Currently Reading...

I'm currently reading Murder, by George by Jeanne Quigley. This book is the second in the Veronica Walsh Mystery series and is being released today!

Veronica is settling in to her home town of Barton, NY, managing her store and enjoying family and friends. An unexpected art discovery at the local flea market leads to some vicious debates about who the actual owner is, or should be. On the night the painting is to have its own gallery show, the painting and its new owner are late. A search finds the owner dead and the painting gone! Could one of the town's residents vying for ownership have actually killed him? Veronica promises she won't get involved, but when pressed, that promise may not be kept!

Spotlight - It's a Wonderful Knife

I'd like to shine a spotlight on a book from one of my favorite series. It's a Wonderful Knife by Christine Wenger is the fifth book in the Comfort Food Mystery series. Unfortunately, it is also the last as the series fell victim to the publishing house cuts to cozies.

From the back cover:

Comfort food and murder are on the holiday menu in the latest mystery from the national bestselling author of Macaroni and Freeze...

All Trixie Matkowski wants for Christmas is a break-just not the broken leg she gets after slipping on some ice. With Sandy Harbor alive in the hustle and bustle of the season, it's the busiest time of the year at Trixie's Silver Bullet Diner. There are millions of things to do, including catering the town's annual Christmas pageant and community dinner with some delicious holiday comfort food.

But the festivities turn into a bit of a turkey after Liz Fellows, the director of the pageant, is found with Trixie's butcher knife in her back. Now Trixie must help the police arrest the scary gentleman-or lady-guilty of the crime if she hopes to get herself off the naughty list.

Recipes included.

Personal Preferences

Everyone has certain likes and interests, as well as turn offs. These personal preferences apply to books as well. When I find a mystery that has something to do with something I enjoy, it's more apt to pique my interest, thereby leading me to buy the book. Ooohh a mystery involving ghosts in WNY, a story about off track thoroughbreds, a cozy told from the cat's perspective...these are all hooks for me.

However, there are also turn offs. Topics and features you just don't care to be involved with. No matter how good the writer, if she or he has too much of something you don't like you may not buy that book. In fact the book may be near to brilliant, but if it has too much of something you don't care for it may not reach that five star rating for you...and you may not choose to read any more books in that series.

So what are some turn offs? Obviously this varies for readers-what's a turn off for some may just be a turn on for someone else. While my mom is an animal lover, she doesn't like it when animals speak in books. Me? I love hearing the animals speak and getting their perspectives!

Many people don't like explicit sex, violence, and language, subjects generally left out of cozies. I enjoy a good romance and say bring on explicit sex! (As long as it's character driven and/or plot related.) Language: I sometimes swear like a sailor, so it doesn't bother me. Violence-meh. While not a fan of graphic violence, and I don't appreciate gore, I wouldn't say it's a decided turn off for me. That being said, if you hurt an animal other than a human you've just ruined the book for me. This recently happened with two mysteries, one much worse than the other. I stuck with both books, both of which were very well written. I read the second book in one of the series and am glad I did as it was great! The second series...I'm not so sure about. We'll have to see when the next book appears.

I'm pretty sure I'm in the minority, but for me children and babies are a turn off. It's OK when kids are in books, but I start getting annoyed when they're the be all end all. Start gushing about getting pregnant, being pregnant, having babies...you've just derailed my interest. Too much about children and parenting and you've lost me.

It's a double edged sword for writers as the same things that may pull certain reader in may turn others off! You just can't please everyone!

What are some turn offs and turn ons for you?

Review & Giveaway - The Final Tap

Review

THE FINAL TAP by Amanda Flower

The Second Living History Museum Mystery

It's maple season at Barton Farm, but an extraordinarily cold winter means the sap may not be running when the guests arrive! Kelsey has arranged for a local horticulture expert and maple syrup tapper, Dr. Conrad Beeson, to lecture at the museum's Maple Sugar Festival, an arrangement that doesn't sit well with Gavin, her young director of education, also a maple syrup expert. Dr. Beeson turns out to be an overbearing and unpleasant man. When the disparaging doctor winds up dead-with a drill sticking out of his chest, Kelsey has to protect the farm and her employees once again, especially as Gavin had recently threatened to kill the dead man and is now a prime suspect in his murder! 

Kelsey has a lot of surprises to deal with in THE FINAL TAP and not all of then are weather related! There are plenty of false presentations and questions about who she can trust. Family plays a huge part in this story, from Kelsey and her son along with her ex-husband, his new fiance, and her father to the victim and his family, not to mention Barton Farms' unpleasant new neighbor and her delinquent sons. What will family do for each other? Or against each other?

