Wrap-Up of the 2024 Cruisin' Through the Cozies Challenge

I read fourteen books for this cozy reading challenge. I liked all of them except those by Janet Evanovich.  She has a huge readership but just isn't my cup of tea. There were new, to me, authors whose series I enjoyed. Judy Leigh, Mindy Quigley and Lucy Connelly are now on my radar and I look forward to reading their books in the future. Links to my reviews are below.

The Vintage Village Bake-Off by Judy Leigh

Public Anchovy #1 by Mindy Quigley

Murder in the Tea Leaves by Laura Childs

The Museum of Lost Quilts by Jennifer Chiaverini

An American in Scotland by Lucy Connelly

Knee High by the Fourth of July by Jess Lourey

Forget Me Never by Susan Witting Albert

Pink Lemonade Murder by Joanne Fluke

Peach Tea Smash by Laura Childs

Key Lime Pie Murder by Joanne Fluke

Death at a Scottish Christmas by Lucy Connelly

Cinnamon Roll Murder - Joanne Fluke

Seven Up - Janet Evanovich

Hard Eight - Janet Evanovich

Agony in Amethyst by A. M. Stuart

Favorite Book:  Agony in Amethyst 

Second Favorite Book:  Death at a Scottish Christmas

Least Favorite Book:  Hard Eight

Death at a Scottish Christmas

Death at a Scottish Christmas is the 3rd book in the Scottish Isle Mysteries by Lucy Connelly. I have read the first book An American in Scotland which I adored. I selected this book because it meets the requirements for the Calendar of Crime Reading Challenge. It also counts for the New Release Reading Challenge and the Cruisin' Through the Cozies Reading Challenge. It's always nice when a book counts for more than one challenge!

The publisher's summary: 

Sea Isle, Scotland, is magical during the holiday season, and Dr. Emilia McRoy can’t wait to enjoy everything her village has to offer. But when the lead singer of a famous band is murdered in the village, just as they were about to launch a world tour, her holiday instantly comes to a halt. 

As the band’s future hangs in the balance, Emilia discovers that the victim was working on new music that has since disappeared. Were these new lyrics worth killing for? And if so, who is the culprit? It seems more than one person wanted this music star dead. Shockingly, beloved constable Ewan Campbell becomes the prime suspect in the investigation, putting a damper on the town’s festivities.

With an ever-growing list of suspects, Emilia will need all the help she can get to figure out who is framing poor Ewan. Between a secret Santa that wants her dead, stalkers, and killer holiday celebrations, Emilia must see the devil in the details and discover the truth before it’s too late.

When I read the first book in the series I had some difficulty with the Scottish slang terminology. Now I not only understand it but look forward to reading it. The series has become a favorite. The quirky characters are adorable. The banter between Emilia and Ewen is hysterical and I love how they feed off of each other. It's amazing how the townspeople have organized for their needs during the long winters when supplies cannot be delivered to this remote island. Instead of worrying about the situation they got organized but you can tell they are a happy group of people who can slough off the cares of the world.

With Emilia serving as both physician and coroner, the reader sees a viewpoint different from most cozies when she has to investigate a death. Ewen serves as mayor and constable and is the wealthiest person on the island. He has a grumpy persona but makes sure that all of the villagers have everything they need. Of course, this means that he knows everyone's business. 

The howdunit was fascinating. When the band leader's corpse was discovered it was determined that he died from air entering his brain which caused an embolism to form and then burst. How did the air get in the brain? A corkscrew was used to puncture his head. The puncture wound was described as small and I just couldn't picture it as being small. The author was creative in dreaming up this method of killing though. Also, the mystery surrounding the lost notebook with musical scores was entertaining. Resolving this issue was just as gripping as determining the identity of the killer.

I loved this new installment of the series and recommend it to cozy fans. 5 out of 5 stars.

The Key Lime Pie Murder

The Key Lime Pie Murder is the 9th book in a 30 book, to date, cozy mystery series by Joanne Fluke. It was published in 2012 and is a selection for the Color Coded Reading Challenge. I am using lime for the required green entry.

