Baking Bad (Beaufort Scales #1) by Kim M. Watt

  

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Mystery, Cozy Mystery
Content: Clean

 

A tranquil village.

A poisoned cupcake.

A murdered vicar.

A simple case - or it should be. But all clues point to the Toot Hansell Women’s Institute, and Detective Inspector Adams is about to discover there’s much more to the W.I. than bake sales and jam making.

Alice Martin, RAF Wing Commander (Ret.), and current chair of the W.I., knows the ladies of the Women’s Institute are not guilty. But she has a bigger problem. Toot Hansell has a dragonish secret, and she needs to keep the police well away from it. And she’d really rather not be arrested for murder. Again.

Meanwhile, Beaufort Scales, High Lord of the Cloverly dragons and survivor of the days of knights and dragon hunts, knows even better than Alice that the modern dragon only survives as long as no one knows they exist. But he also knows friends don’t let friends face murder inquiries alone. Beaufort fully intends to Get Involved.

This investigation is about to take on dragonish proportions.

Best put the kettle on.

A funny cozy mystery (with dragons), for anyone that likes their mysteries gentle and well-stocked with cake, tea, and friendship. And dragons, obviously.

 

This was a cute cozy mystery. I enjoyed the characters more than the mystery itself, as I thought the mystery dragged a bit at times, and there were not enough clues dropped for the reader. It did end up being pretty predictable though. This was an interesting combination of cozy mystery and fantasy with dragons that are the size of large dogs. I thought they were rather underwhelming as such, and not at all what I was expecting. However, I did enjoy the way the dragons were rather chameleon-like and able to hide from everyone except for the people who knew about them. I also found it pretty amusing the way they bumbled their way through solving the mystery. Pretty much everyone in the book did that, humans and dragon alike.

Overall, I'm not a huge cozy mystery fan. I enjoy the Hercule Poirot books that some people categorize as cozy, but those are not the same type of cozy mystery as these. These are in the category of light fluff that doesn't require much thinking, with a lot of silliness added in. The silliness is what makes it fun and amusing to read. However, I rarely am able to stick with a series like this for more than three books before it gets old, so we'll see how long I last with this one. I'm going to read book two this month.

Thereby Hangs a Tail (A Chet and Bernie Mystery, #2) by Spencer Quinn

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Mystery, Cozy Mystery
Content: Strong Language

 

What first seems like a walk in the park to wise and lovable canine narrator Chet and his human companion Bernie—to investigate threats made against a pretty, pampered show dog—turns into a serious case when Princess and her owner are abducted. To make matters worse, Bernie’s on-again, off-again girlfriend, reporter Susie Sanchez, disappears too. When Chet is separated from Bernie, he’s on his own to put the pieces together, find his way home, and save the day.

This was another fun Chet and Bernie adventure. My daughter and I listened to this one in the car. It was her first Chet and Bernie novel and she liked it quite a lot. I don't have a lot to say about it but that I still love all of Chet's dog thoughts. They are hands down the best part of the series. I probably won't review every single book in this long series—there are 10 plus two more in the works at the time I'm writing this—but I'll try to write reviews for the ones I like the best.

 

 

 

Dog on It (A Chet and Bernie Mystery, #1) by Spencer Quinn

 

 My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Mystery, Cozy Mystery
Content: Nothing that I can remember.

Chet, the wise and lovable canine narrator of Dog on It, and Bernie, a down-on-his-luck private investigator, are quick to take a new case involving a frantic mother searching for her teenage daughter. This well-behaved and gifted student may or may not have been kidnapped, but she has definitely gotten mixed up with some very unsavory characters. With Chet’s highly trained nose leading the way, their hunt for clues takes them into the desert to biker bars and other exotic locales—until the bad guys try to turn the tables and the resourceful duo lands in the paws of peril. Spencer Quinn’s irresistible mystery kicks off a delightful new series that will have readers panting for more.

 

This is a super cute cozy mystery from the dog's point of view. It was quite amusing to read Chet's thoughts about things, especially when he would be telling about something and get sidetracked by something only a dog would get sidetracked by, or when he would find himself involuntarily growling. I also loved how devoted Chet was to Bernie. If you're a cozy mystery reader who also loves dogs (who doesn't?), then this would probably be right up your alley. I'll definitely read more of this series when I'm in the mood for something light and a good chuckle as well. 

