Category: Cozy Mystery

Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Mystery, Women's Fiction

Death is Better at the Lake by Ashley Albi

CozyRomBooksandCoffee
  • Title: Death is Better at the Lake
  • Author: Ashley Albi
  • Series: Scarlet James Cozy Mystery Series #1
  • Genre: Cozy Mystery
  • Takes Place: Spirit Lake, Iowa
  • Main Character: Scarlet James
  • Other Characters: Jasper Hall, Gabe, Justin, Julie, Ellie, Lily, Bree, Zoey, Della,
  • Stars: 5

Death is Better at the Lake is the first book in the Scarlet James Cozy Mystery Series. This is the first book I have read by this author and, I have to say, I am hooked. I love her writing and the mystery she weaves.

Scarlet is a literary agent in Chicago and she just broken it off with her boyfriend because of his betrayal. She got an urgent phone call that her grandmother, who practically raised her, has fallen, so she immediately heads home to Spring Lake, Iowa. While her grandmother is in the hospital, Scarlet stays at her house and gets together with some long time girlfriends.

She is worried about her grandmother but still able to enjoy her friendships with her girlfriends, that is until her ex shows up. She immediately puts him in his place and he leaves. Everything is going fine until her ex ends up dead and Scarlet is the prime suspect. Scarlet is determined to prove that she didn’t kill her ex.

I really loved all the characters in this story. The author has really developed the characters in such a way that I can really picture them. The protagonist is a strong independent woman who is determined to prove she is innocent.

The author will take you on lots of twists and turns until the Climax of the book. If you love a good cozy mystery with lots of twists and lovable characters, you will love this book. I can’t wait to read the next book.

Cozy Mystery, Mystery, Women's Fiction

Borrowed Time by Kay Bratt

CozyRomBooksandCoffee
  • Title: Borrowed Time
  • Author: Kay Bratt
  • Series: Hart’s Ridge #4
  • Genre: Cozy Mystery
  • Takes Place: The small quaint town of Hart’s Ridge in the Blue Ridge mountains
  • Main Character: Taylor Gray, Anna
  • Pets: Diesel who is shared by Taylor and Sam
  • Stars: 5

This is the 4th book in the Hart’s Ridge series. Once again, we visit Taylor Gray’s dysfunctional family. This time the focus is on Anna, whose husband has left her and has secrets of his own that will begin to unfold. We see a different side of Anna who is becoming a bit more human and relatable. She is learning how to get out from underneath a controlling husband and finding out that she really didn’t know the man she was married too.

While we are visiting Anna, Taylor has a new mystery of her own. Her friend Sissy has disappeared, and no one seems to know what happened to her. I have loved Taylor since book one of this series. She is strong and independent and when she is working on a case, she is determined to solve it. This story is no different except that it involves a close friend so it hits a little to close to home. It has become personal. This story takes a few twist and turns before we reach the climax. I did find the mystery a little too predictable, I kept waiting for another solution but it didn’t happen. Other than this I found the book to be very good.

The ending might have you a bit teary eyed. It is very emotional so have your tissues ready. If you like a whodunit and a family who, through everything, are closer than ever, then you will love this book. I recommend this entire series and I can’t wait until book #5.

Happy reading,

Cozy Mystery, Fiction

Negative Reaction by Lori Roberts Herbst

CozyRomBooksandCoffee
  • Title: Negative Reaction
  • Author: Lori Roberts Herbst
  • Series: Callie Cassidy Mysteries #5
  • Genre: cozy mystery
  • Takes Place:  Rock Creek Village
  • Main Character: Callie, Sam, Braden , Banner, Monika
  • Other Characters: Desiree, Weston, Mrs Finney, My Purdy, Brian, Elyse, Trent, Ethan, Tonya, David, Raul, Lynn, Pamela,
  • Pets: Woody and Carl
  • Stars:   5

This is the 5th book in the Callie Cassidy Mystery series and I think it is my favorite. I received this book as an ARC and this is my honest review.

In this episode of the mystery series, we visit again with Callie, photographer/amateur sleuth, so you know there will be a mystery to solve and she will be right in middle of it.