The publisher's summary:

It promises to be a busy week for Hannah Swensen. Not only is she whipping up treats for the chamber of commerce booth at the Tri-County fair, she's also judging the baking contest; acting as a magician's assistant for her business partner's husband; trying to coax Moishe, her previously rapacious feline, to end his hunger strike, and performing her own private carnival act by juggling the demands of her mother and sisters.

With so much on her plate, it's no wonder Hannah finds herself on the midway only moments before the fair closes for the night. After hearing a suspicious thump, she goes snooping–only to discover Willa Sunquist, a student teacher and fellow bake contest judge, dead alongside an upended key lime pie. But who would want to kill Willa and why?

Now Hannah needs to crank up the heat, hoping that Willa's killer will get rattled and make a mistake. If that happens she intends to be there, even if it means getting on a carnival ride that could very well be her last. . .

This was an enjoyable and relaxing read. The storyline was interesting and suspenseful. I loved the recipes and character development from prior books in the series. I have read many books in the series, including more current books, and I believe that the earlier books were better because the plots are tighter. There is alot of humor in these books which also make them delightful to read. The 16 recipes that are in the back of the book were expertly introduced into the plot. With a plot containing a baking contest, Hannah Swensen was a judge instead of being a baker. I could literally taste the entries in the county fair contest. As the judges tasted and discussed the merits of each entry we read about a murder and who could have done the deed. I liked that the investigation of the crime was slowly revealed from discussion among the judges.

ToHighly-creative confection recipes plumped the pages in KEY LIME PIE MURDER. Not knowing when to stop, the recipes opened themselves into luscious, heavy-laden, in-plot cooking, tasting, and contest judg

5 out of 5 stars.

Peach Tea Smash

Peach Tea Smash is another great cozy mystery from Laura Childs. It's the 28th installment of the Indigo Tea Shop Mystery Series and was published on August 6, 2024. Our heroine Theodosia Browning is catering the Mad Hatter Masquerade, a fundraiser hosted by the Friends of the Opera on the grounds of the old Pendleton Grist Mill in Charleston. During the event Harlan Sadler, husband of Cricket Sadler, the chairwoman, is killed. He’s been hit in the head with a croquet mallet, and his body hung on the chains and paddles of the grist mill. Nobody can figure out why anyone would want to kill him since Harlan was beloved by everyone. Ate first the murder seems to a result of the victim’s profession, banking, but there’s a possibility the murderer is someone in his family. Harlan's son Duke is a slum landlord and recently injured a woman in a boating accident. When one of the chief suspects is murdered both Theodora and Detective Tidwell, are clueless.  The tea shop continues to be the staging area for their sleuthing. 

One of the things I love about the Tea Shop Mystery series is that the murder always occurs in the first chapter so that the rest of the book can be about the investigation into the whodunnit.  I also love the specialty tea events that Theo holds in the Indigo Tea Shop. In this story we read about the Regency Tea, Chocolate Tea and Book Lovers Tea. When each tea party is being planned the reader learns about the decorations as well as the foods that were served. We also learn why they were chosen. Recipes are in the back of the book.

Theo's sleuthing was rather aggressive in the story. She broke into a suspect's house, accused another of possibly being a murderer during her "interview" with him and got up on a horse to stop yet another suspect from killing a fourth. When she tells Detective Tidwell about these activities, he isn't angry which is uncharacteristic of him. I liked the arguments between the two of them in earlier novels. Tidwell hasn't played much of a role in the past several books and it's time for him to return. Theo's forwardness is new and while this required a huge suspension of belief, it is good for the series. I was happy, though, that Theo's nightly jogs with her dog were not used to obtain clues. This has been overdone in the series. I applaud the author for changing up the method of obtaining clues as it keeps these stories fresh. 

So how do you make a peach tea smash? With white tea, half a peach and bourbon. 5 out of 5 stars.

