Cozy mystery Archives - Page 3 of 7

An Unhappy Medium by Dawn Eastman, Plus a GIVEAWAY!

April 4, 2016 by bubblebathbooks 11 Comments

All of Crystal Haven, Michigan, is psyching up to participate in a Zombie Fun Run organized by Clyde’s nephew Seth, but Clyde is fretful about the undead festivities. For one thing, her sister, Grace, has unexpectedly returned to town after fifteen years. For another, Clyde has the nagging feeling that something is about to go wrong…
When one of the zombie runners is found murdered and then Grace disappears, Clyde realizes her grim premonition is dead-on. Now, she and her police detective boyfriend Mac must find a ghoulish murderer before someone points the finger at Grace. And when a tangled web of family secrets and old grudges combines with a mysterious case of stolen diamonds, even someone as quick-witted as Clyde might not be able to outrun a killer…

Sissy: Welcome to Crystal Haven, Michigan, where everyone in town has some sort of mystical ability or attachment. Some are unwilling participants and wish to escape the psychic world, but others are happily using their talents to earn a living and bring in the tourist trade. Main character Clyde (short for Clytemnestra, of all things) is one psychic who tried to get away but now is begrudgingly accepting her gifts and trying to find her place in the community.

Bubby: I personally have come to terms with my psychic gift. It was a long, hard road but now I’ve made peace with it.

Sissy: What gift? The one where you can smell hidden chocolate from a mile off?

Bubby: No, although that IS one of my talents. I was referring to my ability to read your mind, Sissy. Unfortunately, it only works on YOUR mind.

Sissy: If you could actually read half the thoughts I have about you, we wouldn’t be friends anymore. I’m totally kidding. Stop looking at me like that.

Bubby: And because I CAN read your mind, I already knew you were kidding. Don’t be jealous because I’m amazing. You have talents too – just not mystical magical mind reading talents.

Sissy: You’re right. I’m completely jealous of your non-existent gift. I may never get over it. How about you go back to reviewing An Unhappy Medium now?

Bubby: Yes ma’am. There’s just so much going on in this story – murder, theft, stolen diamonds, the Mob, psychic pets…definitely something for everyone here. The characters are nice and quirky too, just how I like them.

Sissy: The pets are not psychic, Bubby. Their owner Seth is the psychic one.

Bubby: I knew you were going to say that. I was just testing you. Cause I’m psychic too.

Sissy: OK, or possibly delusional. I enjoyed the character of Clyde’s Aunt Vi who provides zombie makeup, meddling, and much comic relief. The best thing about An Unhappy Medium is that you will never guess whodunnit. I dare you to try!

Bubby: I knew whodunnit from the very beginning. You read the book before I did so I just picked the killer’s name right out of your pretty little head.

Sissy: Of course you did, Madame Bubby-Zonia, Goddess of Mystery. And did you also forsee that one lucky person who leaves a comment about their own real or imagined psychic abilities on this blog post will win a free copy of An Unhappy Medium?

Bubby: You don’t even have to ask. So tell us about your mystic juju, readers! And I like my medium name! You must call me that from henceforth! I think I’d fit in quite well in Crystal Haven, Michigan. We’ll have to wait for book 5 in the Family Fortune Mystery Series to see what new drama and mayhem befalls Clyde and crew. Can’t wait!

Click HERE to buy An Unhappy Medium by Dawn Eastman

The Cracked Spine by Paige Shelton

March 28, 2016 by bubblebathbooks 1 Comment

Never an adventurer, no one was more surprised than Delaney Nichols when she packed her bags and moved halfway across the world to Edinburgh, Scotland to start a job at The Cracked Spine, a bookshop located in the heart of the city. Her new boss, Edwin MacAlister, has given her the opportunity of a lifetime, albeit a cryptic one, and Delaney can’t wait to take her spot behind the desk. The Cracked Spine is filled with everything a book lover could want, each item as eclectic as the people who work there; the spirited and lovable Rosie, who always has tiny dog Hector in tow; Hamlet, a nineteen-year-old thespian with a colored past and bright future; and Edwin, who is just as enigmatic and mysterious as Delaney expected. An extra bonus is Tom the bartender from across the street, with his cobalt eyes, and a gentle brogue―and it doesn’t hurt that he looks awfully good in a kilt. But before she can settle into her new life, a precious artifact goes missing, and Edwin’s sister is brutally murdered. Never did Delaney think that searching for things lost could mean a killer, but if she’s to keep her job, and protect her new friends, she’ll need to learn the truth behind this Scottish tragedy.

