Cruisin' thru the Cozies Reading Challenge discussion
2023 Level 4 (Sleuth Extra)
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Karen's Kozies 2023 - Level 4: Sleuth Extra (40+)
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As usual, I'm doing version "A." I'll read what I read and see where they fall for "B." I will, however, list (and track) sub-genres when I post updates to see if I can hit the "B" goal.** Will update with my 2022 downfalls
Level Four (Sleuth Extraordinaire)
A) Read 40 cozy mysteries of your choice ✔️
B) Read two books from each sub-genre in level one plus an additional 20 cozy books of your choice (total of 40 books)
B categories (two each of 9 specific sub-genres; plus 22 "freebies"):
* ✅ Culinary (restaurants, baked goods, etc.)
* ✅ Animal-related (cats, dogs, birds, etc.)
* ✅ Craft-related (knitting, crocheting, scrapbooking, etc.)
* ✅ Paranormal (witches, vampires, etc.)
* ✅ Series based outside the US
* ✅ Career-based cozy mystery (housekeeping, wedding planner, etc.)
* ✅ Holiday-based (set during any holiday)
* ✅ Travel mystery (character could be on a cruise, touring another area, etc.)
* ✅ Historical mystery (any mystery not set in the present)
* ✅ Freebies (22 total)
📚 🔍 There's no shortage of material to get to my goal.
**Will update the 2023 what-I-might-read list when I update do my final 2022 update.**
Back in a while! :o)
Starting my 2023 out correctly... finishing a cozy on Jan 1.As usual, I've been careful with what I did today (my Dad always warned us to be careful what you did on the first day of the year because you'd do it all year). I slept late; I read; I downloaded freebies to my TBR...
Sadly, I broke a resolution to stop using actual cuss words (while trying to curb my language) early in the morning when I twisted my shoulder a way that sent pain shooting down my arm. Son of a sea biscuit, jeezopete, and fudge didn't jump into my head. However, I'm going with resolutions start when one gets up and actually starts the new year... [Worst case, I'll be restarting broken resolutions when Lent starts.] :o)
Again hoping to set a trend (which, you know, won't stick) I came to list my first cozy read of the new year. Without further ado, the first read to grace my 2023 reading challenge...
01. P.J. Fitzsimmons - The Case of the Canterfell Codicil (3.5) [B=Out-of-US (England); Historical (1920s); Travel (London to countryside)] 230101 ** My Review **
FYI...My review (link above) is pretty much a copy of what's below.
This is a new-to-me author (and series, duh). From the Anty Boisjoly series, the book is set in England (so yea, out of US!) in the late 1920s (so yea, "historical"). Unbeknownst to me, my sister-in-law read and reviewd it a couple of years ago -- and she's dead on!
I love P. G. Wodehouse and the writing in this reminded me of his clever wordplay and silliness, the dry British wit. Well-to-do (but not "peerage") Anthony ("Anty" to chums) Boisjoly (pronounced like the wine) receives a telegram at his club -- where he happens to be living because his flat has suffered fire damage due to the last in a string of horrible valets. The telegram is from his friend Fairfax ("Fiddles" to chums) Canterwell whose cantankerous uncle has died. Everyone thinks it's suicide, but Fiddles doesn't think so and asks Anty to do the "problem-solving" thing he's known for. This puts Anty on a train to the Canterwell country estate. On the train, a gregarious Anty tries to engage in conversation with another traveler to no real avail. We find later that man is Inspector Ivor Wittersham called in to investigate the death in the small town.
This book was so fun and funny on top of being an actual "locked room" mystery. Uncle Sebastian Canterwell either jumped or was pushed out the window of his study, which was locked from the inside. Everyone at the home at the time has an alibi. Was it murder? If so, who did it and why... and how?? Boisjoly is on the case, especially when his friend Fiddles becomes the main suspect.
Characters are drawn so well that I had no trouble picturing them -- some were Disney-cartoonlike; other favorite British actor-types. Ditto on descriptions of locales, etc. The mystery didn't lack clues so one could puzzle out the solution with Anty. And, as my sister-in-law mentions, "There was so much going on at every turn that one had to pay close attention to miss nothing."
I'll leave the post with an excerpt from the book. Under Uncle Sebastian's running of the manor, there have been cost-cutting cutbacks affecting everything... Anty is looking forward to the sumptuous food and dinner he remembered from his youth...
