Having had two books orphaned (Maze in Blue andShould Have Played Poker: a Carrie Martin and the Mah Jongg Players Mystery), I wanted to write a cozy mystery. Most cozy mysteries feature an excellent cook, baker, or craftswoman. I hate all those things. Stumped for a moment, I realized there were other readers like me—and that is how Sarah Blair, a woman who finds being in the kitchen more frightening than murder was born. Professionally and personally, I’ve been a writer, lawyer, judge, wife, mother of twins, step-mother, and community volunteer, but the Sarah Blair books combine my love of animals with my propensity for accidentally blowing up my kitchen.
Married at eighteen, divorced at twenty-eight, and with the only thing she got out of the divorce – RahRah, her feisty Siamese cat, Sarah Blair knew starting over would be messy. Things fall apart when her ex drops dead, seemingly poisoned by her twin sister, Chef Emily’s, award-winning rhubarb crisp. With RahRah wanted by the woman who broke up her marriage and Emily wanted by the police for murder, Sarah needs to figure out the right recipe to crack the case before time runs out. Unfortunately, for a gal whose good china is floral paper plates, catching the real killer could mean facing a fate worse than death—being in the kitchen!
Includes quick and easy recipes like Jell-O in a Can!
How can a book featuring a social media expert who was stood up at her wedding, but then inherits her great-aunt’s bakery and Baby, a two-hundred-pound Mastiff, not be engaging especially when she’s more in tune to her Louboutins than baking? The protagonist, Maddy, is engaging, the fashion and dialogue rich, Baby pound by pound lovable, and the whodunit fun to solve. The first book of a fun new series, Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder provided me with a few hours of great escape from the real world.
“Snappy dialogue, a well-drawn supporting cast and an irresistible canine companion all add delicious flavor. Gulp this book down or savor it, but consuming it will guarantee a sustained sugar high.”– The New York Times Book Review
In a brand-new culinary cozy series with a fresh edge and a delightful small-town setting, the acclaimed author introduces Maddy Montgomery, a social media expert who’s #StartingOver in small town Michigan after inheriting her great-aunt’s bakery…and a 200-pound English Mastiff named Baby.
A CrimeReads Most Anticipated Book Of 2022
When Maddy Montgomery’s groom is a no-show to their livestream wedding, it’s a disaster…
For a change, the protagonist, Poppy McAllister, isn’t twenty-eight (she’s forty-something), divorced (she’s widowed), thin and beautiful (she’s plump and on a gluten-free diet), or already in a successful business (she’s trying to start a gluten-free baking business). Poppy is prone to one-sided conversations with her cat (I was okay with this because Figaro is fantastic).
In this book, Poppy attends her twenty-five-year class reunion and ends up being the primary suspect when the worst mean girl is found dead in front of Poppy’s locker. Klein writes with a light sarcastic humor that keeps me laughing while trying to solve the mysteries in her series.
Fans of Jana DeLeon and Joanne Fluke will love Libby Klein! For fortysomething Poppy McAllister, taking a stroll down memory lane in Cape May, New Jersey, isn't just awkward--it's deadly.
Newly widowed and stuck in a middle-aged funk, Poppy has been running on cookies, infomercials, and one-sided chats with her cat for months. There's no way on earth she's attending her twenty-five-year class reunion--especially after receiving a very bizarre letter from Barbie, the popular cheerleader who taunted her all through high school. At least, not until Poppy's best friend practically drags her to the event . . .
When food blogger/disgraced undercover agent Riley Rhodes returns to her childhood home to help her friend Caroline through her mother’s death and decide what to do with Caroline’s mother’s Udderly Delicious Ice Cream Shop, Riley not only ends up involved in murder but finding her own salvation dealing with the store and the shop’s mascot cat, Sprinkles. The book is light-hearted and simply an enjoyable read. The ice cream and the cover first attracted me, but the characters kept me reading.
