Reading

Miranda James: Cat in the Stacks Mystery Series

September 22, 2016

Murder Past Due is the first in the Cat in the Stacks mystery series by Miranda James. This popular series is the next of the most popular and most recommended series that I’m taking a look at.

Miranda James is one of the authors on the Cozy Mystery site who writes under a number of pseudonyms including Honor Hartman, Jimmie Ruth Evans, & Dean James. “Miranda” is also one of my favorite non-female Cozy Mystery writers >>> yes, “she” is actually Dean James, a fact that is not a spoiler since he announces it on his own site for the Cat in the Stacks series.

The sleuth in this series has some things in common with the author including living in Houston, Texas (at one time or another) In the sleuth’s case, Charlie has returned to his hometown in Mississippi. Charlie and Miranda are also cat lovers and librarians.

Murder Past Due is the story of Charlie and his Maine Coon cat, Diesel, who need to solve a murder after the return of his long-ago high school classmate, Geoffrey Priest, the now-famous writer, for a function at the small college they also both attended.

Charlie lives in Athena, Mississippi, in the large house left to him by his Aunt Dottie a year or so ago. Charlie had been widowed some time before he left Houston and has two adult children who do not live in the Mississippi town. More importantly for the series, Charlie has the Maine Coon cat, Diesel, as his nearly constant companion. Diesel is a quite unusual cat, not only for his 25-pound size, but for his allowing Charlie to walk him on a leash. Diesel is also very affectionate and quite empathetic. Diesel is really more like a dog than most cats are!

Charlie takes it upon himself to help solve the murder not only because he found the body >>> that alone would have been enough in most Cozy Mysteries >>> but also because his housekeeper’s daughter is the Deputy Sheriff in charge of the investigation. And, his student boarder, Justin, was involved with the victim just enough to make him a prime suspect.

This is a Cozy Mystery series where the cat theme really is prominent. Diesel doesn’t seem to have any magical powers, but he sure is well-behaved and is so, so empathetic. Anytime anyone needs some comforting, Diesel is right there for them. Diesel also goes with Charlie everywhere including to Charlie’s part-time job as the college library’s archivist. Diesel even attends the victim’s memorial service. Miranda James somehow makes all this seem plausible. It is a delight to read about Diesel and Charlie. If you like stories with a heavy dose of a lovable cat, you will love this series!

The book is a fun, light read with memorable characters. Sometimes, just when I start to think that all of my favorite Cozy Mystery authors are women, I am reminded of Miranda James (Dean James) along with several other men authors I really enjoy reading, and I realize that whether the author is a man or a woman, a great story with interesting characters is really what it is all about. There are seven books already published in this series, and the eighth is scheduled for 2017. I look forward to reading about Charlie and Diesel for many years!

As always, if you’re interested in seeing 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.

Katherine Hall Page: Faith Fairchild Mystery Series

August 19, 2016

Katherine Hall Page is one of the earliest of what I consider to be the new classic, contemporary Cozy Mystery authors. The first book in her Faith Fairchild mystery series, The Body in the Belfry, was first published way back in 1990 (for me at least, it is hard to believe how long ago that was now.) The Faith Fairchild series is the next in my list of the most popular and recommended series that I am highlighting.

In this first book, we meet Faith Fairchild, a mid 20s-something new mother of a four month old boy (Benjamin). Faith grew up in Manhattan. Her father is a minister and her mother is a lawyer. She moved when she married Tom Fairchild (also a minister) to Aleford, Massachusetts, a small town which is about as far from the hustle and bustle of her native New York as is possible – while only being a few hundred miles away. In New York, Faith had operated a catering business, “Have Faith”, but since her move to Aleford and her new baby, she has not yet re-started her business (although she plans to do so soon.)

The book opens with Faith, carrying Benjamin in a snuggie, climbing the highest hill in the town to the belfry seeking a peaceful place to eat her bagged lunch. There Faith discovers the murdered body of Cindy Sheppard slumped over on a bench. Faith does the logical thing and rings the town’s bell (an act which in itself upsets some of the town’s old-timers). The town’s police force responds, and the whodunit begins.

It turns out that Cindy was one of the least-liked, or some might say most-hated, young women in the town. Cindy had a very mean streak and most of the women and many of the men in Aleford had one reason or another to want Cindy out of the way. Just what I like: plenty of suspects!

Since Faith has yet to re-start her catering business and finds life a little slow in Aleford, Faith (naturally!) gets involved in trying to solve the mystery. Let’s face it >>> she found the body so she is already in the middle of the investigation (at least she thinks so.)

The Body in the Belfry is a very satisfying Cozy Mystery read. Being an “early” modern Cozy, it has several themes (for example, minister’s wife and culinary), but it does not dwell on them to the point of having the themes dominate the sleuthing. Aleford provides a nice small community with a number of eccentric (but not “zany”) characters. The people are richly drawn, providing a very interesting Cozy background for the mystery. And, Faith travels back to New York and to her aunt’s house in New Jersey for a few days which provides a nice, temporary change of scene.

Faith has a “small but adequate” trust fund from her grandfather. Although her new husband, Tom, normally does not want her to spend the money, Faith has re-done her kitchen to bring it up to her high standards and to get it ready for her to start her “Have Faith” catering company again.

The Body in the Belfry is a great start to the Faith Fairchild series. The series, which began in 1990, is still going strong with the 2016 release of The Body in the Wardrobe, the 23rd book in the series. I know I’m not alone in saying: Here’s hoping Katherine Hall Page keeps this series going for another 23 books!

If you’re interested in seeing 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.

