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O, Deadly Night–very Christmasy cozy
O, Deadly Night
By Vicki Delany
Some supposed “Christmas” cozy mysteries are only loosely connected to the season. That is not the case with O, Deadly Night. The story begins with a Christmas parade in the fictional town of Rudolph, New York, which boasts that it is “America’s Christmas Town.” As a tourist town, the citizens celebrate hard and heavy during November and December bringing in enthusiastic visitors from multiple states. They celebrate again in the summer and find ways to promote the little town on other holidays.
The protagonist is Merry. Her father, Noel, plays the role of Santa in parades and walking about town greeting tourists because he looks like he was born into the role. Merry’s boyfriend Alan is a skilled woodworker who keeps her supplied with items to sell in her shop Mrs. Claus’s Treasures which also features jewelry, gifts, and linens. His nutcrackers, angels, train sets, and components of Santa’s village sold out this year. In fact, Alan is so busy that his part in this book is minor. A more important character is Mattie, a Saint Bernard. He appears frequently and his interactions with Detective Diane Simmonds make me smile. He absolutely adores her, and she always notices him and treats him with respect. He obeys the detective much better than he does Merry. Detective Simmonds always calls him by his full name Matterhorn. There are many other characters you will get to know if you read this book—other shopkeepers, friends, family, and citizens of the neighboring town of Muddle Harbor.
As you can tell, I like the characters and setting in this book, but I would be remiss if I did not talk about the mystery. Merry lives in an apartment in a renovated Victorian house. Her landlady on the first floor is a likable, nosy woman who is “gossip central” for the town. She has noticed that someone moved into the house across the street and a large part of the book revolves around the comings and goings (and lack of them) at that house. The mystery involves a murder and kidnapping. Merry becomes involved when she realizes her landlady is missing. In typical Merry fashion she follows up leads on her own rather than contact the police. As often happens in cozy mysteries, there are positive and negative results from her informal investigations. All of this occurs during the busiest season of the year in the town and especially in her shop. Other locals might be suspects and Merry tries to determine if any could actually be murderers.
I really enjoyed this mystery and was irritated by interruptions that made me put the book aside. I began to suspect who might be involved, but my guesses were only partially correct. In the end, there was even more action and the solution to the crimes was a surprise.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: 1. #8 in the Year-Round Christmas Mystery series, but the author provides needed character information as the story begins so it could be read as a standalone. I have read several of the more recent books, but discovered in writing this review that the series began in 2015 so I have some catching up to do.
2. Includes a recipe for Amaretto Fruit Cake (for people who think “they don’t like Christmas cake.”) Its preparation is not quick as it initially takes 2 days and then needs to sit for a month. She also has a recipe that kids can help with for Molasses Spice Cookies. She also has a recipe for Sausage and Sweet Potato Soup which features both sweet and white potatoes.
Publication: October 14, 2025—Crooked Lane Books
Memorable Lines:
I smiled to myself. Families could be trying indeed, but they were there for us when we needed them.
In the circles in which she moved, the more spectacular the gossip, the more it was worth. And thus the more prestige it gave the presenter of the gossip. Truth was sometimes a secondary consideration. If not tertiary.
“What’s happened? Are you okay?” “I’m fine. Well, sort of fine. Ranger is not. He’s been sprayed by a skunk.” “What!” “Yup. Full on, right in the face. As for me, I went outside to see what he was barking at, and I caught some of the, shall we say, fallout.”
The Party Line–life changing secret
The Party Line
by Carolyn Brown
Once upon a time, phones had no dials or buttons. To place a call, you spoke to an operator who made the connection. To be affordable, several people shared the same phone line—and could stealthily listen in on neighbors’ conversations. What a way to spread gossip! That was the birth of the “party line.” What could happen if someone overheard something confidential never meant to be disclosed? Gracie, at fourteen, heard a secret that changed her life forever.
