Like pie? Then you will probably like the new "Pie Shop Mystery" series by Carol Culver. The first book "A Good Day to Pie" introduces the main characters: Hanna who is now running the pie shop for her retired grandmother, her best friend Kate, and hunky ex-high school crush Sam, the new Chief of Police of their worthy seaside village in California.
When it looks like Grannie is going to charged with murdering her bridge opponent (with a slice of cranberry pie, nonetheless) Hanna sets out to find the real murderer. A lot of twists and turns later, she does, of course (or else it wouldn't be a cozy!)
The descriptions of the pies are enough alone to cause your mother to water, let alone the sleuthing and yearning for some sign of acceptance by Sam and the other people of the village.
It is a comfortable and fun read.
The second in the series will be coming out in August of 2012, with the title of "Never Say Pie." It introduces even more zany characters with a Food Fair to die for -- with local vegetables, fruits, and homemade goodies being sold from booths. Unfortunately, someone does die, but not from the food. This time the murder is caused by a knife that cuts, slices, and serves all at once. It is also good for cutting throats! No blood and gore though; just clean deductive reasoning and some snooping catches out the murderer. This is a good addition to the series. Check them out!
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Saturday, May 26, 2012
C.S. Challinor is a kind of modern-day Agatha Christie, with a Scottish barrister solving murders. Rex Graves is a middle-age widower with a college-age son who is an amateur sleuth in the manner of Miss Marple, albeit without the formal gathering to trip up the murderer.
He has been involved in murders at a bed and breakfast belonging to a friend of his mothers, a nudist resort in France, and in Florida at the college where his son Campbell is matriculating. These are cozies in the best sense of the word -- no blood and gore, no graphic sexual scenes (although Rex is a virile man), and a logical conclusion reached by using the clues and information presented in the story.
The books are not overlong so easily and quickly read. They are great light mysteries. I most recently read "Phi Beta Murder" which delightfully had a romantic subplot. Go Rex!
Give this author a try. As usual, I gathered this author's name from Cozy-Mysteries.com. Check this website out; it is awesome.
He has been involved in murders at a bed and breakfast belonging to a friend of his mothers, a nudist resort in France, and in Florida at the college where his son Campbell is matriculating. These are cozies in the best sense of the word -- no blood and gore, no graphic sexual scenes (although Rex is a virile man), and a logical conclusion reached by using the clues and information presented in the story.
The books are not overlong so easily and quickly read. They are great light mysteries. I most recently read "Phi Beta Murder" which delightfully had a romantic subplot. Go Rex!
Give this author a try. As usual, I gathered this author's name from Cozy-Mysteries.com. Check this website out; it is awesome.
Thursday, May 24, 2012
It has been a while since I have added to my blog. That does not mean I have not been reading. Oh no! I read every day. I wanted to tell you about four books that I have just finished.
David Baldacci is one of my favorite thriller writers. I just finished "The Innocent." It is a very thrilling read about an assassin in an unnamed U.S. federal program, who gets caught up in an unforgettable mess of killings, running from other assassins, and a very complicated plot to get him killed. Not only does he have to worry about himself, but a fourteen-year old girl whose family has been killed is in the mix. At first I thought she was the owner of the title (Innocent) but there is much more to the story than that. It is very much a book to read and savor but it does move fast. This is a keeper for sure.
James Patterson has become a fast read -- short chapters, quick paced story. Two of his newest books are no exception. I read "The 11th Hour" and "Guilty Wives" in two days. Of the two, I found "Guilty Wives" the most fascinating. It details the story of four housewives, living in Switzerland, on a girls' weekend to Monte Carlo. You know it is going to turn horrific because the book begins with them in a French prison, one of them being killed there. Abbie Elliott, the narrator, needs to find out who the real murderers are so she can get her friends and herself out of the prison. Horrendous prison scenes give a glimpse of torture and degradation. The ending is foretold but comes as a real surprise, too. It is a good read. David Ellis is a co-author.
"The 11th Hour" is a Women's Murder Club novel with the characters from previous books experiencing life-changing events. This is more of a typical Patterson with Maxine Paetro story. Easy reading, short chapters, some characterizations, and a relatively good story.
The newest Mary Higgins Clark was rather a disappointment to me. Her characters Alvirah and Willy were the sleuths in a story about a Biblical treasure discovered, then stolen, with murder thrown in. A letter supposedly written by Jesus Christ to Joseph of Armathea was stolen from the Vatican in the 1500's has come to the attention of a Biblical scholar, who is then killed. Police think he was killed by his Alzheimer-suffering wife. Their daughter must find the real killer. Her friends Alvirah and Willy help her discover the truth. Clark produces a much better product when it is not with these characters, but a stand-alone. While Alvirah is an interesting character, she is so unrealistic that it makes the whole story seem convoluted. I have read better.
Now back to my cozies!
David Baldacci is one of my favorite thriller writers. I just finished "The Innocent." It is a very thrilling read about an assassin in an unnamed U.S. federal program, who gets caught up in an unforgettable mess of killings, running from other assassins, and a very complicated plot to get him killed. Not only does he have to worry about himself, but a fourteen-year old girl whose family has been killed is in the mix. At first I thought she was the owner of the title (Innocent) but there is much more to the story than that. It is very much a book to read and savor but it does move fast. This is a keeper for sure.
James Patterson has become a fast read -- short chapters, quick paced story. Two of his newest books are no exception. I read "The 11th Hour" and "Guilty Wives" in two days. Of the two, I found "Guilty Wives" the most fascinating. It details the story of four housewives, living in Switzerland, on a girls' weekend to Monte Carlo. You know it is going to turn horrific because the book begins with them in a French prison, one of them being killed there. Abbie Elliott, the narrator, needs to find out who the real murderers are so she can get her friends and herself out of the prison. Horrendous prison scenes give a glimpse of torture and degradation. The ending is foretold but comes as a real surprise, too. It is a good read. David Ellis is a co-author.
"The 11th Hour" is a Women's Murder Club novel with the characters from previous books experiencing life-changing events. This is more of a typical Patterson with Maxine Paetro story. Easy reading, short chapters, some characterizations, and a relatively good story.
The newest Mary Higgins Clark was rather a disappointment to me. Her characters Alvirah and Willy were the sleuths in a story about a Biblical treasure discovered, then stolen, with murder thrown in. A letter supposedly written by Jesus Christ to Joseph of Armathea was stolen from the Vatican in the 1500's has come to the attention of a Biblical scholar, who is then killed. Police think he was killed by his Alzheimer-suffering wife. Their daughter must find the real killer. Her friends Alvirah and Willy help her discover the truth. Clark produces a much better product when it is not with these characters, but a stand-alone. While Alvirah is an interesting character, she is so unrealistic that it makes the whole story seem convoluted. I have read better.
Now back to my cozies!
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