MAYHEM AT THE ORIENT EXPRESS: League of Literary Ladies Mystery - Kylie Logan

At a local Chinese restaurant, it's the owner who gets taken out...

Most folks aren’t forced by court order to attend a library-book discussion group, but that’s just what happens to B and B proprietor and ex-Manhattanite Bea Cartwright, hippy cat lover Chandra Morrisey, and winery owner Kate Wilder after a small-town magistrate has had enough of their squabbling. South Bass, an island on Lake Erie, is home to an idyllic summer resort, but these three ladies keep disturbing the peace.

The initial book choice is Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express, and that sets their mouths to watering. The Orient Express is the island’s newest Chinese restaurant. They might not agree about much, but the ladies all love the orange chicken on the menu. But their meal is spoiled when the restaurant’s owner, Peter Chan, has the bad fortune of getting murdered. Now, with Christie as their inspiration, the League of Literary Ladies has a real mystery to solve…if they can somehow catch a killer without killing each other first.

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Kylie Logan is one of my favorite writers whether writing as Kylie Logan or Casey Daniels. I love all of the series she's written that I've read so far. She had me with her Pepper Martin, the paranormal cozy series with the cemetery guide who reluctantly talks with ghosts. She's kept me with her Button Box series (who knew buttons could keep me enthralled) and now there's the League of Literary Ladies mystery series.
The premise is nifty: a group of women are court-ordered to join a book club. They need to stop bickering and the library needs patrons.
Each character makes me laugh and alternately want to hug or smack them. The mystery is super, the ladies needing to find the killer of the owner of their favorite Chinese restaurant. They are going to miss their orange peanut chicken. And there's more to it than meets the eye, especially with each of the ladies.
There are still tiffs among the group of ladies, each one has a distinct personality. The story is told through the eyes of Bea Cartwright, owner of the bed and breakfast on the small island of South Bass in Lake Erie, but the story is group driven.
I really look forward to more of this fun series. And anything else Kylie/Casey writes.

MAMA GETS HITCHED: A Mace Bauer Mystery #3 - Deborah Sharp

According to Mama, a Gone with the Wind-themed wedding—complete with Scarlett O' Hara bridesmaid gowns and a ring-bearing Pomeranian—is fine and dandy for her fifth trip down the aisle. But what's a bridezilla to do when her caterer is murdered? Thanks to the nonstop gossip train in their small Florida town, Mama's gator-wrestling daughter Mace is getting the dirt on who did it.

Unfortunately, the suspect list is longer than the gift registry. Right at the top are the groom's East Coast Yankee cousins—who may have Mafia ties. With her on-again, off-again beau, Detective Carlos Martinez, Mace must track down the killer before Mama's Special Day turns especially deadly.

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How I adore this series. Mama's antics make me laugh and I love how Mace steps up to each challenge even when some might make her roll her eyes...like Mama's 'GONE WITH THE WIND' themed wedding. Her three daughters don't know why she's going to all this fuss. It is wedding number five after all.
But Mama wants a fab wedding since this is true love. And Mama usually gets what Mama wants. It's easier to give in.
Mace gets involved in the investigation since it's Mama's wedding caterer and it also involves Mace's sweetie, Detective Carlos Martinez (so yummy)....it could mean some quality time even though it makes Martinez crazy that Mace gets involved and sometimes hurt.
I do feel for Mace and her sisters, but Mama is a wonderful character and I wouldn't mind having her for my Mama. At least for a little while.
If you want a superb mystery set in a wonderful locale and you want to laugh a lot, this is the mystery for you and definitely the series is.

CURIOSITY THRILLED THE CAT: A Magical Cats Mystery #1 - Sofie Kelly

When librarian Kathleen Paulson moved to Mayville Heights, Minnesota, she had no idea that two strays would nuzzle their way into her life. Owen is a tabby with a catnip addiction and Hercules is a stocky tuxedo cat who shares Kathleen's fondness for Barry Manilow. But beyond all the fur and purrs, there's something more to these felines.

