Cozy Mystrey

Mint Chocolate Chip Day

Lisa's * Everyday Life2 Comments

Today is National Mint Chocolate Chip Day ! So it’s a Book and a Recipe to enjoy ! Lisa

Jen and Sherry’s Ice Cream shop is the perfect place to bring friends, families, clubs, and even pets to get a mouth watering and creamy, flavorful treat–Anything like Italian Ice, Milk Shakes, A Double-Scoop of Cherry Cheese Cake, Sundaes, and a variety of other Ice Cream flavors to choose from! The best part is that Jen’s and Sherry’s Ice Cream Shop is located in the Sunshine State, Florida, where you can get an icy, creamy treat 365 days of the year. Over the past year, Jen and Sherry have met lots and lots of quirky people, making their business a very interesting endeavor. But what was supposed to be a happy day abruptly turns into a tragedy when someone is found dead. Then the clucking hens, ‘AKA’ the library ladies’ club, along with Jen, must put their new sleuthing skills to use. Find out if they will be able to figure out who dunnit and bring this person to justice. A minty flavor with bits of suspense! Don’t miss out on the cool twist! 

BOOKS IN JEN AND SHERRY’S ICE CREAM MYSTERY SERIES:

**CHUNKY RASPBERRY FUDGE MURDER; Book 2 
**A PLAIN VANILLA TWIST; Book 3 (JUST RELEASED)
**BOO-BERRY I SCREAM; Book 4 (COMING SOON)

  • 1 gallon mint chocolate chip ice cream / softened
  • 1 container Cool Whip
  • 2 oz unsweetened chopped Chocolate
  • 2 boxes of Oreo cookies crushed
  • 1/2 C butter
  • 1 can evaporated milk
  • 1 C butter
  • 1/2 C butter cubed
  • Chocolate chps for garnish
  • In a large bowl, combine the cookie crumbs and butter. Press into two 13×9-in. dishes. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
  • In a small saucepan, combine the milk, sugar, butter and chocolate. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly, about 12 minutes. Remove from the heat; cool completely.
  • Spread ice cream over each crust. Spoon cooled chocolate sauce over top; evenly spread to cover. Freeze until firm. Spread with whipped topping. Desserts may be frozen for up to 2 months. Remove from freezer 10 minutes before cutting. Garnish with chocolate chips

Book Review : The Coffee Club Mysteries

Lisa's * Everyday Life1 Comment

6 Whodunits Are Brewing in Small town Kansas :

by Darlene Franklin; Cynthia Hickey; Elizabeth Ludwig; Dana Mentink; Candice Prentice; Janice Thompson

S
The coffee shop on the corner of First and Main in Oak Grove, Kansas, seems to attract a series of mysterious events. Or perhaps it is the six women who frequent the shop for book club who are magnets for trouble. . . .

Morgan Butler, owner of the Coffee Perk, finds a project worker hanged at her shop.

Penny Parson finds a gun in one of her beehives.

Evelyn Kliff discovers a dead church meal organizer.

Jo Anderson shares hazelnut coffee creamer, sending a woman into anaphylactic shock.

Harper Daggett is being stalked for an antique jade owl she bought.

Baker Jeanine Gransbury’s charity event money goes missing.

Join them as they unravel six unexplained events that have the potential to ruin business and spoil friendships if not handled with care.

Net Galley Book Review :

This book is a anthology of 6 authors short mystery books center around six women who attend a weekly coffee shop book club. At the Coffee perks a coffee shop in small town Oak Grove,Kansas which is the setting for the first mystery. As each authors weave amazing stories of friendship and mystery around the women . Each of these women have a story to tell and they do in this case in a mystery that involves them and there lives. A perfect set of cozy mystery A perfect afternoon read – all you need is a cup of Coffee – from Barbour Publishing, Inc.,  Lisa 

Birthday Cake Murder

Lisa's * Everyday Life1 Comment

It;s my Mom’s birthday ! Her favorite books are cozy mystery’s this is for Mom: 

https://www.amazon.com/Birthday-Party-Murder-Stone-Mystery-ebook/dp/B005HDYCHM/ref=sr_1_14?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1543249425&sr=1-14&keywords=birthday+cozy+mystery

The whole town of Tinker’s Cove is looking forward to the celebration marking former librarian Julia Ward Howe Tilley’s ninetieth birthday. Lucy Stone, Miss Tilley’s closest friend, dreamed up the party idea–at about the same time she decided she’s not getting old without a fight. Noticing crow’s feet and a potential jelly belly, she’s resolved to exercise more and purchase some heavy-duty wrinkle cream, asap! 