The author really took us on a roller coaster ride with this book. It all starts with the long anticipated wedding of Tonya and David. Tonya, Callie’s best friend, is gorgeous in her gown and the groom is dashing as ever. Braden, one of the Ratliff twins, has his first job as a wedding photographer. He is nervous and excited but Callie has every confidence in him

Everything is going great until the twin’s (Braden & Banner) father, Brian Ratliff shows up with his current flavor of the month, Desiree. Brian appears to be drunk, he is obnoxious, stumbling and verbally abusive to everyone even his own sons. Callie has taken Braden & Banner under her wings and is sort of a surrogate mother to them so she doesn’t take too kindly to Brian being abusive towards them. Nobody likes Brian and they just want him to leave. Even his own sons don’t like him.

So when Brian ends up unresponsive and in the hospital from an apparent poisoning, the suspect list is long. When evidence shows up that points the finger at Braden, Callie teams up with a feisty new reporter, Monika to try to prove he didn’t poison their father. Callie sees something very disturbing, which gives us another possible suspect. Callie and Monika take the information to the cops and are convinced they know who did it but there just isn’t enough evidence and there is another twist to the story. She is convinced there has to be another explanation. But what could the explanation be?

This book takes you on a lot of twist and turns before reaching the climax. The only motive seems to be that no one liked Brian so that means the cast of suspects is long. I was totally involved in this story from beginning to end. This author has a way with words and just hooking you into her stories. It is definitely a book that you can’t put down. I have been a fan of this author since her very first book and this book did not disappoint.

Even with a dad in a coma and murder victim mystery, we get to visit with Callie’s parent’s at the Knotty Pine Lodge that they own. Then there is Callie’s boyfriend, Sam and her Golden Retriever, Woody & tabby cat Carl. There is even some comic relief.

If you love a whodunit with a lot of twists and turns & a little bit of humor thrown in, then you will definitely love this book.

Happy Reading

Cozy Mystery, Fiction

Riddle in Review by Kathi Daley

CozyRomBooksandCoffee
  • Title: Riddle in Review
  • Author:Kathi Daley
  • Series: The Inn at Holiday Bay #22
  • Genre: Cozy Mystery
  • Takes Place:  Holiday Bay, Maine
  • Main Character: Abby, Georgia, Jeremy Mylie, Lou
  • Other Characters:
  • Pets: a big cat named Rufus and 2 dogs named Molly, Ramos
  • Stars: 3

I was really looking forward to the 22nd book in The Inn at Holiday Bay series and I must say I was a little disappointed. It seemed to be all over the place with a lot of characters. I needed a score card to keep up. And the mystery concluded with a suspect who wasn’t even part of the plot and seemed to come out of nowhere. I like a whodunit that I can try to figure it but this would have been almost impossible to figure out.

The story starts with a missing bilingual parrot that Beck has been hired to find. This story kinda dropped and we didn’t hear about the parrot again until much later in book. I had almost forgotten about it.

Vanessa is out of town and has left her feisty Aunt Lou to take care of the bookshop. Someone is leaving one star reviews for several of the small business around town. At first it is just an inconvenience and a bit unsettling since the reviews seem to be bogus. Then these same small business start to be vandalized. It seems like the person giving bad reviews is also responsible for the vandalizing. For now, this still seems to be more of an inconvenience and the loss of some profits due to some businesses having to temporarily close until the can repair any damage. That is until there is a fire at one business and, the police find a body. Now it becomes a mystery to find out if this was murder or or did someone accidentally end up dead.

Colt, the chief of police and Abby’s boyfriend, is out of town so the women business owners in town take it upon themselves to try and solve this mystery. With the help of the town bartender/computer hacker, they trace the reviews back to someone in town. Is this person also the one who is vandalizing the business and have they actually committed homicide? Or was it an accident that someone died in the fire? Is all of this connected in some way to the reviews? You will have to read to find out.

Other highlightsin the story are Colt dealing with issues concerning his nephew, a couple gets engaged, Georgia and Tannerreevaluateeevalute their relationship, a new character may be staying in Holiday Bay.

This was not my favorite in the series and I struggled at times to finish it but I did. I will still read the next book in the series once it is released but if this had been the first book in the series, it would not have convinced me to finish the series.

If you read this, give me your thoughts in the comments.