Sissy: The problem I had when I was reading this book was that I couldn’t get over the premise of the main character Delaney dropping everything and accepting a new and strange job in Scotland. The advertisement that she answered kept haunting me: “Wanted: A bold adventurer who wants to travel the world from a comfortable and safe spot behind a desk that has seen the likes of kings and queens, paupers and princes. A humble book and rare manuscript shop seeks a keenly intelligent investigator to assist us in our search for things thought lost, and in our quest to return lost items to their rightful owners.” Why have I never seen or responded to an advertisement like that? When I read The Cracked Spine, I have to admit that I was momentarily dissatisfied with my life. I wanted to run away to somewhere strange and intriguing and do something different, just like Delaney.

Bubby: If Delaney had the life that you have, she wouldn’t have wanted to run off to find a new start, don’t you think? In Edinburgh she finds the excitement and romance that she was missing in Kansas, as well as an ability to be bold, courageous, and adventurous that she hadn’t had before. She left to find her heart’s desire, I think. And your heart’s desire is to be with me (and your husband and kids, I suppose) all the time! Forever! Always together!

Sissy: You’re getting a smidge creepy. I just wanted to run off to Scotland for a week or two, that’s all.

Bubby: Oh. Well, in that case, let’s go! Because we’re always together. (I’m feeling the urge to sing a few bars of “Every Breath You Take” by the Police…)

Sissy: Um, I think I’ll go by myself. Delaney has a weird paranormal thing going on where she hears the voices of literary characters from the books she’s read. They usually tell her useful things, like how to find books that are lost. As some point after Delaney gets to The Cracked Spine bookshop, the voices go away. This is never explained and I’m hoping that author Paige Shelton will give us some answers in the next Scottish Bookshop mystery.

Bubby: Yes, that was a little strange, especially when the voices would have been very helpful in finding the…um…item. Yep. no spoilers today, folks! I don’t think I’ve adequately expressed how much I really got drawn into the characters and setting of The Cracked Spine. I loved almost everything about this story. Yes, I still have a lot of unanswered questions, but the whole book takes place in a very short period of time so that makes sense. I can’t wait for the next book so that I can find out more about the mysterious “artifacts” that store owner Edwin collects and more about this slightly shadowy group of antiquity buyers and sellers he belongs to called “The Fleshmarket Batch.” The name refers to an historic location, by the way, not anything more sinister.

Sissy: I want to know more about those things as well, and I want to see where the relationship between Delaney and Tom, owner of the Delaney’s Pub (just a coincidence of naming) goes. All I can say is a kind and sweet man is only made better by muscular legs in a kilt.

Bubby: I’ve never seen Mr. Sissy in a kilt. Shorts, yes, but no kilt. I think both of our men could rock a kilt quite nicely, don’t you?

Sissy: Mr. Sissy fancies himself more Viking than Highlander, so the best I’ll get is a horned helmet and a bear-skin cape. I’ll end by saying that this thoroughly enjoyable mystery was made even sweeter by my favorite character, taxi driver Elias, who along with his wife takes exceedingly good care of Delaney from the moment they meet. That’s the kind of people you want to meet whilst in a new land. I can’t wait for more adventures in The Cracked Spine from the Scottish Bookshop Mysteries.

Bubby: Paige Shelton is a new author for me, even though she has written three other mystery series (Farmer’s Market, Country Cooking School and Dangerous Type) and a few stand-alone books. I can see that I have been missing out and must treat myself to some of her other books at once. If they’re anywhere as good as The Cracked Spine, I’ll have to clear off a shelf in my library and stock up!

