Cosy Summer Mysteries Reviews: Brownies and Broomsticks, by Bailey Cates

After a long break, here’s the next cosy mystery in this summer’s series: A hilarious mix of murder mystery and Harry Potter!

With the help of aunt Lucy and uncle Ben, Katie realises her dream and sets up a bakery – but before it even opens, mean old Mrs Templeton practically forces her to host the local Business Association meeting there. Against all odds, Katie manages; but afterwards, Mrs Templeton refuses to pay the agreed sum for the event! Uncle Ben gets very angry with her – and a few minutes later, Mrs Templeton is found dead in her car with a broken neck; and, of course, Ben is the main suspect…

Not enough with that, though: soon after, Katie learns that aunt Lucy and her friends from the book club are witches, and that she herself has got magical powers as well! But while Lucy and the other ladies try out spells to keep Ben from being arrested, Katie sticks to a more realistic method: together with the handsome young fireman Declan she starts investigating. They come across Mrs Templeton’s arrogant nephew and heir, they find a run-down apartment building that belonged to the deceased; and soon it shows that there are quite a number of people who had a good reason to kill Mrs Templeton…

A most enjoyable read, with a good dose of humour, suspense, a big choice of suspects, and a bit of romance on the side – what more could a fan of cosy mysteries ask for? Tasty recipes are included as well, of course.

https://www.amazon.com/Brownies-Broomsticks-Magical-Bakery-Mystery-ebook/dp/B0072NWJFM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1535317676&sr=8-1&keywords=brownies+and+broomsticks

Treasures of the Deep Blue Sea is on Kindle now!

Treasures of the Deep Blue Sea is on Kindle!

Get your copy today for boundless thrills, sexy romance and gun-happy feud:

#adventure #romance #action #books #Amazon #Kindle #KU #newrelease

https://www.amazon.com/Treasures-Deep-Blue-Roberta-Franklin-ebook/dp/B07G78CPK2/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Cosy Summer Mysteries Reviews: Recipes and Revenge, by Cindy Bell

This story is proof that cooking can lead to murder – and Hugo, the rather pompous famous chef, really had it coming. He’s been so mean to his colleagues and pupils for so long that it’s no wonder he ends up stabbed one day after a cooking class. Lucy, who together with her sister Chantelle held the class, is shocked, though; she’s a sensitive soul  and people say she’s psychic. And somehow she feels she’s just got to find Hugo’s murderer, even though he wasn’t a nice man at all.

There are quite some suspects: Lauren, an old acquaintance of Hugo’s who’d always been treated especially mean by him because he saw that she actually was more talented than him; Sophia, the owner of the cooking school, who was his rival in creating  and selling dessert sauces; and Georgina, who thanks to Hugo’s demise got his role in a TV cooking programme.

Strange things happen during the next days, evidence disappears and the murder weapon turns up; at the same time, Lucy has strange dreams and visions about how Hugo was killed, but she can’t make out who’s the murderer...

An entertaining cosy bakery mystery (with the recipe for Lucy’s famous macarons added, too), with an unusual touch: instead of just investigating and trying to put the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle together, like most amateur detectives do, Lucy can also call on her psychic abilities to help her solve the crime! An intriguing read indeed, short and crisp and sweet.

https://www.amazon.com/Recipes-Revenge-Macaron-Patisserie-Mystery-ebook/dp/B01N1WBLLN/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1532875195&sr=1-1&keywords=recipes+and+revenge

Treasures of the Deep Blue Sea is live!!

After their adventure in Anatolia that brought them together, Professor Nikos Angelopoulos and his young assistant and lover Sally go on their first holiday together on the Greek island of Crete. Very soon, though, they’re in for new adventures…

First, while scuba diving, Sally discovers some ancient figurines which Nikos identifies as Hittite; a very rare find. They call on Nikos’s Turkish friend and colleague Hasan to help them with the evaluation, and get a team of divers to search for more.

Then, when Sally goes for a midnight swim, she disappears! Nikos is completely shattered when he learns from the locals that she’s probably been kidnapped because she got involved in some way in a long-standing feud between two of the farmers’ families up in the hills…

Get your copy now for boundless thrills, sexy romance and gun-happy feud!