I was well primed for the shameless abundance and exacting standards of the country kitchen in general, and the famous Canterfell generosity in particular. First warning that I was on a high-speed collision course with disappointment was the distinct odour of boiled meat, like soup stock simmering on a low heat for days, extracting the marrow from a rooster that had died of a broken heart.
Comparatively speaking, however, I do the aroma a disservice. Vickers gave us each a misshapen morsel of scalded flesh of unknown origin, and paired it with some vegetation which doubtless had once been green and innocent. Much debate ensued with regards to the pedigree of the meat. The major claimed the prerogative with the suggestion that it was mutton. Laetitia agreed, but on the condition that the major accept that it was a shank cut. Fiddles felt sure that we’d been served wild hare, but only because he’d spotted one earlier on the road that had been trampled by a horse. Hal’s vote was for the horse and Rosalind proposed that it wasn’t meat at all, but some sort of construction material. As a guest, I naturally demurred from speculating aloud, but the taste and texture reminded me that I should have my riding boots resoled.
Dessert was therefore no surprise. It appeared to have been an apple crumble, but with the apple replaced by some more crumble. The wine flowed well, on the major’s insistence, and it was the highlight of the meal. I normally pride myself on my talent for identifying the lineage of a grape, but this vintage was a stubborn mystery. I suspect it was a Spanish utility wine, used primarily to fuel heated political discourse in tradesman’s cafés in Andalucia.
...Dinner concluded with cheese and biscuits, and there was much rejoicing.
And summed up later... Says Fiddles, "...I noticed that you managed to struggle through dinner without comment.”
“I credit the illusion of artistic redistribution,” I said. “I hid most of the boiled roofing tile under the purée of lawn clippings...”
So good... I'm looking forward to reading more in the series.
It's the end of February and I am so behind! My 2023 reading time was cut by a contract I was working. And, I have to admit I got (am) stuck on reading (and rereading??!!) romance. Oh well...2. Anastasia Hastings - Of Manners and Murder (3.5) [B=(Out-of-US (London); Historical (1885); Travel (London to countryside); Career (Advice Columnist)] 230226 ** My Review **
I reviewed the book (see link above) so this will be a short(ish) description. It is the first in the Dear Miss Hermione series. The series is set in 1885. The characters are based in London, but I'm assuming that they'll travel all over the UK and "the continent." There was also an American character introduced, so I can see action happening in the US and Canada.
Miss Hermione is an "agony aunt," a "Dear Abby" of the Victorian era. Protagonist Violet is pushed into the role of Dear Miss Hermione by the current one, her Aunt Adelia, with whom Violet and her teenage sister, Sephora, live, as her aunt rushes out the door to an impromptu visit to the continent. The first letter Violet answers is from a new bride who'd sought advice a few weeks prior, Seems that she'd become accident prone in her want to please her new husband. This letter has her anxious. The writer now believes someone is trying to kill her. Violet decides to visit the woman to try and help her. She travels to the village only to find the woman dead. Under the guise of being an old friend from school, Violet starts investigating.
The series "stars" Violet Manville, an unmarried woman at a time when things were on the cusp of changing for women in society. I don't believe her age is mentioned, but she's at least 29, She is the daughter of a civil servant father and daughter of missionaries mother. Her mother passed away when Violet was 12. Her father remarried. They had a daughter, Sephora, 16. Upon her 18th birthday, Sephora will inherit her mother's (family) fortune. Because of their age -- and monetary -- differences, the girls have little in common. Violet is level-headed, studious, serious and Sephora -- as a lot of teens -- is vapid, caring only of the latest fashion and what she thinks of as romance and love.
Just over a year ago, upon their father's death, Violet and Sephora came to live with their Aunt, Adelia Henrietta Georgina Tylney Manville, in London. Unbeknownst to the girls, Adelia is agony aunt Miss Hermione.
Rounding out the main cast -- at least for now -- is Bunty, Adelia's housekeeper and right hand.
Though the story is told mainly through Violet's eyes, we get Sephora's point of view now and then. She is a fervent follower of Miss Hermione and events in her life cause her to seek Miss Hermione's advice.
Some of the reviewers mention that Hasting writes "revisionist history" because of the way Violet acted, but I really didn't find that. While heiress Sephora has to be careful of her reputation (in order to marry well), Violet is almost past her prime as a bride in London society -- and as the daughter of a civil servant, lacks the status. Women were still second-class citizens and seen as the weaker sex, but the era was on the cusp of change. That said, there are things in the book demonstrating how women were seen and treated, especially women who dared to speak out and have opinions.
