BUTTERCREAM BUMP OFF: A Cupcake Bakery Mystery - Jenn McKinlay

From the back of the book: A heartless murder for Valentine's Day...

Melanie Cooper and Angie DeLaura must be doing something right with their Fairy Tale Cupcakes bakery. Their business rival, Olivia Puckett, is parading up and down the sidewalk dressed as a giant cupcake to steal customers. With Valentine's Day just around the corner, she's clearly feeling desperate.

Unfortunately, she's not the only desperate one in Scottsdale, Arizona. Someone has iced Baxter Malloy on his first date with Mel's mother. Her mom had been hoping for someone dropdead gorgeous---but not literally. Now she's a suspect, and Mel and Angie need to find time between frosting Kiss Me Cupcakes to dig into Malloy's shady past and discover who served him his just desserts.

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Second in the Cupcake Bakery Mystery series and just as fab as the first, SPRINKLE WITH MURDER (http://iyamvixenbooks.blogspot.com/2010/07/sprinkle-with-murder-cupcake-bakery.html ) that I read last summer. What's not to love about a well-written mystery, with interesting characters, and cupcake recipes?

There are plenty of characters to look into for possible suspects. The victim was a cad and I could see why someone would want him dead.

I really don't like Olivia Puckett, the owner of the cupcake competition. I am torn between wanting to see more conflict between Mel, Angie and Olivia and kicking Olivia to the curb. She's that irritating and I love watching Mel and Angie and Tate getting the one-up over her.

DEATH BY THE DOZEN, third in this yummy series, is on pre-order for its release on 4 October. I can't wait!

Five yummy cupcake beans.....

Books in the House - Monday - 8 Nov 2010

From High Crimes Mystery Bookshop:

MAMA RIDES SHOTGUN: Mace Bauer Mystery #2 - Deborah Sharp, funny cozy mystery

GRAVE WITCH - Kalayna Price, UF

KIDNAP & RANSOM - Michelle Gagnon, suspense

From Mystery Lovers Bookshop (using my giftcard I won thanks to Ellery Adams contest she had on Cozy Chicks blog)

MURDER AT THE PTA - Laura Alden, cozy mystery

MURDER FOR CHRIST'S MASS: Templar Knight Mystery - Maureen Ash, historical mystery

MERRY, MERRY GHOST - Carolyn Hart, paranormal cozy mystery

FUNDRAISING THE DEAD - Sheila Connelly, cozy mystery

DELICIOUS AND SUSPICIOUS: A Memphis BBQ Mystery - Riley Adams, cozy mystery

...and a very sweet freebie from this fab bookshop:

MAMA DOES TIME: A Mace Bauer Mystery - Deborah Sharp

MY HEART MAY BE BROKEN, BUT MY HAIR STILL LOOKS GREAT - Dixie Cash, narr Peggity Price

From the back of the BOCD: Dixie Cash, author of I GAVE YOU MY HEART, BUT YOU SOLD IT ONLINE, has won a huge following for her special brand of lighthearted romance. In this spirited novel, Cash's two unforgettable private investigators are back for another tangy Texas two-step.

Debbie Sue Overstreet and Edwina Perkins-Martin are two of the sassiest hairdressers in Salt Lick, Texas. But these two spunky ladies do more than spice up the 'dos of their gossipy patrons. They also moonlight as the Domestic Equalizers, PIs wit the best hair in the Lone Star State. Not ones to turn down a juicy assignment, Debbie Sue and Edwina get involved in a case of missing horses--and may very well make or break the budding romance between a spoiled rich girl and the town's handsome veterinarian.
MY HEAR MAY BE BROKEN...delivers all the romance and humor that Cash's fans eat up in Texas-size portions. And narrator Peggity Price adds to the enjoyment of another surefire hit.

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O...M...G!!! Yeah, I know, I've been starting quite a few of latest blog reviews with this, but this book totally deserves the OMG, I swear!