That sounds like a plan–until Lucy realizes her daughter’s fourteenth birthday bash, a coed sleepover, may turn her hair white overnight. What was she thinking when she agreed to let Sara have the party? Obviously she wasn’t thinking about the hormonal rampages of young teens. On her mind, instead, was the shocking death of Sherman Cobb, the town’s oldest attorney, an apparent suicide. His law partner, however, thinks Sherman was murdered. 

Poking about in Sherman’s papers, Lucy turns up an intriguing tie between the dead man and Miss Tilley. Meanwhile Miss Tilley’s own past has come back to haunt her in the form of a mysterious niece named Shirley and a biker great nephew named Snake. Soon no one can get to see the elderly librarian because the brash, bossy Shirley says she’s “failing.” Is Miss Tilley in grave danger? Will Sara’s party turn out to be a scandal? Now, as a killer’s ruthless plan rushes toward a conclusion, Lucy needs answers fast–or else she and Miss Tilley won’t live long enough to make a wish and blow out the candles on this year’s birthday cake. . .

Book Review * Breaking the Mould

Lisa's * Everyday Life2 Comments

n the new Vintage Kitchen Mystery from the author of No Grater Danger, when the town’s resident Scrooge is found dead, Jaymie says Bah humbug! to murder . . .https://www.amazon.com/Breaking-Mould-Vintage-Kitchen-Mystery-ebook/dp/B07JMGJY5F/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1542919134&sr=1-1&keywords=breaking+the+mould

“I have loved this series from the first book . . . it’s like returning to a favorite nook for a cup of tea. It will delight, entice, and drive a reader to want to solve the murder.” —Goodreads on No Grater Danger

Now that Thanksgiving’s behind her, vintage cookware enthusiast Jaymie Leighton Müller is excitedly making plans for the upcoming Dickens Days festival—the town’s month-long celebration leading up to Christmas. With a hot cider booth on the village green to warm the hearts and bodies of the townsfolk and a diorama featuring a scene from A Christmas Carol, things are shaping up for a festive season—until the town’s local Scrooge is found murdered, a vintage pudding mould covering his cracked skull.

Nearly everyone had a reason to dislike Evan Nezer—either for his bullying ways or his obnoxious arrogance—but with his body being found in Jaymie’s diorama, she’ll have to figure out who hated him enough to see him dead. With many suspects and even more secrets coming to the surface as she investigates, Jaymie feels buried by a blizzard of clues. But with Dickens Days on hold until the police can nab the killer, she’s determined to catch the culprit so the ghost of Evan Nezer doesn’t cast a pall over the whole Christmas season.

Net galley Book Review :

Another great cozy mystery set in  Queensville,Michigan at Christmas time. And Jaymie has another  mystery  to solve; this one  the murder of a character right out of Dickens – Evan Nezer the town Scrooge . Join Jaymie as she unravels the clues left, and get ready for the holidays season In this holiday read that has a  great cast of characters with lots of twist in turns perfect for a holiday break . This book is another great addition to this  fun series- Lisa 

Biography

Victoria Hamilton is the pseudonym of nationally bestselling romance author Donna Lea Simpson. Victoria is the national bestselling author of two mystery series, the Vintage Kitchen Mysteries and Merry Muffin Mysteries, as well as the Teapot Collector Mysteries as Amanda Cooper. She is also the bestselling author of Regency and historical romance as Donna Lea Simpson.