I'm looking forward to more in the series. I liked the characters and the humor. While I figured out the mystery within the mystery, there were surprises. There is humor, too. Plus, it hits two of my hardest to get "B" categories, historical and out-of-US!
FYI...
Anastasia Hastings is a pseudonym for Constance Laux who writes romance, young adult, and mysteries under various pseudonyms. While I haven't read any of her romances or YAs, I have enjoyed her mysteries. I've read or started most of the series written under her various names. You can't go wrong with any of them:
* Miranda Bliss - Cooking Class
* Casey Daniels - Pepper Martin LOVED THIS SERIES!
* Mimi Granger - Love is Murder SWEET!
* Kylie Logan - Button Box LOVED THIS SERIES -- Chili Cook-off -- Ethinic Eats -- Jazz Ramsey -- League of Literary Ladies I had a slow start with this series, but wound up really enjoying it.
* Lucy Ness - Haunted Mansion LOVING IT SO FAR!! Looking forward to the next entry.
Okay... I can't believe it's been six months since I last posted. Sadly, I'm not here to post my update... WHICH I NEED TO DO! I haven't been reading a lot of new-to-me books. For some reason -- maybe because I still haven't updated the reader I pick up to read or maybe because I found a library site that had e-copies of a favorite series I could never find in e-format. I reread those. Then on to some other old favorites -- as if there's all the time in the world to put off new entries in series I love.I'll get back to new stuff soon. And, I'll post my list soon(ish!). I am reading...
So, I’m back and I’m finally updating my list. I'm splitting it into several posts.As mentioned, I’ve been visiting older series I’ve enjoyed. The company I worked for closed its office here in 2008 and I lost my job. I vowed not to spend money on books until either I had a new job and/or read all the books I had collected (boxes!). The best thing about the job loss was rediscovering the library. I combed the shelves the way I used to comb new and used bookstores. My re-reads involve those books. Comfort reads, I guess…
What they all have in common, save one, is that they’re all “dead” series. No new books since I first read the series—and pretty much no hope for new entries.
I know series have to end at some point, I just don’t want them to. (Did you picture my lower lip jutting out in petulance??)
Anyway… I read the Anastasia Hastings book and fully intended to get back to the P.J. Fitzsimmons series. However, in the meantime, I picked up one of my readers—one loaded with favorite reads. I found the Bernie Rhodenbarr/Burglar series from Lawrence Block’s. Of my re-reads (so far!) this is the only one with a recent entry, 2022.
However, that last novel—which I just read in December—was very dissatisfying (for me, a laborious writing exercise that used sci-fi author Fredric Brown’s “multiverse” convention to transport Bernie and Carolyn to an alternate universe. While I loved Bernie and the humor, aaaaargh!) and the one prior to that was a collection of previously-released short stories, and articles, which I liked, but it was not a new full-length mystery. So when I saw the folder, I went back to the Bernie (bookstore owner and burglar) I loved. I originally rated the books mostly 5 stars (though, I’m sure some of those were 4.5s)—and I won’t change those ratings. However, reading them now, I’d down-rate some to 3.0-4.5s. The humor—sometimes laugh out loud—and the clever mystery-plotting are still satisfying, but I did find I liked some more than others. It really is one of my favorite series and one I pick up over and over just because.
Bernie is (pretty much) an ageless—in the vein of Jessica Fletcher, Miss Marple, etc—gentleman burglar, retired (sort of). His legitimate job is bookseller at Barnegat Books, a used book store he later purchases. Burglary is more for supplementing that income. Sometimes he’s hired; sometimes he burgles for the sport of it—yet always seems to wind up near when there’s a murder.
The rest of the main cast is pet-groomer Carolyn Kaiser, Bernie's BFF and occasional partner in crime; Ray Kirschmann, an on-the-take cop who alternately helps and harasses the “former” burglar, but manages to take credit for the murders Bernie solves; and Wally Hemphill, Bernie’s lawyer. Oh… And Raffles, the bookstore’s mouse-catching, paper ball-batting cat (gifted by Carolyn who couldn’t keep him herself because she already has two cats and three would make her a “cat lady.”)
