Tag: review
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A Christmas Candy Killing by Christina Romeril
Why do cozy mystery sleuths always end up with the best jobs? Take Alex: along with her identical twin sister, Hannah, she acts as co-proprietor of Murder and Mayhem, a mystery bookshop that serves up poison-themed chocolates. On the flipside, after her friend and fellow true crime enthusiast Jane is found murdered, the sheriff has…
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Christmas at Red Robin Cottage by Sue Roberts
With Christmas around the corner, Sarah Dunne should have snowflakes and fairy lights on her mind, but this year things are feeling off. After divorcing her ex-husband, she’s helping her teen daughter, Ellie, navigate his absence during the festivities. And as a manager of a struggling local movie theater, she’s straining to bring in new…
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Snowflakes and Secrets in the Scottish Highlands by Donna Ashcroft
There isn’t a specific way to spend the Christmas season, but author Donna Ashcroft might have found one of the most charming. Her newest main character, the seasonally named Merry, escapes her overbearing family for a stint in the Scottish Highlands. Her month-long task seems simple enough: take care of the menagerie of animals that…
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The Little Christmas Shop on Nutcracker Lane by Jaimie Admans
Getting your dream can be complicated, and I suspect Nia Maddison would agree. Fortunately, as co-proprietor of the newest shop on Nutcracker Lane specializing in all sorts of Christmassy crafts, Nia comes with a special brand of optimism.
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My Mother’s Silence by Lauren Westwood
After her twin sister, Ginny, died in what everyone assumed was a tragic accident, Skye Turner knew she couldn’t stay in the Scottish Highlands. Not when her mother blamed her for what happened. Fifteen years and a music career in the U.S. later, though, she returns, dredging up the same old secrets and gossip. But…
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Once Upon a Seaside Murder by Maggie Blackburn
Summer Merriweather finds herself dealing with many of the same issues she faced the last time I checked in with her. She’s slowly coming to turn with her mother Hildy’s death. She’s debating her future, and whether it involves returning to academia or staying in Brigid’s Island and running her newly inherited store, Beach Reads…
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The Orphan Witch by Paige Crutcher
Anyone who gets too close to Persephone May winds up hurt. After yet another workplace accident, she finds herself at a crossroads, unable to stay where she is yet not knowing where she should go. It’s fortunate, then, that she receives an email from her friend Hyacinth, inviting her to the mysterious Wile Isle. While…
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How Magicians Think by Joshua Jay
Growing up, I had a little obsession with magic. Making flowers appear with the wave of a hand, sawing an assistant in half, pulling a rabbit out of a hat—anytime a magician popped up on TV, I was riveted. Well, the animal acts generally made me uncomfortable, but the rest of it—bending the rules of…
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The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward
So often I read reviews where the reviewer says they don’t want to give too much of the plot away. That it would be a detriment to the reading experience if you know too much going in. And usually I just sort of nod along while thinking, ‘Well, probably not, but sure.’
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On Borrowed Crime by Kate Young
The cozy mystery is a continually evolving genre, but in author Kate Young’s series debut, she proves exactly why that’s so important. It seems lately whenever I’m writing about cozies, I’m always talking about the idea of “freshness”—and really, what I mean is whether a book feels like every other one on the shelf ……
Plucked from the Stacks 