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40848732-treasures-of-the-deep-blue-sea

Cosy Summer Mysteries Reviews: Mrs Thistlethwaite and the Magpie, by H.B. Hawker

Another cosy mystery featuring a loveable old lady with a wonderfully funny name: Mrs Tillie Thistlethwaite!

We get right into the criminal action here from the beginning: in the quiet town of Tillamook, teenage ballet dancer Honora is kidnapped one night after the dancing class by a mysterious stranger! Meanwhile, Tillamook’s inhabitants follow their usual routine: Tillie Thistlethwaite, 85, gives senior yoga lessons, her friend Slim Bottoms leads the Kazoo band. Tillie is well-known as the town’s agony aunt, too: when Olivette, who’s just moved into town with her husband, a retired pastor, asks her for advice about how to deal with his Alzheimer’s, she gives her the most wonderful tips; Tillie knows all too well about the illness: her husband had had it as well.

When the news about Honora’s disappearance spreads, though, and the police fear she might be the latest victim of the ‘Coastal Killer’, Tillie thinks she’s got a more important – and more dangerous – mission to carry out this time: from a tale of her friend Opal’s from her teaching days about a boy who used to steal things and leave wooden carvings of them behind instead, Tillie is certain she knows who the girl’s kidnapper is; and she and Slim set out to track the ‘magpie’ down and free Honora…

A wonderfully humane story with loveable characters who each have got their own personal backstory; as thrilling and suspenseful as any cosy mystery, but just a touch more sensitive. There are quite some gentle hints of religiousness, without overdoing it, though; it’s just a general kindness that prevails, a belief in the good in mankind. And Tillie is the best example of a kind old lady: she even tries to help a mentally disturbed kidnapper! A great read not only for mystery fans – this is actually one cosy mystery with a message.

https://www.amazon.com/Mrs-Thistlethwaite-Magpie-Tillamook-Mystery-ebook/dp/B0711NWMNS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1532362910&sr=8-1&keywords=mrs+thistlethwaite+and+the+magpie

Cosy Summer Mysteries Reviews: Granny Hooks a Crook, by Julie Seedorf

This is definitely one of the wackiest cosy mysteries ever – prepare yourself for a LOT of fun with Granny Fiddlestadt!

Hermiony Fiddlestadt is better known in her village of Fuchsia, Minnesota as Granny. Fuchsia is an unusual, colourful town – and Granny is pretty unusual, too: she eats ice cream and donuts for dinner, reads “Fifty Shades of Grey”, drives a red 1957 Corvette, and works undercover in the town’s stores, helping to catch thieves!

She’s also got a cat named Fish, who starts bringing along friends to the house: a little white poodle, and the cat and dog of her new neighbour Franklin, a retired detective from New York, whom she finds quite attractive. Then, a series of burglaries begins in town; all the shops are robbed in turn with exactly the same method, a shop assistant is missing every time, and the loot starts turning up at Granny’s house! And the ‘shysters’, Granny’s and Franklin’s cats and dogs, seem to know what’s going on…

Prime suspect Granny, who in the meantime has also been stalked by a strange woman who resembles her and a handsome young man who keeps disappearing, decides to investigate on her own and find the burglar and the missing girls – and discovers an intricate tunnel system underneath the town! Despite the warnings from Franklin, her three children and the local cop, she ventures down into the hidden labyrinth…

The story and all its protagonists are just so hilariously funny, I laughed more than I’d ever done with any other cosy crime mystery! The names alone are wonderful (everything from Delight Delure to Cornelius Ephram Stricknine), Granny’s behaviour and that of most other people in Fuchsia beggars description; and as for her rocky romance with the serious gentleman Franklin… This seriously is the ultimate fun read for all fans of cosy mystery with a good sense of humour!

https://www.amazon.com/Granny-Hooks-Crook-Fuchsia-Minnesota-ebook/dp/B00DVL2CVU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1532193928&sr=8-1&keywords=granny+hooks+a+crook

Cosy Summer Mysteries Reviews: Bodies, Baddies, and a Crabby Tabby, by Sherri Bryan

This one’s a good old-fashioned British cosy mystery – similar, of course, but in some aspects also a little different from most American cozies. British country life IS something special!