This was the perfect listen, snort laugh funny, excellent characters I could easily dig, and a good mystery with no murder. Missing horses was the main investigation along with the cheating husbands that are par for the two Domestic Investigators.

Main story was Paige McBride and her getting over herself to become a charming young woman...she had a trek to get there. She was born rich and had everything she ever wanted. When she is almost 25, her daddy turns her loose from the funds to make her grow up. Bless her heart, she does her best to find a job, but she's not qualified to do much. She does find a job working on a horse farm in Salt Lick and meets the local veterinarian and does not make a good first impression.

Debbie Sue and Edwina do their darndest to help move things along. And each meeting is so funny and sweet. Debbie Sue and Ed take Paige under their margarita-fueled wings and let her know they are there for her in friendship.

Spur Atwater is the new veterinarian in town. Now, typically, I would toss the book aside with the main man character having a name like Spur, but it's explained (the kids in the family are named for whichever town their family is living at the time) and I already love Dixie Cash's books, so I got over the name.

I also loved the narrator, Peggity Price. She did a wonderful job of voicing all of the characters, nothing too over the top Texan.

I just bumped up the next in the series, I GAVE YOU MY HEART, BUT YOU SOLD IT ONLINE, to the top of my RecordedBooks wishlist. I think I am going to have to get these for my keeper shelf to listen to at anytime I need a *snort laugh* lift. I strongly suggest you get one of this series for a good mystery, good laugh and some good romance.

Five Texas big ol' sparkly diamonds!!!!

THE BODY IN THE CAST - Katherine Hall Page

I enjoy the heck out of reading cozies, especially well written ones like the ones I've read in this series. I have chosen to continue reading them out of order and it hasn't diminished my enjoyment.

Faith Fairchild is the wife of a minister, mother to two adorable younguns, owner and head chef of a catering firm, Have Faith. And she still finds time to stumble over dead bodies and mysteries galore in the small town of Aleford, Massachusetts.

This episode has Faith hired to cater the film crew of a possible blockbuster movie, A, based on THE SCARLET LETTER - Nathaniel Hawthorne. The town of Aleford is abuzz with the excitment of movie stars, a big named director and the local election heating things up.

Faith also has to contend with the possibility of having her catering business closed down due to some of the cast members suffering from food poisoning after having some of Faith's Black Bean Soup (recipe included in back of the book).

This is a nicely tight book with interesting characters that I liked and some I loathed just like I was supposed to.

Four fine kettle of soup beans.....

MURDER OF A CHOCOLATE-COVERED CHERRY: A Scumble River Mystery - Denise Swanson

Once again, a cozy that does what it's supposed to do. Lets me have a fast read, fits in my purse, doesn't tax the brain, and is highly enjoyable.
It's been a little while since I've visited the area of Scumble River and it's school psychologist, Skye Denison, finds herself in uncharted waters....or kitchens...Her mother has entered Skye in the Grandma Sal's Soup-to-Nuts Cooking Contest. This would be just fine, but Skye can't cook. She knows better than to disappoint her mother, queen of the guilt trips, so she goes along with the plan.
Along with trying to turn in a relatively unsinged casserole, Skye finds a dead body in the chocolate fountain and that there is a missing teenager from Skye's school. Skye to the mystery solving rescue.
This one was slightly different than other cozies I've read. This one had a cliffhanger. Making me want to get the next in the series, MURDER OF A ROYAL PAIN. I 'need' to see what happens next...dagnabbit!
Four cozy cliffhanger beans...

