A Matter of Hive and Death

 In this blog post, I reviewed Nancy Coco’s (aka Nancy Parra) A Matter of Hive and Death, the 2nd installment in the Oregon Honeycomb Mystery cozy mystery series. This caper will captivate you and educate you about beekeeping at the same time. Wren Johnson owners her own small business, Let it Bee, and makes her own products from freshmade honey. As a fellow beekeeper, she went out to get some supplies from fellow beekeeper, Elias Brentwood. But she discovers a shocking mystery: his dead body and vandalized bee hives. This is when she calls her a fellow beekeeper friend, Klaus, for assistance. But the police have their eyes on him for a prime suspect, but Wren doesn’t believe he did it. As she works on making sales at her store, a former flame enters her life and stirs things up, while there’s a small brewing chemistry between her and Oceanview Detective, Jim Hampton. As she digs deeper into Elias’s life and beekeeping business, things get complicated for her and her Aunt Eloise at the shop. Caught in the middle, it’s up to Wren to figure out the truth from the lies before it’s too late for her, when she least expected who was the true culprit.

This compelling crafty cozy mystery has a good plot and educates readers about how saving the bees are essential to our ecosystem.  I cared for Wren, and how she has a sharp eye for details and solving mysteries. The scenic settings for Oceanview were windswept and compelling for Oregon’s picturesque location. The theme of the story is about greed and not mixing water with vinegar for evil scientific experiments.

I rated this interesting crafty cozy mystery, four of five stars, for no reason. If you love crafty cozies with a twist, non-stop action, and plenty of dramatic suspense, A Matter of Hive and Death is a must-read to read next year. This book is recommended for fans of Laura Childs, Holly Quinn, Sally Goldenbaum, and other cozy mysteries.

Cheddar Late than Dead

 In this blog post, I reviewed Linda Reilly’s Cheddar Late than Dead, the 3rd installment in the Grilled Cheese Cozy Mystery series. This caper takes a big bite out of crime. It all started for Carly Hale, who owns a grilled cheese eatery in Balsam Dell, Vermont, when she was invited to host a wedding shower party for Klarissa Taddeo, one of her former high school friends, at the last minute. Though it would’ve been a perfect opportunity for her to conjure up more business for her grilled cheese sandwiches, when exactly she witnessed a shocking crime unexpectedly. When Klar’s fiance Tony was found dead, talk about total chaos at the scene. And Dawn Chapin, another former classmate of Carly’s and wedding planner, is the main suspect. Carly didn’t believe she had the gall to do it and did some sleuthing herself. Later, she discovered that the newest town manager, Gretel Engstom, had been missing for the past week. Were these two crimes connected in anyway? While she continued to run her business, she dug deeper to get close to the truth, until she became an unexpected victim and trapped with the culprit in the bitter end.

This delightful culinary cozy mystery was decadent as brie cheese and rich with twists and turns like chocolate. I cared for Carly, who was stuck into a twisted murder mystery, and had the hankering for solving the crimes.  I also felt bad for Dawn and Klarissa, who had difficult mothers who controlled their lives. I adored Havarti, Carly’s dog. I loved the windswept small town of Balsam Dell in Vermont for the location. It had rich picturesque scenic settings that painted it so well. The theme of the story is that overzealous obsession will lead you nowhere when you’re sick with greed.

I rate this book, four of five stars, for no reason. If you love heart-stopping culinary cozies with plenty of non-stoppable action, lots of intense suspense, and incredible drama, Cheddar Late than Never is right up your alley with delicious recipes to make at home! This book is recommended for fans of Diane Mott Davidson, Joann Carl, Joanne Pence, and Laura Childs.

A Glimmer of a Clue

  In this blog post, I reviewed Daryl Wood Gerber’s A Glimmer of a Clue, the 2nd installment in the Fairy Garden cozy mystery series. This magical and enchanted cozy mystery will make you believe in the impossible…. like in fairies.  For fairy garden and tea shop owner, Courtney Kelly, she loved living by Carmel-by-the-Sea and chatting with her Fairy friend Fiona. But when Lana Lamar gotten into an argument with Wanda Brownie in public, things turned heated between them. Later on, Wanda was caught sleep-walking with the murder weapon in her hand on that same night. And the police charged her with Lara’s murder. Courtney, Meagan, and her fairy Fiona believed her innocence, but who would’ve done the ghastly deed.  Without steeping on the Carmel PD’s toes, she did a little sleuthing to discover the wide range of the suspect list including Lana’s husband Elton. Everyone had a bone to pick with her and hated her guts. While this was on-going, she kept her feelings in check with Brady, a friend of hers who has a romantic interest in her. Before she could take their relationship to the next level, she’s got to sift out the truth from the lies and take a closer into Lana’s life when someone targeted her with a surprise attack that almost knocked her out of commission. The more questions she asked, the more in peril her life becomes, when she discovers the true culprit and why they’ve done it in an intense show-down.

This was an interesting and magical crafty cozy series that has a hint of fantasy with a sprinkling of fairy dust inside it. I did find Courtney delightful and interesting on how she was a true believer in fairies, loves a good cup of tea, and has a hankering to solve mysteries in her neighborhood. Fiona the Fairy was a hoot. And Brady wasn’t too bad to look at either. I l loved the Carmel-by-the-Sea backdrop for the location along the water, especially Dream-by-the-Sea too. The scenic settings were vivid and imaginary to transport you there on every page. The theme of the story is that your actions have consequences when you hate someone.

This fantastic cozy mystery had  kept me in suspense and hooked from the first page.  I couldn’t find anything to nitpick on the story since it was delightful. I rated this book, four out of five stars, because I didn’t want it to end. If you love cozy mysteries with a twist of its own, a Glimmer of a Clue have non-stop action, plenty of dramatic suspense, and a hint of crafting magic,  This book is recommended for fans who love cozies that provides recipes for crafting and/or cooking, and love cozies that has something different to offer from other cozies.

Murder, She Edited

 In this blog post, I reviewed  Kaitlyn Dunnett's Murder, She Edited, the 4th installment in the Deadly Edits cozy mystery series. This newest caper leaves you hooked and enthralled with one juicy tale. Michelle Lincoln is a 70-year-old freelance editor and beta reader to a famous historical romance writer. It all started for her when she received a phone call from a lawyer saying she inherited a farm from one of her mother's closest friends Tessa Swarthout in her will upon her death. And that it had a very special request: to find them and edit the journals before publication. This send her on a wild goose chase while she looked for the diaries and read the disturbing details on how Tessa's stepmother Rosanna had died 50 years ago. While she worked on her library's newsletter, she dealt with a stalking number one fan of Illyana Dubonnet who requested to speak to herself and filed an editorial complaint, and the runaround from Leland Fairweather's law firm to get answers. As she tried to dodged this fan, she unearthed new clues when she found one diary and dug deeper. The closer she'd gotten closer to the truth, her life became endangered when she had a deadline to fulfill before time ran out of her on who really committed the crime way back when.

 This cozy mystery was so captivating and interesting to read. I cared about Micki and her adorable cat Calpurnia, who ended up in a half-a-century-year old unsolved murder. For a widow who had plenty of time on her hands, this kept her busy from start to finish. I liked the Lenape Hollow, New York location and all of the vast background for that small NYC city. The theme of the story is that your past will catch up to you and leave you with a heavy guilty conscience to tell the truth.

 If you like compelling cozies that keeps you guessing with non-stop action, lots of drama, plenty of suspense, and sparks of heart-stopping intrigue, Murder, She Edited is the book for you.