3. Lawrence Block - Burglars Can't Be Choosers (3.5) [B=Career (Bookstore clerk, burglar)] 230229
4. Lawrence Block - The Burglar in the Closet (4.0) [B=Career (Bookstore clerk, burglar)] 230303
5. Lawrence Block - The Burglar Who Liked to Quote Kipling (3.5) [B=Career (Bookstore owner, burglar)] 230308
6. Lawrence Block - The Burglar Who Studied Spinoza (3.5) [B=Career (Bookstore owner, burglar)] 230310
7. Lawrence Block - The Burglar Who Painted Like Mondrian (4.0) [B=Career (Bookstore owner, burglar)] 230313
8. Lawrence Block - The Burglar Who Traded Ted Williams (4.0) [B=Career (Bookstore owner, burglar)] 230315
9. Lawrence Block - The Burglar Who Thought He Was Bogart (4.0) [B=Career (Bookstore owner, burglar)] 230319
10. Lawrence Block - The Burglar in the Library (4.5) [B=Career (Bookstore owner, burglar; Travel-Whitham Junction)] 230321
11. Lawrence Block - The Burglar in the Rye (4.0) [B=Career (Bookstore owner, burglar)] 230324
12. Lawrence Block - The Burglar on the Prowl (4.0) [B=Career (Bookstore owner, burglar)] 230326
13. Lawrence Block - The Burglar Who Counted the Spoons (3.5) [B=Career (Bookstore owner, burglar)] 230330
Then, I happened across one of my favorite series in e-format at an internet library. I was excited to finally find something I’d intermittently searched for and decided to renew my acquaintance with Desiree and pals. The series, Selma Eichler’s Desiree Shapiro, was one of the first series I read after rediscovering the library. I checked out the first three books and devoured them within a few days. I wound up going back for more and had a 21-day affair with Desiree while reading the 15 books in the series (to date, but with nothing new since 2008, the year I read the series by the way, I’m not holding out hope of new entries). :o( I read some more in Laura Childs’ Scrapbooking series, which I'm still working my way through while reading Desiree. I’ll list them out of order below.
There was one new-to-me story I didn’t know about the first time around. Because it’s a short story, I won’t count it as part of the challenge total, but will list it as a “b” book.
Widowed Desiree Shapiro is a BBW New York PI. She may run out of breath when walking (and hates stairs), but she has a sharp mind for investigation, great intuition, and crime solving skills. Desiree describes herself as “…five-foot-two with auburn hair (abetted somewhat by Egyptian henna) and blue eyes. Plus I've got dimples. Not—unfortunately—on my face. But on my elbows and hands and knees and a lot of places the world will never see.
“Now, that may lead you to believe I'm a little overweight. Wrong. I'm a lot more than a little overweight. I won't tell you what I weigh, but I once lost over twenty pounds and hardly anyone noticed. I didn't get discouraged, though. I went and lost fifteen pounds more. This time, everyone noticed. My friends thought I looked "fabulous," "sensational," and all those other nice things. But it didn't get me Robert Redford. Or even a reasonable facsimile. And that discouraged me.
“So I put back the thirty-five pounds. And then some. Eventually, I met and married Ed Shapiro, who was also a P.I. It only lasted five years, because Ed choked on a chicken bone and died. I know that sounds bizarre, but, believe me, it's no joke. We were very, very happy.”
Desiree is quirky and humor is part of the books, which I think is why I like the series so much. It’s fun. We get glimpses of her personal life—apartment living, relationships with friends, family, etc—all of which make her a wonderfully, likeable character. Desiree carries an immense purse so full of stuff she sometimes lose her gun in it. She loves good food and good sales—especially at Bloomingdales! Her favorite form of exercise is “a hike from the refrigerator to the kitchen table, preferably with a dish of Haagen-Dazs macadamia brittle in hand.” That is, she’s pretty much like me and my friends!
The cast of regulars include Desiree’s niece, Ellen Kravitz (boyfriend/fiancé/husband Mike); neighbor Harriet Gould (husband Steve); the lawyers she rents space from and occasionally does work for (Elliot) Gilbert and (Pat) Sullivan and their secretary, Jacki (boyfriend Derwin); precinct cops, including Detective Tom Fielding, her husband’s ex-partner; and Desiree’s sort of boyfriends, Stuart Mason, Bruce Simon, and Nick Grainger.
I do admit that the stories can drag now and then with stretches of investigating. Some mysteries were easy to figure out and some endings don’t satisfy (though are kind of true to life and justice seems to prevail in the end), but I still enjoyed my visit with Desiree. She narrates the stories and admits to her investigative shortcomings (like when she misses clues we all see) as much as she does her personal ones. Again, that just endears her to me.