THE FINAL TAP is a solid second entry to the Living History Museum series. Flower combines powerful characterization and strong family values with a puzzling mystery amidst a unique background. Her vivid descriptions make me feel the cold and wish I could taste that fresh maple syrup, although she can keep the noisy schoolchildren. I'll eat my pancakes in solitude, and preferably without a murder. While Kelsey proved adept at protecting Barton Farm and its workers once again, she's thrown a much bigger curve ball in her private life. Flower leaves us wanting more as she ends this book with a bit of a stunner. Readers will be anxiously awaiting the third book in the series to see how things unfold! I know I can't wait to see what happens next!

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Currently Reading...

I'm currently reading Tea with Milk and Murder by H.Y. Hanna. This book is the second in the Oxford Tearoom Mystery series.

Gemma's mum has become the new chef at Gemma's tearoom and, much to Gemma's surprise, things are working out well, as long as you discount her mother's new found online shopping habit! The Old Biddies are also helping out in the tearoom as Cassie has been less than reliable lately. Cassie is besotted with a smooth art gallery owner, but Gemma has a bad feeling about this too smooth operator, and Muesli agrees. When a young woman makes a scene, then falls dead, during an art opening at Jon's gallery Gemma can't help but be suspicious of Jon, but will voicing her opinions cost her her best friend?

Spotlight - The Wages of Sin

The Wages of Sin

by Nancy Allen

on Tour April 26 - May 11, 2016

“The Elsie Arnold series deserves to run and run.”— Alex Marwood, author of The Wicked Girls and The Killer Next Door In rural McCown County, Missouri, a young pregnant woman is found beaten to death in a trailer park. The only witness to the murder is Ivy, her six-year-old daughter, who points to her mom’s boyfriend—father of the unborn child. County prosecutor Madeleine Thompson promises the community justice, and in the Ozarks, that can only mean one thing: a death sentence. When Madeleine’s first choice for co-counsel declines to try a death penalty case, she is forced to turn to assistant prosecutor Elsie Arnold. Elsie is reluctant to join forces with her frosty boss, but the road to conviction seems smooth—until unexpected facts about the victim arise, and the testimony of the lone eyewitness Ivy becomes increasingly crucial. Against Elsie’s advice, Madeleine brings in the state attorney general’s office to assist them, while cutthroat trial attorney Claire O’Hara joins the defense. Elsie will not let the power of prosecution—of seeking justice—be wrested from her without a fight. She wants to win the case, and to avenge the death of the mother and her unborn child. But as the trial nears, Elsie begins to harbor doubts about the death penalty itself. Meanwhile, the child Ivy is in greater danger than anyone knows. “Unflinching and gritty.” — Library Journal

Book Details:

Genre: Legal Thriller, Crime Published by: Witness Impulse Publication Date: 04/26/2016 Number of Pages: 320 ISBN: 0062438751 (9780062438751) Series: An Ozarks Mystery, 3rd | Each is a Stand Alone Thriller Purchase Links:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0166JUGPM
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-wages-of-sin-nancy-allen/1123384150?ean=9780062438751
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28069982-the-wages-of-sin

Author Bio:

Nancy Allen practiced law for 15 years as Assistant Missouri Attorney General and Assistant Prosecutor in her native Ozarks. She has tried over 30 jury trials, including murder and sexual offenses, and is now a law instructor at Missouri State University. Her first novel,The Code of the Hills, was published by HarperCollins in 2014. The Wages of Sin, is the third book in her Ozarks mystery series.

 

 

 

 

Catch Up with Nancy Allen:

 

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/481361.Nancy_Allen
https://twitter.com/thenancyallen
https://www.facebook.com/NancyAllenAuthor/

 

Tour Participants:

Get More Great Reads at Partners In Crime Virtual Book Tours

 

The Body in the Interview

I'm so pleased to welcome Katherine Hall Page to Cozy Up With Kathy today. Katherine write the Faith Fairchild Mystery series and the latest installment, The Body in the Wardrobe, was released April 26th.

Kathy: The Body in the Wardrobe is the 23rd book in the Faith Fairchild Mystery series. Is it different writing the series now compared to when you first started?

KHP: Very different. When I wrote The Body in the Belfry, I thought I was just writing one book. It was not until my editor asked my agent, “When can we expect the next in this series?” that I realized I’d continue on for a book or so more. (23! Who knew?)

