Cozy Mystery Challenge - 2011 - Wrap up!

Another cozy mystery challenge completed by me! I guess I need to concentrate on other genres now, but I so love my cozies. If you'd like to check out this challenge, it's hosted by Kris from Not Enough Books and she has a blog dedicated to the Cozy Mystery Challenge.

Here are the books I read for this challenge...

1. Haunting Jordan by PJ Alderman Click for review
2. Executive Sick Days by Maria E. Schneider Click for review
3. Opal Fire by Barbra Annino Click for review
4. Curiosity Thrilled the Cat by Sofie Kelly Click for review
5. Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke Click for review
6. Keepsake Crimes by Laura Childs Click for review

Keepsake Crimes by Laura Childs

Genre:
Cozy Mystery

Publisher:
Berkley

Release Date:
May 2003

Format:
EBook

Carmela Bertrand is taken aback when her husband Shamus Meecham walks out on her. In fact, he quits his job at his family’s bank and decides he wants a whole new life. Carmela decides it’s time for her to get a whole new life too. She doesn’t have much choice since Shamus’ family kicks her out of the house. She opens a scrapbooking store and even holds classes for the women in town who would like to learn how to make their own scrapbooks.

When an associate of Shamus’ turns up dead during a Mardi Gras parade, all eyes focus on him as the prime suspect. However, Shamus has gone missing and Carmela is left to face the scrutiny of the police. Although they are separated, she’s still his wife and the locals are already gossiping that she might be involved too. In an attempt to clear his name, as well as her own, Carmela sets out to investigate.

This is a “new-to-me” author and the first book in the scrapbooking mystery series. It’s an interesting cast of characters with a very likeable heroine. I didn’t particularly like Shamus as the motivation of his character’s actions aren’t very sympathetic. The way he walked out on her to “find himself” left me wondering why she’d even bother to clear his name.

The storyline was a quick and light read. I was very interested to see who the culprit was and I was surprised by it. I’ll definitely be reading the next book in the series.

I love starting cozy mysteries from the start of a series and this was a good one to begin. There were many descriptions of New Orleans and Mardi Gras with a few recipes and scrapbooking tips thrown in too. This is a fun book.

3 out of 5 kitties

For reading challenge:

2011 Cozy Mystery Reading Challenge

Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke

Genre:
Cozy Mystery

Publisher:
Kensington

Format:
EBook

Release Date:
January 2008

At the request of her family, Hannah Swenson moves back to her hometown of Lake Eden, Minnesota where she opens her own shop called “The Cookie Jar”. Besides baking, she spends most of her time avoiding her matchmaking mother and her younger sister, who depends on Hannah for everything, including using her services as a babysitter.

Hannah is stunned when she discovers the local delivery man dead in his truck right next to her shop. Her next discovery isn’t much better as her cookies were found all around him. This could mean a disaster to her business if people think someone died as the result of her eating her products. When her brother-in-law, a local police officer, asks for her assistance in finding the killer, she’s more than happy to lend a hand as it will also benefit her business interests.

She never expected to find so many possible suspects in her small town. She thought the victim was so well-loved, but he had quite a few enemies as well. Toss in Hannah’s meddling mother and the two men she’s trying to fix Hannah with and you get a great mystery and romance all rolled up into one nice package. Not to mention that Hannah also has a beloved cat named Moishe :)

There is also a short story featuring Hannah and a mysterious teenage girl who finds herself away from home at Christmas time. Hannah is determined to reunite the young girl with her family.

The Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder is the first book of the Hannah Swenson Mystery series which features recipes and titles with different types of desserts in them. Makes me hungry just reading the titles and I’m suddenly craving cookies now. I immediately loved Hannah and the two men in her life. The secondary characters were really fun, too. This was a real page-turner. I’m looking forward to reading more of this series.




