A SLICE OF MURDER: A Pizza Lover's Mystery - Chris Cavender

From Publisher's Weekly: Pizza lovers will relish the pseudonymous Cavender's delightful first in a new cozy series, which introduces Eleanor Swift, owner of A Slice of Life, a pizzeria in Timber Ridge, N.C. When late one winter night Eleanor delivers a pizza ("one of my specials decked out with pepperoni, sausage, ham, bacon, hamburger, and little bits of sliced sirloin"), she finds her customer, Richard Olsen, lying dead on the floor with a kitchen knife in his chest. Kevin Hurley, the surly local police chief who pursued her back in high school, responds to her 911 call. Suspecting Eleanor is guilty, Kevin does his best to make her life difficult. Olsen's dotty sister thinks so, too, but once she's convinced of Eleanor's innocence, she asks Eleanor's help in solving the murder. Eleanor's occasionally married sister, Maddy, assists in the sleuthing. A lively pace and a thrilling climax more than compensate for some distracting chatter and not always relevant sibling spats.

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I think PW liked this one better than I did. I'm not sure what it was that put me off. Might have been the waffling between how the pizzeria wouldn't make it after Eleanor is a suspect in the murder of a pizza delivery recipient and then a truckload of customers would arrive, then the waffle would begin again the next hour or the next day. It got a little irritating.

I could understand why Eleanor and Maddie wanted to investigate, since Eleanor is the main suspect. And I liked how they went about gathering the suspects, though I had the murderer figured out about halfway through. I kept reading to see if I was right and to get one more book read in 2011.

I wanted to enjoy this book and series. I have the second one on Mt Git'r'Read and will see how it goes. I like the premise and the setting and mostly like the characters, so I think the series shows promise. And there're recipes in the back of the book..that counts...

Three a pizza that shows promise beans.....

DEATH BY THE DOZEN: A Cupcake Bakery Mystery - Jenn McKinlay

From the back of the book:
Melanie and Angie are determined to win the Challenge to the Chef to promote their Fairy Tale Cupcakes bakery. Mel's mentor from culinary school, Vic Mazzotta, may be one of the judges, but Mel and Angie will have to win fair and square. But, when Vic's dead body is found inside a freezer truck, Mel and Angie will need to use their best judgment to find the cold-blooded killer or they may lose more than the contest- they may lose their lives.

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What is not to love about a mystery series that has a good mystery and cupcake recipes shared at the end of each book?

I love the setting of Scottsdale, Arizona for this series and the idea of a cupcake bakery like Fairy Tale Cupcakes is nifty. And the animosity between Mel and Angie and the rival bakery Olivia Puckett cracks me up. Olivia is truly off her rocker and it's fun to watch her go off.

All of this is in addition to a fab mystery to solve along with Mel and Angie. It's a wee bit like watching Lucy and Ethel solve a mystery, but that's not a bad thing.

Five a lot of fun beans......

THE DIVA HAUNTS THE HOUSE: A Domestic Diva Mystery - Krista Davis

From the back of the book: This Halloween, a murderer is up to mischief.....

Domestic diva Sophie Winston is getting into the holiday spirit, and her decorations for a community haunted house are so good, it's scary. Not to be outdone, rival domestic diva Natasha is throwing a spooktacular Halloween party at her house. But when Sophie arrives, she discovers one of Natasha's guests dead in a hair-raising Halloween display, and a pale, fanged partygoer fleeing the scene.

The cause of death is not immediately apparent, but the victim does have two puncture wounds on his neck. While Sophie's boyfriend, homicide detective Wolf, investigates, rumors start flying faster than witches on broomsticks. Could the killer be a real vampire---the same one rumored to have lived in Sophie's haunted house back when it was a boardinghouse? Good thing a domestic diva never runs out of garlic......

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I get hungry and amazed each time I read a foodie cozy, but especially this series. There is always an occasion to pull out the themed food or meal or flatware/plate/napkin/table runner. I wonder where Sophie gets the time to prep all of these goodies and where the heck she keeps all of the holiday themed dishware. Sometimes this distracts me from what's going on in the story. I know it's likely that I am the only who notices this or is bothered, but there it is.

It is a fun series and I like watching Sophie and Natasha tangle. I'd kick Natasha to the curb, but she's with Sophie's ex, Mars, who Sophie still likes as a friend and Mars comes over to escape the foo-foo life that is Sophie.

The haunted house that Sophie and the kids are working on is pretty cool, the mystery is decent, the food and recipes are gonzo, so all the way around a pretty good book.

Four haunted house beans......

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.....

DELICIOUS AND SUSPICIOUS: A Memphis BBQ Mystery - Riley Adams

Welcome to Aunt Pat's barbecue restaurant--family run and located in the heart of Memphis, Tennessee. Named in the honor of Lulu Taylor's great aunt, the restaurant is known for its ribs and spicy cornbread, but now the Taylor family will be known for murder---unless Lulu can clear their name.....

