Malice at the Palace by Rhys Bowen: Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Malice at the Palace: Her Royal Spyness #9 by Rhys Bowen, to be released August 4, 2015 by Berkley
Genre: British historical mystery
Lady Georgiana Rannoch won’t deny that being thirty-fifth in line for the British throne has its advantages. Unfortunately, money isn’t one of them. And sometimes making ends meet requires her to investigate a little royal wrongdoing.

While my beau Darcy is off on a mysterious mission, I am once again caught between my high birth and empty purse. I am therefore relieved to receive a new assignment from the Queen—especially one that includes lodging. The King’s youngest son, George, is to wed Princess Marina of Greece, and I shall be her companion at the supposedly haunted Kensington Palace.

George is known for his many affairs with women as well as men—including the great songwriter Noel Coward. But when I search the Palace for a supposed ghost, I only encounter an actual dead person: a society beauty said to have been one of Prince George’s mistresses.

As the investigation unfolds—and Darcy, as always, turns up in the most unlikely of places—the investigation brings us precariously close to the prince himself. (book description)

I have just finished reading Queen of Hearts, the eighth in the series, for a publisher book tour on August 4, and I must say it was full of surprises. I am looking forward to reading this one as well. 

Cozy Mysteries in July

Quite a variety of cozy mystery books are out this month:

Wound Up in Murder: A Yarn Retreat Mystery by Betty Hechtman, July 7, 2015; Berkley
Dessert chef Casey Feldstein  is looking forward to running her third yarn retreat at Cadbury by the Sea’s Vista Del Mar hotel on the Monterey Peninsula, where she continues to develop her hidden talents for knitting…and solving murders.

Death Under Glass: A Stained Glass Mystery by Jennifer McAndrews, July 7, 2015.
Georgia Kelly has made a home for herself and her stained glass business in Wenwood, New York. But not everything in the sleepy Hudson River town is as transparent as it seems…

Death of an English Muffin: A Merry Muffin Mystery by Victoria Hamilton, July 7, 2015
Baker Merry Wynter returns with a fresh tray of muffins and a case that has authorities stumped…Merry takes in tenants to her Wynter Castle, but a mysterious death and tragedy strikes. 

The Book Stops Here: A Bibliophile Mystery by Kate Carlisle, May 5, 2015
You never know what treasures can be found in someone’s attic. Unfortunately for bookbinder Brooklyn Wainwright, some of them are worth killing for in the latest Bibliophile Mystery series.

Fatal Reservations: A Key West Food Critic Mystery by Lucy Burdette, July 7, 2015
Hayley Snow’s beat is reviewing restaurants for Key Zest magazine. But she sets aside her knife and fork when a dear friend is accused of murder…

Which one(s) appeal to you? 

Book Review: Meow If It's For Murder by T.C. LoTempio

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Meow If It's For Murder by T. C. LoTempio
Published December 2, 2014 Berkley
Genre: cozy mystery

My comments: A new series, A Nick and Nora Mystery, features Nick, a cat that nudges telltale books and Scrabble letters at the main character and helps solve crimes. Taken with a huge grain of salt, this cozy will work for serious cat lovers who are also mystery lovers.

Book description:

Nora Charles doesn’t believe in fate, even if she is a crime reporter who shares a name with a character from The Thin Man. In fact, she’s moving back to Cruz, California, to have a quieter life. But after finding an online magazine eager for material, and a stray cat named Nick with a talent for detection, Nora’s not just reporting crimes again. She’s uncovering them…

Back in her hometown, Nora reconnects with old friends and makes some new ones, like Nick, the charming feline who seems determined to be her cat. But not everything about Cruz is friendly. Writing for a local online magazine, Nora investigates the curious death of socialite Lola Grainger. Though it was deemed an accident, Nora suspects foul play. And it seems that her cat does too. 

Apparently, Nick used to belong to a P.I. who disappeared while investigating Lola Grainger’s death. The coincidence is spooky, but not as spooky as the clues Nick spells out for her with Scrabble letters—clues that lead her down an increasingly dangerous path. Whether fate put her on this case or not, solving it will take all of Nora’s wits, and maybe a few of Nick’s nine lives. (goodreads)

Thanks to the publisher for a review copy of this book. 