Her latest adventure in writing is a Regency-set historical mystery series, starting with A Gentlewoman’s Guide to Murder! Don’t miss out on this bold, adventurous series featuring gentlewoman Miss Emmeline St. Germaine, a young lady intent on defying every expectation that she will be demure and retiring; she’s a lady with a dagger, and she knows how to use it.

Victoria loves to read, especially mystery novels, and enjoys good tea and cheap wine, the company of friends, and has a newfound appreciation for opera. She enjoys crocheting and beading, but a good book can tempt her away from almost anything… except writing!

She now happily writes about vintage kitchen collecting, muffin baking and dead bodies for publisher Beyond the Page for the Vintage Kitchen Mysteries (the first five books of the series were published by Berkley Prime Crime) and Merry Muffin Mystery series, moving also to Beyond the Page. 

She’s exceptionally excited that her new Regency mystery series is being published by Midnight Ink.

Visit Victoria at: http://www.victoriahamiltonmysteries.com for availability of her books, some of which have also been published in Large Print and Audio formats!

You can find out more about her and all of her series at her website, as well as on Facebook and Pinterest.

The Spook in the Stacks

Lisa's * Everyday LifeLeave a comment

Let’s take a trip to the Library and today’s pick for Lighthouse Day is this cozy Mystery!! 

 

51Ze57qEEzL

 

book link

Halloween in North Carolina’s Outer Banks becomes seriously tricky when librarian Lucy Richardson stumbles across something extra unusual in the rare books section: a dead body.

Wealthy businessman Jay Ruddle is considering donating his extensive collection of North Carolina historical documents to the Bodie Island Lighthouse Library, but the competition for the collection is fierce. Unfortunately, while the library is hosting a lecture on ghostly legends, Jay becomes one of the dearly departed in the rare books section. Now, it’s up to Lucy Richardson and her fellow librarians to bone up on their detective skills and discover who is responsible for this wicked Halloween homicide.

Meanwhile, very strange things are happening at the library—haunted horses are materializing in the marsh, the lights seem to have an eerie life of their own, and the tiny crew of a model ship appears to move around when no one is watching. Is Lucy at her wit’s end? Or can it be that the Bodie Island Lighthouse really is haunted?

With The Legend of Sleepy Hollow on everyone’s minds and ghoulish gossip on everyone’s lips, Lucy will need to separate the clues from the boos if she wants to crack this case without losing her head in The Spook in the Stacks, the delightful fourth in national bestseller Eva Gates’ Lighthouse Library mysteries.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for The Spook in the Stacks:
“Gates creates an atmosphere that perfectly balances the chill of a spooky night with small-town coastal charm in a mystery that will delight bookish cozy fans.”
―Booklist

“Lively…Book lovers will envy Lucy’s dream of a life, working in a wonderful library, surrounded by amusing friends, not to mention a fine feline companion and a handsome suitor. Cozy fans will look forward to her further adventures.”
―Publishers Weekly

Praise for By Book or by Crook:
“[A] charming, entertaining, and smart series…[featuring] an unusual (and real) setting and colorful cast of characters that set it apart from other bookish cozies.”
―Library Journal starred review

“A charming new series by Eva Gates. A librarian in a historic lighthouse with a cozy apartment upstairs and a clever cat named Charles (Dickens) make for a book lover’s dream. Lucy is a delightful and engaging sleuth surrounded by a cast of intriguing characters in an original and unique setting.”
―Krista Davis, New York Times bestselling author of the Domestic Diva mysteries

“A smart whodunit…A likeable heroine.”
― Sofie Kelly, New York Times bestselling author of the Magical Cats mysteries

“A library in a lighthouse? And a cat? Sign me up! A fun read for all cozy fans.”
―Laurie Cass, national bestselling author of the Bookmobile Cat mysteries

About the Author

Eva Gates is a national bestselling author who began her writing career as a Sunday writer: a single mother of three high-spirited daughters, with a full-time job as a computer programmer. Now she has more than twenty novels under her belt in the mystery genre, published under the name Vicki Delany. She lives in Ontario. This is her fourth Lighthouse Library mystery.

