Currently Reading...

I'm currently reading Heard it Through The Grapevine by Lizbeth Lipperman. I was lucky enough to win an autographed copy of this book! I'm thrilled that I did and am loving it. Heard it Through The Grapevine is the first book in A Dead Sister Talking Mystery. However, this is not the author's first cozy-using the name Liz Lipperman, she writes the very funny Clueless Cook Mysteries.

In Heard it Through The Grapevine we meet Lainey Garcia, a woman at a crossroads. She plans on leaving her lover when a new job opportunity arises, but before she can pursue that she learns that her estranged sister has died. Lainey returns to Texas and meets up with her other sisters only to discover that she can see, and hear, her dead sister...who, it turns out, was murdered.

Currently Reading...

I'm currently reading Beef Stolen-Off, the second installment of the Clueless Cook mysteries by Liz Lipperman. Jordan seems to be a bit more food knowledgeable this time...at least so far. She knows what Kobe beef is (whereas she didn't have a clue about fois gras last time!) Recipes are included.

Make 'Em Laugh

Beef Stolen-Off, Last Wool and Testament, Threaded for Trouble, with so many punny titles, it's natural that you can find humor in a lot of cozy mysteries. It makes sense since cozies are a "kindler, gentler, mystery". Not to say to don't find humor in darker genres as well. Some authors lighten things up so that you're less prepared when the big nasty arrives. There's also black comedy, Sweeney Todd and Harold and Maude are great musical and cinematic examples.

Humor makes life fun and interesting and I love when mysteries are able to make me laugh as well. While humor can be found everywhere, there are some cozies that just flaunt it. Don't underestimate these books.  While fun is front and center, characterization and plot are not forgotten. The mystery is still there. While some may be categorized in different subgenres as well, these laugh out loud books all belong to another one of my subgenres-the humor cozy.

One of the funniest books I've read is Alpine for You, the first Passport to Peril mystery by Maddy Hunter and she continues to make me laugh in each new installment. Emily Andrew, her grandmother, and a group of senior citizens from Iowa travel the world in this delightful series.

It should come as no surprise that Laura Levine writes a very funny series. After all, she was a writer for The Bob Newhart Show, Laverne and Shirley and other sitcoms. The Jaine Austen series takes us to Los Angeles where we meet freelance writer Jaine Austen and her cat Prozac.

Jeffrey Cohen brings mysteries and movies together in his Double Feature series. Elliot Freed owns the Comedy Tonight movie cinema-you guessed it-all comedy movies.

Bubbles Yablonsky is a hair dresser striving to be a journalist in Lehigh, Pennsylvania in the Bubbles Books by Sarah Stohmeyer. I still giggle about her attending Two Guys Community College. (Anyone of a certain age from this part of the country will know why.)

If you're looking for laughs along with murder be sure to check out these series.

The Culinary Mystery

There is no love sincerer than the love of food. —–George Bernard Shaw

"Food, like a loving touch or a glimpse of divine power, has that ability to comfort."
Norman Kolpas

There’s always been an interest in food, not only eating, but talking about it, reading about it, and watching it on television. Look at the popularity of The Food Network. They’ve even added another station dedicated to food-The Cooking Channel. You can find food related shows on many other stations as well. It should come as no surprise, therefore, that the culinary mystery is one of the most popular cozy genres.

In order to be a true cozy mystery food and/or drink must be an integral part of the protagonist’s life. The protagonist may have a job revolving around food, or it may just be a hobby.  Many of these mysteries series feature shop owners: The Cheese Shop Mysteries by Avery Aames, The Tea Shop Mysteries by Laura Childs, The Hannah Swensen Mysteries by Joanne Fluke, or The Mystery a la Mode Series by Wendy Lyn Watson for instance. Some characters write about food: Carolyn Blue in The Culinary Food Writer series by Nancy Fairbanks or Hayley Snow in Lucy Burdette’s Food Critic Mysteries.

You may find a character who knows nothing about food, yet it fast becomes a prominent part of their life. Liver Let Die is the first in The Clueless Cook Mystery Series by Liz Lipperman. Journalist Jordan McAllister is completely clueless when it comes to food-she doesn’t even know what foie gras is-yet she agrees to cover for her newspaper’s culinary reporter. Jordan gets in over her head…and not only when it comes to writing her column. This book includes recipes as well as a great story. In addition to being a culinary mystery, this series could also fall into the humor genre.

It should be noted that many series include recipes, but they are not necessarily culinary mysteries.  Lorraine Bartlett includes recipes in her Victoria Square Mysteries, as does Maggie Sefton in her Knitting Mysteries.

It just goes to show how popular food is, and how important it is in all of our lives. After all, everyone has to eat!