Right on page one, we get confronted with a murder – at the Comedy Club in Bliss Bay, no less! Andy Cochran, the owner of the club, has been brutally stabbed with a pole during the night; on his cheek, traces of a yellow powder are found which are identified as pollen.

Two months later, Megan Fallon who’s just been dumped by her fiancé and lost her job, is coming home to Bliss Bay to organise her parents’ celebration of renewed marriage vows; she hasn’t been home in a long time because she wants to avoid her ex-husband and his new wife. And when she and her sister arrive at the diner outside town early in the morning, what should they find but another murdered man in his car! Victor Canning, 74, has been strangled – and the pollen on his cheek points to a connection with the other murder two months earlier.

The little village is all upside down now – which one of the peaceful inhabitants could be a murderer? That’s not the only thing that worries the townspeople, though; the old school building is going to be torn down and a new hypermarket will be built, which they aren’t keen on at all. Nevertheless, Megan decides to stay in town for a while and take care of her parents’ house while they go on a cruise – and of Cat, a very clever tabby whom they’ve adopted. The idyll is soon disturbed again, though, when a third murder happens! Now, Megan and her Uncle Des start investigating on their own in order to restore peace and quiet to Bliss Bay…

There’s a wonderfully strange contrast between the cosy country life and the series of murders that starts right on the first page; the people (apart from Megan’s ex and his wife) are all perfectly loveable – and yet, one of them has got to be a devious murderer! With a lot of warmth and sympathy, Sherri Bryan paints the picture of a sleepy little English village which is suddenly disturbed by unbelievable events. An enjoyable read from start to finish!

https://www.amazon.com/Bodies-Baddies-Crabby-Tabby-Mystery-ebook/dp/B07D67YSH9/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1532088499&sr=8-1&keywords=bodies+baddies+and+a+crabby+tabby

Cosy Summer Mystery Reviews: Dial Meow for Murder, by Bethany Blake

Next on my list is Bethany Blake’s “Dial Meow for Murder” – and as you’ve probably guessed, many of the characters in this story are animals!

Daphne Templeton works as a pet sitter in a quiet little town in Pennsylvania; she helps out at a ‘Fur-ever Friends Pet Rescue’ gala to raise money for dog and cat care, on the biggest estate in town, Flynt Mansions, which belongs to Lillian Flynt, a spinster who is big on charity. To her surprise, she finds her estate agent mother in the mansion who’s just about to show it to a possible buyer – and to her horror, she finds Miss Flynt dead in her bathtub, electrocuted by a CD player!

Detective Jonathan Black and his colleagues arrive at the crime scene; and here we learn that Daphne already knows the charming cop, because she’s found a body before, and help solve the crime! And not only that: Jonathan’s ex-wife Elyse is the potential buyer of Flynt Mansions… Other suspects besides her are Bea Baumgartner, who manages a run-down cat shelter and turns out to be Miss Flynt’s sister, Pastor Pete, who’s been embezzling money from the church funds, Asa Whitaker from the Historical Society who seems to have found out something about the past of the Flynt family, and a strange young woman who appears to be stalking Daphne.

Things become even more complicated when Daphne learns that she’s inherited a portrait from Miss Flynt that turns out to be worth a fortune – what is she supposed to do with it? And, even more important, who killed Lillian Flynt? Then a second murder occurs; and on Halloween night, Daphne sets out to find the murderer…

A very clever and intricate story keeps us on the edge of our seats with a lot of suspense, but also a good deal of humour; dogs and cats are to be found everywhere and play their part in the plot. And at the end of the book we can find the recipes for dog and cat treats that are mentioned in the novel. A treat for all fans of cosy mysteries involving pets!

https://www.amazon.com/Dial-Murder-Lucky-Petsitting-Mystery-ebook/dp/B01MR1SVWX/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1531938431&sr=8-1&keywords=dial+meow+for+murder

Cosy Summer Mysteries Reviews: Murder on Pointe, by C.S. McDonald

The second cosy mystery on my list is “Murder on Pointe” by C.S. McDonald – murder and intrigues in the beautiful world of ballet dancing!