14. Selma Eichler – Murder Can Kill Your Social Life (4.0) [B=Career] 230402
15. Selma Eichler – Murder Can Ruin Your Looks (4.0) [B=Career] 230406
16. Selma Eichler – Murder Can Stunt Your Growth (4.0) [B=Career] 230410
17. Selma Eichler – Murder Can Wreck Your Reunion (4.0) [B=Career] 230417
18. Selma Eichler – Murder Can Spook Your Cat (4.0) [B=Career] 230420
19. Selma Eichler – Murder Can Singe Your Old Flame (4.0) [B=Career] 230423
20. Selma Eichler – Murder Can Spoil Your Appetite (4.0) [B=Career] 230425
21a. Selma Eichler – Murder Can Upset Your Mother (4.0) [B=Career] 230429
21b. Selma Eichler – Murder Can Hurt Your Ears (from the anthology And the Dying is Easy) (4.0) [B=Career; Travel (Aruba)] 230429
23. Selma Eichler – Murder Can Cool Off Your Affair (4.0) [B=Career] 230509
25. Selma Eichler – Murder Can Rain on Your Shower (4.0) [B=Career] 230517
26. Selma Eichler – Murder Can Botch Up Your Birthday (4.0) [B=Career] 230521
27. Selma Eichler – Murder Can Mess Up Your Mascara (4.0) [B=Career] 230524
28. Selma Eichler – Murder Can Run Your Stockings (4.0) [B=Career] 230529
29. Selma Eichler – Murder Can Depress Your Dachshund (4.0) [B=Career; Animal (Dachshund)] 230602
30. Selma Eichler – Murder Can Crash Your Party (4.0) [B=Career; Travel (Connecticut)] 230607
Desiree reminded me of another character I liked, but all I could remember was her first name, Peaches. Thanks to Google—and my great search terms, of course!—I was able to track down Elizabeth Daniels Squire’s Peaches Dann series in e-format. As with Desiree, I read a couple of other books while reading Peaches. I’ll list the Tonya Kappes’ Holiday books out of order below.
Widowed author (later a writer for the local newspaper) Peaches Dann has no memory—that is, she has a hard time remembering things—always has. While she can recite poems or facts she’s learned, she doesn’t always remember new information—what she did yesterday, who called that afternoon, etc. Because she’s learned and has used memory tricks throughout her life, she’s writing a book for her friends and others who are now suffering memory glitches. As you can guess, this makes solving the murders she’s involved with a bit harder as she tries to remember clues, etc. she’s seen. Books include really useful memory tricks.
The rest of the main cast include the widowed Ted Holleran, Peaches’ boyfriend, then (second) husband, a former journalist now teaching journalism at the local college; and Peaches’ Pop, a wheel-chaired bound, curmudgeonly octogenarian whose mind sees assassins, thieves, etc. everywhere. There are also Pop’s caregivers and countless cousins other family members who pop in and out, including her daughter, Eve, and her (mean) cousin Albert.
I originally rated the books 4.0 stars, though some were 3.5s. Those ratings pretty much hold true.
32. Elizabeth Daniels Squire’s – Who Killed What's-Her-Name? (4.0) [B=Career] 230618
33. Elizabeth Daniels Squire’s – Remember the Alibi (4.0) [B=Career] 230625
34. Elizabeth Daniels Squire’s – Memory Can Be Murder (4.0) [B=Career] 230629
35. Elizabeth Daniels Squire’s – Whose Death Is It, Anyway? (4.0) [B=Career] 230702
38. Elizabeth Daniels Squire’s – Is There a Dead Man in the House? (4.0) [B=Career; Travel (Tennessee)] 230723
39. Elizabeth Daniels Squire’s – Where There's a Will (4.0) [B=Career; Travel (to London, then a cruise back to US)] 230728
40. Elizabeth Daniels Squire’s – Forget about Murder (4.0) [B=Career] 230731
The series ended after seven books (at least there hasn’t been anything since 2000). I always wished there were more stories for Peaches and Ted. :o(
The in betwixt and in between...From the Laura Childs’ Scrapbooking series...
While I've liked these books, I'm left a bit unsatisfied with the endings. There's no epilogue-like wrap-up. The murderer is caught and we may hear why s/he killed, the end. This leaves hanging threads -- which I hate. Okay... most are not consequential to the resolution of the mystery, but things you want to know. What happened to the person who was charged with murder? Did this character save his store? Did the haunted house open. Were Carmela and Ava paid?
