The schoolgirl detectives of Murder Is Bad Manners, Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong, return in Robin Stevens’ sequel, Poison Is Not Polite. Here, they tackle a murder during one of those classic English mystery situations: the manor house party. It’s the Easter holidays, so instead of going home to Hong Kong, Hazel is staying with Daisy and her family at their estate. Daisy’s parents, Lord and Lady Hastings, aren’t getting along, a situation exacerbated by Lady Hastings’ friend, Mr. Curtis, […]

Now that the book club and its characters have solved the murder of one of their own (in the first book, The Readaholics and the Falcon Fiasco), it’s time to see if their abilities extend to another case. In The Readaholics and the Poirot Puzzle, the group is reading Murder on the Orient Express, a classic Agatha Christie mystery where everyone hates the villain. Similarly, Amy-Faye and her friends tackle a case where the dead man is widely hated. Only […]

As soon as I heard the premise for this first in a cozy mystery series, I knew it was for me. The Readaholics and the Falcon Fiasco revolves around a mystery-reading book club organized by event planner Amy-Faye Johnson. She lives in a small Colorado town, where the other club members are her best friend, Brooke, a society wife; Lola, who runs a plant nursery and mothers her younger sister; the older Maud, a web designer, hunting guide, and conspiracy […]

In Decanting a Murder, sommelier-in-training Katie Stillwell investigates a mystery in California wine country. Her outgoing childhood friend Tessa is working at a secretive winery whose products are much in demand, and Tessa invites Katie to a private party there. The owner is found murdered in one of the fermentation tanks, and the cast of suspects includes his wife, the businessman owner of the neighboring vineyard, the bitchy assistant, the flirty vineyard manager, and Tessa. Katie gets involved in figuring […]

The Final Tap is a sequel to The Final Reveille, a murder mystery set at a living history museum, a reconstructed farm in Ohio, but it works perfectly well as a starting point if you haven’t read the previous. This time, instead of a Civil War reenactor getting killed, it’s a despicable, unliked expert on maple sugaring in this mystery by Amanda Flower. It’s spring at the farm, although the winter weather keeps hanging around. Kelsey, manager of the farm […]

If you’re interested in the world of publishing and the outsize personalities some authors portray themselves to be, you’ll enjoy the mystery Death and the Lit Chick. This is the second mystery by G.M. Malliet to feature Detective Chief Inspector St. Just, and it’s juicy. (The first, Death of a Cozy Writer, was one of those family sagas where the imperious father, in this case a famous author, has a flock of ne’er-do-well kids. They all gather to talk him […]

Death on a Starry Night is the third and latest Nora Barnes & Toby Sandler mystery in the series written by Betsy Draine and Michael Hinden. As with the other volumes, it’s full of art and travel knowledge in a place it sounds wonderful to visit. Nora Barnes is an art historian who travels to amazing locations with her husband, Toby, where they find murders. In the first book, Murder in Lascaux, Nora and Toby are two of only six […]

All Murders Final! is the third and latest in the “Sarah Winston Garage Sale Mystery” series by Sherry Harris. It’s one of those books I think of as a “modern cozy”. “Cozies” are mysteries in the tradition of Agatha Christie, set amongst a small community and contrasted with thrillers or hardboiled detective stories. The detective is usually an amateur, and these days, there’s a strong second hook, some kind of hobby (such as quilting or gardening) or profession (caterer, veterinarian) […]