Cozy Mystery, Fiction

A Cruise to Murder by Dawn Brookes

CozyRomBooksandCoffee
  • Title: A Cruise to Murder
  • Author: Dawn Brookes
  • Series: A Rachel Prince Mystery
  • Genre: Cozy Mystery
  • Takes Place:  The Coral Queen Cruise Ship
  • Main Character: Rachel
  • Other Characters: Sarah, Carlos, Lady Marjorie Snellthorpe
  • Stars: 3

A broken engagement, mistaken identity and a killer is lose on a cruise ship. What more could you ask for in a cozy mystery book.

This is the first book I have read by this author and It may be the last. I gave it 3 stars because it took a bit to get to the point. I got a little bored with it because it went into a lot of background before it got to the main plot. Once it gets to the main plot of the story, it moved faster and got to the climax pretty quick.

Rachel’s fiance breaks up with her because he finds someone else. Her best friend, Sarah is a nurse on a cruise ship so she convinces Rachel that she needs to take a 2 week cruise. Soon after boarding the cruise ship, Rachel befriends an elderly woman whose husband has recently died. Marjorie is a wealthy woman and she and her husband use to cruise and they loved it. Since her husband has passed away, she decides to go on a cruise by herself. She had a lot of doubts on going alone but feels like she really needs this. She meets Rachel and their staterooms just happen to be right next door to each other. Rachel takes it upon herself to look after the woman. But could Marjorie’s life be in danger?

Marjorie befriends another elderly woman who just lost her husband as well, so they decide to get off the ship at port together. Her friend is hit & killed by a truck so the question is, was it an accident or was she pushed? Was it a case of mistaken identity or was this woman the target ? There a lot of questions to be answered.

In the meantime, Rachel meets a guy on the ship whose name is Carlos. He is assigned to her table in the main dining room and she finds herself attracted to him. She seems to see him everywhere she turns and sometimes she thinks he may be following her. Could Carlos be a killer or is he as nice as he apears to be.

Rachel finds her self right in the middle of the drama and could find herself as the killer’s target. Once it got to the point, the book took a few twists and turns. I found myself watching to see how many pages I had left to finish the book. it was slow in the beginning but picked up right at the end. The problem is that I love a good who dunit. I like to see if I can figure it out. This one can’t be figured out because the characters came out nowhere at the end of the book. I am not going to finish this series.

If you read this book, let me know in the comments what you think.

Happy Reading

Cozy Mystery, Fiction

Cupid and cool jaz by Kathi Daley

CozyRomBooksandCoffee
  • Title: Cupid and cool jaz
  • Author: Kathi DaleyAmy
  • Series: Bistro at Holiday Bay #3
  • Genre: Cozy Mystery
  • Takes Place:  Holiday Bay, Maine
  • Main Character: Shelby, Dawson, Colt
  • Other Characters: Duke, Amy, Dax, Abby, Georgia, Nikki
  • Stars: 4

This is the third book in the Bistro at Holiday Bay series. This series is a spinoff of the Inn at Holiday Bay so you will see a lot of familiar characters along the way. As you remember, Shelby is one of the three sisters who received a huge inheritance from her grandmother, who she never knew existed. She also didn’t know about her twp sisters, before this all happened. Shelby decides to buy the Bistro with part of her inheritance.

It’s Valentines Day in Holiday Bay and the Bistro is having a big celebration with a cool jaz musician Duke Armstrong. When Duke is found dead in his hotel room the next morning, Police chief Colt Wilder is called. Duke evidently fell and hit his head on a table which caused his death. But did he really fall or was he pushed? Colt, along with the help of Shelby & Dawson (the bartender at the Bistro), investigate to determine if this was an accident or was it murder and if so, who did it. Dawson had a quite a few enemies so their are several suspects.

I liked this book but not as well as the first two. Shelby mentioned twice that the door to the roof was left open and she was curious as to why it was open but it was never explained. She kinda made a big deal about it so I kept expecting that someone was hiding on the roof or something but I guess it was dropped.

If you like a good mystery with some twists and turns and surprise ending, you will enjoy this book. Like I said, I didn’t enjoy it as much as the first two but I did like it and I was surprised by the ending. I am looking forward to book.