Book Review: Aground on St. Thomas by Rebecca M. Hale

Title: Aground on St. Thomas by Rebecca M. Hale
Published December 2, 2014; Berkley
Genre: cozy mystery

This was an unusual cozy as it involved local politics on St. Thomas Virgin Islands and St. Croix, a fictitious story, of course. The governor of St. Thomas is in hiding from U.S. forces which have landed to take over the government in the wake of massive island corruption. The story line is based on a true story of the British invasion of the Turks and Caicos Islands some time ago for similar reasons..

Interesting, unusual. I'd recommend it for a light read that takes you to the island setting and its atmosphere.

Book description:
The tropical paradise of St. Thomas is shut down as the FBI seizes control of the island to apprehend government officials on bribery charges. Tourists and locals are stranded until FBI agent Gabe “Friday” Stein can find the missing governor and two senators who have eluded capture.

 Innocent of any crime, Senator Julia Sanchez can only escape wrongful arrest with the help of eccentric Senator Bobo. As they try to blend in with increasingly hostile locals and make their trek across the island to safety, Senator Sanchez is only just beginning to realize the extent of the corruption behind the island’s idyllic façade. (goodreads)

Thanks to the publisher for a review copy of this book.

Sunday Salon: Tahoe Ghost Boat by Todd Borg

Welcome to the Sunday Salon where bloggers share their reading each week. Also visit It's Monday: What Are You Reading hosted by Book Journey, and Mailbox Monday each week.

New books that arrived last week include one from thriller writer Todd Borg that I've been looking forward to: 

Tahoe Ghost Boat

This is the 12th in the Owen McKenna series set in Tahoe NV and Tahoe CA. Of course they do not have to be read in sequence as each is a complete mystery novel. It will be published in August, 2014 by Thriller Press.  Book description: When a gang led by a killer the FBI calls Mikhailo the Monster takes 15-year-old Gertie as the centerpiece of an extortion plot, the girl's mother calls Tahoe Detective Owen McKenna for help.

Stanley's Garage

Stanley's Garage came as a surprise from the publisher, a children's picture book to show what a gas station and garage does and the tools it uses for fixing and maintaining cars. It was published May 8, 2014.

Fatal Fortune

Fatal Fortune is the 12th in the Psychic Eye mystery series and it too can be read out of sequence as a complete cozy mystery novel. Abby Cooper, a psychic, heads to Las Vegas to prove that her friend did not shoot a man in cold blood, as a video tape seems to suggest.


Books for book tours have been arriving also:

Dark Aemilia

Picador published Dark Aemilia on May 27, 2014, the story of William Shakespeare's Dark Lady, his Muse and one true love who inspired many of his sonnets. A tale of passion and sorcery in 17th century England.

The Ghost Bride

The Ghost Bride: In colonial Malaya in the sleepy town of Malacca, Li Lan's family wants her to become a ghost bride for the Lim family's only son, who recently died under mysterious circumstances. A traditional ghost marriage is used to placate a restless spirit and Li Lan would be trapped in this ghost marriage for life. Night after night, she is drawn into the shadowy parallel world of the Chinese afterlife.

Bitter Greens

Bitter Greens is based on the Rapunzel fairy tale...French novelist Charlotte-Rose de la Force has been banished from the court of Versailles by the Sun King, Louis XIV, after a series of scandalous love affairs. At the convent, she is comforted by an old nun, Sœur Seraphina, who tells her the tale of a young girl who, a hundred years earlier, is sold by her parents for a handful of bitter greens...

I am reading a bunch of cozies as well, including

Cookies and Scream

  

Thread End

Engaged in Murder

Reading any cozy mysteries lately? And what did you get in your mailbox?

A Well-Tempered Heart by Jan-Philipp Sendker; and Night of the Living Thread by Janet Bolin - Book Teaser/First Chapter

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Miz B; choose two teaser sentences from a random page of your current read.