Click HERE to buy The Cracked Spine by Paige Shelton

The Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum by Kirsten Weiss

March 11, 2016 by bubblebathbooks 6 Comments

the perfectly proper paranormal museum

When Maddie Kosloski’s career flatlines, she retreats to her wine country hometown for solace and cheap rent. Railroaded into managing the local paranormal museum, she’s certain the rumors of its haunting are greatly exaggerated. But then a fresh corpse in the museum embroils Maddie in murders past and present, making her wonder if a ghost could really be on the loose. With her high school bully as one of the detectives in charge of the investigation, Maddie doubts justice will be served. When one of her best friends is arrested, she knows it won’t be. Maddie also grapples with ghost hunters, obsessed taxidermists, and the sexy motorcyclist next door as outside forces threaten. And as she juggles spectral shenanigans with the hunt for a killer, she discovers there truly is no place like home.

Bubby: I absolutely knew who the killer was the whole time. Absolutely. I knew for sure that it was this one person – and then I found out I was wrong. And then I was sure it was this other person – and I was wrong. And when the REAL killer was revealed I was rather surprised. I guess that’s all good, right?

Sissy: It’s good, but I get where you’re coming from. It’s a character who I was totally uninterested in, so it came out of left field for me too, which just proves that I need to pay better attention to stuff. I’ll tell you the question that I have. Is Maddie’s love interest going to be hot motorcycle dude or sexy but seemingly oblivious detective man?

Bubby: I’m gonna have to go with hot motorcycle dude, for the most unromantic of reasons. He’s reliable, protective and dang it, he can do home renovation and small engine repair. The hotness is just a bonus. And who knows? Maybe Mr. Detective can also frame a wall and fix a carburetor…we’ll have to wait and see!

Sissy: The other thing I enjoyed about The Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum was the actual paranormal activity. I wouldn’t have been able to tolerate the title if there hadn’t been some ghostly goings-on, unexplainable by mankind or science. I won’t tell you what happens or who the ghostie is but I do appreciate a little haunting in the hallways as long as it’s only happening within the pages of a book and not in my immediate vicinity.

Bubby: I’m increasingly more of a chicken-livered wuss as I get older. I used to be able to read and enjoy the scariest of the scary, even when I was all alone and it was dark and stormy outside. Nowadays, if I read something spine-tingling after 8 pm, I’m sure that every noise is a murderous ghost or death-dealing intruder who is out for my blood. My poor husband, who has to deal with me and my fright! But The Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum had just the right amount of murder and ghostly mayhem to make it enjoyable and still let me be able to sleep at night.

Sissy: Let’s just clarify here. You have been a chicken-livered wuss your whole life. The end.

Bubby: YOU’RE a chicken-livered wuss!

Sissy: So mature. The fictional setting of San Benedetto, California, near Napa Valley, was appealing to me. They had all the ambiance of rolling hills, wineries and hot air balloons without the snootiness of Napa itself. I could totally spend a weekend there. The Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum is a perfectly proper beginning to this new and quirky cozy mystery series. Try it out! And don’t forget to enter the Rafflecopter contest below to win a copy of the book.

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Click HERE to buy The Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum by Kirsten Weiss

A Disguise to Die For by Diane Vallere

February 5, 2016 by bubblebathbooks 4 Comments

A Disguise To Die For by Diane Vallere

No sooner does former magician’s assistant Margo Tamblyn return home to Proper City, Nevada, to run Disguise DeLimit, her family’s costume shop, than she gets her first big order. Wealthy nuisance Blitz Manners needs forty costumes for a detective-themed birthday bash. As for Blitz himself, his Sherlock Holmes is to die for—literally—when, in the middle of the festivities, Margo’s friend and party planner Ebony Welles is caught brandishing a carving knife over a very dead Blitz. For Margo, clearing Ebony’s name is anything but elementary, especially after Ebony flees town. Now Margo is left to play real-life detective in a town full of masked motives, cloaked secrets, and veiled vendettas. But as she soon learns, even a killer disguise can’t hide a murderer in plain sight for long.

Bubby: A Disguise to Die For checked several boxes for me right off the bat. First of all, it’s by our perennial favorite Diane Vallere – you know, the author who writes those books about the Doris Day look-a-like interior designer? Secondly, it’s set in and around a costume shop named “Disguise DeLimit”. How clever is that? And lastly, there are recipes in the back of the book. You know how I love my recipes!

