Book #Reivew & #Giveaway ~ Costumes & Cadavers: Sassy Supplies Cozy Mystery by Katherine H. Brown ~ #CozyMystery

 

Costumes & Cadavers: Sassy Supplies Cozy Mystery by Katherine H. Brown

About Costumes & Cadavers:

 

Costumes & Cadavers: Sassy Supplies Cozy Mystery

Cozy Mystery

1st in Series

Independently Published (January 17, 2022)

Print Length: ‎ 36 pages

Digital ASIN: ‎ B09QMRXW4T

 

Nobody ever plans to be the death of the party. 

Party guests congratulate Charity Basham, owner of Sassy Supplies Crafts & More, on the scariness of her backyard skeleton decoration. Unfortunately, Charity didn't put out any skeleton decorations. 

With the discovery of a dead body, her Halloween party turns into a nightmare. With her fingerprints (and some white cat fur) are all over the murder weapon, Charity finds herself at the top of the suspect list. 

Can she clear her name before the dishy Detective Sota arrests her for murder?

About Costumes & Cadavers:

Costumes and Cadavers is a short cozy mystery story. The book wastes no time setting up a murder mystery. Sassy Supplies Crafts & More shop owner Charity Basham is hosting a Halloween party. The discovery of a dead body in her garden puts a damper on the festivities.

This short story is enjoyable and is a very quick read. Costumes & Cadavers is a fast-paced murder mystery. I was engaged in the captivating story, characters, and mystery. If you've got a few minutes, grab Costumes & Cadavers for a hauntingly good time.

I was provided a copy of this book to read.

 

My Rating:

 

About Katherine H. Brown:

Texas author Katherine Brown is a wife, a mother to two beautiful book-devouring girls, a bookaholic ice cream lover, Harry Potter fan, and an enthusiastic weaver of words. Writing since she could scribble with crayons, Katherine has published books for adults and children alike. Fans of her cozy mystery series range from age twelve to seventy-two. She hopes to inspire in others a passion for reading and provide many adventures through the pages of books for years to come.

Author Links:

Website - www.katherinebrownbooks.com

Instagram - www.instagram.com/katherinebrownkatie

Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18681694.Katherine_Brown

BookBub - https://www.bookbub.com/authors/katherine-h-brown

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/katherinebrownkatieauthor/

Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Katherine-Brown/e/B078J72H8M

Newsletter sign ups: https://mailchi.mp/3ed2f71e303c/kbbnewsletterbookishinfo

Purchase Link - Amazon

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#CozyMystery Review ~ Barista Bump-Off (A Killer Coffee Mystery, Book 11) by Tonya Kappes #TonyaKappes @tonyakappes11

 

Welcome to the Bean Hive Coffeehouse where the gossip is as hot as the coffee!

ROBBERY TAKES A DEADLY TURN

Life couldn't be better! I've got a great husband, getting along with my ex and his new wife, plus I own a very successful coffeehouse! And...there just might be an addition to the family on the horizon, but my lips are sealed. - ROXY BLOOM

Dahlin' things can change in the blink of an eye. Even in an idyllic tourist destination like Honey Springs.

A string of purse snatchings along the boardwalk has left one victim dead.

locals, Loretta Bebe and Maxine Bloom, have joined forces to make Sheriff Shepard and the Mayor accountable for the crimes. After all, they too were victims.

Dedicated to her community and the safety of her customers, super sleuth Roxy Bloom is determined to track down this ruthless purse snatcher before someone else is bumped off.

Amazon https://amzn.to/3Lb1jHh

Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59474398-barista-bump-off

ASIN: ‎ B09KMK3F8L

Publisher: ‎ Tonya Kappes Books

Publication Date: ‎ March 17, 2022

Print Length: ‎ 173 pages

My Review and Rating:

Barista Bump-Off by Tonya Kappes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Purse snatchers and murder are the crimes of the day in the latest Killer Coffee Mystery by Tonya Kappes. Roxy Bloom dives right into the investigation and finds secrets, jealousy, and several suspects. Now she just must figure out who did it and why.

Barista Bump-Off pulls you in and keeps you engaged. The mystery of the thefts and eventual murder was well-written and kept me on my toes. Are the thefts and the death related? If not, now we have to look for two separate suspects. I found myself guessing at who the thief could be, who the murder could be, and who might have been capable for both.