Knee High by the Fourth of July

This book is my selection for the Calendar of Crime Reading Challenge. I needed a book about 4th of July and was lucky to find this one. The book is the third in a series of holiday themed stories. It was published in 2007. 

The publisher's summary:

What's so wrong with admiring from a distance? Mira's quirky puppy love for Chief Wenonga, a well-muscled fiberglass statue in her Minnesota small town, might be a safer love pursuit than online dating. But when the 23-foot Chief goes missing from his cement base, Mira's not the only citizen to be crushed. The town of Battle Lake is celebrating their statue's 25th anniversary and no amount of blue, sugar-soaked popcorn balls at Wenonga Days can uplift their gloomy mood. 

But when Mira runs into a dead body, the town has more pressing issues. Mira's second biggest crush, organic gardening god and dead ringer for Brad Pitt-Johnny Leeson-has disappeared. Her luck with men is running out, and a killer might be moving in. With something of her own to hide, Mira hopes she can avoid the police long enough to track down the object of her mega-crush-but is Mira trailing a statue-thief, a kidnapper, or a murderer?

 

This was an OK novel. It wasn't bad but it wasn't great either. It's more of a three stars out of five book. The main character Mira is funny and super smart. However, I didn't think her desire to participate in online dating was a good decision. It can be dangerous. Yes, I am placing my values on a character. While the online dating provided a few suspects to the murder, it didn't connect with me as well as if all of the suspects were from Battle Lake.

I am pretty picky about the cozy mysteries that I read. I only read a few cozy authors consistently and, perhaps, author Lourey is just one of them that I don't want to continue reading. I hate to bash a book when the genre, or rather sub-genre, is not my cup of tea. 

As I stated above, this book is part of a series. The characters are the same throughout the series so we can expect to read more about Mira's exploits. If you enjoyed this book, please let me know your thoughts.

Apologies for the formatting. I couldn't fix it without tearing my hair out.

Forget Me Never

Forget Me Never was just published last month on June 4, 2024. It is the newest installment of Susan Wittig Albert's China Bayles Mysteries and is the 28th installment of the series. As expected, it is a fun and relaxing read. 

The publisher's summary:

Olivia Andrews is locally famous for her blog and podcast, “Forget Me Not: A Crime Victim’s Storyboard,” which is dedicated to telling the stories of victims of crime. Now, she has a stunning story to tell about a decades-old murder mystery involving a prominent citizen of Pecan Springs—someone who isn’t the man everybody thinks he is. But she is killed by a hit-and-run driver while she’s out jogging early one morning. Was it an accident—or something else? Her sister wants to know.

And Olivia’s friend China Bayles also wants to know, urgently. Who is the prominent citizen Olivia was about to expose? How did he manage to get away with murder twenty years ago? Did he kill Olivia to keep her from revealing his secret? What is local lawyer Charlie Lipman trying to hide? And when there’s another murder . . . well, it has to be a part of the same story, doesn’t it? And so does the scrapbook a cousin has compiled to honor the memory of one of the victims and make sure she won’t be forgotten. It might hold the answer—except that the one person whose face China wants to see has been scissored out of every photo.

What I love about this series is that once you start reading you don't notice how far into the story you have read until about halfway through it. The first person narrative as well as China's personality keep you reading without even noticing the time.  This series always focuses on an herb with chapter intros giving a factoid about that particular herb.  In this novel, the author has focuses on the coffee bean because it helps with memory and the title is about not forgetting.  I loved reading the little known facts about coffee and caffeine such as the fragrance of coffee comes from over 800 aromas.  The darker the roast of the bean, the easier it is to detect them by scent. Rosemary is another memory enhancing herb that was featured.

The setting is a small town in Texas called Pecan Springs. China's narrative comes from her Texan heritage with plenty of southern colloquialisms.  The characters all reflect this heritage but each are unique.  China is a former attorney who runs an herb and catering business. Her best friend Ruby is a clairvoyant but also her business partner.  Ruby's psychic abilities are showcased in the story. The author mentioned that former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling lived nearby in the River Oaks community before he went to prison and that Senator Ted Cruz also lived there. I found it amusing and liked that she made them a part of the setting.