Gracie grew up to be a strong, independent woman of means. She shared her life and love with Sarah whose own parents kicked her out when she became pregnant out of wedlock. Gracie helped Sarah raise her daughter Lila and became a grandmother to her in every way except by blood. When Gracie passed away, she left her home and much of her fortune to Lila whose life was changed as she tried to live up to Gracie’s example and expectations in the little town of Ditto. She also devoted a lot of time to discovering Gracie’s secret.
The first chapter left me floundering a little trying to orient myself within this story. I gradually became more comfortable as history caught up with the present and the characters were somewhat sorted. Along the way, we are introduced to Sarah (Lila’s mom), Jasper (Gracie’s 90 year old best friend), and Connor (Lila’s love interest).
I didn’t enjoy this novel as much as other books by Carolyn Brown. She seemed to be searching for herself to understand ghosts, what happens to a person’s spirit after they die, and communicating with the dead. There was a lot going on in the book which could be viewed positively as a variety of plot threads or negatively as an inability to focus on the important points of the story. Although most of the characters were likable enough, none of them were particularly interesting to me. The premise of the book, a secret, was good, but not well executed and not surrounded with any tension.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 3/5
Category: Fiction, Romance
Notes: clean
Publication: November 5, 2024—Montlake
Memorable Lines:
“ ‘Ladies do not dance around like heathens in the rain. What would people think?’ ” Then her tone softened, and she smiled at me. “Don’t ever let anyone tell you that you can’t dance in the rain.”
“Sometimes our choices determine our fate. Sometimes we just follow where we are led and are amazed when we find happiness,” Connor said.
“Do you think this secret stuff will ever completely die down?” “Someday,” she said. “The next generation won’t be interested in something that old any more than they are interested in their grandmother’s crystal and silver.”
Miss Plum and Miss Penny–love in a small village
Miss Plum and Miss Penny
By Dorothy Evelyn Smith
Miss Plum arrives in the little Yorkshire village of Greeth in a state of despair. When the main character of the story, Miss Penny, an unmarried woman, takes compassion on her, rescuing her from suicide by duck pond, she finds herself responsible for a woman who seems unable to accomplish anything and typically reacts to challenges, major or minor, by breaking down into tears. Somehow outside the government social system, Miss Plum has no one and nothing to her name. As Christmas approaches, Miss Penny and her friends find themselves unable to charitably rid themselves of the problems that daily accompany Miss Plum.
Miss Penny celebrates her fortieth birthday as the story opens. She is active in the village and content with her life. Romance for her is limited to a yearly birthday card from George, a commonplace beau she was forbidden by her parents to marry as a young lady. Her stalwart housekeeper and cook Ada is also her confidant and friend hailing back to her childhood. Miss Penny has two friends, a retired banker, and a vicar. Thoughts of a romantic relationship float about, but none of them take it seriously.
As Miss Plum, somehow attractive to men, stumbles from one disaster to another, the village moves on with skating on the frozen Tarn and engaging in Christmas caroling. Although a romance, Miss Plum and Miss Penny is very different from a modern love story. Character driven, this novel brings you into Alison Penny’s cozy home “The Laurels” and out into the wet and cold with galoshes, cardigans, and overcoats. The characters include a live-in housekeeper with various skill levels for Miss Penny and each of the two men. Clearly a marriage would disrupt the delicate balance of two households; good housekeepers are not easy to find!
There is a lot of humor in this charming novel. Not the “laugh out loud” kind, but the “smile and turn the page to see what the characters will do next” type. Imagine yourself curled up by the fire enjoying each page; that is the kind of book Miss Plum and Miss Penny is. The descriptions and writing style are enchanting. I liked the resolution as the book concluded, but was sorry to say goodbye to these delightful characters.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Fiction, Romance
Notes: This was a book club selection this fall, and not everyone in the book club enjoyed it as much as I did. Several members did not think there was enough character development or growth. Others pointed out that the characters did not change but did find contentment in their circumstances. These reactions are a prime example of not every book being the “right book” for every reader.