Kindergarten teacher Fiona goes to see her old friend Silja dance in “Coppelia” (she’d wanted to be a ballet dancer herself, but she had to give up after a skiing accident); they meet backstage after the show – and find Silja’s colleague Alexis murdered in her dressing room! And not enough with that: later that night, there’s an attack on Silja as well – suddenly, all the young ballerinas in the troupe seem to be in mortal danger!

Nevertheless, Fiona agrees to play a part in the plan that handsome young Inspector Nathan Landry has worked out: she takes over the dancing part of the dead girl! While she is taking express lessons to get back into dancing, we get to know the suspects; who did it, David Sheppard, the ageing star of the show, his wife Cynthia, a former prima ballerina who was crippled in a car accident, Calvin the caretaker who admires Cynthia like a goddess, or the ambitious and bitchy young dancer Monroe McCarthy? Fiona gets deeper and deeper into the mystery – and into danger…

This book is a real joy to read, it’s got a clever story with some very nice twists and interesting characters; there’s a bit of a love interest on the side, too – and a completely unusual feature for a murder mystery: the ghost of Fiona’s grandmother Evelyn, who resides in the attic of her house and protects her when things get tough!

This very engaging first the series of mysteries starring Fiona Quinn definitely leaves us wanting to read more – and there are six in the series so far!

https://www.amazon.com/Murder-Pointe-Fiona-Mystery-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B01J60J96K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1531827852&sr=8-1&keywords=murder+on+pointe

Cosy Summer Mysteries Reviews: Booked for Murder, by CeeCee James

This summer, I’ve decided to put together a to-read list of cosy mysteries; it’s one of my favourite subgenres, they’re easy to read, not too long, and a lot of fun. I’ll publish a review of each one of them here; I hope they’ll give you some ideas, too, for a nice and easy summer read! First on my list is “Booked for Murder”, by CeeCee James.

Maisie, the new manager of the prestigious Oceanside Hotel in Florida, soon finds out her new job is rather demanding: a comic-con convention is scheduled, and hundreds of guests come pouring in all at once. She doesn’t want to mess it up; after all, she’s got her mother to support, too. But, besides all the usual little problems with the guests, something much worse happens in the middle of the convention – Maisie finds Norman Olsen, a famous computer deviser, dead on an inflatable armchair in the hotel’s swimming pool.

All hell breaks loose, of course, police arrive, interviews take place, Maisie’s boss is shocked. Soon, there’s a whole list of suspects – the young and pretty widow, the son and business competitor, the young fellow who’d just been fired by Olsen, his girlfriend and her friend, the hotel’s young tennis instructor, even the receptionist… And, since Maisie also happens to be a mystery writer, she just can’t resist doing a bit of sleuthing of her own!

A lovely read for every fan of cosy mysteries; a most likeable protagonist, a wonderful sense of humour, moments of real suspense and even of thoughtfulness and emotion as well. Makes us want to read more of Maisie’s adventures!

https://www.amazon.com/Booked-Murder-Oceanside-Mystery-Book-ebook/dp/B072PCJMP5/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1531775561&sr=1-1-spons&keywords=booked+for+murder&psc=1

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Review: Barbatus, by A. Drew

Once upon a long time ago, when the gods still ruled the Earth, vulture shifter Barbatus lived with a small group of exiled shifters in a very hostile area somewhere in Anatolia; they take on the form of birds, goats and other animals. They are isolated, but the great goddess Cybele still protects them. They are a closely-knit community who love and care for each other.

Quite in contrast to the human town close by, where sin and violence prevail. Aylin, a young girl who had been sold into prostitution by her own uncle, escapes them and, wounded and sick, makes her way up the mountain to the ‘forbidden’ area of the shifters – with the help of Cybele herself. Barbatus finds her and nurses her back to health, and they fall in love. Can there be a future together for them, though? Will Barbatus’ community accept her – and are there still dangers from the past lurking for Aylin?

A really fascinating story, wonderfully told, imaginative and tender and at the same time immensely suspenseful. Skilful allusions to ancient mythology mixed with a good dose of sex and also deep and honest emotions; a must for every fan of supernatural romance!

https://www.amazon.com/BARBATUS-Drew-ebook/dp/B078SXVB79/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1516466916&sr=8-1&keywords=a+drew+barbatus