Also, with these last couple of books either I missed the clues left to figure out the killer or the only real clue is that the character doesn't "fit" -- at least that's how I guessed the killers. I still enjoy the series and stories overall, but...
22. Laura Childs – Tragic Magic (3.0) [Career; Crafting (Scrapbooking/Papercrafting)] 230502
24. Laura Childs – Fiber and Brimstone (3.0) [Career; Crafting (Scrapbooking/Papercrafting), Holiday (Halloween)] 230512
31. Laura Childs – Skeleton Letters (3.0) [Career; Crafting (Scrapbooking/Papercrafting)] 230612
And… in Tonya Kappes’ Holiday series, Violet Rhinehammer is still in Holiday Junction. Her mother has now moved to town and purchased a house and her father follows to chase after his wife, though he still has the house in Normal (for now??). I’ve got the next two (Easter and 4th of July) lined up and there are three more (so far) coming, Thanksgiving and Christmas stories this year and April Fools’ Day in 2024.
36. Tonya Kappes – A Halloween Homicide (3.0) [Career, Holiday (Halloween)] 230709
37. Tonya Kappes – New Year Nuisance (3.0) [Career, Holiday (New Year)] 230715
Finally (at least so far)… I receive Melissa Bourbon’s newsletter. One referenced her Harlow Cassidy/(Magical Dressmaking series (TBRed), one I always mixed up with Annette Blair’s Vintage Magic series.Did I read Bourbon’s series? No. I pulled out Blair’s as the next visit on my re-reading the past journey/kick.
I really liked this series when I first read it and enjoyed the rereads – though I do have to admit that the elements that annoyed me when I first read the series still annoyed me. I show ratings of fours for all the books, which were probably a mix of 4s and 3.5s. I’d go with those ratings again—still all enjoyable reads. Blair's characters are well drawn and believable, even the ghosts, and the mysteries are involving enough to keep one guessing. I love how they, as you can guess from the "vintage" part, mix the old with the new. I find the fashion trivia interesting, too.
Madeira (Maddie) Cutler, vintage clothing lover and New York fashion designer, returns to her home town, Mystic, Connecticut, [hey, would that be considered “Travel” for the “B” challenge?? :o)] to help plan her sister’s wedding and do alterations, etc. on her sister’s wedding dress and vintage veil. Murder ensues! Maddie works with and around law enforcement to catch the killer.
After the wedding, Maddie winds up staying in town and opening her dream, a vintage clothing store. The haunted Vintage Magic is located in a repurposed funeral home. Former funeral home director Dante Underhill, a chatty debonair ghost attached to the building, is one of her sidekicks as she solves murders associated with the vintage clothing she sells and/or comes into contact with, including very cold cases in some instances.
The (semi-)regular cast includes Maddie’s BFF Eve Meyers; her literature professor widowed father, Harry Cutler; her mother’s BFF (and father’s lady friend), Fiona (Aunt Fee) Sullivan; younger law-enforcement brother Alex (wife Tricia); younger sister, Brandy, a Peace Corps member and adventurer; PhD baby sister Sherry (husband Justin); her law-enforcement on-again-off-again Nick Jaconetti (Alex’s partner); local law-enforcement friend (also a love interest), Detective Sergeant Lytton Werner; and centenarian friend and benefactor Dolly Sweet.
Mysteries, as you can guess, always involve vintage clothing. Maddie’s psychometric, a psychic gift she inherited from her late mother, who Maddie discovers was a broom-carrying witch (so’s Fee, by the way). Maddie has been able to see ghosts her entire life (her mother did, too). Her gift also allows her “read” clothing and gets glimpses of its past—visions of what happened to previous owners as they wore the clothing item central to the mystery.
41. Annette Blair - A Veiled Deception (4.0) [B=Career; Paranormal (psychic, ghost)] 230807
42. Annette Blair - Larceny and Lace (4.0) [B=Career; Paranormal (psychic, ghost)] 230817
43. Annette Blair - Death by Diamonds (3.5) [B=Career; Paranormal (psychic, ghost); Travel (New York)] 230827
44. Annette Blair - Skirting the Grave (3.5) [B=Career; Paranormal (psychic, ghost)] 230905
45. Annette Blair - Cloaked in Malice (3.0) [B=Career; Paranormal (psychic, ghost)] 230918
46. Annette Blair - Tulle Death Do Us Part (3.5) [B=Career; Paranormal (psychic, ghost)] 230929
Sadly, the series ends there (seemingly, since there’s been nothing new since 2013). In the last book (to date, at least), Maddie gets more clarity in her love life. I am left wanting to know how all that worked out. :o(
So yay me, I've reached the goal for the "A" part of the challenge. We're headed into the holiday season, so I don't how how many more mysteries I'll get done by the end of the year. but it's all gravy.I was thinking of re-reading Heather Blake's Magic Potions series—yes, another gone-too-soon favorite—but I think I'm going to update my to-read list with the latest releases in my favorite—and still current!—series and get started catching up. We'll see.