Sissy: There are many things that are clever about the writing in this new series. Diane Vallere uses several interesting devices, some pretty tongue in cheek, and it made me chuckle throughout my reading of A Disguise to Die For. Another reason I love Diane Vallere is that her characters are so weird and quirky, just enough so that you know that they could actually appear in real life. Margo, for example, dresses up in a different costume every day – one day she was a 60’s hippie, one day a cute sailor, another day an Indian princess–you see what I mean.

Bubby: I wish that I could get away with that. I think it’d be fun! Besides, my witch costume that I wear every Halloween is quite comfortable…

Sissy: Mine too! And my wig of long and luscious gray and black locks is FABULOUS! I wish my real hair was that long and thick.

Bubby: There are a few tasty twists and turns that pop up during the story that really added a little something special, but I have to agree with Sissy that Diane Vallere’s characters are what make this book a treat. I especially loved Margo’s dad. We sure miss our own curmudgeon around here and it’s nice to read something that reminds me of him. It’s the same reason I watch “Pawn Stars” on the history channel – if you’ve ever watched it, the grandpa, the Old Man, is so much like our dad. And the dad on”The Goldbergs” too – not the grandpa, but the dad.

Sissy: Margo’s dad for me was more protective and sweet and affectionate with a hint of independent old man stuck in there. Ebony, Margo’s substitute mom, is also a strong and glamboyant character.

Bubby: Glamboyant? Is this our newly coined word of the day?

Sissy: Yes. It means glamorous plus flamboyant, obviously, and you’re the one who said it first. I’m just stealing it! Ebony is just the perfect amount of loving and caring mixed with firm and authoritative, which seems to be just what Margo always needs from her. What do you think about Tak, Miss Bubby? He is clearly the potential love interest for Margo but is it going to work out? Is he going to be the only one? Will he ever kiss her?

Bubby: Hmmm. I’m not sure about Tak. He has some issues of his own to work out and I’m not sure what all of his motives are. And I don’t think his ex-girlfriend is ready to let him go, even though he keeps saying it’s over. We’ll just have to see how it goes. You should know, readers, that Sissy is searching “hot asian actors” on Google to find you all a visual aid. At least that’s why she claims she’s doing it…

Sissy: Don’t be ridiculous, Bubby! It’s purely for our readers! And the winner for hot Asian actor who gets to play the part of love interest Tak? Ji-Ho Oh. Here’s his picture. Wipe the drool off your keyboard.

Ji-Ho Oh

Bubby: Look how pretty! Ok, enough ogling. Back to business. We have not one but TWO contests running in conjunction with the Great Escapes Blog Tour. Would you like to win a FREE copy of A Disguise to Die For? Just leave a comment on this post by midnight February 8th and you’re entered!

Sissy: There is also this awesome Rafflecopter giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Bubby: I’m already loving the Costume Shop Mysteries series after this first book. It’s witty, funny, fresh and kept my interest. I can’t wait for book two.

Sissy: I felt the same way. Can’t wait to see what’s next for Margo, Ebony, Tak and the whole gang.

Click HERE to buy A Disguise to Die For by Diane Vallere

We received this title as part of the Great Escapes Blog Tour in return for a fair and honest review.

Murder Fir Christmas by Joyce and Jim Lavene

December 7, 2015 by bubblebathbooks 6 Comments

Down the mountain from Sweet Pepper, Tennessee is Christmas Tree Valley, a place filled with hundreds of Christmas tree farms where generations of growers have made people’s lives brighter. Yet even here in this quiet, postcard-perfect corner of the world, darkness and murder can still stalk the night. Federal Wildlife Agent Bonnie Tuttle has always had a special gift with wild animals. It was one of the reasons she decided to train with the wildlife agency. She’s spent the last ten years in Alabama working, but her mother needs her home and she’s back despite all the bad parts of her life she hoped to leave behind. Her first day home begins with a fire on the island in Sweet Pepper Lake and the death of Harvey Shelton, the wildlife agent she’s supposed to replace. Bonnie manages to rescue dozens of animals from the fire – including a wolf pup that was shot with the same bullet that killed Harvey. Now she’s hot on the trail of Harvey’s killer and trying to reintegrate the wolf back into the wild even though he seems to want to stay with her. Yet old memories persist in the small community where she grew up, and the killer now seems to believe that she has what he killed Harvey for. All she has to do is figure out what that is before it’s too late.