For reading challenge:

2011 Cozy Mystery Challenge

Curiosity Thrilled the Cat by Sofie Kelly

Genre:
Cozy Mystery

Format:
Ebook

Publisher:
Obsidian

Release Date:
February 2011

When Kathleen Paulson returns after being away for a couple of weeks, he’s a newly married man. Kathleen has no choice but to pull herself together and start her life all over again. She is quick to leave her hometown of Boston and get a brand new job in Mayville Heights, Minnesota. Her new job puts her in charge of renovated the small town’s library.

After she moves in, two beautiful cats decide to maker her home theirs as well. She names the cats Owen and Hercules. Owen is a catnip addict, while Hercules loves Barry Manilow. They also have other “special” traits such as disappearing through walls.

Things are going very well until a special guest of the local music festival turns up dead leaving Kathleen as the prime suspect. Owen and Hercules assist Kathleen in clearing her name. To make matters worse, the renovation project hits a snag as it appears the contractor is determined to sabotage the project. She can’t figure out why he’d want to do such a thing, but she vowed to find out.

As most of you know, I love cozy mysteries and this was a fun one. Not only was it a cozy, but it had cats as two of their main stars. The perfect mystery for me. This is the first book of “A Magical Cats Mystery” and I’m really looking forward to the next book, which is scheduled for September, I believe.

This book was fast-paced and the characters were lively and fun. The cats, of course, were my favorite part of the story but the human characters were very well written, too.

I give this one 5 kitties and my Socrates Great Book Alert.





For reading challenges:

Cruisin’ the Cozies Reading Challenge
2011 Cozy Mystery Reading Challenge
What An Animal Reading Challenge IV

Opal Fire by Barbra Annino

Genre:
Cozy Mystery

Format:
Ebook

Publisher:
Dane House

Release Date:
March, 2011

A brand new cozy mystery begins with a firey start when Stacy Justice is trapped in her cousin’s bar as it goes up in flames. Stacy, along with her dog Thor, make it out safely but the police are convinced this is the work of an arsonist and the prime suspect is her cousin, Cinnamon. Stacy isn’t about to sit by quietly as her cousin is arrested for a crime she didn’t commit.

Stacy was raised by a family of witches and she intends to use her magical abilities to learn the truth about the fire. She gets way more than she bargains for when she finds dead bodies, exploding chickens and someone definitely out to make sure Stacy doesn’t find anything. Even her cop boyfriend has a few secrets up his sleeve.

Barbra Annino has created a fun, laugh-out-loud story that will keep readers entranced. It’s a fast-paced story that is both hysterical and mysterious at the same time with a great cast of characters. Stacy and Cinnamon will quickly become beloved characters in this series.




For reading challenges:

A to Z Reading Challenge
What's in a name 4?
Cruisin' thru the Cozies
2011 Cozy Mystery Reading Challenge

Executive Sick Days by Maria E. Schneider

Genre:
Cozy Mystery

Publisher:
Bear Mountain Books

Format:
EBook

Release Date:
February 2011


Sedona O’Hala is once again working for Steve Huntington. This time the case takes her to Crestwood Hospital where someone is padding the medical bills and making a fortune as they do it. The only way for Sedona to get an inside look at what’s going on at the hospital is to get a volunteer position. However, being a volunteer isn’t as easy as Sedona thinks. Besides cleaning bedpans and feeding patients, she also has to fight off deadly rattlesnakes, a lunch thief and a nurse she dubbed “Attila” whose goal seems to be to make Sedona’s life a misery.

Things aren’t all bad for Sedona as her on again/off again boyfriend Mark (Steve’s brother) is working alongside her. He’s still as sexy as ever. Mix it all up with some O’Hala family drama and you get a humorous look at hospital life.

This book has all the ingredients necessary to give readers many enjoyable hours of reading. It’s set to the backdrop of Christmas and will give you those warm fuzzy feelings that come with reading a Christmas theme book.