Sadly breaking my one-year "streak," I won't be hitting the "B" goal. While there's still time and I think I could hit the Culinary- and Animal-related categories, I don't think what I'd be reading will hit usual shortfalls Series out of US and Historical, though I have read two books that hit both categories, so I only really need to read two more historicals or two more out-of-USs, or a combination thereof, so maybe I have a chance. Hmmm... Five books would hit the missing categories. Just five... I should be able to do that... Ack!
So that's the list to date. Phew!
Back to add a singular title (most likely the way the year peters out, one title at a time)...I updated some of my regular series with the latest releases. First up...
48. Cleo Coyle - Bulletproof Barista 4.0 [B=Culinary; Career] 231202
Another goodie from Cleo Coyle's Coffeehouse series, one of my all-time favorite series. Can't wait for the next one.
This gives me a "culinary"-related story. leaving me to get one. Still need, obviously, the Out-of-USs (2, if I count the two I have as "historical") and Animal-related (2). I may get the culinary, but my next-up short list is filled with catch-ups that don't necessarily hit the mark:
** Jenn McKinlay - Sugar Plum Poisoned (Cupcake Bakery series; culinary; career)
** Jenn McKinlay - The Plot and the Pendulum (Library Lover's series; career)
** Jenn McKinlay - Fatal Fascinator (Hat Shop series; career; out-of-US; maybe travel)
** Victoria Laurie - See No Evil (Psychic Eye series; career; paranormal-psychic)
** Victoria Laurie - Coaching Fire (Life Coach series; career; travel-TX)
** Tonya Kappes - Chocolate Bunny Betrayal (Holiday series; holiday-Easter; culinary-baking contest) ***I started this a few months ago but other reads... -- I also have Fourth of July Forgery and Thanksgiving Treachery from the same series on hand. All I know about their "B" is that they're "holiday"-related.
** Tonya Kappes - Cappuccino Criminal and Macchiato Murder (Killer Coffee series; I know both are culinary and career; the latter is also holiday-Halloween)
** Kari Lee Townsend - A Touch of Malice (Kalli Ballas | Mind Reader series; paranormal-mind reader)
** Kari Lee Townsend - Murder in the Meditation and Cruising Into Danger (Sunny Meadows | Fortune Teller series; paranormal-psychic; career; the latter adds travel as well as a mind reader)
And that's just the tip of the TBR-CU iceberg! I didn't realize how behind I'd gotten with my favorite series. Now I have to play catch-up (even as new additions are set to come next year!!). I may -- may -- see if there are catch-ups to fit what I need, but I don't think I'll be hitting the "B" challenge this year.
Another...49. Addison Moore - Pineapple Upside-Down Dilemma 3.0 [B=Culinary; Career; Paranormal (ghosts); Animal (dachshund)] 231215
I don't know what I'm going to do with this series (Murder in the Mix/Lottie Lemon). I love the main character and her hubby, Everett, but hate others, especially bio-mom Carlotta. The secondary stories are mostly horrible and get more unbelievable with each book -- and I'm not talking about the paranormal part. I guessed at one of the things and was right. And, I don't know why the main character involved did what he did. He knew going into it there was something off -- and he did it anyway. Cliffhanger.! And I hate that, too. Why can't books end?
I like the mysteries okay, but I don't know how much more of the other crap I can take. I'm speed-reading through most of the book to get past it. I have three more to catch up.
And another...50. Addison Moore - Star-Spangled Ice Scream Cake 3.0 [B=Culinary; Career; Paranormal (ghosts); Animal (Silkie chicken)] 231218
Yep, another Murder in the Mix/Lottie Lemon book. Last post I was bemoaning the series and its over-the-top secondary stories (and characters!). Then the series goes back to (what I'd consider) normal (though not without some craziness) and I enjoy it again. Bio-mom Carlotta was still crazy in this book, but not as horrible as she's been in previous stories and there was no Lottie-bullying. I would have rated this 3.5 because I wasn't disgusted with any secondary characters' actions or the non-mystery related story(ies). The mystery wasn't too mysterious -- I figured it out when the first clue appeared -- but the overall story/investigation still held my interest.
