How the Murder Crumbles - A Review & Giveaway

Review

HOW THE MURDER CRUMBLES by Debra Sennefelder
The First Cookie Shop Mystery 

Beatrice Wright is known around Wingate, Connecticut as Queen Bea. So when she's found murdered there are plenty of suspects, including Cookie Shop owner Mallory Monroe, who just had a huge blowup with the victim. With townsfolk looking askance at her, Mallory also has to deal with bickering employees, a devious cousin, and the woman she caught her boyfriend with, not to mention a hunky detective, all while creating distinctive and delectable cookies. Desperate to prove her innocence, Mallory starts her own search for a killer. But will she solve a murder or become a victim? 

How anyone can claim a cookie recipe is theirs and theirs alone is beyond me, but that's just what the supercilious Queen Bea believes. With a huge ego and little tolerance for others it's no wonder she becomes our murder victim. As Mallory investigates we learn even more reasons why people would like to kill her. I love mysteries with a good number of suspects all with excellent motives, and that's what we get in the first Cookie Shop Mystery.

I enjoyed my first visit to Wingate, Connecticut and the Cookie Shop. I like the slight tweak to the bakery in that the focus of the shop is highly decorated cookies and cookie bouquets. It's a nice departure from just regular baked goods, although Mallory offers those too...leading to the threats. I like that Mallory is somewhat suspicious of everyone and I think the addition of "the other woman" into her close circle is great fun. All of the characters have dimension and I look forward to learning more about them, especially a certain detective with a sparkle in his eye.

With great character dynamics, some surprising twists and turns, and lots of delicious cookies HOW THE MURDER CRUMBLES is a great start to a new series.

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 How the Murder Crumbles (A Cookie Shop Mystery) by Debra Sennefelder

About How the Murder Crumbles

How the Murder Crumbles (A Cookie Shop Mystery)
Cozy Mystery 1st in Series
Setting - Connecticut
Crooked Lane Books (June 20, 2023)
Hardcover: ‎ 304 pages

Debra Sennefelder whips up cookies and crime in a delicious new cozy series, perfect for fans of Joanne Fluke and Peg Cochran.

Wingate, Connecticut, is famed as one of the top ten shopping destinations in the state, and home to Mallory Monroe’s beloved Cookie Shop—a place where patrons are greeted with the heavenly aroma of freshly baked cookies that are as beautifully decorated as they are insanely delicious.

But things aren’t going so smoothly for Mallory. Her two employees are a disaster in the kitchen, she catches her boyfriend with another woman, and she’s seen having a fierce argument with food blogger Beatrice Wright, who accuses Mallory of stealing her cookie recipe. Then Beatrice turns up dead in her kitchen, flour outlining her body and a bloodied marble rolling pin nearby. Mallory immediately becomes suspect number one, her sales plummet, and she desperately tries to clear her name—but that’s not the only murder the killer is baking up.

Debra Sennefelder has cooked up a perfect recipe—endearing characters, a picture-perfect evocation of small-town life, and a quaint sweets shop. And just when things get a little too comfy, there’s always a murder or two for good measure.

About Debra Sennefelder

Debra Sennefelder, the author of the Food Blogger Mystery series, the Resale Boutique Mystery series, and the Cookie Shop mystery series, is an avid reader who reads across a range of genres, but mystery fiction is her obsession. Her interest in people and relationships is channeled into her novels against a backdrop of crime and mystery. When she’s not reading, she enjoys cooking and baking and as a former food blogger, she is constantly taking photographs of her food. Yeah, she’s that person.

Born and raised in New York City, she now lives and writes in Connecticut with her family. She’s worked in pre-hospital care, retail and publishing. Her writing companions are her adorable and slightly spoiled Shih-Tzus, Susie, and Billy.

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Death of a Soprano - An Excerpt & Giveaway

Today I'd like to share an excerpt from Death of a Soprano by Nupur Tustin. This book is the fifth in the Joseph Haydn Mystery series and was released last month.

Excerpt: When Haydn learns Lucia was poisoned, yet another suspect comes to mind. . .