I love books set in a hospital atmosphere and add my favorite cozy mystery genre to it and I’m as happy as can be. All three books in this series are fun, fast-paced books. You don’t have to read all three, but I think you’ll want to. You definitely don’t want to miss out on the antics Sedona gets herself into.



For reading challenges:

Crusin’ Thru the Cozies
2011 Cozy Mystery Reading Challenge

Haunting Jordan by P.J. Alderman

Genre:
Cozy Mystery, Paranormal

Format:
EBook (Available in paperback)

Publisher:
Random House Publishing

Release Date:
September 2009

After being accused of murdering her ex-husband, psychologist Jordan Marsh leaves L.A. and goes to the Pacific Northwest to the small town of Port Chatham. Still the center of a major murder investigation, she buys an old house in Port Chatham with the intention of restoring the historical home. Along the way she meets up with a crazy dog who decides to stick by her side as well as a couple of ghosts who seek her help in solving their own murders dating back to the 19th century.

As the murder of her ex-husband heats up, Jordan delves into old diaries from the 19th century, courtesy of her new ghost friends. She gets closer and closer to solving the murder mystery, but no closer to the one she is facing in the present day. In fact, things are looking more and more dire for Jordan as the police are convinced she’s the killer and they aren’t looking any further.

Jordan befriends a local cop, as well as the owner of the local bar, who happens to be a former criminal attorney. Jase takes Jordan’s case and together they conduct their own investigation of both murders.

PJ Alderman weaves together two murder mysteries. I actually found the mystery from the 19th century to be more intriguing than the current murder. My one problem is what is the likelihood that Jordan would be allowed to leave Los Angeles during a major murder investigation, especially since she is the prime suspect? But, I was able to put that aside (honestly, my only knowledge on things like this come from TV shows) and really enjoy this book.

This is the first in a series of “Port Chatham Mysteries” and I think it’s off to a pretty good start. The characters are all very interesting and quirky. I love quirky characters :) It is fast-paced and I’m looking forward to the next one which is already downloaded to my Nook.



For reading challenges:

Cruisin’ thru the Cozies
Cozy Mysteries

Cozy Mystery Challenge - 2011

I'm so glad to see that this challenge back again this year. I joined the past two years. The first year I completed it, the second I didn't. Hopefully this year I'll be back on track again. It's hosted by Kris from Not Enough Books and she has a blog dedicated to the Cozy Mystery Challenge.

Here are the rules...

1. The challenge runs April 1st, 2011 through September 30, 2011.

2. The goal is to read at least 6 cozy mysteries, one for each month. You can choose to read more, but you must read 6 in order to complete this challenge. You don't have to read 1 each month, you can read them whenever you like, you just have to read at least six.

There are three participation levels for this challenge:
Only the required amount - 6
I think I can do better - 7-10
Feeling very ambitious - 11+


3. While you can overlap with other challenges, please try to have at least 2 of the books only count towards this challenge.

4.Sign-up using the dedicated form. While it would be great if you signed up before April 1st, you can sign up anytime between now and September 1st.

5. You do NOT need a blog to participate. If you do have a blog, I would love to see a dedicated post linking back this post, but that's not required either.

6. You do NOT have to list the books you plan to read ahead of time, although you can if you want to (and the list can change throughout the challenge).

7. Prizes!! Everyone loves a prize! Everyone who completes this challenge will get a bookmark made by yours truly. My goal is to use the challenge button this year for the bookmark! That will probably help me mail them out a bit faster

I'm looking forward to this. I'm signing up for the required amount of 6. I haven't chosen the books yet, but I will list them here...

1. Haunting Jordan by PJ Alderman Click for review
2. Executive Sick Days by Maria E. Schneider Click for review
3. Opal Fire by Barbra Annino Click for review
4. Curiosity Thrilled the Cat by Sofie Kelly Click for review
5. Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke Click for review
6. Keepsake Crimes by Laura Childs Click for review