15 Minutes of Flame by: Christin Brecher

I'm always going to love a book that weaves history into it's storyline, and Brecher's 3rd installment in her Nantucket Candle Maker mystery series does just that. What starts as a fundraiser for Nantucket's neediest, turns into an anthropological dig at two sites and a murder investigation. Throw in the leader of a ghost tour and a creepy tv producer and a whole lot of hermit crabs and you've got the perfect blend for a great story! My only complaint is the glaring error in the last chapter of a character being in two places at the same time. I'm hoping that it is just an error in the kindle version and not in the printed version.

Murder Makes Scents By: Christin Brecher

 OOOO-a cozy that goes the extra mile into international espionage!  Stella, trying to enjoy her trip to Paris and spending time with her wayward mother finds herself entangled in a national security threat on the lovely island of Nantucket.  With plenty of intrigue, scents and a really smart cat, this second installment of the Nantucket Candle Maker mystery series is fast paced, humorous and as satisfying and cozy as a beautiful candle lit room!

 

The Glass Key By: Dashiell Hammett

I can't believe that, as a life long fan of film noir, detective and mystery stories, that I've never read anything by Dashiell Hammett! The Glass Key follows Ned Beaumont's trials and tribulations as he woks for his best friend Paul-a political mover and shaker. Told with the plainest language I've ever encountered in a book, this tale moves! It has that gritty feel that I love from film noir. Guess I'll be hitting the on-line library for more of Hammett's work!

Cult Killers Ed: Rose G. Mandelsberg

 A series of articles from Detective Magazine, that recount "cult" killings. I was hoping for more of a look at what led these people to cults, and less salaciousness and over-the-top reporting. I guess I should have researched Detective Magazine before I read the book to know what I getting into. Oh, well. 

 

House on Fire By: Joseph Finder

Joseph Finder has brought back Nick Heller in a taut thriller involving a dead friend, a powerful family and the opioid crisis. In his inimitable style, he moves the action along with short burst of information and clever dangling story lines that force the reader further into the story. Without letting up we are brought to the twist ending that hits like a punch in the gut!

Manuscript for Book 2 in a New Cozy Series

 Yet again, I've been blessed to read the manuscript of a soon to be published cozy!  This particular one will be the second book in a relatively new series.  The opening is explosive and the action doesn't let up until the end.  Wonderfully written characters with real relationships (and all that entails) are the highlight of this series.  I can't wait to read this one in it's finished form.

Blasted Past By: Walter Danley

 On paper, this book shouldn't work...and yet I was enthralled with this Western (and I don't even like Westerns), meets Fantasy, meets Romance, meets History. A stand alone novel from Danley, yet it has ties to his Wainright series.  Not wanting to give anything away...this novel follows Jim Nagle on a journey from California to Texas, and back again, in the most circuitous route-and that's about all I can say without revealing major plot points. An intriguing, engrossing and satisfying read!

 

Jane Darrowfield and the Madwoman Next Door By: Barbara Ross (to be published October 2020)

No sophomore slump for Jane Darrowfield, Professional Busybody-not in the least!  Book 2 in this wonderful new series (due out October 2020) is set in Jane's neighborhood-right next door to be specific, and involves a truly horrifying scenario.  I don't wish to give anything away, but suffice it to say you'll be riveted and horrified all at once.  I can't rave about this series enough!

Jane Darrowfield, Professional Busybody By: Barbara Ross

Reclaiming the term Busybody in spectacular style, Barbara Ross has created a new character in a new series that will delight cozy fans!  Retiree, Jane Darrowfield, has a particular knack for the obvious.  She cuts through the namby-pamby ways that people/friends have of dealing with their issues, by getting straight to the point.  She's whip smart, discreet, practical and feisty. This new series start's with out introduction to Jane and her particular skills, her bridge playing friends, a high school reminiscent cliquey senior housing complex, a corpse on the golf course, and Jane's loving described Cambridge neighborhood.  With a heroine the reader can root for, an intricately plotted mystery or two, and a lot of laughs, Jane Darrowfield, Professional Busybody has arrived and landed squarely in this reader's heart!

