A good, enjoyable cozy with twists
930347
Complexity to the case keeps you guessing as more than one crime occurs and some are connected, some aren't. Enjoyable reading about heroine's efforts at farming and reuniting with parents.
1806928
In this charming cozy mystery set in a small town north of Toronto, Canada, Arabella Carpenter decides to promote her Glass Dolphin antiques shop by sponsoring a hole in one contest at a local charity golf tournament. The prize: a pricy jet ski. All good fun until she hits her ball into the woods, and amongst the trees finds not her golf ball, but a dead body.
The victim, killed by a gunshot to the chest, is the estranged father of Arabellas ex-husband, Levon Larroquette. The two men were so estranged that Arabella never met her ex-father-in-law. But she has seen him. He and Levon were arguing in the park just a few days before the tournament. Arabella still has feelings for Levon, and precisely how strong those feelings are is revealed whenever he encourages her to join him in drinking a little too much cognac.
Levon might have flaws as a husband, but Arabella is convinced hes no killer. Worried that her information has made him appear more guilty, shes determined to clear Levons name by investigating the murder herself, with the help of her business partner Emily, a former investigative reporter.
This is the second in the Glass Dolphin mystery series, in which Arabella and Emily boldly go where, maybe, they shouldnt, as some of the information they turn up seems to implicate Levon even further. Their inquiries give author Sheluk the opportunity to introduce a sizeable cast of interesting, often amusing characters, with their tidbits of information and propensity for creating confusion: an Elvis impersonator, potential romantic interests for both Arabella and Emily, a vengeful local newspaper editor and reckless blogger, and an antique dealer going out of business who has sad secrets of her own.
Sheluk is an antiques expert herself and currently editor of the New England Antiques Journal. Writing with a light touch, she has a knack for inserting just the right amount of intriguing details about antique items, the antiques market, or running a small business. That information gives the story a nice grounding in reality, even as the plot twists and turns.
A Hole in One is thick with dialog, with the banter between the two women full of good humor. You may not doubt that they will succeed, almost despite themselves, but the fun is in seeing how they go about it as their theoriesand the bodiespile up.
4611805
This cozy mystery was quite enjoyable. I enjoyed the further development of the characters in the series as well as the local history appearing throughout the book. Very charming.
944842
Light cozy murder mystery with a bit of romance (with some heavy kissing) and plenty of things to explore in the rest of the series' books. Herbs, crystals and all-knowing cats. You don't have to be a believer to enjoy this quick escapist romp. The sisters are not the nicest of women, but they have potential to lead the reader on more adventures with them. The mystery is not complex, which makes this book okay for young readers too.
4755248
If you like a cozy mystery where a female protagonist bakes, owns a dog, is tentatively getting together with someone, and gets involved in solving a murder because a friend is suspected, you'll love this one. It was well written and not full of punctuation or grammar errors that plague some kindle books. The killer was not obvious halfway through like in some.
786541
I liked the Mooseamuck Island setting for this cozy and the bits about the treasure hunting. The main characters, Dom and Claire are great. They are quite the dynamic duo. The mystery kept me guessing, though I did pick up on a clue towards the end, that pointed me to the killer. This is a fun read!
4573885
"Suspicion at Seven" is a cozy mystery. It's the fourteenth book in a series. You don't need to read the previous books to understand this story, and this book didn't spoil the previous ones.

This was a clue-based mystery. Whodunit seemed fairly obvious to me, especially as more clues occurred to confirm my idea. My only uncertainty was if the heroine was making a bad assumption or if she knew something I didn't. Turns out she was, indeed, overlooking something critical based on a bad assumption. I didn't like how the heroine felt totally justified in sneaking past the police tape, especially as it was unnecessary and nothing was learned from the law-breaking. (At least, I assume it's breaking the law there.) The characters were varied and interesting, yet some main characters seemed to decide to do certain things simply to move the story forward rather than because this was a natural interest or action.

There was occasional bad language. There was no sex. It's a fun enough story, but it didn't engage or challenge me as much as I most enjoy from a mystery.

I received this book as a review copy from the publisher.
564410
I love those cozy mysteries, but they can be a little fussy. This was great. It was fun to read. It is a more modern twist on cozy mysteries. Annie is very likeable, but Edith stole the show. She was hilarious. I would have liked some recipes, but overall a very good read. I will definitely try the next in the series.
4528860
I good book when one wants to relax and be entertained.  The characters are well-devloped and appealing.  Highly recommended to those who enjoy a good cozy.
4656570
I really enjoyed this cozy mystery and  I am looking forward to more from this author. Keep the good books coming.
4858958
This is my review of the audio version as  posted on Audible:

It's 4.5 stars for the story and 4.5 overall, really.

