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

Jenn McKinlay: Cupcake Bakery Mystery Series

November 22, 2016

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.

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New Releases – November 21 to November 27, 2016

November 21, 2016

Here is the list of new release for November 21 to November 27! (No Cozies this week unfortunately, but at least a couple of non-Cozy site authors.)

Lawrence Block: Sinner Man (This will be a Stand Alone Thriller.)

James Patterson: Cross the Line (This will be the 24th in the Alex Cross Mystery Series.)

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Four New-to-the-Site Cozy Authors

November 20, 2016

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!

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New Releases – November 14 to November 20, 2016

November 14, 2016

Here is the list of new release for November 14 to November 20!

David Baldacci: No Man’s Land (This will be the 4th in the Puller Mystery Series.)

Mary Higgins Clark & Alafair Burke: The Sleeping Beauty Killer (This will be the 4th in the Under Suspicion Mystery Series.)

Patricia Cornwell: Chaos (This will be the 24th in the Kay Scarpetta Mystery Series.)

Clive Cussler and Dirk Cussler: Odessa Sea (This will be the 24th in the Dirk Pitt Mystery Series.)

Janet Evanovich: Turbo Twenty-Three (This will be the 23rd in the Stephanie Plum Mystery Series.)

Linda Fairstein: Into the Lion’s Den (This will be the 1st in the Devlin Quick Mystery Series, which is for middle school mystery lovers.)

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