Riley Rhodes, travel food blogger and librarian at the CIA, returns to her childhood home of Penniman, Connecticut - land of dairy farms and covered bridges - to attend the funeral of her best friend Caroline's mother and owner of the beloved Udderly Delicious Ice Cream Shop. Despite the melancholy circumstances, it's a bittersweet first day home filled with reunions with old friends, a walk around her father's cosy bookshop on the green, and late night conversations with Caroline. And, of course, long and joyful hours spent behind the counter serving delicious ice cream to the masses. It feels like…
I recently read an advance copy of A Trip with Trouble(releases October 2022), the 2nd Mountain Lodge Mystery. In the first book in the series, protagonist Misty Murphy turned fifty, got divorced, and invested her settlement in a mountain lodge that she knew nothing about running. A Trip with Trouble finds the inn totally rented out to Dangerous Curves Motorcycle Club, a group of women who plan to ride the Blue Ridge Parkway. On a ride that Misty is invited to join, things go awry when the tail gunner (last rider) is found dead. Although I enjoyed the whodunit aspects of the book, Kelly’s vivid descriptions of the Blue Ridge Parkway area and the mountains grounded the book in reality. A quick read that I stayed up far too late so I could finish it in one sitting. (The book has certain chapters told through the eyes of Misty’s cat.)
When the ladies of the Dangerous Curves Motorcycle Club take over the Mountaintop Lodge for their annual autumn ride along the Blue Ridge Parkway, Misty Murphy couldn't be more thrilled. Every room is full and the adventurous women couldn't be more entertaining. The ladies even invite Misty and her assistant Brynn to join them on a ride to admire the colourful fall foliage. Hotel handyman Rocky Crowder is happy to keep an eye on the lodge for the day, and the ladies set out for a fun ride on the scenic road.
Financial whiz Julia Snowden returns to her Maine hometown to rescue the family’s clambake business. Although she has financial acumen, she lacks true knowledge of how a clam bake works. She learns the hard way when a murder and a wedding reception don’t mix. I wasn’t familiar with the inner workings of clam bakes, from menu to preparation, but I learned with Julia. I also enjoy Ross’s writing style. The combination of the storytelling plus the facts interwoven make this a good book choice.
Summer has come to Busman's Harbor, Maine, and tourists are lining up for a taste of authentic New England seafood, courtesy of the Snowden Family Clambake Company. But there's something sinister on the boil this season. A killer has crashed a wedding party, adding mystery to the menu at the worst possible moment. . .
Julia Snowden returned to her hometown to rescue her family's struggling clambake business--not to solve crimes. But that was before a catered wedding on picturesque Morrow Island turned into a reception for murder. When the best man's corpse is found hanging from the grand staircase…
I’m an avid reader of queer literary fiction not only because I write it but because I’m looking to see my life experience captured on the page. As a gay man, a father of two young boys, and one-half of an interracial married couple, I know the complexity of modern queer living firsthand. In recent years, I’ve been astounded by the breadth of great LGBTQ+ books that examine queerness fully and empathetically. I seek out these books, I read them feverishly, and I become a champion for the best ones. In an era of intense book banning, it’s so important to me to elevate these books and their authors.
The Birthright of Sons is a collection of stories centered around the experiences of marginalized people, namely Black and LGBTQ+ men. Although the stories borrow elements from various genres (horror, suspense, romance, magical realism, etc.), they are linked by an exploration of identity and the ways personhood is shaped through interactions with the people, places, and belief systems around us.
In each of these stories, the protagonists grapple with their understanding of who they are, who and how they love, and what is ultimately most important to them. In almost every case, however, the quest to know or protect oneself is challenged by an external force, resulting in violence, crisis, or confusion, among other outcomes.
The Birthright of Sons is a collection of stories centered around the experiences of marginalized people, namely Black and LGBTQ+ men. Though the stories borrow elements from various genres (horror, suspense, romance, magical realism, etc.), they're linked by an exploration of identity and the ways personhood is shaped through interactions with the people, places, and belief systems around us.
Underpinning the project is a core belief - self-definition is fluid, but conflict arises because society often fails to keep pace with personal evolution. In each of these stories, the protagonists grapple with their understanding of who they are, who and…
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