When murder interrupts Mayville's Music Festival, Kathleen finds herself the prime suspect. More stunning is her realization that Owen and Hercules are magical-and she's relying on their skills to solve a purr-fect murder.

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I've wanted to start this series for some time. Very glad I finally got to it. Cozies starring animals, especially cats it seems, are meant to be. Paranormal cozies starring magical cats? Mystical match.
This book is a fine example why I love cozies. I love suspending belief and enjoying a book with a murder to solve, a librarian main character, and a small town where I'd love to live. Add in the magical cats and I had a fun fast highly enjoyable read.

HEARSE AND BUGGY: An Amish Mystery #1 - Laura Bradford

Claire Weatherly has fled a high-stress lifestyle for a slower pace—in Amish country: Heavenly, Pennsylvania. She only planned a short visit but instead found herself opening an Amish specialty shop, Heavenly Treasures, and settling in.Claire loves her new home, and she’s slowly making friends among the locals, including Esther, a young Amish woman who works in the shop. So when the store’s former owner,the unlikable Walter Snow, is murdered, and the man Esther is sweet on becomes a suspect, Claire can’t help but get involved.

Newly returned Detective Jakob Fisher, who left Heavenly—and his Amish upbringing—as a teenager, is on the case. But his investigation is stalled by the fact that none of his former community will speak with him. Claire’s connections make her the perfect go-between.
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When a cozy mystery has an endorsement from gritty Harlen Coben on the cover, a mystery-of-all-kinds reader like me will take note and buy that dadgum book. And immediately read it.
I liked the characters and the small town of Heavenly, Pennsylvania. I liked how Claire, the main character, came to be in the small town that is a blend of Amish and the English as non-Amish are known. I especially enjoyed how Claire is drawn into the investigation. It was fairly seamless and didn't feel at all forced just to move the story along.
And the ending....did not see that coming.
Exceptionally enjoyable and can't wait to read the next in the series, ASSAULTED PRETZEL and SHUNNED AND DANGEROUS (out in 2014).

MOTHER'S DAY OUT - Karen MacInerney

Life is pretty typical for stay-at-home mom Margie Peterson. She’s got two young kids, an attorney husband who never quite makes partner, and a fixer-upper house she doesn’t have the money to fix. Things are rolling along fine until the first preschool tuition bill hits the mailbox, and Margie realizes it’s time to take out a second mortgage…or get a job.

Margie’s mother-in-law wants her to join the Junior League, her mother thinks her aura needs adjusting, and her husband wants her to sell Tupperware. But Margie decides on something more exciting than washing dishes at charity teas or matching plastic lids with bowls.

When a seedy PI agency hires her as a part-time private investigator, Margie finds herself tracking an obese plumbing salesman with a penchant for Saran Wrap and bargain-basement hookers. But Margie’s no Sam Spade. By the end of her first day, she’s totaled her minivan, submitted a picture of a naked man in Saran Wrap to the school newsletter, and accidentally participated in a drag queen contest. When she finds a dead transvestite in the “Princesses’” room of a gay bar, she decides it may be time to hang up her hat and start planning Tupperware parties. Then she picks up the drag queen’s phone … and discovers the last call the dead man made was to Margie’s own house.
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This was FUN! This is what it would have been if Lucille Ball had decided to become a private investigator.
Marigold 'Margie' Peterson wants to earn some extra money. Her husband wants her to be a SAHM and join the Junior League to help him move up to partner in the law firm. 
Margie finds Peaches, a private investigator, and asks for a tryout. Peaches reluctantly gives her a shot with an infidelity case. Margie gets her man, wrapped in plastic wrap, and it's pedal to the metal from there on out.
She wins points with the snooty headmistress of her children's pre-school by agreeing to look into missing school funds. And her next job leads her into getting third place in a drag queen contest.
I loved this book. I could identify with Margie's need to get out of the house and find herself again. She is more than a mother and wife and definitely more than Junior League material. She has the coolest best friend, Becky, who helps her out in more ways than one.
I do hope there will be more adventures with Margie. I love Karen MacInerney's other two series I've read, Grey Whale Inn Mystery and Tales of an Urban Werewolf, and now I can add Marigold's adventures to the mix.