I need, however, to continue to write each book as a stand alone (or one-off) and provide a bit of background on who Faith and her family are, but not so much that it is boring for those who have read the other books. It’s been a joy to write such a long series and have the chance to grow characters and try new things—prequels, various locations yet always with the core cast of characters, although others may come and go—some of them for good!


Kathy: In The Body in the Wardrobe you bring Sophie Maxwell back. How did you decide on a return visit instead of introducing a new character?

KHP: I enjoyed writing about Sophie and Faith so much; I wasn’t ready to let Sophie go. They are very similar, although Sophie is at a different stage of life and in this book is a newlywed in her late twenties, as was Faith in the first book, The Body in the Belfry.  There are plenty of new characters as Sophie is now living in her husband’s hometown, Savannah and he seems to be related to half the state of Georgia. The Sophie/Faith connection is also a nod to the friendships we make as adults.


Kathy: Amy being bullied by mean girls. Have you had to deal with mean girls? Or mean women?

KHP: I’m afraid any woman alive has had to deal with mean girls and mean women at some point in life, hopefully for only a brief time. With the explosion of social media, bullying online has become too easy—and impersonal. Bullies post things they would never say to someone’s face. I wrote a YA, Club Meds, about a learning-disabled 9th grade boy who is victimized and forced to give his medication to the bully. The boy and his friends outwit the bully who gets his just deserts. I like the ending of this book as a testament to the way adolescents are resilient and help each other out, which is what happens with Amy Fairchild. Having taught high school for so many years, I definitely observed bullying first hand.


Kathy: What first drew you to cozy mysteries?

KHP: When I had that gift of time—my husband took a sabbatical, my two-year-old was in morning daycare in the French city where we were living —to finally write the book in my head, I wanted to write the kind of mystery I liked to read. Traditional ones with a good puzzle, plenty of suspense, believable but complicated plot, well-drawn characters, a sense of place—and a sense of humor to relieve the tension every once in a while. In short, a Cozy!


Kathy: Do you write in any other genres?

KHP: In addition to Club Meds, I wrote a 4 book mystery series, Christie & Company for middle grade readers. I also had great fun writing a collection of short fiction, Small Plates, which came out 2 years ago. Finally, I did a series cookbook with original recipes and essays, Have Faith in Your Kitchen.


Kathy: Tell us about your series.

KHP: Faith Sibley Fairchild is a native New Yorker, the daughter and granddaughter of clergy, who has sworn not to marry into that kind of fish bowl existence. She’s a caterer and meets future husband the Reverend Thomas Fairchild at a job—a wedding reception —unaware that he is in the city to perform the ceremony (he has changed garb). Book 1 finds her far away from the Big Apple, married with an infant living in a small town west of Boston. Things liven up when she comes across the still warm corpse of a parishioner in the town’s freestanding old belfry. And thus begins the saga of many, many more…


Kathy: Do you have a favorite character? If so, who and why?

KHP: It has to be Faith Sibley Fairchild herself. We’ve been together for 23 books and years longer if you could her presence in my imagination. She is most definitely fiction and not the author herself, but we share the same values, sense of humor, and more.

Kathy: Did you have a specific inspiration for your series?

KHP: Agatha Christie was my greatest inspiration, but so were Mary Stewart, Dorothy Sayers, Charlotte MacLeod, Patricia Moyes, Robert Barnard, Jane Langton, Virginia Rich and many, many others. My older brother was a Conan Doyle fan and those were the first mysteries I ever read, so definitely would count Holmes and Watson as inspirations as well, although possibly not considered cozies as such. Christie most of all if I have to select only one.


Kathy: What made you decide to publish your work?

KHP: I saw a query in a professional journal from an agent looking for manuscripts when we returned from France and thought I should give it a try. I had just completed my doctorate and was paying off a student loan. My intent was to go back into the field of education, but the book sold immediately. I gave myself until my son was going into first grade to see if I could make a living, contribute to our income, and it has happily been my job every since. I feel extremely lucky to have had the 2 great careers.


Kathy: If you could have a dinner party and invite 4 authors, living or dead, in any genre, who would you invite?

KHP: Oh gosh, this is very hard. I’d have to give a banquet! I’d want it to be a fun party, so am ruling out some favorites like the Brontës. Okay: Nancy Mitford, Gregory Maguire, Sarah Caudwell, and Colin Dexter.

Kathy: What are you currently reading?

