Tag: cozy mystery

What’s Ashley Reading?: Santa Cruise

Santa Cruise by Mary Higgins Clark & Carol Higgins Clark

First line: Randolph Weed, self-styled commodore, stood on the deck of his pride and joy, the Royal Mermaid, an old ship he had bought and paid a fortune to refurbish and on which he intended to spend the rest of his life playing host to both friends and paying guests.

Summary: The maiden voyage of the Royal Mermaid is turning out to be more eventful than the Commodore had hoped for. The Santa Cruise was set to launch with people of all sorts who had done good in their communities and donated to worthy causes. Among these are Alvirah, a lottery winner turned amateur sleuth, Regan Reilly, a private investigator, and two stowaways who are paying a fortune to escape from the law. As weird occurrences continue to happen Alvirah and Regan start putting the pieces together to find out who is sabotaging this holiday cruise.

My Thoughts: As part of my holiday TBR I picked up another Mary Higgins Clark book. This one brings together characters from her books, Alvirah Meehan and Regan Reilly from her daughter, Carol Higgins Clark’s, book series. I have not read either series yet but I met the characters in another holiday mystery last Christmas, Deck the Halls. Even without knowing the backstories I felt that it was easy to enjoy and follow the story.

This book had a cozier vibe to it than others I have read and it had a very complicated and sometimes ridiculous plot but I did have fun reading it, which is all that matters. There was a lot of coincidences that would never happen anywhere else than in fiction but this made it rather funny. There are two criminals hiding on the ship dressed as Santa Claus, a cabin mix-up leading to further complications and several sightings of a “ghost” which are the perfect recipe for a complicated but cozy mystery.

If you want something quick before Christmas than give this or Deck the Halls a chance. Each are short and sweet and will help get you in the holiday mood.

What’s Ashley Reading?: Murder By Cheesecake

Murder By Cheesecake by Rachel Ekstrom Courage

First line: Rose Nylund whispered into the lemon-yellow telephone receiver, twisting the cord tightly between her fingers, her words obscured by the gurgling of the coffee percolator.

Summary: Picture it…Miami. Rose Nylund is planning a beautiful St. Olaf wedding in Miami but things are not going as planned. She is working against the groom’s snobby family and the fact that Dorothy’s date was found face first in a cheesecake in the hotel’s freezer. What else could go wrong? Well it appears that Dorothy may be the prime suspect in the man’s death since their one and only date was disaster. The girls are determined to clear Dorothy’s name, find the killer and make sure the wedding goes off without any more problems.

My Thoughts: Several years ago I binge watched The Golden Girls for the first time and absolutely loved it! Those ladies were witty and the show as completely ridiculous but it is perfection in sitcom TV. When I saw that we were getting a Golden Girls mystery series, I was all in. It was a cute, quirky and silly murder mystery. In all it was exactly what you’d expect from these ladies. The things they did while pursuing the criminal were outlandish and the St. Olaf wedding preparations were beyond kooky. It could easily have been an extended episode of the show. While is it nothing overly fantastic it fits perfectly in The Golden Girls fandom by giving all the silliness and wit of the characters that many of us love. If you love the show you will like the book too.

What’s Ashley Reading?: The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter

First line: It wasn’t until the elevator doors were sliding open that Maggie realized she was about to come face-to-face with her three least favorite things in the world: Christmas. A party. And Ethan Freaking Wyatt.

Summary: Maggie accepts a mysterious invitation from her editor to visit her biggest fan in England at Christmastime. Unbeknownst to her, Ethan Wyatt, her arch-nemesis is joining her and her biggest fan is none other than her favorite author, Eleanor Ashley. Upon arrival a snow storm arrives stranding the writers and Eleanor Ashley’s other guests in her isolated mansion. As they settle in for the holiday Maggie believes that Eleanor plans to name a successor, or that is until she disappears from a locked room. Now Maggie and Ethan have to try to find out what happened to Eleanor and avoid whoever seems to be trying to kill them before it’s too late.

My Thoughts: This was the perfect mix of cozy mystery with a holiday romance! I had such a good time reading and trying to figure out the mystery. I loved the chemistry between Maggie and Ethan which was enhanced with the tension and miscommunications.

I’ve seen many people comparing this to Knives Out and I feel that it is a good comparison but I would almost recommend it more on the feel of an Agatha Christie novel. It has all the things I love from her stories with the added enemies to lovers romance trope. Plus, it plays on the real life Agatha Christie disappearance.

One complaint I had was the cover. It is cute (kind of) but it could be much better! There are so many fun covers anymore with the cartoonish characters but this one just wasn’t as good. But don’t judge this book by its cover. It is perfect for Christmas time and it reads very fast! I would highly recommend picking it up for your holiday break.

Linda’s Favorite Books: Invitation Only Murder

Invitation Only Murder by Leslie Meier

“The little bell on the door to the PENNYSAVER newspaper office in the quaint coastal town of Tinker’s Cove, Maine, jangled and Lucy Stone looked up from the story she was writing about the new recycling regulations—paper, glass, and plastic would not be accepted unless clean and separate, no more single stream—to see who had come in, and smiled broadly”.

This is the twenty-sixth book in the Lucy Stone Series. Lucy receives an invitation to spend a weekend at the private Maine island of Scott Newman, an eccentric owner and billionaire. She hopes to interview him concerning his life as an avid environmentalist, but finds that the island has no cell service or electricity. When Lucy finds one of his daughters dead at the bottom of a cliff, ruled an accident, she must try and outwit the killer before she is next.

I enjoyed this cozy mystery novel with its details of life on the Maine coast and Lucy’s family situations add to the story. Just when you think you have figured out who the killer is, a twist in the plot makes you step back and rethink your idea!!