Happy Reading

Cozy Mystery, Fiction

The Castle Capers – Kathi Daley

CozyRomBooksandCoffee
  • Title: The Castle Capers
  • Author: Kathi Daley
  • Series: Tess & Tilly #14
  • Genre: Cozy Mystery
  • Takes Place: White Eagle, Montana
  • Main Character: Tess, Tony, Bree, Mike
  • Other Characters: Brady, Hap, Hattie, Tess’ mom,
  • Pets: a golden retriever named Tilly and a cat named Tangletoe (Tang for short) and a cat named Tinder and Tony’s german sheppard Titan, Mike’s dog Leonard and the newest member of the family Kody. plus lots of other shelter dogs that come and go.
  • Stars: 3

This is the 14th book in the Tess & Tilly series. I just didn’t like this one as well as I did the others so I gave it 3 stars. I found some of the dialogue repetitious and too much focus about talking about nonsense that just didn’t seem important. So many new characters were introduced that they were hard to keep up with. I will say that the author at least listed the new characters at the front of the book, with a description of who they were, which made it easier to keep up with who was who. Then you kept hearing about ghosts being there but they seem to never appear. I wish she had gone into a little more description about the Scottish scenery. There was too much going back and forth over the suspect list that it got old. The end of the book, left me feeling unsatisfied. I was glad I finished it and could move on to my next book. I hated so say this about a Tess and Tilly book because I love this series and have loved all the other books.

This 14th book finds Tess & Tony heading to Scotland. The new owner for Faulkner Castle, Richie, hired Tony to work on his state of art security system to see why it keeps malfunctioning. Tony’s friend and business partner Shaggy and his girlfriend Shanti along with Tilly are tagging along. Tony & Shaggy plan on attending a video game convention while they are there.

Things are going well and they are enjoying themselves until Tess sees her dad in a local pub . She was going to speak to him, till he shook his to let her know to pretend she doesn’t know him. Tony did get a message from Tess’ dad that they would find something interesting in the south wing of the castle. What they found was a dead body and the plot thickens when they find a second dead body. Does Tess’ dad have anything to do with these dead bodies? The rest of the book just starts going through the list of suspects to narrow it down to who killed these these people and what were they doing in the south wing.

Overall I have loved this series but this book just didn’t measure up. If you read it, let me know what you think in the comments.

Happy Reading!!

Cozy Mystery, Fiction

The Murder Chronicles by Kathi Daley

CozyRomBooksandCoffee
  • Title: The Murder Chronicles
  • Author: Kathi Daley
  • Series: Tess & Tilly #13
  • Genre: Cozy Mystery
  • Takes Place: White Eagle, Montana
  • Main Character: Tess, Tony, Bree, Mike
  • Other Characters: Brady, Hap, Hattie, Tess’ mom,
  • Pets: a golden retriever named Tilly and a cat named Tangletoe (Tang for short) and a cat named Tinder and Tony’s german sheppard Titan, Mike’s dog Leonard and the newest member of the family Kody. plus lots of other shelter dogs that come and go.
  • Stars: 5

Another great book by Kathi Daley. This Author just keeps the reader wanting more.

Tess receives a letter from a man named Simon with details about murders that happened over 60 years ago. Apparently Simon, was a member of a secret society who was trying to solve fifteen cold case murders. They were able to solve all the cases except for one. Now he is the only surviving member of this societyand has only months to live. He really wants this last case solved before he dies. This society put details of all of these murders in a journal they named The Murder Chronicles. Included with the letter to Tess, was also this journal, Simon had heard about Tess and her success at solving mysteries so he was enlisting her help to solve this last cold case.

It is a case of a woman who went missing in 1958. She supposedly got a call from her child’s school that her son had been in a fight and she needed to come and pick him up. She didn’t drive so she called her husband and told him she was going to walk to go get him. Something isn’t setting right since the school is about 5 miles away and it was raining and windy. After her husband talked to her, she was never heard from again.

Tess & Tony, with the help of Mike, decide to try and solve this Mystery even though they know, everyone involved is probably dead at this point. It won’t be an easy task but if anyone can solve it, it will be these three.

In addition to this cold case, Tess & Tony are also planning the Spring fling. Over at the animal clinic they had an employee who is quitting so Brady & Tess hire a new employee. There is a man in town who used to know Tess’ dad and he is asking questions. Tess gets a visit from her dad. There is a lot going on in Tess’ world.

