Falling to Pieces

Falling to Pieces is the first in the quilt shop murder mysteries and my first book by Vannetta Chapman. I already just downloaded the second book to my tablet since I really enjoyed this one.

Callie moves to Shipshewana after her aunt passes away. She intends to sort out her aunt's things and sell her quilt shop, then move on. She meets three Amish women on the first day in the quilt shop. Deborah, one of the woman, convinces her to auction their quilts for them on eBay. Little does Callie know that this will seem to start something ending in murder. Or so it seems. But both Callie and Deborah want to get to the bottom of the truth even putting themselves in the firing line.
I enjoyed the rawness of Callie in this book. She is a widow who is in search of something in life but does not seem sure what. She comes to Shipshewana to simply tie up all life's loose ends for that moment. But a truth in a quilter's life is when you are least searching for the right fabric, you find it. So is the reality of life for Callie too it seems. Her contact with the Amish and Deborah in particular effect her with their warmth. I am looking forward to seeing if the next in this series continues as well as the first book. 

Happy reading!
Heidi

Dying in the Wool - A Kate Shackleton Mystery

In the style of Agatha Christie, this new mystery series (to me) has caught my attention for the atmosphere it creates. Dying in the Wool by Frances Brody takes place in the Yorkshire village of Bridgestead. Kate Shackleton goes to meet up with an old friend. Tabitha will be getting married soon and has one wish. She wants Kate to find her missing father so he can walk her down the aisle. But Joshua Braithwaite disappeared 7 years ago from the mill he owned after having to attempt suicide. Kate loves trying to solve puzzles of missing persons so she takes up this challenge.

I loved many aspects of this book. I love Yorkshire and could imagine so much of the scenes described from my many visits there. The village is fictitious but the feeling of the area very real. I enjoyed Kate and her passion to help others find loved ones stemming from the disappearance of her own husband at the end of WWI. Her sidekick Sykes is a combination of Captain Hastings and Inspector Japp to her Poirot. Kate is only interested in the truth but at what cost to herself?

This is a cozy mystery so the atmosphere itself is a character within the book. This left you remembering the various people met along Kate's path. It is entertaining for that reason alone but as its plot takes a couple of turns along the way, it is also an intriguing mystery story. Looking forward to more...

Happy reading!
Heidi

A Slice of Murder

I borrowed this book from my mother's Nook and have really enjoyed the first of the Pizza Lovers mystery series by Chris Cavender.

Eleanor Swift owns the local pizzeria of Timber Ridge, North Carolina. Her sister Maddy works with her after Eleanor's husband Joe was killed in a car accident. When her delivery boy calls off sick, Eleanor decides to do a run to deliver a pizza to Richard Olson but, when she arrives at his house, she sees him laying in his kitchen with a knife sticking out of his chest. She calls local police chief Kevin Hurley but, to her surprise, he places her on this top of his list of suspects. The best way she sees to get herself off that list is to do some fact finding with her sister to find the real killer. The more they dig, the more they realize that most of this small town should be listed as a suspect.

I liked the banter of the two sisters, Eleanor and Maddy, in the start of this series. It was a bit predictable but then I kept trying to convince myself that the obvious must be wrong. So for that reason it must be a success right? It is Jessica Fletcher ... Blue Ridge Mountain style ... predictable but fun. But beware as it makes you want to have a pizza. And guess what we had for dinner tonight? Seriously ... we had pizza. *grins*

Happy reading!
Heidi

Wild Goose Chase

Wild Goose Chase is the first is Terri Thayer's quilt mystery series. This is a book that has been sitting on my bookshelves for ages along with book two and three. Time to immerse myself in the fun of quilting, fat quarters, rotary cutters and murder. Being a quilter makes this book all the more fun to read. 

Dewey Pellicano inherits her mother's quilt shop after her mother dies in a hit and run accident. It is the first time the shop Quilter Paradiso is setting up a stand at the state quilt extravaganza without Dewey's much loved mother. Dewey has taken over and is trying to install a new computerized sales systems while her sister in law Kym is trying to thwart it in all directions. Famed quilter Claire Armstrong offers to buy the shop from Dewey insisting she was already buying it from her mother. But when Dewey discovers Claire's dead body from an accident with a rotary cutter, she is stunned and wondering what to do next. When a second murder takes place, it is obvious that Claire's accident was not that at all and Dewey tries to piece together the puzzle of just who is at this quilt show with deadly intent before another body turns up. 