I was not at all clued into who the thief and murderer were until the reveal. The person, or persons, wasn’t even on my radar. Every time I thought the suspect, or suspects, was this person or that person, something would happen, and I’d have to try and figure it out again. I love that in a mystery - fill the book full of twists and turns, red herrings, and deliberate misdirects so I have a hard time figuring everything out.

I enjoyed all the characters and the amount of humor added to the mix. The world building had me feeling like I was right in the middle of Honey Springs. I was able to visualize the town, the activities, the people, and feel the emotions.

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Amateur Sleuth Mystery Review ~ Murder Comes Ashore (Patience Price, Counselor at Large #2) by Julie Anne Lindsey @JulieALindsey #Mystery

About Murder Comes Ashore:

When one beach closes another case opens for this amateur island investigator

Life is improving for Patience following her return to Pony Island. She’s making headway as a concierge counselor, to cautious clients, in a town too small for discretion, and she’s even managing to ignore her ex-boyfriend’s shameless charm and flirtation. Mostly.

But she’s barely recovered from her recent run-in with a killer when body parts begin washing up on the beach, and her parents are named as suspects!

Now, Patience is diving deep into a personal investigation with the help of Sebastian, her current crush and federal agent. And her pesky ex-boyfriend, Adrian, is never far behind. He’s hoping to crack the case and gain favor in the upcoming mayoral election.

Can Patience find the answers she needs before the killer finds her? Or will she be the next to wash ashore?

More Information:

Amazon https://amzn.to/3J93WZL
Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60114507-murder-comes-ashore

Book Details:

ASIN: ‎ B09Q1T619W
Publisher: ‎ Cozy Queen Publishing LLC
Publication Date: ‎ January 8, 2022
Print Length: ‎ 289 pages

My Review and Rating:

Murder Comes Ashore by Julie Anne Lindsey
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Patience is starting to settle back into Pony Island life. As the only counselor on the island, she has set up shop in an unconventional way. Her patient sessions are never in an office. During a particular session on the beach, the discovery of body parts washed ashore gets her embroiled in another murder mystery. This time it’s personal when the suspects are near and dear to Patience’s heart.

What ensues is a cozy-esque type murder mystery with a light romance angle. Not quite a cozy, Murder Comes Ashore has some decidedly traditional mystery elements. There are twists, turns, and red herrings throughout the book. The author calls on a bit of humor at times, and it’s perfectly inserted into the scenes. The book has romantic, moments, which I love in the books I read, as long as the romantic angle is appropriate.

The author's writing style is fluid, the pacing is perfect, and the story is so easy to read that when I reached the end, I couldn’t believe I was done already. I found myself engaged and completely captivated in the story from the very beginning. I really enjoyed Murder Comes Ashore and can't wait for the next book.

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Amateur Sleuth Mystery Review ~ Murder by the Seaside (Patience Price, Counselor at Large #1) by Julie Anne Lindsey @JulieALindsey #Mystery

 

Sun, Sand and … Murder?

Downsized from the FBI’s human resources department on the Virginia mainland, Patience Price is setting up shop as a Counselor at Large in her quirky island town. And she’s making the best of her reinvention, until a high school boyfriend is accused of murder, and his determined mama wants Patience to save his hide.

Local golden boy, Adrian Davis, once crushed Patience’s teenage heart, and now he needed her help? She can’t help offering a chef’s kiss to Karma.

Not that Patience holds a grudge.

Reluctantly, she agrees to look into the case, with the help of a hunky former coworker, but what she finds will rock their coastal community to its core, and put Patience on a lurking killer’s hitlist.

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3uZnyLN

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60107529-murder-by-the-seaside

ASIN: ‎ B09Q1T61YS
Publisher: ‎ Cozy Queen Publishing LLC
Publication Date: ‎ January 8, 2022
Print Length: ‎ 305 pages

My Review and Rating:

Murder by the Seaside by Julie Anne Lindsey
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I’m a huge fan of Julie Anne Lindsey. I didn’t have a chance to read Murder by the Seaside during its original release but when she re-released it this year, I jumped on board.

Patience Price lost her job in the HR department at the FBI during some downsizing. Back to her hometown on an island off the coast of Virginia, Patience hopes to open her own counseling center. Shortly after her return, there is a murder of a local resident. When she finds out her high school boyfriend is a suspect, Patience is sure he didn’t do it but doesn’t know if she wants to get involved. Ultimately, Patience calls on a colleague from the FBI to help her out.