 

 

 

Mackenzie & Mackenzie P.I. Books 2 and 3 by Jennifer L. Hart

This has been a fun series so far. It's kind of a cozy mystery I guess. Sometimes I have trouble categorizing those. The mother/daughter dynamic still reminds me a lot of Gilmore Girls. At times Mac is more mature than her mother, and if this wasn't fluff it would probably bother me more than it does.

So far I think the first book Sleuthing for a Living is the best one, but these two were pretty good as well. I do find it unreal that a P. I. owned a very expensive car (that got passed down to Mackenzie when the P. I. died). I don't think private investigators make that much. I mean he wasn't like Thomas Magnum living on Robin Masters' estate. He lived in, and owned a sort of rundown apartment building. 

 I also had some issues with book 3 in regards to the timeline of certain happenings, and also in regards to a couple of things that were a stretch to believe, but I'm not taking these books too seriously. These are light reads for when you just want brain candy.

 

 

All Sleuth and No Play (Mackenzie & Mackenzie P.I. #2)  

by Jennifer L. Hart

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Mystery  

Content: Strong language

 

 

 

Another day, another secret.

Novice PI Mackenzie Taylor is going stir crazy. Deep in the throes of a classic New England winter, the endless hours of following cheating spouses have left her feeling jaded and restless. Not to mention the emotional tug of war when the father of her teenage child suddenly starts hanging around and putting a major crimp in Mackenzie’s fledgling relationship with the hot Detective Hunter Black. So when she's asked to help find a missing bride, Mackenzie jumps at the chance to do some good.

Juggling the missing persons case, two headstrong men, being a new landlord of a rundown building, and a sixteen-year-old daughter/ BFF actually acting her age for once and crushing on a much older man has Mackenzie’s contemplating the upside of running away from home. Instead she throws herself into work. But the more dirt she digs up on the missing bride, the murkier the investigation becomes. Was it a simple case of post wedding jitters or did the missing woman make a fatal mistake? And is Mackenzie about to follow her footsteps right into the clutches of a killer?

 

 

 

Sleuthing for the Weekend (Mackenzie & Mackenzie P.I. #3) 

by Jennifer L. Hart

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Mystery
Content: Strong language

It’s St. Patrick’s Day in Beantown, and Mackenzie Elizabeth Taylor needs the Luck of the Irish to solve her latest mystery—namely, who was the mysterious Uncle Al, the man who left her his apartment building as well as his PI business? But that personal investigation has to take a backseat to raising her teenage genius Mac, and dealing with her immature baby-daddy and demanding mother. Not to mention taking on a job that will actually produce some green.

The case is a gnarly dispute by two Irish pub owners who happen to be brothers as well as rivals over a missing inheritance. With the entire city out pub-crawling, Mackenzie goes hunting for a pot of gold...but winds up with a body instead.

With an assist from Mac, Mackenzie must slip into her gumshoes and go toe-to-toe with Detective Hunter Black, her neighbor, protector, and main squeeze, in order to solve her case. this case and claim the reward before someone else. Can the mother daughter team successfully investigate in the middle of a city-wide chaos? Or is their luck about to run out?

 

 

Sleuthing for a Living by Jennifer L. Hart

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Mystery, Cozy Mysery
Content: Off page sex, some innuendo


As a young single parent, Mackenzie Elizabeth Taylor has struggled to provide for her teenage daughter. She finally catches a break when she inherits half of an apartment building in Boston from her uncle Al...along with his P.I. business. So what if she doesn’t know the first thing about investigation or if their hot-but-crabby downstairs tenant is a police detective who’s looking for any excuse to handcuff her? Her daughter, Mac the computer whiz, has her back. And these two girls don’t know the meaning of the word quit—not even when their first case takes an unexpected turn.

This was a lot of fun, but it was so much like Gilmore Girls; e. g., mom and daughter with same name, their relationship dynamic, what they eat, strained relationship with grandma, that it couldn't have been an accident. That being said, it didn't bother me too much. This was one of the better cozy mysteries I've read, but I haven't read too many of them yet. I especially liked the little snippets at the beginning of each chapter from The Working Man's Guide to Sleuthing for a Living. Perfect for when you want something light.