“Poisoned?” Haydn missed a note in his astonishment. Fortunately, no one appeared to notice and the singers carried on uninterrupted. “How can Herr Hipfl possibly know that?”

“From the odor of her breath, the color of her eyes, and not least from the taste of her spittle,” Johann responded.

“But she has not ingested anything except—” Haydn swallowed, glancing over his shoulder at where his wife sat. The last thing Lucia had swallowed was the concoction Maria Anna had brewed for her.

A strange unease filled the pit of his stomach. Had Maria Anna let her jealousy get the better of her?

Surely not.

But would Herr Hipfl and the Bürgermeister see the situation the same way? It would not be the first time his wife had been accused of poisoning a woman.

“. . . the wine,” Johann was saying.

“What wine?” Haydn asked.

“The bottle of wine she had with her onstage,” Johann patiently replied. “Herr Hipfl surmises the poison was administered through the wine.”

“She had imbibed some?” If it was the wine, then Maria Anna could not be held responsible. Neither—Haydn glanced over his shoulder again—could the Archduke, fortunately.

Unless—an unhappy thought occurred to him. Had the Archduke prevailed upon Narcissa to carry on his dirty business? Heaven knew, she would be only too willing to do it.

Moreover, Rosalie had informed him, His Imperial Highness had sent Narcissa flowers that afternoon. To what end?

Haydn shook his head. No, no that was unlikely.

“Karl says it was half-empty when she went onstage.” Johann’s words interrupted his thoughts.

“What was—?” Haydn stopped himself just in time. Johann was referring to the wine bottle, of course. He hurriedly changed his question.

“Where is the bottle? Has Herr Hipfl taken charge of it?”

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his younger brother shake his head.

“Hannah carried the news of Lucia’s demise to the stagehands, and Fiore, hearing that the wine might have been tainted, emptied out the bottle.”

Dear Lord, had the boy no sense? Haydn couldn’t prevent an exasperated huff escaping his lips.

“He meant well,” Johann confided with a sigh. “He was worried lest someone else suffer the same fate. They’ve all apparently been chafing at the stricture to leave the wine alone.”

“And all except Lucia abided by the stipulation, I suppose?” Haydn said. He had no desire to think ill of the dead, but his prima donna had clearly possessed an inflated sense of her own importance.

“I’m afraid so.”

Haydn pursed his lips. Someone had known of Lucia’s partiality for wine and taken advantage of it. The question was who?

Narcissa?

She was onstage now, her features never far from a pout because she’d not succeeded in her mission to take over Lucia’s role.

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 Death of a Soprano: A Joseph Haydn Mystery by Nupur Tustin

About Death of a Soprano

Death of a Soprano: A Joseph Haydn Mystery
Historical Cozy Mystery 5th in Series
Setting – Eighteenth-century Royal Hungary, Habsburg Empire
Foiled Plots Press (May 27, 2023)
Print length: ‎ 319 pages

When murder invades Haydn's opera stage, scandal isn't far behind . . .

Charged with ensuring that an imperial wedding transpires without mishap, composer Joseph Haydn has his hands full. Barely seventeen, Archduke Ferdinand Karl, the imperial bridegroom, is reluctant to marry. And the bride, Maria Beatrice, has her reservations as well.

But when an extortion note surfaces—an unpleasant reminder of the bridegroom's shameful past—the wedding seems truly doomed. Worse still, all the evidence points to Haydn's prima donna, Lucia Pacelli, being the blackmailer.

Before Haydn can confront her, however, Lucia is fatally poisoned. And Haydn is left to wonder whether his imperial charge had a hand in her death.

Troubled by the dark secrets he might uncover, Haydn is nevertheless compelled to investigate. Will the young Archduke be found innocent? Or must Haydn lead His Imperial Highness to the gallows?

About Nupur Tustin

 

A former journalist, Nupur Tustin relies upon a Ph.D. in Communication and an M.A. in English to orchestrate murder. She also writes the Celine Skye Psychic Mysteries based on the Gardner Museum theft. Childhood piano lessons and a 1903 Weber Upright share equal blame for her musical works. Get Two Complimentary Mysteries At: ntustin.com Music: ntustin.musicaneo.com

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Currently Reading...