Cleo Coyle: Coffeehouse Mystery Series

July 19, 2016

Next on my list of the most popular & recommended Cozy Mystery series is the Coffeehouse Mystery Series by Cleo Coyle. This very popular series is a New York Times Bestselling series for a reason! I probably should mention that Cleo Coyle is actually a husband and wife writing team, but I think it will be easier to just refer to the author as “her” in this entry. The duo also writes the Haunted Bookshop Mystery Series as Alice Kimberly.

On What Grounds is the first book in this very popular series, and it introduces us to Clare Cosi, an almost 40 year old manager of a historic New York coffeehouse, the Village Blend. As the book begins Clare is just about to finish moving into the apartment above the coffeehouse, having just returned to manage the Blend after a 10 year hiatus to raise her daughter in the New Jersey suburbs. She has returned as manager >>> lured by the promise of “Madame” (the aging owner) that she would get an ownership stake in the shop. Madame has also made a similar deal with her son (Clare’s ex-husband Matt). So Clare and her ex will be living in the same rooms above the shop, at least during a week or so every month when Matt, a coffee buyer, will be in town. (As an aside, why do most all good things come with at least one not-so-good?)

As Clare is arriving early one morning with the final things in her car from her move, she discovers that her assistant, Annabelle, has not opened the shop. When she takes a look around she finds Annabelle’s nearly lifeless body at the bottom of the stairs leading to the basement storeroom. I doubt I give too much away when I say that (of course!) Annabelle was not the victim of a tragic accident. Clare suspects foul play – and she won’t stop until she finds the culprit.

The detective in charge of determining whether Annabelle fell or was pushed is Detective Quinn. (Hmmm… As this is the first book in the series, the reader may wonder if Detective Quinn and Clare’s ex-husband Matt provide a romantic rivalry in the series? No spoilers here, but I will say I certainly hope so!) Also in Clare’s life is her daughter, Joy, who is also Matt’s daughter. Joy is attending culinary school in the city, which is one of the reasons that Clare was willing to come back to the Blend.

There are a lot of Cozy Mystery theme books that just provide the barest of background information related to the books’ theme. This book isn’t like those series. The making and drinking of coffee is woven throughout the book. You will no doubt learn what goes into buying coffee beans and even proper techniques to make a great cup. Also, the book contains many coffee recipes and tips. (I know I’m only discussing the first book in the series, but I want to interject that all of the Coffeehouse mysteries have recipes in them.)

Cleo Coyle’s Coffeehouse series takes place in New York City, but the author is able to provide a small community in the midst of NYC by making the coffeehouse into a small community. On What Grounds is a great start to the series with just the right combination of character introduction and sleuthing. The mystery is difficult enough to solve that I did not guess the ending >>> but looking back on it I think I should have! There were plenty of clues, I just missed them! Although there is a lot of discussion about coffee, the theme does not become overwhelming, and I would guess that even non-coffee lovers would still enjoy the book.

This is a Cozy Mystery series I’ve followed since its beginning, and I’m looking forward to the next one, which is scheduled to be published in January 2017. (Even though I haven’t caught up with it, I always like to hear there’s another on the way!)

Christmas in July? Winter Cozies in Summer?

July 10, 2016

So having just finished re-reading a Christmas-themed Cozy (Leslie Meier‘s Mistletoe Murder – if you want to read that blog entry, go here), it’s gotten me in a bit of a “holiday” sort of mood >>> despite the fact that it is more than 100 degrees outside pretty much every day!

Normally I don’t read holiday themed Cozies “out of season” >>> I tend to read a lot of holiday themed Cozies but only when the actual holiday rolls around. While I was re-reading this Christmas themed Cozy during a rather hot spell here in San Antonio, I started thinking about Christmas in July Cozy Mystery reading. About two years ago, MJ wrote a comment about just this:

… Oft discussed on this blog are the ‘seasonal/theme’ cozies. Danna, too, has said she enjoys reading Christmas cozies in Nov/Dec., winter cozies in Jan/Feb, etc., etc. In addition, many of us have talked about how we enjoy the characters in our favorite series. I’m always looking forward (generally waiting for a year) to the next book in an enjoyable on-going series.

HERE’S THE DILEMMA …….what if a book in a series you enjoy is released with a Christmas theme in June?? Do you read it now because you’ve been waiting for the next ‘installment’? OR, do you wait for 6 months to enjoy the ambiance of the Christmas season?

That’s exactly what happened when I automatically picked up ‘The Diva Wraps It Up’ (released 6/3), by Krista Davis. Since it’s a series I follow, I didn’t even bother reading the story description. When I started reading the first page, I realized it has a Christmas theme! What’s with that?

I haven’t read it yet. But whether one does or doesn’t read it in the summer, probably will depend on how much patience one has. I’m thinking about a ‘Christmas in July’ read (perhaps around the 7/22, 7/23, 7/24 time frame). Since in the last book there was some ‘relationship’ uncertainty in a subplot, I assume this will be a continuing storyline in the new book. We’ll see………………..I’m not a real patient person.

And then just last month, “HookedOnCozyMysteries” wrote this:

Just finished a crazy Donna Andrews mystery: The Nightingale Before Christmas. She’s always good for a laugh, and she came through again; reading something that is set during chilly weather at least makes me feel a little cooler. Now I’m onto A Cherry Cheesecake Murder by Joanna Fluke. It’s March in Lake Eden, Minnesota … still chilly and Hannah Swenson is sure to bake up something yummy

I know we have discussed reading holiday/seasonal Cozies out of their corresponding season, but I’m wondering (again) when the rest of you Cozy Mystery lovers read holiday Cozies. Do you do what I normally do >>> read holiday mysteries in the “proper” season? (This is sort of a drag if you have to wait several months for the specific holiday.) Or do you read your favorite authors’ Cozies when they are released (or when they are the next books in your TBR pile), regardless of the holiday/season they take place in? Please leave a comment below. Thank you!

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