As with most of the cozy mysteries I read, I have trouble writing a review as I really would not want to give away any of the hints of the book. Dewey is a likable new sleuth. If you are a quilter like me, you will love this book. Even if you don't quilt yourself, it is a great start to a new cozy mystery series. 

Happy reading!

Heidi

Death in the Cotswolds

The third book in the Cotswolds Mysteries by Rebecca Tope is Death in the Cotswolds. This book has a different twist as it is told by Ariadne who is DI Phil Hollis' Aunt Helen's neighbor.

Aunt Helen has passed away and Phil brings Thea to her cottage to sort through his  aunt's things while spending a week together along with their three dogs. In the little village of Cold Aston, life is quiet while a pagan group is planning Samhain (which are the origins of Halloween) celebrations. This group is frowned upon by the Freemasons who are very active and secretive.

Ariadne sells knitted items and is juggling this with her planning for the upcoming event. She discovers one is her knitters dead having been stabbed by a knitting needle while taking a walk on Notgrove Barrow which is the ancient place designated for the celebrations. Life is turned upside-down for Ariadne as she is interviewed by police as to her and her friends whereabouts during the crime.

In the middle of it all, she seems to be befriending Thea who is being left alone more often as Phil works on the case during his week's vacation time. Will she and Thea stumble into the killer among the villagers?

If you like cozy mysteries that have all the atmosphere on a small English village can bring, this is a series I can highly recommend. I am off to book four now...

Happy reading!
Heidi

Bookmarked for Death

Bookmarked for Death in the second in the Booktown Mystery series by Lorna Barrett. And my conclusion of this book? Bravo Lorna Barrett! Once again I am giving her book 5 stars. She knows how to make her characters leap out from the pages and become real. In fact, I want to move to Stoneham, New Hampshire. I want Tricia Miles to be my friend and neighbor. I would be safe as can be with her in the vicinity. And...well...she is a cat lover who named her cat Miss Marple so that alone earns 5 stars in my book. *grins*

Tricia Miles own the bookshop Haven't Got A Clue in Stoneham's book village. It is a shop specializing in vintage mystery books. She arranges a book signing for local mystery author Zoe Carter. The signing is going well but Tricia finds the persona Zoe Carter puzzling. She is more nun than intriguing author. But when she finds Zoe strangled in her shop toilet and the sheriff  Wendy Adams delighting on wanting to find proof that Tricia is the killer, Tricia has to start investigating her second murder in booktown.

I do not want to go into too many details as I find the details in a cozy mystery make them fun to read. And Lorna Barrett is right up there as a favorite mystery writer for me. I am off now to put book 3 in my Amazon shopping basket for my next order.....

Happy reading!
Heidi

Died on the Vine

Died on the Vine is a cozy mystery brought out for the ereader market by Joyce Harmon. It is available on both the Kindle and Nook.

Set in the Passatonnack Winery from Jack and Cissy Rayburn, a man shows up on Sunday afternoon claiming that Cissy first husband who was killed in Vietnam is not dead but missing in action. When this man shows up dead among the vines at the vineyard, Jack seems to be the one suspect with motive for killing as well as the owner of the murder weapon. Cissy has to do something to keep her husband from being arrested for the murder as she realizes that the police are not looking in many other directions. She teams up with her neighbor Julia to start investigating themselves. This leads them to freelance reporter and author Mary Nguyen who has a big secret about why she is looking into the murdered Col. Obie Winslow. A good first mystery as you cannot help but like Cissy and her Julia.

Happy reading!
Heidi

Curiosity Thrilled the Cat

Curiosity Thrilled the Cat is the first in the new (to me) Magical Cats Mysteries by  Sofie Kelly. And what a start she makes with this one!

Kathleen Paulson has moved from Boston to small town Mayville Heights in Minnesota to oversee the renovations of the library. While orientating herself in her new temporary hometown, she stumbles onto a big old abadoned house called Wisteria Hill. Cats galore are wondering around there and two follow her home. She adopts these two cats naming them Hercules and Owen. Or is it as cat rules go...they adopted her. But she feels like her mind is playing tricks on her when she seems to see Owen literally disappear into thin air. But when Hercules goes through a solid wooden door right in front of her eyes, she begins to think she might be becoming the 'crazy cat lady' she doesn't want to become.