Rebecca Adrian came to Memphis to suss out the best local BBQ for a prominent Cooking Channel show. Trouble is, Rebecca doesn't live long enough to mention a bad review. A mystery ingredient has killed her---and now all fingers are pointing to Aunt Pat's restaurant. Horrified that her family is being accused of murder, Lulu fires up her investigative skills to solve the crime before someone else gets skewered....

Includes recipes!!!!

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I have been perusing a couple of maps and seeing what DH thinks about a trip to Memphis someday. After reading this book, the start of this delectable series, I hope we can go soon. We will go on our wee tour of the best BBQ joint. Would that Aunt Pat's was a real place.

Until the trip, I will happily read more of this series and dream of ribs, spicy cornbread, coleslaw, red beans and rice.....sigh.....

Lulu is an older woman, has kids, grandkids, but the reader isn't left with any kind of certain age nor of any kind of age-related issues that would keep Lulu from finding the cause of the death of producer from the Cooking Channel. She knows it just could not be her restaurant, but where or who would do this?

Besides Lulu, my favorite characters are the Graces, docents at Graceland who come in on quite a regular basis. They are good friends and confidants and each has a spectacular personality and can't wait to read more about them in future books.

Five BBQ is AWESOME beans.....

THE DIVA RUNS OUT OF THYME: Domestic Diva Mystery #1 - Krista Davis

From the back of the book: Some dishes are best served cold....

Few can compete with THE Natasha Smith when it comes to entertaining, but her childhood rival, Sophie Winston, certainly tries. While Natasha is known for her intricate centerpieces and painstakingly prepared gourmet meals, Sophie likes to keep things simple....real simple. Natasha may have stolen the spotlight ---and Sophie's husband---but Sophie is determined to take home the prize at the Stupendous Stuffing Shakedown. She just needs the right ingredients....

However, Sophie's search for the perfect turkey takes a basting when she stumbles across a corpse. And when the police find her name and photo inside the victim's car, they think she has some explaining to do. Sophie will have to set her trussing aside to solve the murder or she'll be serving up prison grub---and that definitely wouldn't be a good thing.

Includes delicious recipes and entertaining tips!

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There are two domestic divas in this book, one is a pain in the tookus and the other is Sophie. She is way better at organization and having things on hand than I, or anyone I know, is..are....I marvelled at how Sophie had everything to hand to entertain at a moment's notice or many drop-in guests for dinner. She had room in her house for stay-over guests and had time to go with her friend to go on wacky investigating into the murders that have occurred.

I love Nina, Sophie's ready-for-anything-so-long-as-she-can-escape-her-mother-in-law's-visit buddy.

The murder solving was well-done, though there were an awful lot of characters for me to get introduced to and remember. I know who I don't like and look forward to learning more about in the next books in the series to like them even less or dislike them more....

Five way more organized than me beans.....

STATE OF THE ONION: White House Chef Mystery #1 - Julie Hyzy

From the back of the book: Never let them see you sweat----that's White House Assistant Chef Olivia Paras's motto, which is pretty hard to honor in the most important kitchen in the world. She's hell-bent on earning her dream job--executive chef. There's just one thing: her nemesis is vying for it too. Well, that at the fact that an elusive assassin wants to see her fry....

The highly trained Secret Service agents couldn't do it. The snipers swarming the White House grounds were no help. Only Ollie Paras was able to stop the intruder---hitting him with a frying pan. She'd like to wash her hands of the whole thing, but after she witnesses a murder, there's no going back....

Ollie's Secret Service boyfriend warns her that the killer is a world-class assassin. And Ollie's the only person alive who can recognize him. Still, guilt propels her to investigate, even if it means putting herself--and her relationship--in hot water.....

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I am glad I have the second in this series all lined up. I really enjoyed my time with Ollie and the view into the White House kitchen. I can see how murder and intrigue can happen in this high profile political arena, so the eyebrows won't be as much in the hairline when the murders occur. And it's an East Coast setting, so perfect there, too.

I had the good characters, Ollie and the White House kitchen staff, Secret Service good guys, etc, to cheer for. And there're the really snotty characters to want to smack around, like the head of the Etiquette Affairs, Peter Everett Sargeant III. Ooooo...I really want to hit him on that flat part of the back of the cranium or give him a swirly. He's a bully with a sense of power and, for some reason, he really does not like Ollie. I like the conflict between the two and I hope Ms Hyzy fills us in on his antagonism for Ollie.

Five tasty powers that be beans......