I'm currently reading Collecting Can be Murder by Jennifer S. Alderson. This book is the first in the Carmen De Luca Art Sleuth Mystery series and was released last month.

Called back from retirement, art sleuth Carmen De Luca is on assignment, tasked with verifying the medieval prayer book owned by Harold Moreau is, in fact, stolen. Plans go awry when a bookshelf falls as Harold is showing off his collection to Carmen. When she regains consciousness she finds Harold dead and the prayer book gone. A raging storm prevents the arrival of the police as it also stops anyone from leaving. Someone at the villa must be the culprit, but who? Carmen will do what she can to recover the book and in doing so may solve a murder too.

Broadway - A Spotlight & Giveaway

Today I'd like to shine a spotlight on Broadway by Stan Charnofsky. This book is the third in the Charlotte Smart Mystery series.

 Broadway: A Charlotte Smart Mystery by Stan Charnofsky

About Broadway

Broadway: A Charlotte Smart Mystery
Cozy Mystery 3rd in Series
Setting - New York, Broadway Theatre District, and Times Square
Hawkshaw Press (April 13, 2023)
Paperback: ‎ 248 pages

Charlotte Smart is back, and New York may never be the same again!

After helping to solve murder mysteries in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, 70-year-old Charlotte Smart is summoned to The Big Apple by an actor brother, Broadway, whose beautiful fashion model sister, Brooklyn, was pushed down a flight of stairs.

Charlotte, who insists she is not a police-woman, is set up in a posh hotel in Times Square, and teams with a big-city detective. It's a heady and stirring challenge.

Is Charlotte ready for this tough new adventure?

About Stan Charnofsky

 

STAN CHARNOFSKY is a retired professor of psychology at California State University, Northridge (CSUN), where he taught for more than fifty years. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. In addition to his work at CSUN, Stan also writes books, and it could be said that his life reads like one. Before teaching, in the 1950s Stan signed with the New York Yankees where he played in their farm system for six years. He later managed teams in Edmonton and St. Petersburg. Later still, Stan worked as the assistant coach at USC under the famous Rod Dedeaux, who was voted College Baseball Coach of the Century. Stan also served as head coach at CSUN from 1962-1966, with one championship team. He was the founding director of the Educational Opportunities Program at CSUN (then known as Valley State College). Stan was inducted into the CSUN Athletic Hall of Fame in 2016. This was followed, in 2018, by his induction into the USC Baseball Alumni Hall of Fame. Stan is the former President (and a current board member) of the National Association for Humanistic Psychology. In 2016, Stan received the Distinguished Teaching Award at CSUN. And of course, Stan writes books. His numerous publications include When Women Leave Men: How Men Feel, How Men Heal (New World Library) and The Deceived Society (Trafford). Stan resides in Northridge, California.

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Website: https://stanthemanwrites.com/  

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Hotshot Shamus - A Guest Post & Giveaway

I'm pleased to allow Percy Cole to take over Cozy Up With Kathy today. You can find Percy on the pages of the Persephone Cole Vintage Mystery series. Hotshot Shamus is the fourth book in the series.

A Hotshot Shamus 

My name is Percy Cole. I’m a private investigator licensed in the five boroughs of New York City. You can also call me a gumshoe, private eye, sleuth, beagle, dick, flatfoot, shamus, whatever you want. It’s all fine by me. And don’t be confused by my moniker. I’m a woman, not a man. Some people think of it as a disadvantage. That’s their loss. If you hire me and pay me the going rate (fifteen bucks a day plus expenses), I will do what any male PI can do, only better.

Sometimes people are shocked when they find out they’re dealing with a lady detective. But as Mae West says, “Those who are easily shocked should be shocked more often.” Sure, once in a while from the back, I’ve been mistaken for a man. I’m nearly six feet tall and if my red hair is tucked up under my fedora and I’m wearing one of the men’s suits Mother altered for me, it can happen. People see what they expect to see. You’d think they’d know better. Women in the workforce are here to stay. Especially me.