But the restoration of the library seems to hit one snag after another with as many mishaps to boot. The biggest mishap seems to her to be finding not only a dead body at the local theater but finding the dead man in question also had spilled some blood in the library before he died. When a note supposedly from her shows up in his pocket, she decides she needs to find some proof of her innocence before it is too late. Sofie is helped along by several new friends and her cats making her feel like Mayville Heights is starting to feel like home.

This book has all the right ingredients with its cozy mystery set in a characterful small town and cats.

Happy reading!
Heidi

Plum Pudding Murder

What better combination is there than a cozy community, cats, capers, Christmas and cookies in a mystery? I set aside my regular list of books to read for some Christmas themed books. I always enjoy visiting Hannah at The Cookie Jar to see what kind of scrapes she gets into now.

Hannah is supplying cookies to a Christmas themed park called The Crazy Elf Tree Lot. All seems well and her cookies are selling out so fast that she has to increase the deliveries in the midst of the rush of 10 days counting to Christmas. But when she delivers her latest creation, Minnesota Plum Pudding, to the owner Larry to taste test one evening, she and Norman discover his dead body instead. Hannah happens to discover that a friend is married to Larry although she had not seen him in 15 years. She decides she must do whatever she can to ensure Nancy will not be blamed for Larry's death.

And one aspect of the book that I really adore is Moishe...Hannah's beloved cat. Well, what can I say? I am a cat lover! Norman decides that Hannah needs a Christmas tree this year. The tree is bought and set up but for how long? Moishe has a whole Christmas adventure of his own.

A fun and light read for the month of December!

Happy reading!
Heidi

Murder at Mansfield Park

When I first started to listen to the audible version of this book, I was glad the narrator, Phyllida Nash, had such a wonderful rich voice and interesting manner as I was not able to forgive Lynn Shephard for her abuse of Jane Austen. I changed my mind half way through the book when the book changed to a murder mystery. Suddenly, it all worked for me. I do love a good mystery and this one kept you wondering. It was one that I had not been able to figure out which also keeps me reading. I enjoyed the character of Charles Maddox who disgusts you in his crass personage at first but warms you with his knowledge of solving the unknown. I felt for him by the end of this book and happily his work continues in Shephard's second novel set in Dicken's time. Looking forward to it...

Happy reading!
Heidi

A Cotswold Ordeal

A Cotswold Ordeal is the second in the Cotswold Mysteries by Rebecca Tope. Thea is at her second housesitting assignment when she discovers a young man hanging from the rafters of one of the barns. A suicide? In the meantime, her sister stays with her at the house called Juniper Court while spending some needed time away from her abusive husband. The two sisters cannot seem to help becoming involved in the story of this Cotswold village while Thea also seems to become more involved with DI Phil Hollis.

I really enjoyed this mystery. It was a mystery where you think you figured out whodunnit and ended up being totally wrong. When the real motive for murder comes out, you find the story twisted without your even seeing it coming.

I am disappointed that I cannot get the third book in this series on Audible.com. I have no ídea why since they do have all the others. I will have to get the book to read before I get the next audiobook.

Happy reading!
Heidi

A Killer Stitch

Reading the next in line of the knitting mysteries by Maggie Sefton is like coming to meet with an old friend. You catch back up with all those you knew and another adventure begins...

When alpaca rancher Derek Cooper is discovered dead, there is a shock among The House of Lambspun shop as it directly affects his girlfriend Lucy. But it soon becomes apparent that Derek has been murdered. As Kelly discovers more to help Diane who is suspect number one and also Kelly's good friends Jennifer's friends, she discovers that Derek was a man with a reputation and many enemies.

Once again, a really good cozy mystery to curl up with!

Happy reading!
Heidi

A Cotswold Killing

I was able to finish off the month of April listening to A Cotswold Killing by Rebecca Tope. This series was new to me. From what I can find there are seven books written so far in this mystery series.

