The Cozy Mystery List Blog

Cozy Mystery (and Other Favorite) Books, Movies, and TV

Happy Thanksgiving! The Stores Have Been Telling Me It’s Christmas for Weeks Already…

ThanksgivingHappy Thanksgiving to all!

This year I went directly from reading a Halloween Cozy to a Christmas Cozy. That’s right, I skipped Thanksgiving. (Well, actually I am planning on reading several of the Thanksgiving stories from a few of The Killer Wore Cranberry anthologies I have bought, but I almost couldn’t help myself jump right into Christmas Cozies.)

Why? – you may be wondering. I have five possible reasons:

  1. I saw my first Christmas advertisement on TV before Halloween.
  2. There are fewer Thanksgiving Cozies available than Christmas Cozies.
  3. I’ve been watching the Hallmark Christmas movies for almost a month.
  4. It’s unusually warm here in San Antonio.
  5. All the stores have had their Christmas items displayed for weeks.

How about you? What types of Cozies are you reading right now? Are you still reading a Halloween Cozy or are you reading a Thanksgiving Cozy? Are you like me – and are already into your Christmas Cozies? Of course, there’s always a chance that you’re reading a non-holiday cozy…

P.S. Here is the list I’ve compiled of  Thanksgiving mysteries, here’s the Christmas list (which is so long that there are several pages of them!), and for those of you still interested in Halloween mysteries, here’s the Halloween mystery book list.

Jenn McKinlay: Cupcake Bakery Mystery Series

Sprinkle with Murder (Cupcake Bakery Mystery Book 1) Jenn McKinlay’s Cupcake Bakery Mystery Series is the next in the posts I am writing about the most popular and recommended Cozy Mystery series. Sprinkle With Murder is the first in the series which introduces us to Melanie Cooper, Angie Delaura, Tate Harper and other characters closely associated with Mel, Angie and Tate. Mel and Angie have just opened a cupcake bakery in old town Scottsdale. Tate, an investment adviser, has invested in the bakery to support his two oldest friends, Mel and Angie.

Before you know it, Tate’s fiance is found murdered with a poisoned cupcake in her hand. Since Mel and Angie really disliked Christie (and there was much to dislike in the victim), it is only natural that they become prime suspects. After all, the cupcake in question was provided by Mel as a sample for the planned wedding.

Of course, there are several other suspects, including Tate himself. Given Christie’s personality, it seems that almost everyone in Scottsdale (or at least everyone who has met her) is a reasonable suspect.

Anyway, in order to clear her and her friends names, and to reverse the blot on the bakery’s reputation that a poisoned cupcake has caused, Mel, naturally, starts to investigate the murder.

This is a fun Cozy Mystery. I enjoyed the fast action and the distinctive (but not zany) characters. (Well, maybe the owner of the competing bakery in town is a bit zany — at least she is obsessed with the new competition.)

The book contains some potential romance for the two main female leads. This side of the story is not emphasized too much, so if you are like me and you are happy to focus on the mystery, the romance is fine.

Also, the book does contain recipes for cupcakes, but there is not excessive discussion of baking or running a bakery >> and that is fine by me! Don’t get me wrong, I like cupcakes (probably a bit too much) but, here as with most themed Cozy Mysteries, I like the characters and the mysteries to be the primary emphasis of the stories with the theme providing only an interesting background.

The Cupcake Bakery Mystery Series began in 2010 and will be up to nine books with the release of the next one planned in 2017. So, if you like series that don’t end after three or so books, this one might be for you. And, Sprinkle With Murder is 242 pages, so it does not hit the all too common 300 page length that I sometimes feel means the story is padded a bit. I enjoyed reading about Mel, Angie and Tate and look forward to the rest in the series.

To see all the series written by Jenn Mckinlay (aka Josie Belle & Lucy Lawrence), click here for her page on the site.

You can see the other entries I have written about the most popular and recommended series here.

Four New-to-the-Site Cozy Authors

I’m adding another set of new authors to the site >>> four more specifically. As usual, these are authors I’ve heard of from visitors to the site, either through comments or by email.

 Cindy Bell is the author of numerous series, including the Chocolate Centered Mystery Series, the Sage Gardens Mystery Series, the Dune House Mystery Series, the Heavenly Highland Inn Mystery Series, the Wendy the Wedding Planner Mystery Series, and the Bekki the Beautician Mystery Series.

 

A. Gardner is a former health care worker. She is the author of the Poppy Peters Mystery Series, starring a former ballet dancer now enrolled in a pastry academy in Georgia, and the Bison Creek Mystery Series, starring an employee at the Pinecliffe Mountain Resort.

 

 

Suzanne Trauth has been a playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. She has both produced and directed stage productions, and is a former member of the theatre faculty at Montclair State University in Montclair, New Jersey. Her Cozy Mystery Series, the Dodie O’Dell Mystery Series, stars a restaurant manager who formerly lived on the Jersey Shore but now lives in the small New Jersey town of Etonville.

Christine Trent is a book enthusiast and collector who decided to begin her own fiction writing career. She is the author of the Lady of Ashes Mystery Series, starring Violet Morgan, an undertaker in Victorian London, as well as several other stand-alone historical mystery series.

I hope you enjoy all these great looking Cozy Mystery authors!

MENU