These are modern times, 1943, and there’s a war raging overseas. Now’s the time for women to step up, take our place in society, and do the jobs only men did before. As for me and my job, I take boxing lessons in case I have to rough some felon up before I haul him off to jail. It’s happened before and it’ll happen again. I also learned how to fire the German Mauser my uncle left me in his will. But frankly, I mostly use the old noodle to get the job done. In my line of work, you gotta think on your feet.

I remember one of my first cases. This rich guy hired me to locate his run-away daughter before the cops did. You could say she was a bit on the wild side, her being seen schtupping a man in her father’s 5th Avenue jewelry store window after hours. Then the man was found dead, she took off running, and all eyes were on her. Of course, I found her before the cops but when I did she thought I was a man and started screaming and kicking. I grabbed her by the scruff of the neck, told her what’s what, and hid her out until I got to the bottom of who really killed her lover. I still got the shin splints from dealing with her. But it’s all part of the job. Turned out she was a sweet kid. I was tough on her, but she needed it.

Speaking of sweet kids, I should mention Oliver, my eight-year-old son. He is the child who gives my life meaning. I’m a single, working mom, and I’m grateful every day for my family that loves and stands by my kid. Think it’s odd this tough cookie should talk about her family? Let’s face it, it’s a rare woman who doesn’t deal with family matters, no matter how tough we are.

About men: when it comes to the male gender, I have my moments, you bet. There are men who fall for this redheaded broad with my wicked sense of humor. But I’ll stop there. We need to keep this family rated.

I was talking just the other day to my good friend, Sam Spade. He’d just finished up a case with a fat man and a black bird. I said, “Sam, where do they crawl out from?” And then I told him my story of finding a dead woman drown in a vat of chocolate. In Brooklyn, no less. Sam shook his head in wonderment and offered me a shot of whiskey, neat. I took him up on it, but only for a quick one. I had to get home and tuck Oliver in. Working mom and all that. 

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 Hotshot Shamus (The Persephone Cole Vintage Mysteries) by Heather Haven

About Hotshot Shamus

Hotshot Shamus (The Persephone Cole Vintage Mysteries)
Cozy Mystery 4th in Series
New York City 1943
The Wives Of Bath Press (April 18, 2023)
Paperback: ‎ 324 pages

Persephone (Percy) Cole saves the life of a senator’s granddaughter but had no idea how much her own life was going to change as a result. There’s the unwanted fame, reporters hounding her mercilessly, and past enemies crawling out of the woodwork. Worse yet, our 5’11” lady shamus now has to dress the part of the successful PI! Then an unknown murderer tries to frame Percy for his killing spree, leaving deadly clues pointing to her. Worse yet, these are followed by death threats against her and her family.

But who? And why?

About Heather Haven

Back in the Punic Wars, Heather wrote ad copy, comedy acts, and had several plays performed very Off-Broadway. Her novels include the Silicon Valley-based Alvarez Family Murder Mysteries, Manhattan-based Persephone Cole Vintage Mysteries, Love Can Be Murder Mysteries, Snow Lake Romantic Suspense, and standalone, Murder under the Big Top, inspired by her mother’s stint as a performer with Ringling Brothers’ Circus. Just to break up the monotony, her short stories are featured in here anthology, Corliss and Other Award-Winning Stories. She and her husband are allowed to live in the foothills of San Jose, California, with their cat, Ellie.

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Passport to Spy - A Review & Giveaway

 Review

PASSPORT TO SPY by Nancy Cole Silverman
The Second Kat Lawson Mystery 

Kat Lawson is in Munich, Germany ostensibly as a reporter for Travel Life magazine writing about winter attractions. In reality, she's working for the FBI looking for information about a hidden cache of artwork stolen by the Nazis. She has no trouble getting close to her target, a charismatic museum curator, but unfortunately, she's also caught the eye of a suspicious Russian, a gatekeeper receptionist, and a protective sister. Soon Kat gets in deeper than she ever imagined. Will she get out alive?