A Well-Tempered Heart

"Where are the bees?""Alas, they have flown on and taken up residence elsewhere," my brother explained as he set my pack down. I sighed with relief." In their place, two snakes moved in." (ch. 9)

A Well-Tempered Heart by Jan-Philipp Sendker, published January 21, 2014; Other Press
Book description: Almost ten years have passed since Julia Win came back from Burma, her father’s native country. Though she is a successful Manhattan lawyer, her private life is at a crossroads. Julia is lost and exhausted. A voice in her head one day starts to ask questions Julia has been trying to avoid. Why do you live alone? To whom do you feel close? What do you want in life? (from goodreads)

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First Chapter, First Paragraph is a weekly meme hosted by Bibliophile by the Sea.

Night of the Living Thread

"Gord? A woman's heartfelt plea fluted through the misty night. Who was calling Threadville's favorite doctor in that flirtatious tone? In less than a week, Gord was marrying Edna.That voice was not Edna's. 

 Night of the Living Thread by Janet Bolin, to be published June 3, 2014; Berkley.

Book description: For Edna’s wedding, Willow and the rest of the Threadville gang have fashioned an overly extravagant hoopskirt, complete with lights and music. But in a bizarre turn of events, the garish gown is implicated in a mysterious lakeside murder. (from goodreads)

Would you continue reading based on the opening paragraphs?

First Chapter: The Whole Cat and Caboodle by Sofie Ryan

First Chapter, First Paragraph is a weekly meme hosted by Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea.
Teaser Tuesday is hosted by Miz B; choose two teaser sentences from a random page of your current read.

Title: The Whole Cat and Caboodle: Second Chance Cat Mystery #1 by Sofie Ryan
Published April 1, 2014; Signet
Genre: cozy mystery

First chapter:

Elvis was sitting in the middle of my desk when I opened the door. The cat, not the King of Rock and Roll, although the cat had an air of entitlement about him sometimes, as though he thought he was royalty. He had one jet-black paw on top of a small cardboard box - my new business cards, I was hoping.
"How did you get in here?" I asked. 

Book description:
Sarah Grayson is the happy proprietor of Second Chance, a charming shop in the oceanfront town of North Harbor, Maine. At the shop, she sells used items that she has lovingly refurbished and repurposed. But her favorite pet project so far has been adopting a stray cat she names Elvis. Elvis has seen nine lives—and then some. The big black cat with a scar across his nose turned up at a local bar when the band was playing the King of Rock and Roll’s music and hopped in Sarah’s truck. Since then, he’s been her constant companion and the furry favorite of everyone who comes into the store.

 But when Sarah’s elderly friend Maddie is found with the body of a dead man in her garden, the kindly old lady becomes the prime suspect in the murder. Even Sarah’s old high school flame, investigator Nick Elliot, seems convinced that Maddie was up to no good. So it’s up to Sarah and Elvis to clear her friend’s name and make sure the real murderer doesn’t get a second chance. (goodreads)

What do you think? Would you keep reading? I would, as long as Elvis was not a talking cat!

First Chapter: Death on Eat Street by J.J. Cook

First Chapter, First Paragraph is a weekly meme hosted by Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea.
Teaser Tuesday is hosted by Miz B; choose two teaser sentences from a random page of your current read.

Title: Death on Eat Street: A Biscuit Bowl Food Truck Mystery by J.J. Cook
Published April 1, 2014; Berkley
Genre: cozy mystery

First paragraph:

It had been the worst day of my life.
I parked my Biscuit Bowl food truck beside the diner and closed my eyes as I rested my head on the steering wheel. Outside,the fiberglass biscuit on top of the food truck stopped twirling.
How could so much go wrong in one day?

Book description: Zoe Chase always wanted to own her own restaurant—but first, she’ll have to serve up a heaping helping of meals on wheels, with a side of mystery… (goodreads)

Based on the opening paragraph, would you keep reading this cozy?

See my brief review/comments on goodreads.

Buttoned Up by Kylie Logan

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted weekly by Breaking the Spine. What new book(s) are you waiting for to be released?

