Tag: Humorous cozy

The Golden Girls are back

Chaos ensues when Dorothy, Rose, Blanche and Sophia are on the case in Rachel Ekstrom Courage’s Murder by Cheesecake, the first installment of her Golden Girls cozy mystery series.

Eckstrom Courage captures the nuance of each of the ladies, so much so that, while I was a fan of the comedy that ran from 1985 to 1992, I wasn’t sure that I could read a whole book of perfectly timed banter and one-liners. I’m so glad I did. The throwback cozy was not only full of cheesecake and laughter but a solid mystery, as well with all the twists and turns of one of Rose’s stories.

Tasked with putting on a true St. Olaf-style wedding in Miami for Nettie, her niece, who is actually her cousin, with all of the cockamamie requirements of the hometown elders, so that Nettie can inherit her trust, Rose has her work cut out for her.

Just when it looks like she, with a little help from her roommates, will pull it off, the girls discover the body of the man Dorothy was going to bring to the wedding, frozen, face-down on top of one of Rose’s famous cheesecakes in fiancé Jason’s family’s hotel freezer. Rose isn’t the only one, who needs help, as Dorothy becomes the prime suspect and the roommates must prove her innocence.

I recommend Murder by Cheesecake to fans of the Golden Girls and cozy mysteries alike. I received an advance readers copy from Hyperion Avenue, courtesy of NetGalley.

Order online or buy now at your favorite independent bookstore. Mine is Sellers Books and Art in Jim Thorpe, PA.

Review by Di Prokop, More Mystery Please

August Moon for the laugh

What a relief it is to be able to laugh these days and bestselling, award-winning author Jess Lourey gives it to us in spades – pardon the gardening pun – in August Moon, part of her Murder by Month series. It has just the right amount of rom, plenty of com, and lots of mystery throughout the novel.

Librarian/reporter Mira James and her colorful cast of friends and foes make for a fun romp of a mystery in Battle Lake, Minnesota where the summers are hot, the residents we meet lean toward the eccentric and where dead bodies have been turning up every month since Mira arrived.

I highly recommend August Moon for cozy mystery and humorous mystery fans. In fact, I loved it so much I’ve already purchased the latest installment of the series, April Fools. I received my copy of August Moon, courtesy of the author.

Order online or buy now at your favorite independent bookstore. Mine is Sellers Books and Art in Jim Thorpe, PA.

Review by Di Prokop, More Mystery Please

Fun beach read

Anyone who has ever read a British mystery or watched one on-screen knows that if there is a festival, a village fete or a jumble sale for that matter, a body is bound to turn up. Fiona Leitch’s The Cornish Campsite Murder, the sixth installment of her Nosey Parker Mysteries, is no exception.

Former Met police detective Jodie Parker and her betrothed, DI Nathan Withers, are helping out a friend, manning a Cornish pie van called Pie Hard for a camp-out weekend music festival, just down the coast from her home in the fictional Penstowan.

I liked Jodie from the start — her sense of humor, her family and her detective’s curiosity. In The Cornish Campsite Murder, a body of a former lead band member of one of Jodie’s favorites is found by the beach and her teen idol is one of the prime suspects.

I could relate to the universal feeling of actually getting to meet/speak to your teen idol and fearing they won’t live up to your expectations or if they do, that you’ll make a fool of yourself. But what if they are murderers or you falsely accuse them, ruin their reputation and they hate you? That’s the dilemma in which Jodie finds herself.

Fiona Leitch offers a humorous mystery with some fun twists, a host of colorful characters and a satisfying ending. What more could you ask for in a summer read? How about a recipe for a leek and sausage pie at the end of the book? (Having enjoyed a leek and potato pasty on a train ride from Cornwall to London, the Pie Hard’s Die Hard-themed pies sounded both delicious and a little adventuresome. I can’t wait to return for another authentic Cornish pie.)

I highly recommend The Cornish Campsite Murder for British cozy mystery fans, humorous mystery fans and beach readers. This one fits the bill for all of the above.

I received this advanced reader copy of The Cornish Campsite Murder from One More Chapter, an imprint of Harper Collins UK, courtesy of NetGalley.

Order online or buy now at your favorite independent bookstore. Mine is Sellers Books and Art in Jim Thorpe, PA.

Review by Di Prokop, More Mystery Please

Ian Moore perfectly pairs Murder and Fromage in a fun romp of a mystery

Bestselling author Ian Moore takes Richard Ainsworth, the middle-aged English hotelier of a Loire Valley Bed and Breakfast, his French bounty hunter friend, Valerie, her pampered pup Passepartout and we readers on a deliciously humorous romp of a mystery in Death and Fromage, the second in his Follet Valley Mystery series. 
 
Poor Richard is estranged from his wife, bored with his life and known to drown his sorrows in a glass while watching classic cinema, that is until a Michelin star restauranteur is killed and Richard and Valerie set off to find the murderer of more than one goat cheese-infused slaying victim.
 
While it’s mentioned several times that our protagonist resembles Downton Abbey’s Lord Grantham (Hugh Bonneville), the voice I heard throughout was that of another put-upon man named Richard, who lets others navigate his life while he bounces along for the ride, portrayed by the late Clive Smith, husband to Hyacinth Bucket (Dame Patricia Routledge), who pronounces their surname Bouquet, in the British television classic Keeping Up Appearances. Imagining that poor Richard with hen poop on his shoulder had finally come into his own made this novel all the more satisfying for me.
 
I thoroughly enjoyed Death and Fromage, its sometimes laugh-out-loud humor that keep up the pace around every plot twist and turn, along with an amusing group of supporting characters and highly recommend it to everyone who enjoys a funny, light, cozy mystery. I look forward to reading the other installments in the series. I received this advanced reader copy of Death and Fromage from Poisoned Pen Press, courtesy of NetGalley.
 
Order online or purchase at your favorite independent bookstore. Mine is Seller’s Books and Art in Jim Thorpe, PA.

Ukelele of Death

By E. J. Copperman

What a fun read! Humor, mystery, and a dash of sci-fi combine to make a sure-fire hit.

In Ukelele of Death , author E. J. Copperman introduces us to a new crime-solving duo — brother and sister Fran and Ken Stein. The characters play out the true love and drive-you-crazy aspect of any sibling relationship but with a secret bond and I’m not talking about their Private Investigation business helping people find birth parents.
Their names are your first clue. I imagined Fran, as the hilarious British actress Miranda Hart, whose self-titled series forever broke the fourth wall, telling viewers how she really felt. Ken, I see as a cross between Arnold Schwarzenegger and Steve Howey, who started out as the goofy football player son-in-law on Reba and now, almost 20 years later, playing Schwarzenegger’s role in the TV version of True Lies.

This is my first time reading Copperman, known for both his Haunted Guesthouse and Jersey Girl Legal Mystery series.

He hooked me with the very first line. Not only was I intrigued with Fran and the mystery from the onset, he introduced the rich supporting characters as the plot twisted and turned, offering satisfying chuckles all along the way.

I highly recommend Ukelele of Death to anyone looking for a new cozy series and an enjoyable, light beach read.

I received this advance reader copy from Simon & Schuster, courtesy of NetGalley. This review is fair and impartial.

Order online or buy now at your favorite independent bookstore. Mine is Sellers Books and Art in Jim Thorpe, PA.

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