What ensues is a cozy-esque type murder mystery with a potential romance angle. Not quite a cozy, Murder by the Seaside has some decidedly traditional mystery elements. There are twists, turns, and red herrings throughout the book. The author calls on a bit of humor at times, and it’s perfectly inserted into the scene. The book has romantic, or could-be romantic, moments, which I love in the books I read, regardless of genre (for the most part).

The author's writing style is fluid, the pacing is perfect, and the story is so easy to read that when I reached the end, I couldn’t believe I was done already. I found myself engaged and completely captivated in the story from the very beginning. I really enjoyed Murder by the Seaside and can't wait for the next book.

I was provided a copy of this book to read.

View all my reviews

Cozy Mystery Book #Review ~ Evil Under the Tuscan Sun (Tuscan Cooking School Mystery #3) by Stephanie Cole #CozyMystery @BerkleyMystery @BerkleyPub

Nell Valenti is at ease when managing a farm to table cooking school in sun-dappled Tuscany, but begins to feel the heat when tasked with catching a killer, in this engaging Italian-set cozy mystery series.

When a wealthy New York philanthropist pays top dollar for a private, four-day ziti workshop, Nell Valenti wants everyone at the Orlandini cooking school focused on the task at hand. But complications abound when Nell's boyfriend Pete Orlandini rushes to Rome for an unexpected business trip, Chef Orlandini is more preoccupied with a potential spot on an American cooking show than preparing for the workshop, and an uninvited woman sneaks into the villa to inspect Pete's olive grove. The last disturbance proves deadly, and when the woman's body is found in the grove, Nell must investigate before her hopes for the workshop, like the olives, are crushed.

Nell now has another item on her checklist--keep the Orlandinis out of trouble and the wealthy ziti-lovers happy while she looks into the stranger's past. When Nell discovers that for one of the Orlandinis, at least, the murder victim was not such a stranger after all, she'll learn that when a detective goes digging in Italy, she'd better be ready for truffle.

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3rteqN2

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57926107-evil-under-the-tuscan-sun

ASIN: ‎ B093YQKMY3
Publisher: ‎ Berkley
Publication Date: ‎ February 1, 2022
Print Length: ‎ 300 pages

My Review and Rating:

Evil Under the Tuscan Sun by Stephanie Cole
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Orlandini Cooking School is off to a bright start. Word has spread and a wealthy New York philanthropist books the school for a ziti workshop. Four days of private pasta and marinara classes with Nell at the helm. Pete is off to Rome on business and Chef is too busy preparing to possibly win a spot on a cooking show. Organizing the workshop takes an interesting turn when strangers appear in Pete’s olive grove, and one of the strangers is found dead on Orlandini property.

Evil Under the Tuscan Sun is the third book in the Tuscan Cooking School Mystery series by Stephanie Cole. The book was an engaging story with likable characters and a believable mystery. Nell is a hard-working American employed at the Orlandini culinary school in Italy. Nell is written with realism and her interactions with everyone fit the way a professional in a less-than-perfect situation would act.

The mysterious death of a woman found on Orlandini property was well thought out. The suspects were plenty, even if unlikely and/or not plausible. The lead up to and reveal of the murderer, along with the means and motive, were plotted well. I enjoyed the additional storylines threaded through the murder mystery.

There was plentiful character development and wonderful world building. I was able to visualize every element of the story including the mouth-watering recipes. I'm excited to see what happens at Villa Orlandini in the next book.

I was provided a copy of this book to read.  

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Book #Review ~ Vistas, Vices, & Valentines (Camper & Criminals #24) by Tonya Kappes #TonyaKappes #CozyMystery

Welcome to Normal where nothing is normal!

Join Mae West and the Laundry Club Ladies as they cha cha and twirl their way around Happy Trails Campground as they put on some sleuthing dance shoes to bring closure to this southern and fun cozy Valentine's mystery.

When I begged Hank Sharp to take dance lessons to celebrate Valentine's Day, I knew I was getting more than I had bargained for. But when a dancer's dead body shows up at the height of the competition and Hank is hired to investigate the murder, I had no idea what we were in store for when he had Dottie Swaggert and Henry Bryant go undercover as a dance competition couple to get insider information.

After a little snooping around, we discovered there were deep running feuds and passions behind those sequins and smiles that gave motive and opportunity to kill for the desires to win the most coveted dancing title.