Publication: 1959—Robert Hale
August 3, 2020—Dean Street Press
Memorable Lines:
“Love isn’t safe,” he said heavily. “Love is a blinding flash in the dark. It is a leap over a cliff. It is a breathless dive to the bottom of the ocean…”
Love should be gentleness and tolerance and a sweet cherishing. That was the only kind of love she could ever have given—or accepted.
Women accepted sorrow and defeat. The cruel wind battered at them and they bowed to the wind; and when calmness came again they lifted their heads, bruised but unbroken. Not so men, who stormed and argued and kicked against the pricks, and often went to pieces altogether.
A Love Letter to Paris–lost art of correspondence
A Love Letter to Paris
by Rebecca Raisin
Lilou has been through several devastating romantic relationships as have some of her friends. Looking for a better way to connect, she anonymously founds Paris Cupid which matches people and enables correspondence which could result in a friendship and possibly a slow burn romance. Her day job is her own shop selling antique diaries and love letters in the Paris Market.
There are, of course, complications with both of her jobs. Through social media there is an outcry for transparency for Paris Cupid when a movie star sings its praises. Lilou has three handsome men at the Paris Market whom she suspects of secretly liking her. She visits with one of her antique dealers in a cemetery where some homeless cats hang out; their affection for the cats turns into a plot thread. Lilou is fluent in both English and French so the author throws in some French phrases that require no translation; the meaning comes from the context.
A Love Letter to Paris had no appeal for me through the first half. Then my interest picked up and was maintained throughout the second half of the book. The characters never came to life for me, however, and I didn’t like any of them. The resolution was apparent early on in the book, but the journey to the conclusion did not contain events that could have made it a page turner. Other books by Rebecca Raisin, especially those in the Travelling Shops series, have been delightful, but this one missed the mark for me despite my personal love of Paris and the French language.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 3/5
Category: Fiction, Romance
Notes: Clean language except for the occasional use of “merde,” the most common French swear word. No inclusion of intimacies.
Publication: July 8, 2024—Boldwood Books
Memorable Lines:
The market is like a petri-dish when it comes to gossip, and left unattended it grows, multiplying until everyone hears an exaggerated version of the story that just isn’t true.
They’ve taken information directly from the Paris Cupid website, saying it’s a small affair dedicated to matching the lost, the weary, the broken hearted, or the just plain romantic, using the medium of love letters.
The perfume of old books: earthy, musty nuttiness with hints of vanilla and sweet almond is like a drug.
Meadow Falls–trusting again
Meadow Falls
by Carolyn Brown
Angela Marie Duncan inherits the largest peanut farm in Texas from her father. That might be overwhelming to some, but Angela Marie has been working the peanut farm since she was a child so she knows everything there is to know from planting to harvesting to accounting.
Meadow Falls recounts Angela Marie’s blossoming after her indifferent father passes away. She depends on Mandy her 95 year old nanny and Mandy’s granddaughter Celeste for support as makes choices to shed her old life and rebuild. Celeste has been Angela Marie’s close friend from childhood. Celeste is reeling from a divorce, and Angela Marie has learned that men can be attracted to her for her money. Both have understandable trusts issues with men. Devon enters her life at just the time she needs someone to handle the many mechanical issues that arise on a peanut farm. He brings along his cousin Jesse who is an excellent carpenter who is hired to remake much of the large home. Tongues are wagging in the little town with a big gossip mill. Angela Marie and Devon encourage the rumors to keep unwanted attention away from her. This fake boyfriend trope works, but boundaries can blur.
I enjoyed the characters, plot twists, and romance in this clean novel. Mandy and her friend Polly add a welcome multigenerational vibe. If I had one criticism of this book, it would be that the characters “giggle” and “chuckle” too much. Laughing is great, but let’s pull out the thesaurus and vary the words a little! Otherwise, it was a good read, and includes a mystery of sorts—possible relationships that are suspected based on timeline and photos. It takes DNA samples to suss out the truth.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Women’s Fiction, Romance
Publication: January 9, 2024—Montlake
Memorable Lines:
My thoughts kept running around and around in my head like young squirrels chasing each other around and around the tree.
