Nyssa
2019-01-06 19:33:18 UTC
For those still searching for competent cozy mysteries, here
are a few more to take a look at.
The Lake Erie Mysteries by Maureen K. Howard (a mother-daughter
writing team) feature an empty-nest couple who spend much of their
free time at their Lake Erie marina condo and sailing the lake islands
on their boat. Francesca Egge (rhymes with ledge) is a theater arts
professor at a small college and her husband, Hammond, is an assistant
prosecutor.
Regular cast members include Fran's best friend, June, a freelance
journalist, and a deputy sheriff, Jack, who works on one of the Lake
Erie islands.
While some of the stunts Fran and June get themselves involved with
seem like they're channeling Lucy and Ethel, the mysteries are good
ones with lots of characters coming and going.
First in the series is "Sunny Side Up" and the second is "Deviled!"
I sometimes wonder how the couple can get so much time off their jobs,
and I may get tired of the jokes based on the mispronounced surname, but
we'll see how it goes.
I've only read one in each of the next two series, but they seem like
they are both off to a good start. Unless they each take a turn to
the silly, they may be worth pursuing.
The Murder in the Mix series by Addison Moore starts with "Cutie Pies
and Deadly Lies" set in a small town in Vermont where everyone knows
every one else's business. The main character is (painfully) called Lottie
Lemon and can trace her beginnings to being left on the floor of the local
fire station when only hours old. Adopted by the fireman who found her,
Lottie has grown up in the town, has tried the big city in the form
of attending Columbia University in NYC, but has come back home after
a breakup with her fiancé to regroup and recover.
Lottie has been working in the local upscale diner as a baker and dreams
of opening her own bakery in town. Her dreams are fulfilled when an
anonymous donor gifts her with $100K to equip an empty storefront next
to the diner. Of course a dead body found in the kitchen area of the
diner puts a halt to her plans, and Lottie is determined to both clear
her name while finding the real killer and open her bakery on schedule.
The tone is lighter in this book with Lottie and her friends helping to
trace the clues, but is also more realistic than many other cozies in
describing the expense and work involved in starting up a real business.
Worth checking out. The author has a very long list of books and series,
so you won't find the editing mishaps too common in many series. That's
always a plus since I can spend more time figuring out the mystery and
less grinding my teeth at misspellings, missing words, and continuity.
Last one for this posting is "Apple Seeds and Murderous Deeds" by Kathy
Cranston first in the Fiona McCabe series that has a note that "This book
is written in Irish English." Okay, if you say so, but I didn't notice
anything that made it specifically Irish as opposed to British Isles
English in the spelling. And everyone drinking Guinness.
This book relies mostly on quirky characters with an Irish twist to go
along with the mystery. The mystery is fine and Fiona makes a good
finder of clues and knows what to do with them. Ballykissangel meets
Nancy Drew.
I've read another of this author's cozies in the Bee's Bakehouse Mystery
series, "Baking is Murder." She seems to follow the middle-of-the-road
in cozy mysteries, depending on the characters to carry the book as a
sideline to the actual mystery. A nice time-filler with limited silliness
and bits of humor.
There ya go. A few more possibilities. I'll save the more serious stuff
for later.
Nyssa, who will now go finish reading "Event Horizon" by Steven Konkoly
are a few more to take a look at.
The Lake Erie Mysteries by Maureen K. Howard (a mother-daughter
writing team) feature an empty-nest couple who spend much of their
free time at their Lake Erie marina condo and sailing the lake islands
on their boat. Francesca Egge (rhymes with ledge) is a theater arts
professor at a small college and her husband, Hammond, is an assistant
prosecutor.
Regular cast members include Fran's best friend, June, a freelance
journalist, and a deputy sheriff, Jack, who works on one of the Lake
Erie islands.
While some of the stunts Fran and June get themselves involved with
seem like they're channeling Lucy and Ethel, the mysteries are good
ones with lots of characters coming and going.
First in the series is "Sunny Side Up" and the second is "Deviled!"
I sometimes wonder how the couple can get so much time off their jobs,
and I may get tired of the jokes based on the mispronounced surname, but
we'll see how it goes.
I've only read one in each of the next two series, but they seem like
they are both off to a good start. Unless they each take a turn to
the silly, they may be worth pursuing.
The Murder in the Mix series by Addison Moore starts with "Cutie Pies
and Deadly Lies" set in a small town in Vermont where everyone knows
every one else's business. The main character is (painfully) called Lottie
Lemon and can trace her beginnings to being left on the floor of the local
fire station when only hours old. Adopted by the fireman who found her,
Lottie has grown up in the town, has tried the big city in the form
of attending Columbia University in NYC, but has come back home after
a breakup with her fiancé to regroup and recover.
Lottie has been working in the local upscale diner as a baker and dreams
of opening her own bakery in town. Her dreams are fulfilled when an
anonymous donor gifts her with $100K to equip an empty storefront next
to the diner. Of course a dead body found in the kitchen area of the
diner puts a halt to her plans, and Lottie is determined to both clear
her name while finding the real killer and open her bakery on schedule.
The tone is lighter in this book with Lottie and her friends helping to
trace the clues, but is also more realistic than many other cozies in
describing the expense and work involved in starting up a real business.
Worth checking out. The author has a very long list of books and series,
so you won't find the editing mishaps too common in many series. That's
always a plus since I can spend more time figuring out the mystery and
less grinding my teeth at misspellings, missing words, and continuity.
Last one for this posting is "Apple Seeds and Murderous Deeds" by Kathy
Cranston first in the Fiona McCabe series that has a note that "This book
is written in Irish English." Okay, if you say so, but I didn't notice
anything that made it specifically Irish as opposed to British Isles
English in the spelling. And everyone drinking Guinness.
This book relies mostly on quirky characters with an Irish twist to go
along with the mystery. The mystery is fine and Fiona makes a good
finder of clues and knows what to do with them. Ballykissangel meets
Nancy Drew.
I've read another of this author's cozies in the Bee's Bakehouse Mystery
series, "Baking is Murder." She seems to follow the middle-of-the-road
in cozy mysteries, depending on the characters to carry the book as a
sideline to the actual mystery. A nice time-filler with limited silliness
and bits of humor.
There ya go. A few more possibilities. I'll save the more serious stuff
for later.
Nyssa, who will now go finish reading "Event Horizon" by Steven Konkoly