Fangs in Fondant by Melissa Monroe

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Paranormal, Cozy Mystery
Content: Clean


This vampire has a sweet tooth — two of ‘em
Priscilla Pratt is 377 years old, give or take a decade.

She’s the best baker in Bellmare, Massachusetts, and just wants to continue to lead a quiet life in the quaint and haunted tourist destination.

Not even an elaborate, last-minute wedding cake commission— a multi-tiered, fondant replica of Dracula’s castle— could be a stake in her side.

But when the bride turns up dead hours before the wedding, Priscilla and her pastries are the first to be suspected.

Priscilla will have to get to the bottom of this frosting-laden murder, or her business and reputation will be six feet under.

You might NOT want to take a bite out of this one, as I found it to be rather dull. Paranormal Cozies are not something I've read before this book, but the odd combination interested me, so I decided to give it a try. I went into it thinking it would be cute and funny. There could have been plenty of opportunities for humor (and maybe a little romance) as this vampire involves herself in solving a murder mystery. On top of that she bakes sweets, so it just had to be cute and entertaining, right? Unfortunately, I found this book to be a let down in most all aspects.

The characters were likable, but a bit flat, and the vampire's backstory was boring. There were some interesting ideas with vampires coming out to the public, and the rules and regulations on them that ensued. One example would be how it is now illegal to turn minors into vampires. I thought it was interesting, and also a little weird how the existing child and teen vampires were adopted by people, and enrolled in school like normal kids. For me, never really growing up and repeating school over and over would be one way to describe living Hell! 😂

Unfortunately, with this book being a disappointment, I will not be continuing on with this series.

A Purrfect Alibi by Leighann Dobbs

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Content: Clean


 
Fortune tellers and mediums have descended on the Oyster Cove Guesthouse, determined to solve the mystery of local seafarer Jedediah Biddeford’s murder 300 years ago... especially if it leads them to the treasure he buried on the guesthouse grounds. New owner Josie Waters has suddenly got bigger problems than burning the breakfasts: she’s up to her elbows in tarot cards and tea leaves…

This was another fun addition to the Oyster Cove Guesthouse series. It wasn't as engaging to me as the two previous books, but I still liked it. It's a cozy mystery so you have to be able to suspend disbelief while reading. I think that's probably the hardest thing for me when reading books like this. How many times can murders happen at one Inn? How many times can it happen and people still want to stay there? I honestly thought just the 300 year old mystery of Jedidiah's murder would have been enough to carry this book, but of course there ends up being another murder.

Once again the cats were the best part of the book. I love reading the banter between Nero and Marlowe, but I do wonder how the ghost could understand them, I mean they're cats. There were also very, very small steps toward a possible romance for Josie. I kind of find that aspect of the series frustrating, because the romance was just too slow moving for me.

While I've enjoyed these and I am now caught up on the series, I'm not really sure how many more of these I will read. I would have preferred if this had been a trilogy, instead of a series with no end in sight. There is only so much pure fluff I can read, and then I need to move on.

When I Was You by Minka Kent

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Mystery, Suspense
Content: Mostly clean, I can't even remember any cursing. 


After barely surviving a brutal attack, Brienne Dougray rarely leaves her house. Suffering from debilitating headaches and memory loss, she can rely only on her compassionate new tenant, Dr. Niall Emberlin, a welcome distraction from the discomfiting bubble that has become her existence.

But Brienne’s growing confidence in her new routine is shaken when she stumbles across unsettling evidence that someone else is living as…her. Same name. Same car. Same hair. Same clothes. She’s even friended her family on social media. To find out why, Brienne must leave the safety of her home to hunt a familiar stranger.

I was in the mood for a good mystery or suspense thriller and this book ended up being a good choice. I'm giving it 4 stars for two reasons; because it kept me glued to it all day and because I found it refreshing that it wasn't full of unsavory characters and expletives. Nowadays it seems rare to find a book like this that doesn't include those. I've had a hard time finding suspense thrillers that even have a main character that I can like.