TOWN IN A BLUEBERRY JAM: Candy Holliday Mystery #1 - B B Haywood

From the back of the book: In the quaint seaside village of Cape Willington, Maine, Candy Holliday has a mostly idyllic life, tending to the Blueberry Acres farm she runs with her father, and occasionally stepping in to solve a murder or two......

Candy is just as shocked as the rest of the locals when two murders occur back-to-back. First, an aging playboy takes a midnight nosedive off a seaside cliff. Then, gossip columnist--and recently crowned town Blueberry Queen---Sapphire Vine stops the business end of a hammer with her head, right in her own home.

When her friend, a local handyman, is accused of the murder, Candy investigates to clear his name. Was the gossip columnist moonlighting as a blackmailer? Was the playboy playing around wit the wrong person? But as Candy sorts through the town's juicy secrets, things start to get very sticky indeed....

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Another fine cozy mystery set on the East Coast...this one is even better with the main character, Candy, owning a blueberry farm. She is a busy chickie, prepping for the upcoming festival and taking care of the farm as well as the odd jobs around town to help bring in some extra cha-ching so she can keep living this life she's grown to love.

There are some really well written characters, a good main character who is curious and wants to help her friend, there is her father who is helping in his way. There is a best friend to go on the capers with and a really off the wall character to make the eyebrows raise. And the ending to make the eyebrows go up even farther in the hairline.

I am looking forward to another look-see at Cape Willington and see what else Candy Holliday can get into.

Five (well there are four) blueberry recipes in back beans......

SPRINKLE WITH MURDER: A Cupcake Bakery Mystery - Jenn McKinlay

From the back of the book: Cupcakes to Die For....Melanie Cooper and Angie DeLaura are finally living out their dream as the proud owners of the Fairy Tale Cupcakes bakery. Their first big order is a sweet deal, too---five hundred cupcakes for a fashion designer's wedding. The only sour note is the demanding bridezilla who insists on original recipes for the cupcakes.

When Mel stumbles upon the bride-to-be dead-by-cupcake, she immediately becomes the prime suspect. The police believe that a secret ingredient in the cupcakes caused her death. To save Mel and their business, the ladies need to find the real murderer--before the cupcake killer ices someone else.....

Includes scrumptious recipes

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Ooooooo....the recipes in the back of the book...Mojito, Death by Chocolate, Tinkerbells, and, my favorite, Blonde Bombshell....if only for the recipes, get the book! What's even better is that it's a fab-ly written mystery with splendiferous characters. I love feisty Mel and even feistier Angie. The surrounding characters are nifty, too, especially the cupcake girls' best friend Tate, fiance (sorry, can't figure out the accent thingee for fiance) of the bridezilla fashion designer biotch Christie who (YAY!) bites it. I really wanted to reach inside the book and do a smack down on her. That's a well written bitch...just sayin'....

I was kind of leaning towards who I thought dunnit, veered away, came back, was right and was dandy with it. There's a pretty neat-o twist to the tale that was cool. Read it and find out.....

This book made being the passenger of last week's roadtrip way pleasant and highly bearable, didn't even look for the signs for the next rest stop on I-90, I was so into the tale. That's a good book and you'd know that if you've ever traveled with me.

Five nope don't need to stop it's that good beans.......

MURDER ON THE MENU: A Cooking Class Mystery #2 - Miranda Bliss

From the back of the book: Best friends Annie and Eve know the bare bones of both cooking and amateur sleuthing. Now, they're in the trenches, struggling to hkeep a new restaurant, Bellwashers, from going belly up.

Annie and Even have joined their former cooking teacher, Jim--who doubles as Annie's on-again, off-again boyfriend--in running his new restaurant. Bombshell Eve is the hostess, while Annie stays behind the scenes, frantically managing everything from the books to the radicchio supply. Then a rave review makes the spot an instant success, drawing Washington's high-powered elite to sample Jim's cooking. People with both money and secrets to burn.

Everything's simmering along just fine until Annie and Eve find their friend, Sarah, staffer for a powerful congressman, lying dead in her tub. The cops want to write it off as a suicide, but the girls notice that, like Annie's invoices, the facts just don't add up. Then, after a series of suspicious "accidents" that come dangerously close to taking the girls permanently out of commission, Annie and Eve realize that this kitchen fires isn't about to put itself out.....

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This was a cutie-pie of a cozy. I could be friends with these two girls, probably Eve more so than Annie. Eve is sweet and funny and goofy, even being a hottie and all. Annie is wound a little too tight with her organizational skills and worries, but still is a good person at heart and wants to help Eve figure out who killed their friend Sarah. Yes, the police had deemed it a suicide after seeing the scene and finding a note, but Eve and Annie find little clues that lead them to believe something else happened. That led smoothly into their investigation, which I always appreciate in an amateur sleuth mystery.