“You don’t forgive to make the other person feel better. You do it to get that hard spot out of your heart. Hate and love cannot abide together. Hate is darkness, and love is light. Love produces peace. Hate eats away at you until there’s nothing left but a dark hole inside your chest that nothing will cure.”
I sat down on the top step and savored every flirty moment and every nuance. I held onto the vibes between us like I would a Fourth of July sparkler and loved every minute.
The Devine Doughnut Shop–divine doughnuts in Devine, TX
The Devine Doughnut Shop
by Carolyn Brown
Anyone who has traveled across Texas by car knows that most small towns in Texas have a doughnut shop. It’s a standard! Devine, Texas, an actual town near San Antonio, in this novel boasts the most divine doughnuts in the area. They are made in small batches from a secret recipe passed down through four generations of Devine women who are a “family of sisters.”
Grace and Sarah are biological sisters and their cousin Macy is like a third sister. The three women, who also live together in a house near the shop, are up at three o’clock six days a week making their delicious doughnuts.
All of the these women have suffered shattered romantic relationships ranging from a bad boy spouse who couldn’t stay around to parent his newborn, to a boyfriend who lied about his marriage, to a serial con man. In The Devine Doughnut Shop, the reader watches as some of these disasters unfold.
Grace’s teenage daughter Aubrey is beset with her own trust issues in her desire to be popular. She is used by a group of “mean girls” and foolishly casts off her old friends. One of those friends, Raelene, is herself abandoned by her own mother just a few months before her high school graduation. She finds herself without a home or food and in danger of losing the college scholarship she has worked for.
The mean girls have moms who spoil them and were obviously bullies themselves in high school. Now they are vicious gossipers who excel in and celebrate making others miserable.
All of the characters have trust issues to overcome. Grace finds herself oddly attracted to a successful businessman with a good heart. Married to his job, Travis is surprised by his attraction to this hard-working, no nonsense mother of a teenager who won’t sell either her business or the secret recipe. Is he really interested in Grace or does he just see her as a stepping stone to another business deal? What will it take for these characters to turn their lives around and begin to trust in love again?
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: General Fiction, Romance
Notes: Standalone
Publication: February 14, 2023—Mountlake
Memorable Lines:
She was wearing a five-dollar thrift store dress, but she was riding in a modern-day golden chariot, and she had to admit that the excitement bouncing around in the back of the limo was contagious.
“The way to a man’s heart might be through his stomach, but the way to a woman’s heart is through her family.”
“Honey, I’m swimming with the dolphins.” Beezy held up her tote bag. “I’ve got my bathing suit right here, and I don’t give a rip if my hair gets wet. At my age, we got to do what we can when we can, because tomorrow we might be too old and decrepit to even feed ourselves.”
Rum and Choke–friends and treasure hunts
Rum and Choke
by Sherry Harris
Surprise, Chloe! Your boss/business partner Vivi Slidell aided by Joaquín Diaz, the Sea Glass Saloon’s bartender, has entered you in the annual Florida Barback Games! Soon Chloe learns that “Barback” is the term for the person who does the prep work for the bartender and assists him in whatever will make the job easier. Of course, the “games” are more complicated than that, making for great entertainment.
In scoping out the local competition who are all professional athletes brought in as ringers, Chloe finds herself past inebriated. Could someone have spiked her drink with a drug? Things turn even more serious when Ann, the mysterious local fixer, confides a secret to Chloe, requests her assistance, and discovers a body. Both women come under suspicion of murder.
An additional backdrop to the story is Chloe’s relationship to Rip, a former lawyer and currently a volunteer firefighter. He worries about her, but is always supportive.
If you are interested in underwater treasure hunts and nice people who find themselves deep in troubles that were previously not even on their radar, I think you will enjoy Rum and Choke. Previous readers of the series have been introduced to the “fixer” Ann. To Ann’s amusement, Chloe originally thought Ann was a handywoman. Whoops! Ann fixes sticky situations, and there are lots of gray areas to her business. Chloe and the reader learn a lot more about Ann in this book. I have enjoyed the whole series as well as other cozy mysteries by Sherry Harris.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: #4 in the Chloe Jackson Sea Glass Saloon Mystery Series. Although I recommend reading the series from the beginning to understand why a child librarian is part owner in a bar, this can be read as a standalone as far as the mystery goes.