THE CASE OF THE MISSING BOOKS: A Mobile Library Mystery - Ian Sansom

This one started out slowly, but gradually built up steam. I wasn't sure if I'd like it enough to finish it, let alone look for the rest of the series. I changed my mind about 30 pages in and really enjoyed this fast read. The story moves right along and I really felt for poor Israel, the Londoner librarian who comes to Northern Ireland to be the new librarian in a small village. All is not as he expected...the library is closed, he is to live in a chicken coop, and all of the library's books are missing! It is his first task, he is told, to find the missing books. It's funny and a nice mellow read. Sort of a cozy since it's a mystery with a non-investigator person doing the sleuthing. No murder, but lots of crime. I really liked this one and look forward to the rest of the series.

Four fish out of water beans.....

THE TALE OF HILL TOP FARM: THE COTTAGE TALES OF BEATRIX POTTER Book 1 - Susan Wittig Albert

I am once again very happy to have read a book that is the start of a series. I already love reading Susan Wittig Albert's China Bayles series. I like learning about herbal lore and gardening along with the mystery.
In THE TALE OF HILL TOP FARM, the reader sees life in a small village in the Lake District through the eyes of the villagers, Beatrix Potter and, my favorite, the animals who live there. There are Miss Potter's pet hedgehog, rabbits, and a mouse; as well as the village cats and dogs, owls, rats, mice and frogs. Almost all have appeared in Miss Potter's children's books as she recollected from previous visits to the Lake District with her family.
The book is a cozy in the gentlest of ways. There is a death and there are mysteries to solve, but all of that is background to the story of the villagers and the countryside.
I cannot wait to read the rest of the series. Four comfy beans.

PINK FLAMINGO MURDERS - Elaine Viets

PINK FLAMINGO MURDERS was readable, but only just. I have definitely read better by Elaine Viets, but if this had been my first by her, I'd have hesitated to read anything else in her work. I am glad I know her other books, series, and one of my favorite blog sites, Lipstick Chronicles where she writes from time to time.
This one has a newspaper columnist who works for a troubled third rate paper in St Louis and has commitment issues. She finds a story in her own neighborhood and it leads to four murders possibly caused by the neighborhood watchdog of good housekeeping. I believe I'd be moving out of that there neighborhood.....I can take a hint.
I finished reading it and I will definitely read more Viets' books, but probably not from this series. I got rather irritated once (okay more than once) too often at the storyline and characters.

CHRISTIETOWN - Susan Kandel

What a super fast read this was! Very entertaining, fun, intriguing, with two stories going at the same time. The main character, CeCe, is an author who writes books of mystery writers. This one is about Agatha Christie. The back story is the 11 days she went missing from her life and the public eye.

The present day story revolves around a planned community on the outskirts of LA. Said community is based on Agatha Christie's novels. Shades of the movie 'Chinatown' appear from time to time.

This was one of the ARCs I picked up from High Crimes last week. Cynthia saw me browsing the titles and told me they were free ARCs and to please help myself. I took her up on the invite.

I have read one other Susan Kandel, NOT A GIRL DETECTIVE (about the author/s of the Nancy Drew mystery series), and immediately put her other books in the series on my wishlist.

If you want a smart, funny, sassy cozy this series is for you. I especially like the cozies that teach me something. This one has a background of vintage clothing as much as the background of the mystery writers premiered in the books.

Skimming....not reading....MURDEROUS GLAZE - Melissa Glazer

I used my Life is Too Short rule....

Not diggin' it, so gave up. I won't count as a book read as I was skimming more than I was actually reading. I didn't care about any of the characters! Knock 'em out, put 'em out of their misery!
I'm glad I've read other cozies, well written and entertaining cozies, before this. If I had to base my opinion on the cozy genre based on this one, I'd have tossed every single one in the collection on Mt Git'r'Read. And I have a lot of those wonderfully slender, perfect for purse sized, titled-like-a-country-song books. So thank you Cleo Coyle, Elaine Viets, Kate Collins, M C Beaton, Nancy Atherton, Sarah Stewart Taylor, Casey Daniels, Denise Swanson, Sarah Strohmeyer, Susan Wittig Albert, Laura Childs, etc....for writing wonderful cozies and lighting the way.