AN APPETITE FOR MURDER: A Key West Food Critic Mystery - Lucy Burdette

Hayley Snow's life always revolved around food. But when she applies to be a food critic for a Key West style magazine, she discovers that her new boss would be Kristen Faulkner-the woman Hayley caught in bed with her boyfriend! Hayley thinks things are as bad as they can get-until the police pull her in as a suspect in Kristen's murder. Kristen was killed by a poisoned key lime pie. Now Hayley must find out who used meringue to murder before she takes all the blame.
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I love cozies with spunky characters. This one has it in spades. I feel for Hayley Snow once I found out she followed her dream man all the way to Key West only to fiind out he was more a nightmare. Then she had to make her way in the ritzy and gorgeous Florida locale when she discovered that she didn't want to leave.
So, she's living on her friend's houseboat and helping her with her cleaning business. But what Hayley really wants to do is write restaurant reviews. She visits and writes about the small local places, not the ritzy-ritz places, but the joints where the locals go. I got so hungry reading this book!!
Then there's the murder of the girlfriend of the ex-pewp cranium 'dream guy' Hayley followed down and lived with. Until she discovered pewp-cranium 'dream guy' in bed with now murdered restaurant owner and potentially Hayley's boss if Hayley gets the food critic job at the local paper.
Now Hayley is a prime suspect and she needs to clear her name.
Well done and I soooo cannot wait to read the next in the series. Thank goodness DEATH IN FOUR COURSES is on the nightstand.....

50% OFF MURDER: A Good Buy Girls Mystery - Josie Belle

Maggie Gerber-one of the founding members of the Good Buy Birls- loves her quiet life in St. Stanley, Virginia. But all that changes when Sam Collins, her old flame, moves back to town as the new sheriff. On top of that, Claire Freemont, a librarian and the newest member of the Good Buy Girls, starts acting utterly strange.

When Maggie goes to visit her the next day at the library, she finds the body of a very dead man. Turns out the man is someone from Claire's past. As the handsome new sheriff zeroes in on Claire, it's up to Maggie and the rest of the Good Buy Girls to use their bargain-hunting skills to hunt a killer-while making sure they don't pay too much in the process...

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A fun new-to-me series with a unique premise. These ladies know how to shop for a deal, clip coupons, and solve a murder. It works, it doesn't sound like it would, but it does. Neat ideas throughout if one doesn't know how to look for a deal or doesn't believe in clipping coupons. I had fun reading this and look forward to the next book in the series.

GOING ORGANIC CAN KILL YOU: Blossom Valley Mystery - Staci McLaughlin

Welcome to Blossom Valley, CA, home of the O’Connell Organic Farm and Spa, complete with its new marketing maven, Dana Lewis, former Blossom Valley resident and unapologetic junk food connoisseur—and soon to be sleuth…

As Dana readjusts to life back home with her recently widowed mother, her latest career move isn’t exactly a piece of cake. In fact, it’s all tofu fish sticks, stuffed squash blossoms, and enough wheat grass shots to scream bloody murder—especially when Dana discovers the body of Maxwell Mendelsohn, Hollywood producer and opening weekend guest, deader than a yoga corpse pose. While Dana pens the Spa’s blog and balances the attentions of the local police and reporter Jason Forrester, her escalating job duties now include finding clues, motives and suspects. One thing’s for certain, she better act fast before all this healthy living kills her.

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I do love cozies with a new premise. GOING ORGANIC CAN KILL YOU is about a woman, Dana Lewis, coming back to her hometown to help a woman start up a spa from what used to be a working farm.
One of the clients is found dead and Dana feels compelled to help find clues since the spa might close if clients run in fear of a killer.
I look forward to reading more of this series. It's fun and I like the characters quite a lot. There's Dana and her family, the owner of the spa/farm who is sweet and a bit fragile, the manager who is wee bit pompous, and the hippie chef, and the hottie newspaper reporter. FUN!