KHP: I just finished Harlan Coben’s new book, Fool Me Once. It was very different from his others, which I like, and own, but think this is his best so far. Like all of you, I have a stack of books next to the bed, also on my Kindle. I read several books at once. Right now it’s some Julie Smiths I missed in her wonderful New Orleans Skip Langdon series; a memoir: The Mad Boy, Lord Berners, My Grandmother and Me by Sofka Zinovieff, Leonardo Padura’s Havana Red-I’ve read the other 3 in his series, Havana Quartet; and A Map Of Betrayal by Ha Jin. Also a bunch of magazines—Real Simple, Cook’s Illustrated, the New Yorker, and more.


Kathy: Will you share any of your hobbies or interests with us?

KHP: I don’t call reading a hobby, or even an interest, because it is more like breathing for me. I do love to cook and am a passionate traveler—far away places or just nearby ones here in New England I’ve overlooked. I am also very interested in art. My mother was a painter and early on we developed an appreciation of all kinds from cave paintings to what contemporary artists were doing, as well as everything—and from everywhere—in between.


Kathy: Name 4 items you always have in your fridge or pantry.

KHP: A jar of herring, Kerry Gold Irish butter, stone ground grits, and eggs. So long as you have eggs, you can always concoct a good meal!


Kathy: Do you have plans for future books either in your current series or a new series?

KHP: I am currently working on the 24th book in the series, The Body in the Casket. I’m at that lovely beginning stage where I write down thoughts, lists of characters aside from the ones that appear in all the books, timelines, and so forth. And I’m reveling in research! The plot concerns a Broadway musical and in particular the producer. I’m reading biographies, autobiographies, books on stagecraft—all of which will inform, but not necessarily appear in the book. Since I write a series, early on I alternated the books from Aleford, the small town west of Boston where Faith Fairchild lives to what I call the “someplace else books”. These have been set in France, Norway, the coast of Maine, Manhattan, Vermont, and the current one is in Savannah. The Body in the Casket is an Aleford book and a bit of a traditional country house murder mystery, complete with bad weather and the electricity going out! I’m having a great time with it.


Kathy: What's your favorite thing about being an author?

KHP: Readers. I don’t mean to be flippant, but the invisible connection between author and whoever is holding the book in hand turning the pages is an extraordinary one.

The Body in the Wardrobe

by Katherine Hall Page

on Tour April 26 - May 30, 2016

Minster’s wife, caterer, and part-time sleuth Faith Fairchild pairs up with Sophie Maxwell, last seen in Body in the Birches and now a newlywed living in historic Savannah, Georgia, where Sophie crosses paths with murder.

Attorney Sophie Maxwell has come to Savannah to be with her new husband, Will. But nothing throws cold water on a hot relationship faster than a dead body. Worse for Sophie, no one believes the body she knows she saw is real, Will is spending an awful lot of time in Atlanta on a case he claims is urgent, and she’s been tasked with house hunting for them with his former sweetheart, who Sophie can’t help but suspect wishes Sophie would return to her Yankee roots!

Fortunately, Sophie has a good friend in Faith Fairchild. With teenage Amy being bullied by mean girls and husband Tom contemplating a major life change that will affect all the Fairchilds, Faith is eager for distraction in the form of some sleuthing. In between discussions of newlywed agita, surprising Savannah customs and, of course, fabulous low country food, Faith and Sophie will pair up to unmask a killer!

Book Details:

Genre: Cozy Mystery Published by: William Morrow Publication Date: April 26th 2016 Number of Pages: 256 ISBN: 0062439502 (ISBN13: 9780062439505) Series: Faith Fairchild Mystery Purchase Links:
http://www.amazon.com/Body-Wardrobe-Fairchild-Mystery-Mysteries/dp/0062439502
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-body-in-the-wardrobe-katherine-hall-page/1122955556
 https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26244593-the-body-in-the-wardrobe

Author Bio:

 Katherine Hall Page is the author of twenty-two previous Faith Fairchild mysteries, the first of which received the Agatha Award for best first mystery. The Body in the Snowdrift was honored with the Agatha Award for best novel of 2006. Page also won an Agatha for her short story “The Would-Be Widower.” The recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award at Malice Domestic, she has been nominated for the Edgar Award, the Mary Higgins Clark Award, and the Macavity Award. She lives in Lincoln, Massachusetts, and Deer Isle, Maine, with her husband.

 

 

 

 

 

Catch Up with Katherine Hall Page -
http://www.katherine-hall-page.org
https://twitter.com/hashtag/KatherineHallPage?src=hash
 https://www.facebook.com/katherinehallpage/

 

Tour Participants: 

Get More Great Reads at Partners In Crime Virtual Book Tours