Title: Buttoned Up: Button Box Mystery #4, a cozy mystery by Kylie Logan, is to be released December 3, 2013 by Berkley.

Publisher description:
"For Josie Giancola, owner of the Button Box shop, every button is a tiny work of art with its own story to tell—a story that just might end in murder….

Artist Forbis Parmenter has invited Josie to the opening of his latest exhibit of voodoo-inspired works. He plans to make a show of completing the centerpiece—a button- encrusted statue—when Josie arrives with the final button. But just as the big moment comes, Forbis bolts out of the gallery in panic. Is it another of his publicity stunts, or is something more sinister afoot?

Josie gets her answer when the eccentric artist is found dead—his lifeless body in the arms of a statue and his eyes and lips sealed with buttons. Now she’s using her expert eye to solve the mystery before a crafty killer slips through her fingers. Includes tips on antique-button collecting!"

I've read a few in this series! How about you? What book are you waiting for to be released?

Book Tour: A Secondhand Murder by Lesley A Diehl

Synopsis: Eve Appel moves from Connecticut to rural Florida to start a new life, free from her soon-to-be ex-husband. The town of Sabal Bay proves to be the perfect spot for her consignment store. Florida’s society matrons need a place to discreetly sell their stuff and pick up expensive-looking bargains. But Eve’s life and her business are turned upside down when a wealthy customer is found stabbed to death in a fitting room.

With the help of an unlikely bunch—including her estranged ex, her best friend, a handsome private eye, and a charming mafia don—she struggles to find answers and save lives. Through distorted half-truths, dramatic cover-ups, and unrequited passions, Eve learns just how far the wealthy will go to regain what they have lost. A Secondhand Murder is Book 1 of the Eve Appel Mysteries Series.

My comments: What starts out in the consignment shop ends up in a very different place. The story shifts from what seems a simple case to become one more complex.  I was hooked by the setting and the characters in the first half of the book but was led into a different direction later on, with new characters introduced, which meant the wrap up of the mystery took a longer time.  Overall, however, a good novel with appealing main personalities - Eve and her feisty Grandy (grandmother).

Title: A Secondhand Murder by Lesley Diehl 

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Published by: Camel Press, September 15, 2013

About the author: Lesley Diehl retired as a professor of psychology and reclaimed her country roots by moving to the Butternut River Valley in upstate New York. She devotes afternoons to writing and, when the sun sets, relaxing on the bank of her trout stream, sipping tea or a local microbrew. In the winter she migrates to old Florida--cowboys, scrub palmetto, and open fields of grazing cattle. 

Book tour organized by Partners In Crime Tours, which provided a review copy of the book.
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Mrs Poe by Lynn Cullen; and Golden Malicious by Sheila Connolly

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted weekly by Jill @ Breaking the Spine. Let us know what new releases you are eagerly waiting for. Link your post to Breaking the Spine.

Mrs. Poe by Lynn Cullen is due out October 1, 2013, published by Gallery Books.
Quite a story: "a novel about a woman who becomes entangled in an affair with Edgar Allan Poe—at the same time she becomes the unwilling confidante of his much-younger wife." I can't imagine anyone being involved romantically with Poe. Wonder how scary that was?

Golden Malicious: An Orchard Mystery by Sheila Connolly, is also due out on October 1, 2013, published by Berkley. It's the seventh in the series. Orchard owner Meg Corey has to solve not only the mystery of a dead body in the forest preserve, but also a mysterious insect infestation that threatens local crops.

What books are you waiting for in October? 

Book Review: ALLERGIC TO DEATH by Peg Cochran

Title: Allergic to Death by Peg Cochran
Published August 7, 2012; Berkely Paperback
Genre: mystery, cozy

"Did you happen to notice if she ate anything while she was at the theater?"
"As a matter of fact, yes." Gigi began closing up the containers. "I'd just delivered her lunch ---" (ch. 2)

Gigi Fitzgerald delivers her home-prepared meals to customers in her hometown, Woodstone, Conn. Someone tampers with the food container meant for a restaurant reviewer and pours peanut oil over the melba toast appetizers.

