Monday Mini-reviews

I immersed myself in books while I was on hiatus.
These are a few of the cozies I enjoyed most.


The Christie Curse (Book Collector Mystery #1) by Victoria Abbott (Berkley Prime Crime mass market, 5 March 2013).

Forced to move back to her hometown, because of student loans and an embezzling ex, Jordan Bingham is desperate for a job.  And a place to live that isn't with her elderly uncles.
There aren't many possibilities for a person with a Master's in English, but then she spots the newspaper ad for a "researcher".
She's soon hired by the last scion of the town's founding family to search for a previously unknown play by Agatha Christie.  She's even more thrilled that the position comes with room and board -- but is someone sneaking into her room when she's out?

I LOVED this book.  Victoria Abbott is the nom-de-plume of collaborators Mary Jane Maffini and her daughter Victoria, and the sequel, The Sayers Swindle, is due in the fall of this year.


A Fête Worse Than Death (Hemlock Falls Mystery #18) by Claudia Bishop (Berkley Prime Crime mass market, 5 March 2013).

Sarah "Quill" Quilliam has to learn how to say "no".    Now that she's a married working mother, she's got plenty to keep her busy, even though her husband is off somewhere he can't disclose.
When the chair of the Finger Lakes Autumn Fête quits abruptly, the mayor hires a professional event planner.  But when her body is found in the trunk of a car, Sarah finds herself not only being asked to take over the Fête, but to investigate a murder.  

 Claudia Bishop (Mary Stanton) sent a message to the members of her mailing list a few days ago, apologizing for the length of time between installments of her series (Hemlock Falls, Beaufort & Company, and The Unicorns of Balinor), but she's alternating between those and a "bigger" book with the working title of Finnegan.


The Good, the Bad, and the Witchy (Wishcraft Mystery #3) by Heather Blake (Obsidian mass market, 2 April 2013).

Darcy Merriweather loves living in the magical Enchanted Village, and her recently discovered powers as a Wishcrafter.  And running the personal concierge service As You Wish with her Aunt Ve is great, although some customers can be SO demanding.
Harriette Harkette, who is throwing herself an eightieth bithday gala is one of those, so when the birthday cake doesn't show up on time, Darcy goes to the bakery to check on it.  When she finds the delivery van behind the building, with the driver's corpse nearby she seriously wishes she'd stop finding dead bodies.
Unfortunately, she can't grant her own wishes, but she can figure out what happened.

Heather Blake (a pseudonym for Heather Webber) has created a charming world with some delightfully eccentric characters.  She also has another paranormal mystery series, The Magic Potion Mysteries, being released in November 2013.




FTC Full Disclosure:  Many thanks to the publisher for sending me review copies of these books.