US Cozy Review: a triplet of reviewlets

Welcome to the latest entry in my irregular feature: US cozy review. My latest Cozy reads range from old to new(ish), with publication dates from 1991 to 2013!

In publication order:

1. All the Great Pretenders by Deborah Adams #1 Jesus Creek series (1991)

I bought this in 1996 from Uncle Edgars when I went to my first Bouchercon which was in Minneapolis-Saint Paul. A mere twenty years later I got round to reading it.

Set in the small town of Jesus Creek in Tennessee, this introductory novel revolves around the Inn and the temporary Innkeeper Kate Yancy. A young heiress has disappeared from the Inn and her family have hired a psychic, who comes to stay at the Inn. The press are there too and an announcement that the psychic knows where the girl is, doesn't bode well for the psychic. The mystery aspect is fine but it it is Kate's wry humour and the unusual inhabitants of Jesus Creek which are the stars. Once I got into it, I really enjoyed All the Great Pretenders. The next book, All the Great Winters, revolves around the library and a library volunteer - so right up my street.

If you can't get hold of print copies then the ebooks are currently very good value.

2. Death in Daytime by Eileen Davidson & Robert J Randisi #1 Soap Opera series (2008)

Whereas All the Great Pretenders was pre-internet and almost pre-personal computers, soap star Alexis Peterson has a mobile phone which she thinks can get the internet but she would rather rely on the teenage son of a friend for help. Alexis is one of the main stars of daytime soap opera The Yearning Tide however her new boss Marcy bears a grudge against her and is trying to down-size Alexis's role and is withholding scripts and suchlike. So when Marcy is killed, and Alexis finds the body, Alexis becomes the prime suspect. So naturally Alexis tries to find the real killer, putting herself in danger and annoying the cops enormously.

I love behind the (tv/film) scene settings so I was predisposed to like this one, which I did. I was mis-directed nicely and didn't guess whodunnit at all. Though the cover looks like a cozy there is some strong language at times. I've got the final book (#4) in my tbr and will be purchasing the other two, probably on ebook. [I only had this one 4 years before reading it...]

3. Gluten for Punishment by Nancy J Parra #1 Baker's Treat series (2013)

I bought this in August and read it in October which is probably a record for me to turn around a book that quickly after buying!

Gluten for Punishment is the first in a short series of three, set in Oiltop, Kansas. Toni Holmes has returned home to Oiltop where she has inherited her mother's large house and she opens up a gluten-free bakery in a town surrounded by wheat fields. The official opening of the store is marred by heckling from a wheat farmer and soon after the heckler's dead body is found outside the store. Toni has motive and opportunity and is soon a 'person of interest'. She does some sleuthing, assisted by her eccentric family and friends. This is a solid introduction to the series and I already own the other two books. I did get a bit lost with her extensive family of siblings and who was who. Though sworn off men, there are two gorgeous men vying for her attention, so it'll be interesting to see who she chooses, if either.

Gluten-intolerance runs in my mother's side of the family so I was particularly interested to read a cozy revolving around a gluten-free bakery and I did learn a few things. There are some recipes in the back, if you like to bake.

NB. There is one quite violent scene towards the end.

US Cozy Review: Criminal Confections by Colette London

Welcome to another entry in my irregular feature: US cozy review. Again, this is the start of a new series, and it features a likeable lead who has the job of "chocolate whisperer"!

Criminal Confections by Colette London, January 2015, Kensington

CRIMINAL CONFECTIONS is the first in the series and introduces Hayden Mundy Moore, chocolatier aka the chocolate whisperer. Hayden is a troubleshooter, who is hired discreetly to fix problems with products. She is employed all over the world and has inherited a fortune from an uncle – however there are conditions attached to that wealth – including, it seems, not settling down. Her latest assignment brings her to Lemaitre Chocolates at San Francisco. Lemaitre are hosting a long-weekend event at their flagship hotel and Hayden is invited with the proviso that she finishes her report.

Hayden invites a plus-one – Danny – a long-time friend who has a shady past and now specialises in security matters. This turns out to be a fortunate career profession for Hayden as she soon needs his services.

The apparently accidental death of a Lemaitre employee seems to Hayden to be more likely a murder and possibly she, Hayden, was the intended target. Unable to feel safe until she gets to the bottom of the death she begins to investigate. There are several candidates for the role of killer, including the current CEO and the deposed CEO of Lemaitre, a jealous wife, and a business rival.

Fortunately for Hayden she has Danny to help her and on the end of the phone is Travis, her accountant and owner of a very sexy voice, that she hasn't met yet.

I enjoyed CRIMINAL CONFECTIONS with its independent and talented female lead, though it has to be said she's perhaps not the greatest detective. I guessed correctly whodunnit before she did. The mystery element is possibly the weakest bit as the police are absent until the very end and Hayden steals some of what should have been evidence and ships it to Travis for testing. However the information about chocolate is fascinating – the many ways it can be used – not just for food but for example, in the spa as a hot cocoa mud bath. You will want to eat/buy chocolate after/during reading this book. Most importantly, I liked the narration style, which is as if she's speaking to you, similar to Laura Levine's Jaine Austen series and of course there's the mysterious Travis to meet in due course I hope...

I'll be carrying on with this series and the second book, DANGEROUSLY DARK, is published on 29 September.

Karen Meek, August 2015

US Cozy Review: Guidebook to Murder by Lynn Cahoon

Regular readers might know that I enjoy an occasional US cozy to break up my Euro Crime reads and my wandering mouse has meant that I've downloaded several US cozies from Netgalley. I thought, therefore, I would introduce a new but infrequent slot for US Cozy reviews.

Guidebook to Murder by Lynn Cahoon, April 2014, Kensington

GUIDEBOOK TO MURDER is the first in the 'Tourist Trap' mystery series, with the fifth out this month (August 2015).

Five years ago, Jill Gardner, a family lawyer, moved from the big city to the small coastal Californian town of South Cove to own and runs the coffee/book-shop, Coffee, Books, and More. One of Jill's friends, the elderly Miss Emily, owns a rundown house which the Council feels is an eyesore and are continually on her to mow the lawn, fix the fence etc. It seems the council has had enough and have hired an outside lawyer firm to serve Miss Emily with a condemnation order.

When Jill goes to visit, she is horrified to find Miss Emily, dead in her bed. Convinced that this is not a natural death she swears to find the murderer. The police, in the shape of hunky Detective Greg King are not so sure that the death is suspicious.

When Jill is named heir, things get even more complicated. Jill moves into her friend’s house and has thirty days to get it up to code. She hadn't bargained on death threats, vandalism, lost heirs and disappearances to slow her down. The only positive note is that Det. Greg is spending a lot of time with her, though she knows he is off limits as one of her building contractors said he was the best man at Greg's wedding…

Though Jill says she will investigate, she doesn't actually do that much. The pace of GUIDEBOOK TO MURDER is leisurely with much time devoted to painting and refurbishing of her new home. There are several side-plots involving stolen paintings, gold coins and her ageing aunt who comes to help out/take-over the shop but it never feels that urgent and disappointingly (to me) very little of the book is set in the book-shop. On the plus side is the time afforded to the reader to get to know Jill and also her will-they won't-they romance with Greg. As this is the first book, I feel that the scene has been set and its players introduced and I'm hoping that in the next book there will be a tighter mystery and less time spent in the equivalents to Home Depot.

Karen Meek, August 2015