A Murder Moist Foul*Summer Prescott

Lisa's * Everyday Life1 Comment

Happy Monday & today I am sharing a cozy mystery and a great recipe for a Root beer float cupcake -try them both today.    Lisa 

51QbLfkf1lL

book link

Free to borrow with Kindle Unlimited program. 

Meet Melissa Gladstone, a hometown Southern gal, with a nose for clues and a talent for tasty cupcakes!

Nearly everyone in the sleepy town of LaChance, Louisiana knows about the rivalry between local celebrity baker Missy Gladstone and Darryl Davis, the down and dirty donut man from across town, but no one ever thought that their fierce competitive streaks would one day lead to murder.

Chas Beckett, LaChance’s handsome new homicide detective, has some serious questions for Missy and her loyal assistant Ben, and it’s up to Missy to figure out who the killer is before the two of them find themselves in jail.

Will Missy end up losing the business that she’s struggled so hard to build after the death of her parents?

Find out the answer to that question and more in this breath-taking, newly-revised 1st Book in the Frosted Love series by Best-Selling Cozy Mystery Author, Summer Prescott!

 

My Root Beer Cupcake Recipe  Daily Recipe

root-beer-float-cupcakes-1

Watermelon Day * Watermelon Festival

Lisa's * Everyday LifeLeave a comment

   Happy Watermelon Day !!!

 

Every year the state of Louisiana has a fun Watermelon festival. Usually the last week of July while the crop is at it’s peak. But if you missed it this year I have a fun cozy mystery to wet your appetite  for Watermelon –    Lisa 

1cf8sp75n_862733.jpg

 

Want to find out more   or plan a trip for next year ? 

 

Watermelon Festival

 

But since you missed it here’s a fun cozy mystery to read-

 

515a0q2a80L

 

book link

 

A New Kiki Lowenstein Novella (extra-extra-long short story that’s actually a short book).

Trying to patch up a damaged relationship, Kiki agrees to go on a road trip with her old best friend Mert. The destination promises to be a lot of fun, a Watermelon Festival in Vincennes, Indiana. More importantly, Kiki hopes to mend fences by taking a peek into Mert’s past. The story that follows is ripped from today’s headlines as Kiki gets a firsthand lesson in the burden put on our society by opioid addiction. And it wouldn’t be a Kiki story without a crime, would it? Yup. There’s a crime.

 

 

 

Midnight Snacks are Murder

Lisa's * Everyday Life2 Comments

51I09QA3xCL

 

book links

When her sleepwalking aunt is accused of committing murder, Poppy McAllister finds out there’s no rest for the weary . . .

Between trying to get her gluten-free baking business off the ground and helping her aunt remodel her old Victorian into the Butterfly House Bed and Breakfast in Cape May, New Jersey, Poppy is ready to call, “Mayday!” And now Aunt Ginny—who’s a handful wide-awake—is sleepwalking on her new sleeping pill prescription and helping herself to neighbors’ snacks and knickknacks.

Even more alarming, a local humanitarian who worked with troubled teens is found murdered, and the police suspect the “Snack Bandit.” Other than a bad case of midnight munchies and some mild knickknack kleptomania, Aunt Ginny is harmless. Someone’s trying to frame her. Poppy will need to work tirelessly to uncover the killer and put the case to rest—before Aunt Ginny has to trade in her B & B for a bunk bed behind bars . . .

Includes Seven Recipes from Poppy’s Kitchen!

About the Author

Libby Klein graduated Lower Cape May Regional High School in the ’80s. Her classes revolved mostly around the culinary sciences and theater, with the occasional nap in Chemistry. She has worked as a stay at home mom, climbing the ranks to the coveted position of Grandma. She also dabbles in the position of Vice President of a technology company, which mostly involves bossing other people around, making spreadsheets, and taking out the trash. She writes culinary cozy mysteries from her Northern Virginia office while trying to keep her cat Figaro off her keyboard. Most of her hobbies revolve around eating, and travel, and eating while traveling.
My Recipe from Lisa Daily Grind :    Gluten Free Blueberry Muffins   daily recipe
Net Galley Review : 
The story opens with the Butterfly House B & B trying to get the last steps necessary to open.  But in the mist of that Poppy has a murder to solve – that involves are Aunt. This who done it involves -great characters and some real life problems -drugs ,murder and mayhem.  I enjoyed all the twist and turns in this mystery and  the story will keep you reading as Poppy  tackles the mystery and opening a new bakery.  Lisa 

Knot My Sister’s Keeper

Lisa's * Everyday Life4 Comments

My Tuesday book is a  Quilting Mystery book .

