'm counting it). This one was very predictable and I have a few issues with how the books are written (see my review) but I do like the series.
My Mom loved the Lillian Bell books - I had gotten the first one and then when it had no audiobook, my mom volunteered to read and review it [it was from NetGalley] and she just loved that one so much that I got the second one for her too from NG. She just finished that one and thought it was really, really good. Death by Didgeridoo- Barbara Venkataraman (indie author)
^^I have this one to read - since I am almost at the end of the challenge, I will save it for next year. ;-)
Of all your books, I have only heard of Krista Davis and Laura Childs and Lea Waite [I loved the first in that series, but the narrator is just horrible]. Oh, and Mary Higgins Clark, though I don't read her anymore.
I used to love Laura Childs, but I got tired of her books and stopped reading her. I probably would love her again now that there are so many to pick from I am not just power reading one particular series as I was when I first started reading her.
I really like Barbara Allan. It's actually a husband and wife team, Barbara and Max Allan Collins (most known for Road to Perdition). They're funny and quirky, really quick reads. They're virtually impossible to find used, I don't own a single one of them :(
Looks like I only need a paranormal and an animal and I'm done :)Reading The Spook in the Stacks by Eva Gates now. Can I count that as paranormal? It's a stretch!
Lena wrote: "Looks like I only need a paranormal and an animal and I'm done :)Reading The Spook in the Stacks by Eva Gates now. Can I count that as paranormal? It's a stretch!"
I'd count that. ;-)
And I recommend The Cat in the Stacks books by Miranda James. Those have been a lot of fun.
Lena wrote: "I really like Barbara Allan. It's actually a husband and wife team, Barbara and Max Allan Collins (most known for Road to Perdition). They're funny and quirky, really quick reads. They're virtually..."I LOVED Max Allan Collins CSI books. When he stopped writing them and they started having a different author for each book is when that series went downhill. And then they didn't have audiobooks, so I gave them up.
I just checked thriftbooks.com and they have the Barbara Allan books. 1-12 in the Trash N Treasures series. All but #12 is $3.79. #12 is $13.11 :-)
Dawn wrote: "I'd count that. ;-)And I recommend The Cat in the Stacks books by Miranda James. Those have been a lot of fun. "
:) Spook in the Stacks - second paranormal. All I have left now is my second animal one, which will probably the next in Krista Davis's series with the pet hotel. Love that series!
I love Cat in the Stacks. Claws for Concern is in the pile on my nightstand. It'll be a bit before I get to it because I have the first two of the Lobster Shack series that are due back at the library first. I started the first Lobster Shack book and I love it so far!
One of these days I'll bite the bullet and just order the Barbara Allan series. I keep hoping I'll find them here and there. Another that I've never been able to find used copies is Laura Levine's Jaine Austin series. I've bought a few of them as ebooks but I'd love to have print copies of that whole series. There aren't many that I'd reread but those two I will (eventually!)
Claws for Concern by Miranda James. Second animal mystery and challenge finished :)
Lena wrote: "Claws for Concern by Miranda James. Second animal mystery and challenge finished :)"Have you finished your Level 4 Challenge, Lena?
Yep, that animal mystery was my last one. I'm tempted to start over :)
Lena wrote: "Yep, that animal mystery was my last one. I'm tempted to start over :)"WHOOOOOOO-HOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
Readreadreadreadread!!!
I believe I have 5 left to finish mine. If I could get ahead of the NetGalley books, I would be able to get those 5 knocked out.
Too many books, it's a good problem to have :)
Great, congratulations on finishing your challenge, Lena!
Lena wrote: "Yep, that animal mystery was my last one. I'm tempted to start over :)"Congrats on finishing! Go you! :)
Since I finished my challenge I've read:Death of a Cookbook Author by Lee Hollis (great series!)
Death of a Neighborhood Scrooge by Laura Levine (also a great series!)
Suture Self by Mary Daheim (why am I still reading these???)
Lord of the Pies by Nell Hampton
Silver Scream by Mary Daheim
Dim Sum of All Fears by Vivien Chen (really good new author)
Ruff Justice by Laurien Berenson (another really good series)
Glitter Bomb by Laura Childs (probably my favorite mystery author)
Hocus Croakus by Mary Daheim
Oh, Fudge! by Nancy Coco
This Old Souse by Mary Daheim
Forever Fudge by Nancy Coco
I only read one non-mystery, Boardwalk Summer by Meredith Jaeger. It had kind of mystery angle to it, a young woman trying to find out more about a mysterious woman from an old picture. Alternates with the story of the mysterious woman from 60 years earlier.
