Next up on my list of the most popular and recommended series, I’ve decided to reread the first book in Ellery Adam‘s Books by the Bay Mystery Series, A Killer Plot.

This book actually ties in neatly to one of the previous entries in this series, the Ashton Corner’s Book Club by Erika Chase. Much like Erika Chase’s series, the Books by the Bay series revolves around a group of book enthusiasts, though in this case it is a writer’s group instead of a reading group. I do find it interesting that none of the initial writers are necessarily writers of mystery fiction. Most books revolving around a literary theme such as a writer’s club, reader’s club, or library or book store type setting tend to revolve around mystery fiction, but the Bayside Book Writer’s Club instead has a wide variety of would-be authors, including diverse interests such as romance, science fiction, and Olivia (the sleuth of the series) own interest, historical fiction.

As is inevitable in Cozy mysteries, whenever more than three people gather, murder is sure to follow, and it isn’t long before the leader of the writer’s club turns up dead. New group member Olivia Limoges, touched by the charmer (the victim) and offended by the murder, decides to get to the bottom of the case.

One thing I definitely like about this series is that Olivia isn’t too similar to what you would think of as a standard modern Cozy sleuth. Many modern Cozy sleuths are either small business owners of food industry like bakeries or hobby shops catering to something like knitting, while others work in a very Cozy-friendly environment like a library. While these are good ways to hook a series into a given “theme” through the protagonist’s work, after a while they can sometimes seem a bit similar. In contrast, Olivia is independently wealthy, as her family has had significant means and influence in the town she lives in for some time. This also helps lend a certain amount of realism to certain elements of a Cozy that sometimes feel a bit questionable – namely, how does the owner of a small business also find time to continuously solve mysteries? It sure must be easier if you are wealthy enough to not worry about working a regular job!

(As someone who recently adopted a dog, I’ll admit I also particularly enjoyed Olivia’s interactions with her four-legged companion, Captain Haviland, her well-trained standard poodle. I’ll admit our little Cocoa isn’t at all as well-trained as Captain Haviland, but she is still a puppy after all!)

If you’re looking for a modern Cozy series with a non-standard protagonist, there’s a lot to recommend in the Books by the Bay Mystery Series. Ellery Adams also writes a number of other popular series that are at the top of a lot of our favorite Cozies lists; she’s also the author of the Charmed Pie Shoppe Mystery Series, the Book Retreat Mystery Series, the Supper Club Mystery Series, the Antiques & Collectibles Mystery Series, and the Hope Street Church Mystery Series. (She sure does keep busy!)

If you’re interested in reading more of these brief revisits of some of the more popular Cozy Mystery Series that I’ve written in the past, you can find them at the Most Recommended Cozy Mystery Series page on my site.

One of the really nice things about anthologies is reading stories/novellas/novels by a smattering of authors. I recently read Happy Homicides 4: Fall Into Crime, in which I was able to enjoy some of my tried-and-true authors’ fall/autumn Cozies as well as finally read a Pecan Bayou Cozy, because the author, Teresa Trent, is now on my favorite authors list!

Right after I read Falling for Murder in that anthology, I read A Dash of Murder, the first in Teresa Trent‘s Pecan Bayou Mystery Series. This is a Halloween Cozy which reminds me quite a bit of Jill Churchill’s Jane Jeffrys series and Kate Borden’s Peggy Jean Turner Mystery Series. They remind me of the other two series in the ease of Trent’s writing style and the holiday setting. (I found out that Trent is an author who sets a lot of her Cozies during the holidays. Yay!) Recently, it has been a “plus” for me when I don’t have to use my Kindle’s dictionary. (I am happy to say that the vocabulary in this Cozy included words I am familiar with. I know this may sound like an odd statement to a lot of you, but I wonder why some authors feel the need to throw in “impressive” words!)

In this Halloween Cozy, Trent includes a lot of Halloween elements. The plot involves Betsy’s Aunt Maggie doing a local TV station’s Halloween ghost-busting show at the old, abandoned Tuberculosis hospital. Creepy Halloween fare!

Betsy has a seven year old son (Zach)) who she is raising on her own. Her husband left the house one day while Betsy was pregnant with Zach, and he simply never returned. Betsy supports Zack and herself by writing the Helpful Hinter, a column for the Pecan Bayou Gazette. She has been collecting household hints her entire life, so this seemed like an ideal (paying!) occupation. Also, Betsy has written a household hints book and she does efficiency-evaluations.

I’ve already mentioned Betsy’s Aunt Maggie. She is a member of the Pecan Bayou Paranormal Society, of which there are three active members. Unfortunately for Betsy, one of the members is a snowbird who only lives in Pecan Bayou between Thanksgiving and Memorial Day, which means that Betsy fills in for her from time to time, even though she’s not a paranormal enthusiast.

Aunt Maggie’s son, Danny, has Down Syndrome, as does Teresa Trent’s son. I love that Danny is an integral character in the series! Brava, Teresa Trent!

You get a sense of a quaint, Cozy town when you read this mystery. The restaurant owner is Zach’s Scout leader, Dr. Mac is the physician everyone sees, Howard is the other member of the Pecan Bayou Paranormal Society (who happens to have his PhD in paranormal psychology, Stanley is the local NUTV station’s director, and Art is the county coroner who plays poker with Betsy’s dad, who is the sheriff.

Of course, a corpse is found – and plenty of people had reasons to not like this person. I was totally surprised to find out whodunit, and am not quite sure if there were clues that I had missed, or not.

As I said earlier, I have added Teresa Trent to my favorite authors list. This Cozy was a short, fun, quick Halloween read – and it even includes recipes and helpful hints!

If you’re interested in reading more of these brief revisits of some of the more popular Cozy Mystery Series that I’ve written in the past, you can find them at the Most Recommended Cozy Mystery Series page on my site.