Publication: December 27, 2022—Kensington
Memorable Lines:
This place could be a hotbed of gossip at times. Mostly on days that have a d in them.
I worked my way through the crowd to the bar and ordered a drink. I didn’t believe in going into a place and not ordering anything. It was almost as bad as leaving a library without a book.
The paved road became a dirt road, which wound around until I wasn’t sure which direction we were headed. Talk about a metaphor for my life.
Mischief, Murder, and Merlot–Hallow Wine Weekend
Mischief, Murder, and Merlot
by J.C. Eaton
I enjoyed returning to Two Witches Winery along with Norrie Ellington who is again taking care of the family winery while her sister and brother-in-law fly off to the Philippines in search of a rare insect. She is just in time to manage her part of Lake Seneca’s Hallow Wine Weekend at the same time media arrives to learn about the area’s outstanding Merlot produced this year.
There are shenanigans centered around the cauldron of her winery’s Hallow Wine welcoming display, but the other wineries have vandalism as well. It isn’t too bad until Norrie discovers a fourth person in her display. There were originally only three, and this addition can only be described as dead.
This mystery rates high in complexity as there are several people with possible motives for the murder, including the victim’s wife, mistress, and girlfriend. There are business associates that could be involved and a few of them disappear. Fortunately, Norrie has a great crew who keep the winery, tasting room, and café running as Norrie tries to track down the criminal. She also has a lot of friends who support and help her from neighbors Theo and Don to the gorgeous Stephanie who can distract men with a flip of her hair.
I enjoyed the book; the mystery was well plotted with humor sprinkled throughout. The thing that kept it from being a five star book for me was the number of times Norrie stepped over lines of legal and ethical conduct. As Norrie herself says, “The hamburger bounced around in my stomach the more I thought about what I was going to do. Words like illegal, felony, and incarceration came to mind and they were only a sampling.” A lot of cozy mysteries have the protagonist edging up to conduct that is dangerous and deserves rethinking. Norrie goes too far, and she involves others in activities that could cost them their livelihoods and reputations.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Mystery, Cooking, Humor
Notes: 1. #8 in the Wine Trail Mysteries, but could work as a standalone as the authors are good at explaining the background and characters.
2. The “season” is Halloween and two of the characters are participants in paranormal activities, but the book is definitely not a paranormal book. All of the other characters roll their eyes at and disregard the actions and thoughts of those two characters.
Publication: August 30, 2022—Beyond the Page Publishing
Memorable Lines:
“And you know what the worst part is?” “All the nutcases it will bring out?” “Nope. All the suspects. It’ll be like one big knotted ball of yarn that gets more tangled as soon as someone tries to unravel it.”
I dreamt Donovan’s wife, mistress, and girlfriend had taken over our cauldron, making Macbeth’s witches look like Disney princesses.
Fortified by a second pot of coffee, the six of us sketched out a surveillance plan that we thought would work. Funny, but on paper it was logical and feasible. In reality, it was neither.
Murder with Darjeeling Tea–the man no one liked
Murder with Darjeeling Tea
by Karen Rose Smith
Daisy, owner of a tearoom in Willow Creek, sets out to buy a dog statue for her boyfriend Jonas’ birthday. Unfortunately, the odd man she bought it from is murdered soon after. While trying to keep her business running successfully, she is drawn into the investigation because she has an easy way with people and they find themselves confiding in her. She and the reader are drawn into the world of local secrets, teenage mistakes, catering for the wealthy, rescue dogs, homeless shelters, and Amish customs. It is a wild ride whenever Daisy is around whether she’s on her bike or driving an Amish buggy for her friend. On the side, she is dealing with the deepening of her relationship with Jonas and the realization that her children are moving closer to leaving the nest.