A new character, Olivia Andrews, is detailed from what people have said about her after her demise.  She was killed early on from a hit and run "accident."  Olivia is an interesting character.  She is a former journalist who had been writing a true crime blog and podcast. The crimes that she featured on her blog were taken from obscurity but she brought them back to life with her unique way of thinking. Secondary characters such as China's husband and the friendly local police chief were not involved in the investigation and were barely mentioned in the book. Police Chief Sheila Dawson's contribution to the story dealt only with how she was handling being a new mother.  Sheila's new life as a mother is the only character growth in the book but we only read these great stories from Susan Wittig Albert for her ability to write a fun mystery.  This one had more twists than we usually see from Albert, most likely because China had three murders to solve.

Forget Me Never is a fun and fast read. Cozy fans will want to read it. 5 out of 5 stars.

The Vintage Village Bake Off

I first learned about this book from a blog review that I read last year. As a fan of the Great British Bakeoff, I had to read this cozy novel which is based on the competition. It did not disappoint. The story opens with the main character, Robert Parkin, living with his cat Isaac Mewton in the Devon village of Millbrook. Robert keeps himself busy by taking care of  his chickens and goats. While he has never been a lady's man, the local ladies still vie for his company. It soon becomes clear, though, that Robert’s victoria sponge cake is the lure. They want the recipe. Robert can bake anything but his real masterpieces are his scones. He soon comes to the attention of the local media. Reporters ask him which county makes the best cream tea: Devon or Cornwall? Friends set up a competition for Robert and one other lady to settle the debate. Robert’s sisters Bunty and Hattie are both at crossroads in their lives, so news of their brother’s baking competition is the perfect excuse for them to visit Millbrook. As the siblings relish each other’s company, and Robert relishes being at the heart of his community, he bakes up a storm.

While I expected Robert to be the main character, I think his sister Hattie also played a big role too. The first half of the story was mainly about her. She is a realistic character, being a widow of an emotionally abusive man. When she realizes that she is not doing something she wants to do because of internal thoughts she received in the past from her husband, Hattie begins to reject these ideas. It is not easy for her. Sometimes she can do it but other times she succumbs to the training she received from the husband. Both of her siblings, though, are submissive to others too. Something must have happened in childhood for them to have these traits.

Reading about the baking kept me interested in the story. Who doesn't love scones, cakes and cookies? However, while the baking is going on, the characters move the plot forward. This is not a cozy mystery so the plot was basically character development and more specifically, their relationships with the opposite sex. 

This is a cute story that cozy fans will love. 4 out of 5 stars.

2024 Cruisin' Through the Cozies Reading Challenge

I will be rejoining the Cruisin' Through the Cozies Reading Challenge next year.  While I do not read many cozies, this is still one of my favorite challenges.  I have several favorite authors who write this genre and whatever they publish, I read.  I will be joining the challenge by reading any cozy mystery of my choice and at the Snoop level which requires that 10 books be read during the year.  The rules are as follows:

1)    The challenge runs the 2024 calendar year.

2)    You do not have to choose your books in advance.  If you decide to do so, please make a list of the books that you plan on reading and add them in your post about this challenge.

3)    Books can be in any format:  audio, paper or ebook.

4)    You do not have to write a review and can add in the comment section of the challenge host's post the name of the books that you have read.  If you have a blog, link the review the the challenge host's review page. 

5)    You can either read any cozy mysteries of your choice or choose one book from each of these sub-genres:

    a)    culinary

    b)    animal related

    c)    craft related

    d)    paranormal

    e)    based outside the U. S.

    f)    career based

    g)    travel mystery

    h)    historical mystery

    i)   one book form any sub-genre of your choice

The reading levels that you can join the challenge at are:

1)    Snoop:  read 10 books

2)    Investigator:  read 20 books

3)    Super Sleuth: read 30 books

4)    Sleuth Extraordinaire:  read 40 books

This is a fun challenge.  Please join me!