As cozy mysteries go, this is one of the good ones, with quite an interesting crime plot, investigation taking us here, there, and back again, as many suspects as you can think of, and a rollercoster kind of ending. There is a bunch of characters you like from the start, some that you may feel indifferent to and one or two that you'd really avoid in real life:)

The main character, Lizzie, is a likeable veterinarian in training, whose love for dogs and her best friend throws her in the middle of a murder investigation. As the police - one officer especially - are convinced that "the wife did it" Lizzie has to put on the shoes of a PI and with the help of her grandpa and a newly acquired boyfriend discover who really killed Mr. Jupiter:)

The plot is very fast-paced, with ideas as to who the killer might be jumping from virtually every other conversation Lizzie has with the inhabitants of Danger Cove and her fellow PIs; sometimes you have a feeling there are really too many of them... The dialogues are quite witty, especially the ones between Lizzie and Tony, her high school crush she just recently discovered had also had a crush on her. So, there is quite a romance in the air, too:)

The only thing that may bother you while reading/listening is that some of the ideas or twists and turns follow a certain predictable pattern but as it is a characteristic feature of the genre, I only took half a star away from my rating.

As for the interpretation, it is very good. Ms Hickman is a wonderful narrator with a very pleasant voice, the pace of her reading is just right and while she is good at differentiating voices, she doesn't overdo them or overact.

All in all, it's an interesting and relaxing cozy mystery listen.

DISCLAIMER: I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
3264477
Emory is only there to play some music and sing with her husband later that night.  He worked at the university, but she didn't.  They ended up sitting with the main event:  an acclaimed scholar with a new book out.  She's not fond of him.  He's too full of himself.  But she didn't dislike him enough to kill him.

This is a cozy mystery with Emory mimicking Miss Marple.  She decides she's not an important person, she can probably ask questions without being threatening and she might even learn something important.  What she learns is that asking questions is dangerous. When her first suspect is the next murder victim, she's shaken.  How could she be so wrong?  One thing she knows:  She better be more careful.

I found the addition of psychic powers a bit unneeded.  It's an interesting touch but it really didn't add to the story.  It takes old fashioned detective work to find the killer.  I did enjoy the herbal things shared and the tales of the devil in the past.  It was easy to see the devil's work in this story.

All in all, it was a good first cozy mystery and I look forward to seeing more of Emory.
3651913
I wrote a review for this book in its e-book Kindle version, now I have the paperback.

As I said before, this is a good cozy mystery, suitable for all ages from teens to grown-ups. The author does a good job of creating interesting characters that move the plot along. And if you go to the author's web site, she will answer e-mails:
[..]

Note that the web site url posted with this review is the offical new/updated web site.
3956437
Death Among the Doilies by Mollie Cox Bryan is the first book in a new cozy mystery series.  It was an interesting read which shared a lot of information about different crafts.  The setting is a small town in North Carolina where Cora Chevalier and her best friend, Jane Starr, have renovated the Kildare House into a place for craft retreats.  The descriptions were lengthy of the house and the characters which is to be expected when the author is setting up the foundation for a new series. However, I confess that I found them to be a little tedious. The characters were likable; and I really enjoyed Ruby, the herbalist who lives on the property.  The plot was smooth and there were enough red herrings and twists that kept me guessing until the reveal. I appreciated that Ms. Bryan showed Cora working with the police during the investigation instead of continually going off on her own.  All in all it was a pleasant read.

I was given an eARC by Kensington via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
4332662
I think this was a very cute and funny at times, cozy mystery.  I thought the characters and the storyline were very good.  I did figure out who did it before they said it, but it did keep me guessing up till then.  I enjoyed this cozy and will be on the lookout for more from Laura Durham.
2041674
Author Zara Keane is new to me.
I am voluntarily reviewing a courtesy copy.
I adore Cozy mysteries.
A finely woven mystery with a lot of Lol moments.
Reading this helped improve my mood. I found relaxing and intriguing.
There are a lot of twists and turns. Not to mention secrets that come to light.
A lighthearted read. Friends and murder; secrets.
I recommend this book.
I look forward to reading the rest if this series.
Also more books by author.
73363
I really liked this first book in this cozy series. The author does a good job of setting up the background and the characters for this series. Busman's Harbor sounds like a great place to armchair travel to in the summer. The mystery is good but Julia the amateur sleuth works more against the police rather than with the police. Enjoy this series.