The reviewer goes into a fatal anaphylactic shock after popping one of the toasts into her mouth, driving off, and crashing her car headlong into a tree, Gigi insists to police she never uses peanut products in her recipes, especially knowing her customer's allergy.

There are several people who might have wanted the reviewer dead, however: the cast of the play rehearsing at the Woodstone Theater; the reviewer's ex-husband or his current wife; a restaurant owner who was terrified he would be given a bad review that could ruin his business, other people who have had bad reviews in the past...

Comments: The plot was very well developed and though death-by-allergic-reaction-to-food is not a new device in mystery novels, Allergic to Death was especially well done. It kept you guessing, even though at the very end, the identity of the culprit was not a complete surprise. The motive was a surprise, however.

Gigi is a new character on the cozy mystery scene and she has two love interests which I can tell will be developed in the next books. I am looking forward to the next in this new series.

Thanks to the publisher for a review copy of this book.

Sunday Salon: Humorous Mystery Novels

This post I printed on November 18, 2009 gets a good number of hits from people looking for funny mystery novels. I've updated the Left Award winners for Best Humorous Mystery.

Need a good laugh combined with a good mystery read? Try one of the books below.

Left Coast Crime gives an award called THE LEFTY - for the most humorous mystery published in a particular year. Lefty winners:

2012: The Real Macaw by Donna Andrews
2011: The Pot Thief Who Studied Einstein by J. Michael Orenduff
2010: Getting Old is a Disaster by Rita Lakin
2009: Greasing the Pinata by Tim Maleeny
2008: Murder With Reservations by Elaine Viets
2007: Go to Helena Handbasket by Donna Moore
2006: Cast Adrift by Peter Guttridge

2005: We'll Always Have Parrots by Donna Andrews and Blue Blood by Susan McBride
2004: Mumbo Gumbo by Jerrilyn Farmer
2003: The Hearse Case Scenario by Tim Cockey and Pipsqueak by Brian M. Wiprud

2002: Dim Sum Dead by Jerrilyn Farmer and Fender Benders by Bill Fitzhugh
2000: Murder With Peacocks by Donna Andrews
1999: Four to Score by Janet Evanovich
1998: Three To Get Deadly by Janet Evanovich
1996: The Fat Innkeeper by Alan Russell

I read the 2000 winner, Murder With Peacocks by Donna Andrews, some years back, and it is truly hilarious. I recommend it if you need a good laugh while you wonder who dunnit.


Left Coast Crime 2013 will be held in Colorado Springs, Colorado, March 21-24.

What funny mysteries have you read and would add to the list?

Book Review: Hounded To Death by Laurien Berenson

I'm reading Meow Is for Murder, a pet sitter mystery with a ball python named Pythagoras and a dog called Stromboli, not to mention two Bengal cats cutely named Cherise and Carnie. I noticed that the author, Linda O. Johnston resembles another pet mystery writer, Laurien Berenson, whose latest mystery, Hounded to Death, I've just finished.

These two writers could be sisters or even twins, I thought. They both have the same kind of hair, same length, and style, and their features are similar. One parts her hair on the right, the other on the left, however. One wears glasses, the other doesn't. Well, I don't think they are the same person, writing under pseudonyms as some writers are wont to do.

Besides, one likes King Charles Spaniels and lives in California, and the other loves poodles and writes in Kentucky.

Their writing styles are also different.

Meow is for Murder is full of alliterative fun. Johnston loves to play with words, which she does all through her book. Berenson in Hounded to Death has amusing characters though she also has a pun in her book title. They write about different personalities altogether - a pet sitter cum lawyer versus a special needs tutor cum dog trainer. (Seems dealing with pets isn't nearly enough - main character must also have a respectable profession),

Both authors however have a great time creating zany or colorful characters to move their mystery plots along - one about pet sitting two Bengal cats, the other about dog show personalities and a dog show symposium.

Both involve murder, of course. And, naturally, the pets are not among the guilty parties.