If you love mysteries and you love a good cold case, like I do, then you are going to love this book in the Tess & Tilly mystery series. The author takes us on twists and turns to a final climax we didn’t see coming.

Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Holiday

The Ghostly Groundskeeper by Kathi Daley

CozyRomBooksandCoffee
  • Title: The Ghostly Groundskeeper
  • Author: Kathi Daley
  • Series: Tess & Tilly #12
  • Genre: Cozy Mystery
  • Takes Place: White Eagle, Montana
  • Main Character: Tess, Tony, Bree, Mike
  • Other Characters: Brady, Hap, Hattie, Tess’ mom,
  • Pets: a golden retriever named Tilly and a cat named Tangletoe (Tang for short) and a cat named Tinder and Tony’s german sheppard Titan, Mike’s dog Leonard and the newest member of the family Kody. plus lots of other shelter dogs that come and go.
  • Stars: 5

The Halloween festival is coming up in White Eagle so naturally there is a spooky old house where a serial killer once lived.

There is a TV show called Ghost Therapist who are coming to White Eagle to do a ghost hunting tour of the mansion that was once owned by a doctor. On his deathbed, the doctor confessed to killing nine men in this mansion while he was doing medical experiments on them in the 70s and 80s. He told his groundskeeper to bury them on the grounds of the estate. These bodies have never been found and the groundskeeper is supposedly dead. Legend says that if you are in the tower of the house, you can see the groundskeeper at night with his flashlight, checking on the graves of these buried men.

People are going to bid to see who is going to stay in the mansion with the Ghost Therapist. The twelve highest bids will be chosen. Tess, Tony, Mike and two residents will also be staying there. During their stay in the mansion, they discover that someone has been living there in a secret room.

While Tess & Tony are at the mansion with the electrician to check things out before the big night, they find a dead body who has been there just a few days. The main suspect is Sam, who just moved next door to Tess’ mom.

What does Sam know about the deceased?
Who is living at the estate and why?
Where are the bodies of the men, the doctor confessed to killing?

Join Tess, Tony & Mike while they solve another murder.

This is another compelling story by Kathy Daley. The author keeps the reader engaged and guessing as the plot unfolds.

If you like small town romance with a side of murder and pets, you will love this series.


Cozy Mystery, Fiction

The Baby Plan – Kathi Daley

CozyRomBooksandCoffee
  • Title: The Baby Plan
  • Author: Kathi Daley
  • Series: Tess & Tilly #11
  • Genre: Cozy Mystery
  • Takes Place: White Eagle, Montana
  • Main Character: Tess, Tony, Bree, Mike
  • Other Characters: Brady, Hap, Hattie, Tess’ mom,
  • Pets: a golden retriever named Tilly and a cat named Tangletoe (Tang for short) and a cat named Tinder and Tony’s german sheppard Titan and the newest member of the family Kody. plus lots of other shelter dogs that come and go.
  • Stars: 5

This is another great book by Kathi Daley

As we visit the town of White Eagle, Montana, someone is having a baby. Not only that but another baby lands in Mike’s arms. Tess & Tony have a big decision to make. And of course, there is another murder.

Lots of things happening in White Eagle, Montana. Mike shows up at Tess & Tony’s house with a baby in his arms. Where did this baby come from? Tess & Tony agree to take the baby until she can be reunited with her mother. This all involves their dad once again.

Then there is a local resident found dead in the lake. Theo (Tess’ mom’s friend) goes missing so he becomes the prime suspect. There is a mystery surrounding Theo that leads back to Tess’ dad.

A lot is going on in this book and we find out a little more about Tess & Mike’s dad and what connection he has to the dead body, the baby & Theo.

This was another great book in this series. The author takes us on a roller coaster ride on this journey. It is a fun ride with losts of mysteries. I love the way she teases the reader in each book concerning Tess’s dad. He keeps changing his name so we still don’t really know his real name but Tess & Mike know him as their dad, Grant Thomas. He keeps popping in and out of their life 1 or 2 minutes at a time. We learn a little more about him in the book.

I recommend this series and each book keeps the readers interested and wanting more.