And while there's the dreaded cliffhanger, it's not a have-to-read-the-next-book hang like last books abrupt ending -- and one I was expecting since the last book. This one has more to do with the personal story and just leads into the next book. (Still... not a fan of cliffhangers.)
Two more to catch up the series -- and, yes, I'm on to the next one.
My items- and pages-read are down for the year, but even with my getting stuck on romance this year, I still may hit 50 cozies this year!As for the "B" option goal, I will fall short unless I read two out-of-US set series or two historicals, or one of each since there are two books that count toward both categories at this point. In the end, I may need to decide if I want to fall short one in each category or two in either or. :o)
I wish I could find a copy of Joanna Campbell Slan's book Tuesday Trash and Trouble at the elibraries. It's from her Friday Mystery Club series.It's a "modern" series specifically set in 1989 -- thus, by definition, counts toward the "historical" category. That would leave me needing only one Out-of-US to go...
Oh well... off to the next book.
Oops... left out a book! I was just commenting on a what cozy are you reading board and realized I never put this book on my list. I'll fix the numbering in my posts and put this in the correct spot in my cover list, but am listing it out of order here.This was actually book 47, read before Cleo Coyle - Bulletproof Barista...
47. Kate Carlisle - The Twelve Books of Christmas 4.0 [B=Career (Book Restorer); Craft-related (bookbinding/restoration); Travel (Scotland)] 231104
Another good story from the Bibliophile series, one of my favorite series. It came out during the holiday season and takes place at Christmastime, but I don't count it as a "holiday" book. It really doesn't have anything to do with the holiday. Other than references to décor and custom now and then, this book could be set at any time of year -- that is, the holiday isn't affected by nor does it affect the actions in the mystery.
Don't get me wrong... I loved the book. I just wouldn't consider it a "holiday" book toward my "B" goal.
This means I did hit 50 cozies this year! Still reading, though. :o)
One more to the mix...So, I looked at my need-to-catch-up list and saw an Out-of-US set book from a favorite author. I went for it!
51. Jenn McKinlay - Fatal Fascinator 4.0 [B=Career; Out-of-US (England); Travel (from London to countryside)] 231224
This series can be up and down for me and I don't really know why. I enjoy the writing and the mysteries, but... Anyway, I think this is the first one I actually just enjoyed without the whatever (or hoodaba, as a friend would say). While the HOW of the mystery wasn't hard to figure out, the WHO did keep me guessing. The writing was good and the overall story fun. I'm looking forward to the next one.
This puts me one book away from the "B" goal. I need an historical or an Out-of-US. I'll check my catch-up list again and maybe hit my TBR to do it. It's too close to miss, right???
And my last cozy for the year! I did it... I hit the "B" target as well as the "A".I needed one historical or one out-of-US. A few months ago I TBRed a new-to-me series set in Canada. Could I find it? No... I wound up returning to a series I started last year -- actually using it to hit the "B" goal for 2022. So, last cozy of the year:
52. Tracey Drew - Hanks and a Hitman 3.5 [B=Career; Crafting (knit/Crochet); Out-of-US (New Zealand)] 231229
This is from the author's Knitty Kitty series. It's a cute, fun series set -- as I noted -- in New Zealand. In the first couple of books, but cats "helped" solve the mysteries. In this, they were not as important to the overall story. I'm not sure whether or not that's why I enjoyed this one more than the others I read. Whatever the reason, I enjoyed this quick read that held my interest.
Don't know if this will be come a streak, but I'm grateful for a couple of new-to-me series that could count for both the historical and out-of-US categories. I wound up using them for historical this year.
I've joined the challenge for 2024. Can't wait to see what the new year brings.
Off to enter my latest reads in my GoodReads activity.
Mod
Yvonne wrote: "Congrats on completing the challenge Karen! Happy New Year!"Thanks, Yvonne. I appreciate the support.
Hoping to once again finish my first book for the 2024 challenge on the first.
Cruisin' thru the Cozies Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
Hanks and a Hitman (other topics)Hanks and a Hitman (other topics)
Fatal Fascinator (other topics)
Fatal Fascinator (other topics)
The Twelve Books of Christmas (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Tracey Drew (other topics)Jenn McKinlay (other topics)
Kate Carlisle (other topics)
Cleo Coyle (other topics)
JM (other topics)
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