Though I'm generally a stickler for reading series in order I didn't have time to read the first Kat Lawson mystery before this one. However, PASSPORT TO SPY works perfectly well as an introduction to the series. In fact, it seems as if it is the first book in the series as this is Kat's first assignment. I never felt as if I was missing anything and the book works perfectly well as a stand alone mystery, though I am quite looking forward to see what happens next.

Both intriguing and captivating the second Kat Lawson mystery has mysteries to unravel, though Kat's job is not to solve them. Instead she's supposed to get close to the museum curator and merely gather intelligence. Kat not only gets close, but gets more involved than her handler wants and discovers more than she should. I love how she's able to incorporate her cover story into her real work, as I got to learn about the winter activities and tourist spots around Munich. I also appreciated how Kat was able to keep calm as things spiraled out of control.

PASSPORT TO SPY is an exciting mystery that's part thriller, part historical fiction, and all fun.

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Passport to Spy: A Kat Lawson Mystery by Nancy Cole Silverman

About Passport to Spy

Passport to Spy: A Kat Lawson Mystery
Historical Mystery 2nd in Series
Setting - Germany
Level Best Books (June 6, 2023)
Print length: ‎ 268 pages

After losing her job as an investigative reporter for The Phoenix Gazette, Kat Lawson has a new gig. The FBI has asked her to work undercover as a reporter for Travel International to cover Munich, Germany’s festive holiday scene—an excuse to get close to Hans von Hausmann, a very charismatic and popular museum curator suspected of hiding a cache of stolen masterpieces believed to be part of the World’s Largest Art Heist. The job comes with lots of perks: airfare, travel expenses, the opportunity to see the world...and for a seasoned reporter like Kat, nothing she can’t handle. But, when a trusted source is found dead, Kat realizes the tables have been turned. Armed with evidence that will expose a cache of artwork stolen from museums and the homes of wealthy Jews during the 2nd World War, Kat must find a way to avoid being caught by the German Polizie, who have enough evidence to charge her with murder, and those who want her dead to keep their hidden treasures forever secret. The hunter has become the hunted; now, Kat has a target on her back.

About Nancy Cole Silverman

Nancy Cole Silverman spent nearly twenty-five years in news and talk radio, beginning her career in college on the talent side as one of the first female voices on the air. Later on the business side in Los Angeles, she retired as one of two female general managers in the nation’s second-largest radio market. After a successful career in the radio industry, Silverman retired to write fiction. Her short stories and crime-focused novels—the Carol Childs and Misty Dawn Mysteries, (Henry Press) are both Los Angeles-based. Her newest series THE NAVIGATOR’S DAUGHTER, (Level Best Books) takes a more international approach. Silverman lives in Los Angeles with her husband and a thoroughly pampered standard poodle.

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Website www.nancycolesilverman.com  

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Goodreads: Nancy Cole Silverman (Author of Shadow Of Doubt) | Goodreads  

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Hot Pot Murder - A Review

 Review

HOT POT MURDER by Jennifer J. Chow
The Second L. A. Night Market Mystery 

Yale Yee was looking forward to a nice Thanksgiving dinner with her father and cousin, but her plans got derailed by the Asian American Restaurant Owners Association. Instead of a quiet turkey dinner with family, everyone's going to Ho's for Hot Pot to brainstorm with members of the association. Before the group even begins to eat, AAROA president Jeffery Vue suffers an immense shock. Detective Strauss believes it's murder and considers Mrs. Ho a good suspect. Confident after recently solving a murder at the Night Market and believing Auntie Ai innocent, Yale and her cousin, Celine, decide to track down the real killer.  

In the second L. A. Night Market Mystery the characters immediately drew me in. I love the dynamics between the older generation and the younger. When another table had to be added to accommodate everyone at the Thanksgiving event I had to laugh as the younger people were relegated to a kids' table. It was fascinating to discover more about Celine's relationship with her parents as well as uncovering more about Yale's grief and fears after the loss of her mother.

The mystery itself was intriguing and I enjoyed how Yale and Celine investigated, playing on each other's strengths and having each other's backs. Suspicious behaviors, police dealings, and association politics make for a fun and intriguing read.

HOT POT MURDER highlights family and relationships while providing a tasty mystery filled with good food.