I would probably give everything else about the book 3 stars. It was easy to figure out what was going on from the beginning, and the author lets you in on it as soon as the point of view switches. I was a little disappointed in that. There were also some holes and implausibilities that bothered me. There were two things in particular that were never explained. One was the facebook page. Why was it created in the first place if Brienne never used social media anyway and who created it? [ I'm assuming Shane created it since Sam didn't know what was going on, but why friend her distant relatives? And how did he know who they were in the first place? And it seemed like Sam was the one posting on it, so it really didn't make sense.  (hide spoiler)] The other was how Niall knew where Brienne was when she was at the office about to face her imposter. No explanation was ever given for that.

I ended up liking the main character even though she was very gullible. I just don't think anyone would have believed the story she was given that easily, but I was able to let it slide a little, considering the trauma she was already dealing with. I also, unexpectedly ended up really liking one of the other characters a lot. [ Sam. I found it refreshing that the "accomplice" was in the dark about things as well, and not in on it.  (hide spoiler)] Overall I enjoyed reading this and that's what really counts for me. I've already looked up other books by this author to read and plan on giving them a try.

The Bridge to Belle Island by Julie Klassen

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Category: Adult, Christian Fiction
Genre: Mystery, Romance
Content: Clean


 
After a humiliating mistake, lawyer Benjamin Booker resolves to never again trust a beautiful woman. When an old friend is killed, the senior partner isn't satisfied with Bow Street's efforts and asks Benjamin to investigate. Eager to leave London for a while, Benjamin agrees. Evidence takes him to a remote island on the Thames, a world unto itself, shrouded in mist and mystery. Soon he finds himself falling for the main suspect--a woman who claims not to have left the island in ten years. But should he trust her?

I always enjoy Julie Klassen's books so I was really looking forward to reading this one. Mostly I liked it, but it is a departure from her other books. All of her other books are romances that include a little bit of mystery, but this time around we have a mystery that includes a little romance. I have to say that I thought the romance felt a little bland in this one, but I'm not really surprised about that, since the book focused more on the mystery than the romance. I think because it's a Julie Klassen book, I automatically expected the romance to be more like her other books. That being said, this was not a bad thing, just not what I was expecting.

Overall this was a good read with a pretty solid mystery plot and characters that were easy to like. For the author's first mystery, it was pretty good. I've read so many mysteries that I was able to pick out who the perpetrator was easily, but I wouldn't say it was glaringly obvious. I enjoyed the book despite that. I'm not sure if the author will keep writing mysteries, but I would read another one.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bethany House Publishers for providing me with an ARC of this book.

A Twist in the Tail by Leighann Dobbs

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Mystery, Cozy Mystery
Content: Clean



Josie Waters has to admit she may have acted a bit hastily when she agreed to purchase the Oyster Cove Guesthouse – a charmingly gabled Victorian mansion on the breathtaking Maine coast – from elderly family friend Millie Sullivan. Anyway, how hard can running a guesthouse be?

The truth is, Oyster Cove Guesthouse is a mouldering money pit with a cohort of regular guests who are as mischievous as a litter of kittens. And Josie might have made a mistake in promising to adopt Oyster Cove’s two resident cats Nero and Marlowe. Josie has never had a cat before… let alone two feisty felines who think they own the place.

Ok, it’s not going well. At least it can’t get any worse, Josie thinks. Until her first guest ends up dead.

This was a charming read. While it's nothing amazing, it did keep me turning the pages. I've only read a few cozy mysteries, a genre that I have a hard time taking seriously, but I think that's probably the point. This series in particular features a couple of feline detectives who usually find the clues before the humans. I thought it was fun, especially the chapters from the point of view of the cats. Though not really believable, it was entertaining and that's pretty much the nature of cozy mysteries. It was amusing to see how the cats would get the human's attention so that they could lead them to the clues they found. I was happy that it wasn't blatantly obvious who the killer was. There were a lot of red herrings thrown in there to keep me guessing for a while.

One small issue I had with the book was that it seemed to keep confusing the building inspector with a health inspector. They are two very different things and one person doesn't normally do both of those jobs. But maybe in a small town like this they've got someone qualified in both fields, who knows. Other than that, this was a quick, fun read that I recommend if you like cozy mysteries. If you aren't sure what a cozy mystery is, think Hallmark Channel mysteries, and that pretty much sums it up. I'll probably pick up the next book in this series the next time I want something light to read.