If you are new to this series, you really could jump into it with the eighth book. Author Karen Rose Smith has your back, serving up needed background information as you dive into the story. She is also talented in providing detailed descriptions of the characters and what they are wearing. From the pen of a less skilled writer, this might seem like overkill, but Smith does it in such a way that the characters stand out. Because the background is the tearoom, there is a lot of food talk but it is never repetitive or seems like it is included just to increase the word count. There are many plot threads and a number of suspects. The conclusion of Murder with Darjeeling Tea is dramatic, and the identity of the murderer is a surprise.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: 1. #8 in the Daisy’s Tea Garden Mystery Series, but can be read as a standalone.
2. Recipes are included: Chicken Chili, Cheese Biscuits, and Mild Peach Salsa.
Publication: May 24, 2022—Kensington Books
Memorable Lines:
Fiona already had more color in her cheeks and a smile on her face. That’s what the tea garden could do for Daisy’s customers. That’s what her customers could do for her.
Amish buggies in Lancaster County taught everyone in the community an important lesson—slow down and enjoy the scenery.
“What are you thinking about?” he asked. “You look preoccupied.” “Too much to sort out, I’m afraid. Mainly, that life is one big succession of changes. At my age, you’d think I’d be used to it.” “I’m not sure we’re ever used to change.”
The Girl at the Last House Before the Sea–the power of secrets and gossip
The Girl at the Last House Before the Sea
by Liz Eeles
The third book in the Heaven’s Cove series is quite powerful and touching. Freya’s life seems full and satisfying. She has a husband and a job as a caregiver—until her life falls apart and she loses both. Struggling to get her feet on the ground again, she accepts an offer from her half-sister Belinda to come to Heaven’s Cove to interview for a position as the full-time carer for the eighty-three year old Kathleen, a proud and independent woman who is harboring a powerful secret. Freya has secrets from her own past as does Belinda who is known as the town fixer and gossip. Despite their biological relationship, the sisters hardly know each other.
Kathleen’s son Ryan, a widower, has a guilty secret of his own that makes him suspicious of Freya. He locks himself away from most society focusing on the task of caring for his mother and his daughter Chloe. Chloe is struggling with the death of her mom, their move to a new town, fitting in with new friends, and the hormones of a typical twelve-year old girl.
Freya is a talented listener and people open up to her and tell her their secrets. Unfortunately, along with sharing their pasts, people often insist that Freya not speak of their disclosures with anyone. That request is not usually an issue as Freya is not a gossip. In The Girl at the Last House Before the Sea, however, things spoken in confidence can conflict with well-meaning promises Freya makes to various family members. She is honoring their wishes and motivations, but the secrets can still hurt if and when they are revealed.
Freya finds that Kathleen has lied about never having been to Driftwood Cottage on the cliff; the little cottage, now a B&B, holds both an attraction and a revulsion for Kathleen. What could have happened in Heaven’s Cove to draw Kathleen to move there after the death of her husband? Freya wants to help, but the request needs to come from Kathleen herself.
I loved this book. Its plot includes a part of history that affected many families painfully but is now thankfully in the past. The plight of the various characters is moving. The sadness and agony Kathleen suffers is heart-wrenching, but there is also hope in the book as secrets are laid open and the air is cleared. The final upset in the book comes from a surprise source, and the denouement is particularly satisfying.
I would like to extend my thanks to NetGalley and to Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Women’s Fiction, General Fiction (A), Romance
Notes: #3 in the Heaven’s Cove series, but could be read as a standalone. Although there are a few minor characters who overlap from the first two books, the plot is self-contained.
Publication: February 28, 2022—Bookouture
Memorable Lines:
But today, a sea view was just what she needed, because the endless movement of the water was calming. Life might disintegrate into an unholy mess but the waves would roll on.
Freya spent some time inspecting the photos, which were of the village from decades ago and people long gone. The pictures were fascinating and made her realize that her current problems were merely a blip along the way of life.
Secrets held power—the power to surprise or delight, to hurt or harm—because they were so often bound up with primal emotions.
education pathways 