The Troubling Death of Maddy Benson by Terry Shames

Earlier this year, when Terry Shames launched her Jessie Madison series set in the Bahamas, I worried that she was leaving Samuel Craddock behind. Not to worry. She recently signed a contract to continue both series. And, with The Troubling Death of Maddy Benson, she...

Mrs. Claus and the Nightmare Before New Year’s by Liz Ireland

The fifth Mrs. Claus mystery, Mrs. Claus and the Nightmare Before New Year’s, is another delightful cozy by Liz Ireland. This time, April Claus has to recruit everyone to help keep Santaland a secret when three human strangers show up. It’s bad enough that...

A Killer Clue by Victoria Gilbert

Victoria Gilbert’s second Hunter and Clewe mystery brings back the unusual detecting duo in a traditional mystery, A Killer Clue. Red herrings, a cold case, a current case, and stolen books all add up to an interesting story for book lovers. Gilbert throws in some...

Ashes Never Lie by Lee Goldberg

Although Lee Goldberg’s Ashes Never Lie is the second novel featuring his arson investigators Walter Sharpe and Andrew Walker, the author manages to incorporate his other series characters, Eve Ronin and Duncan Pavone, into this complex story. He adds a corpse...

The Grim Steeper by Gretchen Rue

It’s hard to go wrong with a cozy mystery featuring a tea shop/bookstore, a bookstore cat, and a witch. The Grim Steeper is the third in Gretchen Rue’s Witches’ Brew series. I like the setting, a small town in Washington. I also like the characters,...