In the first book, we meet newly widowed Thea Osborne and her dog Hepzibah. Thea has taken her first job as a house-sitter. The house lies in the little village of Duntisbourne Abbot where she cares for the house, two dogs and small flock of sheep while a couple go off on a cruise. Her "neighbor" stops by immediately to say hello but ends up being found dead the following day. Thea is caught up in village life and discovering the secret that will lead to the killer.

I am going to continue with this series as I found the descriptions of the Cotswold and village life as good as the mystery story line within it.

Chili Con Corpes

I was able to get this book as a special free offer on my Kindle. It is a new (to me) cozy mystery series. I did not realize that this was the third in the series when I started it as I like reading cozies in order. It did work well on its own and I found myself falling into line with getting to know each of the members of Supper Club as well as others living in Quincy's Gap.

Food is important to the Supper Club and they decide to take a Mexican cooking class joined by a few friends. But when one ends up dead while chaperoning  a school trip, the Supper Club decides to look into the death themselves. Will they be able to make the murderer confess before another friend ends up dead?

Friendships are as important a theme in this mystery series as food. The recipes created in the Mexican cooking course are contained in the book.

Happy reading!
Heidi

Mistletoe Murder

I have finished reading my first seasonal themed book for the coming holiday season. I was in the mood for something with talk of Christmas so grabbed this book which is in my stack of books to read before the end of 2011....Mistletoe Murder by Leslie Meier.

Lucy Stone is a busy wife and mother who works evenings at a mail order company called Country Cousins in Tinker's Cove, Maine. While taking a break, she discovers her boss dead in his car. She works to create a perfect Christmas for her family while also working with local police officer Barney Culpepper to find the killer before the killer finds them.

This books was building up excitement and suddenly it was ending. I think it must be a sign of being good although I would have liked more. I enjoyed meeting Lucy Stone in this first book of the series. I want to spend time this year making space for new books but the next in the series will be on my list for 2012.

Happy reading!
Heidi

Murder is Binding

Cozy mysteries are great fun to read and this one is one of the best I have read. From the first page, I wanted to slap a character who was just too mean and cantankerousness to live in the quaint town of Stoneham, New Hampshire. Well, by the end of chapter one, there she lay sprawled out on the floor of her bookshop. But when neighboring mystery bookshop owner Tricia is accused by the sheriff of committing the murder, what else could she do but find the real killer. Add to that mix, her sister has moved to town, like it or not, the sweet Mr. Everett who is a daily regular customer she hires to work for her and her bookshop cat Miss Marple and you have the recipe for a very good cozy read!

I loved the twist of an exciting ending and know I will be reading more in this series now. Maybe it is because any book lover is attracted to a village like Stoneham and its variety of bookshops selling old and new books. The second in this series is already on my wish list.

This has gone up high on my list with my favorite cozy authors like Laura Childs, Susan Wittig Albert, Monica Ferris or Nancy Atherton. A must read for mystery lovers!

Key Lime Pie Murder

Many years ago, I discovered the author Monica Ferris and her cozy mysteries set in a cross stitch shop. This started a love affair with cozies. I got my mother hooked and we started buying many of the cozy mysteries and swapping them with each other. One of our favorites has been the Hannah Swensen Mysteries by Joanne Fluke.  She brought me two that we had not read yet when she came to visit last year. While at first, we were getting them as they came out, we lost track as we started to add more and more cozy mysteries to our lists.

Hannah owns a cookie shop called The Cookie Jar in Lake Eden, Minnesota. She has a cuddly big tomcat called Moishe and not one but two men in her life who both want to marry her. The inhabitants of Lake Eden come to life in these books. If you have never read one, I would recommend you get a hold of them to read in order as the characters do build up in each of them.

Hannah finds herself being a judge for the baking contests at the county fair. There are two other judges, Pam and Willa, who test taste with her each day as the fair progresses. But one evening after closing Hannah witnesses pieces of a murder...that of her fellow judge Willa. As she starts to investigate Willa's death, many secrets begin to come to light but will she discover the final secret in time to escape from the hands of Willa's killer?

This was once again a wonderful, light and fun mystery to read. Joanne Fluke uses humor in her books as well as building up the suspense of an old fashioned whodunit. Any cat lover has to appreciate her friendship with beloved Moishe and there are recipes galore to boot. All around another great Joanne Fluke book!

Happy reading!
Heidi