DRIVEN TO INK: A Tattoo Shop Mystery - Karen E. Olson

Brett Cavanaugh cannot catch a break away from dead bodies. This time there's one in the trunk of her beloved Mustang. The Mustang that her friend Sylvia Coleman borrowed to get hitched at the drive-thru wedding chapel known as That's Amore.
Brett's admonished to not get involved, but she can't help but to help her friends.
A fun cozy series. I love Las Vegas anyway so the setting is perfect and makes it fun to revisit the city through the author's eyes. I would love to visit Brett's shop, The Painted Lady, and get a custom designed tattoo and chat with Brett, Bitsy, Joel, and Ace.

PIES AND PREJUDICE: A Charmed Pie Shoppe Mystery - Ellery Adams

When the going gets tough, Ella Mae LaFaye bakes pies. So when she catches her husband cheating in New York, she heads back home to Havenwood, Georgia, where she can drown her sorrows in fresh fruit filling and flakey crust. But her pies aren't just delicious. They're having magical effects on the people who eat them—and the public is hungry for more.

Discovering her hidden talent for enchantment, Ella Mae makes her own wish come true by opening the Charmed Pie Shoppe. But with her old nemesis Loralyn Gaynor making trouble, and her old crush Hugh Dylan making nice, she has more than pie on her plate. and when Loralyn's fiancé is found dead—killed with Ella Mae's rolling pin—it'll take all her sweet magic to clear her name.

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I love finding a new series by an author I already have on the 'soonest get' list. I was excited to find that Ellery Adams had written a paranormal cozy series. I had it on the WWBL as soon as I saw it and read it as soon as it hit my nightstand.
I had it as a purse book and read it in almost one sitting on a quiet shift.
I loved the characters, the setting, the premise. Ella Mae's aunts were awesome and each had their individual quirks that made me love them. I could identify with Ella's relationship with her mother. And I know I'd love to find this pie shop in my neighborhood.
It's not heavily paranormal, sort of paranormal-ish. The ending is a wee cliffhanger that hints at bit more magic being tossed in. I look forward to it.
The only *eesh* I had was with the excessive adjectives strewn throughout the first part of the book. It passed quickly and the only reason I can think why it bothered me was maybe because I was reading it in the wee hours of the morning on shift of my first mid shift. I was tired and a bit grumpy. I got over it (and myself) soon and enjoyed the book.
I do look forward to the next in the series. It's on the 'soonest get' list.

IN A WITCH'S WARDROBE: A Witchcraft Mystery - Juliet Blackwell

Lily Ivory is living her dream of owning a vintage clothing store—and practicing magic on the side. But when she encounters a sinister sleeping spell, Lily comes face-to-face with a nightmarish evil…

Taking a night off from running her successful San Francisco clothing store, Lily attends a local art deco ball where vintage fashions steal the show. But when a young woman at the event falls under a mysterious sleeping sickness, Lily senses that a curse was placed on the woman’s corsage.

Before Lily can solve the woman’s magical ailment, she’s asked to assist in investigating a string of poisonings in the Bay Area witchcraft community. She’s gained the trust of the local covens by supporting women’s charities through her clothing store. But soon, Lily suspects that one of her new acquaintances might not be so well intentioned and could be dabbling in dark magic and deadly botany…

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One of my favorite series that gets better with each book entry. It could be a light fluffy paranormal cozy, but it's not. Lily Ivory wants to be a good shopowner and witch and fit in, but events keep putting her out there. This time she is in the thick of a magical event that has trapped a young woman in a coma and a local coven might be to blame. Too many incidents keep leading that way and Lily isn't sure how to handle it. But handle it she does.
This is one of those series that I get each book entry as soon as it comes out and anxiously look forward to the next.
Highly recommend.

RED HOT DEADLY PEPPERS: A Farmer's Market Mystery - Paige Shelton

This is such a neat premise for a series. I love farmers' markets and that this particular one goes year round (and that many more chances for murder and mayhem) is even better.
This time Becca is sent far afield to Arizona to research how a particular farmer's market has joined forces with a local trading post and making it work.
And then she is caught up in a murder investigation and has to fight for her own life soon enough.
A short, fast-paced Nook book and a good reminder to get back to this excellent series.