Sissy: We’ve read so many fluffy holiday romances in the past six weeks that we are well and truly grateful for something different. Murder Fir Christmas is the first in a new series (Christmas Tree Valley Mysteries) and is a spin-off of the Sweet Pepper Fire Brigade mysteries, all set in rural Tennessee. The Christmas Tree Valley series features Federal Wildlife Agent Bonnie Tuttle, and she is so much more different and interesting than our more recent protagonists that I liked and admired her right off the bat.

Bubby: I love that fact that Bonnie and her family, as well as many other families in the valley actually do run Christmas tree farms. I can remember going out to a Christmas tree farm as a child and walking around the acres of towering pines until we found just the right tree. I wonder if there are any locally? That would be fun! Right from the beginning, you meet some very interesting characters that let you know that this is not going to be your run-of-the-mill murder mystery. Nope. We’ve got a strange little prophecy spewing Native American gentleman, plenty of Native American folklore, and a genuine ghost that the whole town accepts as real. There’s a plot twist with that ghost, too, but you know. Spoilers!

Sissy: You might call this a paranormal mystery but what warms and colors the story throughout is the mystical nature of Bonnie’s connection with wildlife, which is amazing. She doesn’t seem to have ever realized before that it was something out of the ordinary. The other remarkable thing about Murder Fir Christmas is that it is action packed from start to finish. There is seriously never a dull moment, whether in that moment you are feeling happiness, fear, intrigue, sadness, or myriad other emotions. And just so you know, Bubby, the last time we went and cut our own tree it was with our brother in the freezing middle of nowhere and we ended up with an ugly pinyon pine that he wanted to decorate with deer antlers. So as long as you’re talking civilized tree farms like those in Christmas Tree Valley, I’m in. Frozen tundra trees? I’m out.

Bubby: If I recall correctly, you donated your pine to somebody else and bought a replacement downtown. We were poor college students and couldn’t afford a tree, but ours wouldn’t stand up on its own. We had to tie it to a hook in the ceiling. Hey, at least we have good memories, right? I really felt connected to the characters in Murder Fir Christmas. I especially loved Bonnie’s mom – the quintessential country mom who bakes, makes pancakes for breakfast, probably quilts too. The fact that Bonnie’s mom struggles with the beginnings of Alzheimer’s is particularly poignant and gives us some great insight into Bonnie and her brother Eric. They love their mom so much that they are willing to give up their own lives and careers to care for her. I also fell completely in love with the little wolf pup that Bonnie rescues in the beginning of the book. I know that wolves are wild animals and not pet material, but he just sounded so cute. I may have to give in and let my family get a dog after all…

Sissy: Just not a wolf, unless you have turned into White Fawn (you’ll find out!) unexpectedly. Let’s talk about Matthew Brown Elk for a mo mo. When I first read the description of him I think I fell a teensy bit in love–Tall, broad, strong, tracking, Christmas tree farm owning Cherokee man hunk. And I love the way he boldly inserts himself into Bonnie’s life. It’s more of a flirtation than a full on romance, so I, for one, can’t wait to read what comes next. In fact, that was my biggest pet peeve about Murder Fir Christmas–you start reading and fall headlong into this non-stop adventure/mystery and then it ENDS. I want MORE!

Bubby: Me too! Hopefully it won’t be too long before book two is published. We’ll just have to wait until then. As always, Joyce and Jim Lavene have given us a great, unique, entertaining story that drew me in and made me ever so happy. The only drawback is that I need to go find that perfect Christmas tree now! Oh, I almost forgot! Scroll down to enter a giveaway for a $25 gift card from Amazon!

Click HERE to buy Murder Fir Christmas by Joyce and Jim Lavene

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About The Authors –

Joyce and Jim Lavene write award-winning, bestselling mystery fiction as themselves, J.J. Cook, and Ellie Grant. They have written and published more than 70 novels for Harlequin, Berkley, Amazon, and Gallery Books along with hundreds of non-fiction articles for national and regional publications. They live in rural North Carolina with their family.