Reading

Amanda Lee: Embroidery Mystery Series

March 14, 2018

I’m once again returning to the Most Popular and Recommended Series list that I have been compiling for quite some time now, this time focusing on Amanda Lee‘s Embroidery Mystery Series. Specifically, I read The Quick and the Thread, the first entry in the series.

The Quick and the Thread is definitely made in the mold of the modern Cozy mystery, as the sleuth, former accountant Marcy Singer, has decided to give up her crumbling professional and romantic lives in her old home of California to put down new roots in a smaller, “Cozier” community, in this case Tallulah Falls, Oregon. What’s more, she’s decided that the best business venture for this small community is a hobby store catering to her own personal passion, embroidery.

Unfortunately, as with all too many small start up businesses in small towns that normally seem to have low crime rates, her financial success is quickly threatened by the repeated murders occurring on, near, or related to her property. In this case, the previous tenant of the shop attempts to approach Marcy at her grand opening party, but she avoids him because he seems obviously inebriated… which turns out to be possibly more than just alcohol, as he turns up dead in her storage room the following morning, having left a cryptic message scratched in the wall. Naturally, this isn’t the only corpse that will turn up associated with Marcy’s shop in one way or another!

Tallulah Falls feels like a nice, comfortable community with plenty more stories to tell, and the fact that the sleuth is a genuine outsider instead of a “small town girl getting back to her hometown from the big city” definitely gives more opportunities for her to be uninformed about relationships among the townspeople without feeling like she’s been strangely out of the loop. Fans of romance subplots will likely also be satisfied by one of several possible suitors, though I’d wager that particular plot thread won’t see resolution for at least a few more books.

A “themed” Cozy tends to either go very heavy or very light on the theming, and I’d say that The Quick and the Thread leans a bit more toward the less end than the more. Though this may be my own reaction, as embroidery is one theme that I personally have some experience with, so my personal tolerance for going “off the rails” to discuss the theme instead of the mystery might be a bit higher here than in some other cases. That said, I think that even readers without a particular interest in embroidery or other similar crafts shouldn’t have any issue getting through the themed parts.

I’d say that overall, The Quick and the Thread is a great start to what feels like on of the “classic” series of modern Cozies. If you’re interested in a quaint, small-town American Cozy set in modern day with a focus on a embroidery and featuring light romantic elements, this will be “right up your alley”.

Click here to read more posts about the most popular and recommended Cozy Mystery series.

P.S. As Gayle Trent she writes the Daphne Martin Cake Mystery Series and the Myrtle Crumb Mystery Series. As Gayle Leeson she writes the Down South Café Mystery Series.

Laura Bradford: Emergency Dessert Squad Mystery Series

December 27, 2017

I’ve just finished reading the first book in the Emergency Dessert Squad Mystery Series, Éclair and Present Danger, by Laura Bradford (aka Elizabeth Lynn Casey). This is the next book of the Most Popular and Recommended Series list that I have been compiling.

Laura Bradford is a new-to-me author, but she has been writing Cozies as Elizabeth Lynn Casey since 2009. She has five series listed on the site, and after having read Éclair and Present Danger, I believe that I must make time to try her other series!

Winnie Johnson is having a very bad day as the book begins. She discovers that her neighbor who recently died left her a cat (who doesn’t like Winnie) and an old ambulance. Winnie was hoping that she was being left some money or at least something of great value since this is also the last day her dream bakery is open. She is being forced to close because of an increase on the rent which she cannot pay and still keep the bakery a going concern. Her bad day gets worse by far when she discovers another elderly neighbor dead — murdered.

Of course, being a Cozy series, Winnie takes it upon herself to find the killer of her neighbor. And, it turns out that there are a number of people with ample motive to want him dead. Winnie, her friend Renee and her other elderly neighbors Bridget O’Keefe and Parker Nelson (Mr. Nelson lives in the other apartment in her house) all lend a hand (to varying degrees) in the sleuthing to find the killer.

And, Winnie has the brilliant idea to turn her old ambulance into a mobile delivery van for her new idea >> the “Emergency Dessert Squad” bakery business. With Renee as her helper, Winnie uses her own home to bake the goodies with each having emergency-related names. And, then she delivers them using the ambulance. The names of the baked goods are along the lines of “You Are One Smart Cookie, Cookie”, and “Don’t-Be-Blue Berry Pie”. The business quickly becomes a great success with Bridget’s help >> Bridget writes a column in the local paper.

There are several potential romantic interests in the book for Winnie. Her friends are quite keen to see her find someone and settle down. Winnie is not so much in a hurry, but in the first book she does find someone who she likes a lot.

I enjoyed Éclair and Present Danger, and I am quite tempted to read the first book in Laura Bradford’s Amish Mystery Series soon (if I can find the time to squeeze in even more reading time!

Click here to read more posts about the most popular and recommended Cozy Mystery series.