HOT BUTTON: A Button Box Mystery - Kylie Logan

Another of my favorite series. It's on the must-get list when each book comes out. And this is only the second one in the series.
Each cozy series brings a new-to-me premise that I would love to embrace, but my husband would likely go bonkers so I read about them.
This one is about button collecting. Who would figure that it would be this entrancing or lead to murder?
Josie is in charge of the annual button convention and finds herself neckdeep in a murder investigation. The victim is a loudmouthed button expert and is a mega lout, so no one is upset him being dead, but where is the famed Geronimo Button he brought to the convention?
Josie is so personable I want to lean into the book and help her out. I want to learn about buttons.
I cannot wait for PANIC BUTTON to come out on 31 Dec.

PLASTER AND POISON - Jennie Bentley

This is a neat addition to one of my favorite series. The premise is as well-paced as the mystery. Avery and Derek renovate at a realistic pace and the murder is as realistic as can be expected in a small town, both in the occurence and the solution. I love the tips at the back of each book, too.

Books in the house Monday 17 Sep 2012:

From Our Lady of the Books:
While My Pretty One Knits:Black Sheep Knitting Mystery #1 - Anne Canadeo, cozy, TPB
Knit, Purl, Die: Black Sheep Knitting Mystery #2 Anne Canadeo, cozy, TPB
Rumble on the Bayou - Jane DeLeon, cozy
Fire Engine Dead: Museum Mystery #3 -Sheila Connolly, cozy
Leftover Dead: a Trailer Park mystery-Jimmie ruth Evans,cozy
Scoop To Kill: a Mystery a la Mode-Wendy Lyn Watson, cozy
How to Marry a Murderer: a Paige Turner mystery-Amanda Matetsky, cozy
Murderers Prefer Blondes: a Paige Turner mystery-Amanda Matetsky,cozy
Armed and Glamorous:a Crime of Fashion mystery-Ellen Byerrum, cozy
How to Wash a Cat:a Cats and Curios mystery- Rebecca Hale,cozy
9 Lives Last Forever:a Cats and Curios mystery-Rebecca Hale, cozy, MPB
Corpse in the Crystal Ball: a Fortune Teller Mystery: Kari Lee Townsend

From B&N:
HOT BUTTON: A Button Box Mystery #2 - Kylie Logan, cozy, MPB, (already consumed)
THE LAST POLICEMAN - Ben Winters, dystopian future, TPB

From High Crimes Mystery Bookshop:
PIES & PREJUDICE A Charmed Pie Shoppe Mystery #1 - Ellery Adams, paranormal cozy, MPB
IN A WITCH'S WARDROBE: A Witchcraft Mystery #4 - Juliet Blackwell, paranormal cozy, MPB

From Library Thing:
IN SEARCH OF CLEO - Gina Gershon, memoir, ARC

PRETTY IN INK: A Tattoo Shop Mystery - Karen E. Olson

Someone is killing the drag queens in Vegas and these are friends of Brett Kavanaugh, tattoo artist supreme. She needs to find out who is doing this. I t leads her all over the city, meeting all kinds of different kinds of people.
I love the names of the names of the drag queens performing at Chez Tango: Britney Brassieres, Miss Tique, Shanda Leer....
This is a fun series for me to dive into. I want to go to Vegas and visit Brett's place, The Painted Lady, and have her design a tattoo for me. I'd love to meet her employees, and see Brett's Vegas with her.
So much fun!

RED DELICIOUS DEATH - Sheila Connolly

This one was the most delicate of cozies. There was a murder, but it wasn't mentioned as much nor did the main character, Meg Corey, spend as much time trying to figure out who the killer was as much as concentrate on her orchard and helping out the new restaurant trying to get established. I found that I enjoyed this kind of cozy and look forward to reading more in the series.
Living in a small town and what it takes to have an agricultural business and the behind the scenes of the startup of a restaurant, especially one that is using straight from the farm produce for its menu was eye opening and note taking worthy. Excellent research done by Sheila Connolly. Well done!