I liked the atmosphere of the restaurant scenery and the characters are nicely drawn. Sometimes the action happened a little too co-ink-ee-dink-a-lee, like making kitchen-phobic Annie work one night helping the chef when one of the assistants was out of commission with a bad reaction to putting green dye in his hair, but the story moved along and all was accomplished in a timely manner.

I liked the ending with the 'whoa, did not see that one coming' tweak.

All in all, I look forward to reading the rest of the series and seeing what happens to my buds, Annie, Eve and Jim and Bellywashers the restaurant.

Four sparkly kitchen diamonds......

HOLIDAY GRIND: Coffeehouse Mystery #8 - Cleo Coyle

From the back of the book: The holidays bring more than eggnog lattes and gingerbread biscotti to the Village Blend. When manager and head barista Clare Cosi finds a red-suited body in the snow, she adds solving Santa's slaying to her coffeehouse menu...
Clare's grown very fond of Alfred Glockner, the part-time comic and genuinely jolly charity Santa who's been using her coffeehouse as a place to warm his mittens. When she finds him gunned down in a nearby alley, a few subtle clues convince her that Alfred's death waas something more than the tragic result of a random mugging, despite the conclusions of the police.
With Clare's boyfriend, NYPD detective Mike Quinn, distracted by a cold case of his own, and ex-husband, Matt, "investigating" this year's holiday lingerie catalogs, Clare charges ahead solo and discovers this Santa had a list that he was checking twice--and the folks on it were not very nice. Then someone tries to ice Clare, and she gets really steamed.
Between baking delicious Christmas goodies and fending off the attentions of a persistent professional Elf, Clare sets out to solve St Nick's murder. But she'd better watch out, because if she fails to stop this stone-cold killer, she may just get the biggest chill of her life
INCLUDES RECIPES AND COFFEE-MAKING TIPS!
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This one of my top favorite cozy series. I was pleased that I won this from Cleo Coyle's site, CoffeeHouseMystery and it's a signed copy! This is chock-full of a superb story and loaded with foo-foo coffee info like Tips For Being Your Own Barista, Coffehouse Terms, Guide to Roasting Terms, and (my favorite) Coffee Drink Recipes, Coffee Syrups, Caffe Latte Recipes (including the Fa-L-La Lattes in the book). And there are Holiday Recipes for the food depicted in the book too. YUM!
This one is my favorite of the series. It shows even more the growing relationship between Mike and Clare and the difficulties and wonderfulness that it is. Clare's ex-husband, Matt, is in the throes of his new marriage and all that that entails and it's causing headaches for Clare as well.

I am always curious how the author will have the main character get involved in the mystery that needs solving. Sometimes they can be a wee bit awkward, but Cleo Coyle always has Clare getting involved rather seamlessly. It's because it's someone she knows or someone she cares about asks her to get involved.

Five yummy holiday beans....

DIM SUM DEAD: A Madeline Bean Catering Mystery - Jerrilyn Farmer

From the back of the book: Award-winning, #1 Los Angeles Times bestselling author Jerrilyn Farmer is earning a reputation as one of the funniest and most outrageous new mystery authors in years. And now, her fabulous sleuth--witty, sexy, cool party planner Madeline Bean--introduces us to the latest craze on the LA scene....

MAH-JONGG???

Yep. In hip Hollywood, that kitsch old game is fast becoming the next 'new' obsession--and that calls for a party! Madeline Bean and her charming partner Wesley Westcott are determined to throw a gonzo Chinese New Year banquet. But among the hot mah-jongg tiles, the stamy dim sum and the frosty Singapore Slings, no one expects to find one of the players ice-cold dead!

Meanwhile, in one of the historic celebrity mansions that Wesley is restoring as a sideline, a well-aimed crowbar uncovers a stash of precious objects--including an antique mah-jongg set. As Madeline pieces together how these two events are connected, she must separate the yin from the yang to uncover a killer. It doesn't take a fortune cookie to spell it out. There is always a price to pay....whether gambling at mah-jongg--or murder.

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I have been in the mood for the cozies that I have on Mt Git'r'Read and this one seemed to leap off the shelf..or out of the drawer...and into my hands. I don't always like foodie cozy mysteries, but I liked the premise of this one and I wasn't disappointed. I like that Mad is a caterer in LA, fascinating as that town can be, and the food wasn't the center of the action so much as an enhancement or garnish (it is a foodie cozy). I've not read this author or series before, but it will definitely not be the last. I really like Mad and her buddies and employees. Madeline is a good planner, always prepared, so (to me) she makes a believable amateur sleuth. I pretty much plowed through this fairly quickly for a purse book. I don't always get time with my purse books on certain schedules, but this one went with me to the gym and kept me on the recumbent bike longer to get just a few more pages in...so it's a good fitness book, too!

Five fitness foodie cozy beans.....