PS: There are a bunch of recipes included at the end of the book!

Melissa Bourbon: Magical Dressmaking Mystery Series

May 18, 2017

I’m continuing to revisit some of the most popular and recommended Cozy Mystery Series. Today I’ll be discussing Melissa Bourbon‘s Magical Dressmaking Mystery Series, and to do that, I’ve re-read the first book in the series, Pleating for Mercy.

The basic story structure of Pleating for Mercy isn’t necessarily the most original for a Cozy – when Harlow Cassidy inherits her great-grandmother’s house, she decides to give up her big city fashion designer job in New York to return home to small town Bliss, Texas, and set up the small dressmaking shop she always dreamed of. Naturally, an old family friend is quickly implicated in a murder, and Harlow needs sets out to clear her name.

While the overall plot of the novel may not be the most innovative I’ve ever seen in a Cozy Mystery, Melissa Bourbon does particularly well is introducing an interesting cast with different characters without necessarily going overboard in making them seem “zany”. I personally am sometimes put off by too many “quirky” characters in a series, and upon hearing of the protagonist’s mother being able to grow plants in a supernatural fashion and her grandmother being a goat-whisperer, I was at first afraid that they would quickly cross the line into just being quirky for the sake of quirk. However, this didn’t turn out to be the case – while these features were certainly present in the Cassidy women, they weren’t necessarily their only defining characteristics.

The magical elements to the Cozy are also implemented well. The magical abilities of the Cassidy women are introduced in an interesting way, by discussing how their ancestor, Butch Cassidy, wished for a charmed life for his descendants, and every member of the family has possessed some magical charm ever since. Attaching the magical attributes of the series to a story that most people will easily remember (most people being at least vaguely aware of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, through the classic movie if nothing else), they become both easier to remember and more interesting.

The dressmaking elements of the Magical Dressmaking series are also largely successful. I’m not particularly knowledgeable about fashion, but even I was able to end up with reasonable mental images of the dresses that Harlow considers making for her clientele >>> though I’ll admit I did have to look up more than a few terms to make sure I was getting the right image in my head!

Overall, Pleating for Mercy is an interesting read for anyone who is a fan of fashion themed Cozies with a supernatural element, or anyone interested in a Cozy set in small town Texas. (I’ll admit, as a long-term Texas resident, I do have something of a soft spot for the state.)

If you’re interested in checking out some of the other entries I’ve written on fan favorites, be sure to check out the page on Most Popular & Recommended Cozy Mystery Series.

P.S. I should have mentioned that the author is now writing the Bread Shop Mystery Series (as Winnie Archer)…

Rita Lakin: Gladdy Gold Mystery Series

May 10, 2017

As you know if you have been around this blog for awhile, I have been working my way through some of the most popular and recommended Cozy Mystery series. Up next is the Gladdy Gold Mystery Series by Rita Lakin. I recently finished re-reading and thoroughly enjoying the first book in this popular series – Getting Old Is Murder.

The series centers around a Ft. Lauderdale retirement community where Gladdy Gold is the 75 year old primary sleuth. She works with a group of similarly elderly friends – almost all women. I use the term “works with” loosely since sometimes it seems the other women are (unintentionally) working against Gladdy in their well meaning but often befuddled way.

In the first book of the series, Gladdy finds herself trying to find a serial killer of several of the residents of the retirement community. Gladdy recognizes that there is something fishy with the way some of her old friends are dropping dead seemingly from natural causes. Of course, the police detective whom Gladdy goes to report her suspicions does not take her seriously >> at least at first. However, when another death occurs, though, it becomes all too clear to Gladdy that she is onto something. Soon Gladdy and her friends form a murder-detection group called “Gladdy’s Gladiators”.

This book has a refreshingly slow pace with the murders not really dominating the story telling until well into the last half of the book. Rather, the author introduces us to many of the condo complexes residents while slowly providing the clues necessary for the reader to try to solve the mystery. This Cozy community really comes to life and the book is sprinkled with gentle humor about the foibles of people and aging. And, for those of you who enjoy some romance in your Cozies, there is one here too!

I’ve written about Rita Lakin before (back in March of 2015), and I have to say that what I said then still applies upon me re-reading this first book of the series. The relationship between Gladdy and her friends really makes the book enjoyable.

Rita Lakin has a background in TV as a writer, creator and producer. (She wrote a memoir about her life in TV, The Only Woman in the Room: Episodes in My Life and Career as a Television Writer which I have not yet read >>> but I am very tempted to do so soon!) Her writing is top-notch and what she has created here is what I think is a fine example of a modern Cozy. If you like your sleuths with a bit of seasoning behind them, I highly recommend Rita Lakin’s Getting Old Is Murder.

P.S. If you’d like to see more highlights of some of the most recommended or popular Cozy Mystery authors/series, visit the Most Popular & Recommended Cozy Mystery Series page on my site.

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