Time is running out and we fear Dottie's life is in danger. Let's face it, she has a hard time keeping her mouth shut. And NO ONE puts Dottie in the corner.

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3r9Yuzc

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58722646-vistas-vices-valentines

ASIN: ‎ B09BK5LHCD

Publisher: ‎ Tonya Kappes Books

Publication Date: ‎ January 27, 2022

Print Length: ‎ 182 pages

My Rating and Review:

Vistas, Vices, & Valentines by Tonya Kappes
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Vistas, Vices, and Valentines is book 24 in the Camper & Criminals series by Tonya Kappes. It’s the holiday of love in Normal, Kentucky. Due to an upcoming dance competition, there are dancers everywhere in Normal. With the approach of Valentine’s Day, Mae brings in those professional dancers to offer free dance lessons to guests at the Happy Trails Campground. Later, one of them is found dead in a very unlikely location and fingers are pointed toward a guest. Mae, Hank, and the Laundry Club Ladies infiltrate the competition to unravel the mystery.

Vistas, Vices, and Valentines is another great book in the Campers & Criminals series. The mystery is exciting, intriguing, and engaging. The author does a wonderful job keeping the story fresh and exciting.

The author kept me guessing who was responsible for the dancer’s death. There were twists and turns throughout the book that had me going in one direction only to have the mystery shift. Multiple suspects were introduced who had means, motive, and/or opportunity. It was easy to see why they were suspects. The author did a great job building up the suspense until the reveal of the murderer and motive.

As with the rest of the books in the series, the mystery isn't the only thing going on in Normal, Kentucky. Tonya Kappes did a terrific job of weaving everything together between Hank and Mae’s relationship, the murder, and the side stories. The characters are wonderfully crafted, realistically written, and I feel like I'm coming home to Normal with every book in the series.

I was provided a copy of this book to read.  

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Cozy Mystery Review ~ Better Late Than Never (Library Lover's Mystery, Book #7) by Jenn McKinlay @MckinlayJenn @BerkleyMystery @BerkleyPub

In the latest Library Lover’s Mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of A Likely Story, a decades overdue book puts library director Lindsey Norris hot on the trail of a cold case...

When the Briar Creek Public Library holds its first overdue book amnesty day—no fines for late returns—the volume of incoming materials is more than Lindsey and her staff can handle. In a bind, Lindsey drafts the crafternoon ladies to help check in and sort the stacks of books.

But one tardy tome catches her attention—a copy of J. D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, twenty years past due. When Lindsey looks up the borrower, she’s shocked to discover it was a murdered school teacher named Candice Whitley, whose killer was never found.

Candice checked out the novel on the day she was murdered. Now Lindsey wonders if it could provide a clue to the decades-old cold case. No one noticed who brought the book back in, but could it be Candice’s killer? Lindsey is determined to catch the culprit one way or another, because justice for Candice Whitley is long overdue...

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3eGNYbz

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28953443-better-late-than-never

Visit the Author's Website: https://www.jennmckinlay.com/

ASIN: ‎ B01BK0SQ90
Publisher: ‎ Berkley
Publication Date: ‎ November 1, 2016
Print Length: ‎ 297 pages

My Review & Rating:

Better Late Than Never by Jenn McKinlay
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Better Late Than Never is another great book in the Library Lover’s Mystery series by Jenn McKinlay. I love the idea of an overdue book amnesty day. Late books can be returned without fear of a fine. The event is a hit and the sheer number of books returned overwhelms the library. Everything comes to a screeching halt when a decades-old book is found among the returns. Checked out 20 years prior, Lindsey learns the person who borrowed the book is former teacher, Candice Whitley who was murdered the same day she died. Her murdered still hasn’t been found. Now, Lindsey finds herself immersed in a cold case and she just knows the returned book the key to solving the mystery.

I enjoyed Better Late Than Never and devoured it as fast I could without compromising my ability retain the story. The characters are kind and lovable, and I love Ms. Cole. She's a character in her own right. I love the author's writing style, the pacing was good, and the story compelling. The continued character development allowed for me to further get to know the citizens of Briar Creek. The author created a wonderful town, with wonderful characters, and I was able to visualize the entire story. The author did a great job writing this book realistically. I'm invested in these characters and can't wait to dive into the next book.

I borrowed this book from my library.

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