I am working today on a quilt block and I thought this would be a great inspiration But you don’t have to be a quilter to enjoy this books _ . 

51RHyPd2ZBL._SY346_

 

book link

 

 

In tracing her ancestry, quilter Martha Rose discovers a ritzy half-sister, a stash of family secrets, and a decades-old mystery that only she can unravel . . .
 
Martha Rose is shocked to find she has a half-sister, especially one so different from her. Giselle Cole is wealthy, widowed, and lives a glamorous life in West Los Angeles. At least her grandmother was a quilter! But Giselle can’t answer Martha’s many questions about their father—he disappeared when she was only a child and the few clues left behind indicate he may have been murdered. So Martha and Giselle team up on an investigation that weaves them through the streets of L.A., their father’s hidden love affairs, and into some mysterious unfinished Cole family business . . .

Praise for Mary Marks and her Quilting Mysteries 

“A pleasurable and satisfying addition to any quilting mystery fan’s reading list. Recommend to those who cannot get enough of Terri Thayer, Elizabeth Craig, or Earlene Fowler.”
—Library Journal on Knot in My Backyard
 
“Readers will be surprised by the ending.”
—RT Book Reviews on Knot What You Think

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Born and raised in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area, Mary Marks earned a B.A. in Anthropology from UCLA and an M.A. in Public Administration from the American Jewish University in Los Angeles. In 2004 she enrolled in the UCLA Extension Writers Program. Her first novel, Forget Me Knot, was a finalist in a national writing competition in 2011. She is currently a reviewer of cozy mysteries for The New York Journal of Books at http://www.nyjournalofbooks.com. Readers can visit her at http://www.marymarksmysteries.com and http://www.facebook.com/mmarks2013.
My Net Galley Review –   This is the 6th book in this series and it the perfect cozy mystery with fun characters and a mystery to solve..
Who knew that a simple DNA test could cause so much confusion and mystery. When she sends the test out she finds a half sister  so much different than her but they team up  to solve a old  mystery  .  These two find more than they bargain for when trying to solve there Father’s murder. But will the answer these two want be shocked to them ? Read the book If you love cozy mystery books this is a good one to get your hands on.   Lisa  

 

Crash Cherry Hills * Paige Sleuth

Lisa's * Everyday Life2 Comments

Cozy Cat Caper  Mystery : 

51RbqnkbvmL._SY346_ (1)

book link

Book 23 of this series. 

Kat Harper doesn’t expect to witness a terrible car wreck when she agrees to help her friend Imogene shop for a new vehicle. But was the fatal crash a tragic accident or something more sinister? The amateur sleuth will have to investigate if she wants to know the answer. And with a little insight from the car dealership’s friendly resident cat, she might just figure out what really happened before a killer gets away with murder.

 

About the Author

Paige Sleuth is a pseudonym for mystery author Marla Bradeen. She plots murder during the day and fights for mattress space with her two rescue cats at night. When not attending to her cats’ demands, she writes. She loves to hear from readers, and welcomes emails at paige.sleuth@yahoo.com. Please join her readers’ group so she can keep in touch: http://hyperurl.co/readersgroup
C1pAdopdckS._SL250_FMpng_
From Book 1: Kat Harper has only just returned to her small hometown of Cherry Hills, Washington when she discovers the dead body of her neighbor, Mrs. Tinsdale. Matilda, Mrs. Tinsdale’s orphaned rescue cat, just might be the only eyewitness to the murder. But how do you convince a cat to reveal “whodunit”?