Nacho Average Murder By: Maddie Day

Robbie aint' in South Lick anymore...at least for the duration of her vacation to Santa Barbara.  While attending her 10th HS Reunion, Robbie examines her mother's previous death and in the process stumbles across an agricultural company's misdeeds, a dead environmentalist, amazing food and a fascinating cast of characters.  I really enjoyed this one, but have to admit that I did miss the folks of South Lick and Robbie's usual surroundings!

A Sprinkling of Murder By: Daryl Wood Gerber

A really creative concept makes this a fun cozy.  I did think there were too many characters and too many side stories which made the story drag at points and wrapped up with too many pat conclusions.  Still fun to read.

Haunted House Murder By: Leslie Meier, Lee Hollis & Barbara Ross

Three short mysteries sent around Halloween.  The first, a Lucy Stone short (by Leslie Meier) is a charming case of jumping to conclusions, familial obligations, creepy lights and sounds and a satisfying ending.  The second, one I was not that thrilled with (by Lee Hollis) was hard to become engaged with.  At this point I don't remember the main characters name, I only remember that her husband was completely unbelievable as a character, I had to constantly remind myself that he was an adult and not a teenager.  The neighbors vacillated between creepy (which work for the story) and in some scenes neighborly which would have been fine, except they would become nasty at the drop of a hat and there was no explanation as to their behavior.  The gem of this collection is Barbara Ross' short, which is part of her delicious Clam Bake Mystery Series.  This story takes place in the off-season between books 7 and 8 in the series.  It finds Julia Snowden once again embroiled with a corpse this time during a Haunted House Trolley Tour.  It contains all of Ross' greater characters, locations and twists!  All in all, a delightful read for a chilly fall night!

Murder Flies the Coop By: Jessica Ellicott

Edwina & Beryl, with a friendly nudge from the gardener, find them selves up to their elbows in pigeon coops, and up to their necks in trouble at the local mine.  Between Edwina's knowledge of how small towns work and Beryl's willingness to do just about anything our two intrepid women of a certain age prove that they are perfectly suited t0 be running their own private enquiry agency.

Judge Thee Not By: Edith Maxwell

I never thought that I would have the slightest interest in a book abut a Quaker Midwife-and yet here we are 5 books in and I am totally enamored of this series!  The mysteries in Maxwell's books are always well plotted, intricate and fun to sleuth along with; but the real star of this series is the birthing scenes (as far as I'm concerned).  Giving birth is not an easy prospect in 2020 with all the various medical advances and medications, giving birth BEFORE all of those advances and medications is downright harrowing, and the fact that women have been doing it since the dawn of time is awe inspiring.  All the more so because each birthing scene in this book (and all the others) is handled matter of factly yet reverentially.  Rose is as adept as solving crimes as she is at facilitating the mysteries of birth.

Called to Justice By: Edith Maxwell

Quaker Midwife, Rose Carroll, is at it again, in this second installment of this series.  Set in the late 1800s in northern Massachusetts, Rose plies her trade as a Midwife, and she stumbles again into her unexpected role as detective.  When a dear Friend, a former slave, is accused of murder, Rose's sense of right won't stand for this and she's exposed to the ugly side of her delightful town.  Throw in a shady Mill manager and some unexplained thefts and Rose has her hands full.  What is so fascinating about this series is the sense of place and time, and the rich history of the region, the period and the practices.

Digging Up the Remains By: Julia Henry

I adore the Garden Squad series, and this is a fantastic addition!  With the Fall Festival rapidly approaching, can Lilly and the Squad get the festival organized and the town cleaned up in time.  This would normally be no problem, except for the fact that someone is spreading malicious stories around town, two of the Squad are in the process of moving, three are in the process of renovating, there's still that pesky question of who the skeleton's in Alden park are, oh...and that pesky corpse on the path of the planned 10K Fall run.  All in a weeks work for Lilly and the Squad.  A wonderful jaunt through a gorgeously depicted small New England town, plenty of divers and quirky characters and some wonderful gardening tips.  This is one of the best series out there!