It’s easy to see why Cleo Coyle’s Coffeehouse Mystery series is such a bestseller—16 books in and it's still going strong with terrific plotting and charm! Dead Cold Brew finds our heroine, Clare Cosi, back in New York City running her coffeehouse, Village Blend, for her former mother-in-law, the beloved Madame. When a series of…
It has been a long time since I’ve identified as readily with the amateur detective heroine of a cozy mystery novel as I have here with Keeley Carpenter, protagonist of A Death at the Yoga Cafe. Having left the village of Belfrey, England, as a teenager who was deeply affected by the recent death of…
Nick Charles has got to be the best crime-solving animal sidekick I’ve come across in ages. Here, in the 3rd installment of the Nick & Nora Mystery series (and yes, the name is a cute homage to the classic detective duo), the overweight cat is always on hand to help his owner Nora as she…
A music festival has come to the small town of Broken Boot, Texas, and while it’s certainly good business for our heroine Josie Callahan’s family’s restaurant, she’s still a little leery of musicians after her unhappy breakup with her musician former fiancé. Her best friend, Patti Perez, however, is not of the once-bitten, twice-shy inclination,…
This 3rd installment of the Greek to Me Mystery series sees our heroine, Georgie Nikolopatos, coming to terms with all the turmoil of the past books. With her mostly amicable divorce finalizing and her daughter returning soon to Bonaparte Bay, on the US-Canadian border, from the sunnier climes of Greece, Georgie is looking forward to…
Our heroine, Katie Lightfoot, is just finishing up a meeting of her Spellbook Club (read: coven) at the Honeybee Bakery she part-owns when a sudden clamor at the door disturbs the circle. Katie and her friends discover a distraught young woman who claims, among other things, that she was sent to Katie for help ……
Hollywood has come to Savannah, Georgia, making for hectic days at the Honeybee Bakery. Part-owner and former fire department chief Ben Eagel has been hired to provide security on the movie set that has shut down parts of the city. His niece and our heroine, Katie Lightfoot, is helping cover for him at the bakery…
Oh, thank goodness. This book laid to rest any concerns I had after reading its immediate predecessor, Bewitched, Bothered, and Biscotti. Several months after the events of that book, our heroine—Katie Lightfoot—is busying herself with her work and spellcraft as well as volunteering with a local conservation group. She’s chosen firefighter Declan over druid Steve,…
The 4th book in the Spice Shop Mystery series finds our heroine, Piper Prescott, about to host a cooking demonstration at her specialty store, Spice It Up! It’s taken a while to coax Doug Winters, the guy she’s been dating, to share his “Spicy Chicken Curry” recipe with a rapt audience of her regular customers.…
The second novel in the Magical Bakery series wasn’t the strongest installment for me so far. I wouldn’t exactly call it a sophomore slump, as it’s still a very enjoyable entry, but there were several things that I didn’t care for here as much as I did in the other books. First, a synopsis: Katie…