I'm currently reading Dead Man Docking by Mary Daheim and If the Coffin Fits by Lillian Bell. Just started them, I think I'm in chapter 2 of both.
My mom read the Vivien Chen book [the first one] and didn't like them. :-( SO glad that you did. She had to read a bunch of of my NG books when my eye trouble started because they didn't have audiobooks with them. She definitely took a huge burden off of me. She LOVED the Lillian Bell books. L O V E D them.
I have on my plate for the end of this month and November:
Yeast of Eden - Sarah Fox [I LOVE this series]
Paper Wife - Laila Ilbriham [not a cozy, but HF]
The Skeleton Makes a Friend - Leigh Perry [Also a great series]
Twas the Knife Before Christmas - Jacqueline Frost [new to me series that is kinda fun]
A Study in Scarlet [Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery #4] - Vicki Delany [FUN series but a new narrator 1/2 way through the series is NOT COOL and makes me unhappy]
The Whispered Word - Ellery Adams [The first one was a great 1st book and I am hoping this one meets that same expectation]
The Coloring Crook - Krista Davis [I will read ANYTHING by her]
Yeah, I am pretty much going nowhere and doing nothing but reading cozies all next month..
I like the Krista Davis's pet hotel series but haven't read the Diva series. I like the pet one a lot. Seems I didn't start the other because the library was missing a few. I'll have to check for ebooks.
Lena wrote: "I like the Krista Davis's pet hotel series but haven't read the Diva series. I like the pet one a lot. Seems I didn't start the other because the library was missing a few. I'll have to check for e..."The Diva one is excellent. I really have enjoyed that series a lot.
Culinary
Death by Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake- Sarah Graves (bakery in Maine)
NEED ONE MORE
Animal
Mission Impawsible- Krista Davis (Pet-friendly hotel with a dog and cat)
NEED ONE MORE
Craft
NEED TWO MORE (crazy b/c this is probably my favorite sub-genre)
Paranormal
A Murder for the Books- Victoria Gilbert (library manager who has a ghost)
NEED ONE MORE
Non-US
Fowl Prey- Mary Daheim (Canada)
Auntie Mayhem- Mary Daheim (England)
Career-based
A Grave Issue- Lillian Bell (funeral home family)
Plum Tea Crazy- Laura Childs (Tea shop owner)
Holiday
Holy Terrors- Mary Daheim (Easter)
Nutty as a Fruitcake- Mary Daheim (Christmas)
Travel
Dune to Death- Mary Daheim (honeymoon at Buccaneer Beach)
A Fit of Tempera- Mary Daheim (family hunting cabin in Washington)
Historical
The Plot is Murder- V. M. Burns (bookstore owner writing a historical mystery)
NEED ONE MORE
Choice
Bantam of the Opera- Mary Daheim
Major Vices- Mary Daheim
1) Murder, My Suite- Mary Daheim (ski trip)
2) Just Desserts- Mary Daheim (B&B hostess)
3) Fiction can be Murder- Becky Clark (writer)
4) September Mourn- Mary Daheim (vacation on an island)
5) Better Off Read- Nora Page (senior sleuth, bookmobile driver)
6) I’ve Got My Eyes on You- Mary Higgins Clark (predator)
7) Wed and Buried- Mary Daheim (son gets married)
8) Death by Didgeridoo- Barbara Venkataraman (indie author)
9) The Case of the Killer Divorce- Barbara Venkataraman (indie author)
10) Peril in the Park- Barbara Venkataraman (indie author)
11) The Mailbox- Mary Jane Forbes (indie author)
12) Murder in the House of Beads- Mary Jane Forbes (indie author)
13) Snow Place to Die- Mary Daheim (vacation in mountain lodge)
14) Engaged in Danger- Barbara Venkataraman (indie author)
15) Jeopardy in July- Barbara Venkataraman (indie author)
16) Legs Benedict- Mary Daheim (mobster victim)
My favorite of these:
Indie authors Barbara Venkataraman and Mary Jane Forbes, I love indie artists of any type and get a huge kick out of people who do their thing (and, in the case of these two, do it very well!)
Better Off Read - Senior sleuth, very well written
Plum Tea Crazy - Laura Childs is probably my favorite cozy writer
Mission Impawsible - I love the idea of an isolated little village where everyone loves animals and the animals are welcome everywhere. If it was a real place I would move there!