Tag: cozy mysteries

Cozy Fall Reads for the Cozy Mystery Reader

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn books and reading11 Comments

I have been gobbling up cozy mysteries the last few months, and I am excited to get started on some fall themed titles. (even though today it is nasty gross out and will feel like 102 with high humidity) I can dream though and turn the air conditioning to low and drink some tea. And I am totally decorating for fall this weekend.

Anyway, this list is a mashup of old and new books, honestly titles that are on my list of hopefuls for this autumn.

Mulberry Mischief is one I am definitely going to read. It is like book four in the Berry Basket mysteries, and I saved it for October reading since I read the others this summer. It is a great series, super fun and quick too.

I really don’t think we can get much cuter than this one! The Black Cat Detectives I already put on hold at my library. It looks so adorable!!

Snuffed Out is another one at the top of my list, and it is book one in the Magic Candle Shop mysteries. I do enjoy some supernatural in my cozies, especially this time of year!

Death in the Haunted Wood has the best cover! It is part of the Pacific Northwest Cozy series, and I think it is the second in the series, although, I am that sort of rogue soul who might skip over books in a series at times.

B I Skinner is an author I had not really heard of but these titles kept showing up in my Pinterest suggestions feed, and they grew on me. I think they both sound really good, especially Steeped in Mystery, although, The Case of the Haunted Hotel looks pretty cool too. I love that Vanagon! These are two different series, the Eerie Estes Mysteries and the Ghostly Glenwood Mysteries. (Bonus they are free on KU or $1.99 to buy)

Death Overdue sounds so fun! Er.. you know what I mean. It is a Haunted Library Mystery, and I always thought it might be neat to work in a haunted library!

Killer Donuts is another one that caught my attention. Look at that kitty! Is he sad? Hunting? I don’t know but I want to read this book. It is part of the Deputy Donut series, and I believe this is the first book.

Wrong Side of the Paw is part of the Bookmobile Cat Mystery, which is a series that I love. I haven’t read them all, and I haven’t gotten to this one yet so I might be leaping ahead to get to it for the season.

And just an FYI – at least 3 of these mysteries are set in my home state of Michigan! Wrong Side of the Paw, Berried Secrets, and Mulberry Mischief.

And of course, last but not least, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the Shady Hollow series. I love an anthropomorphic book, and I have been making myself wait for a whole year to read the second in the series Cold Clay since it takes place in the fall. Because I am weird that way. So please for your perusal is Cold Clay.

And with that I will say goodbye for now! I hope that you do something today that makes you smile! And maybe just maybe found a book here that you want to read!

Mini-Book Reviews: A Cozy Mystery Series, The Haunting of Ashburn House, and Sad Cypress

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn book review, books and reading5 Comments

It’s been a very long time since I did a review post and I need to catch up!

Let us start with the first three books in the Berry Basket series by Sharon Farrow.

Dying for Strawberries kicks this series off, and the town of Oriole Point is in the midst of a big celebration revolving around the strawberry. These books take place on the west side of Michigan, or the fruit belt as it were, so all of these books are berry based which was pretty fun, even though it made me crave berries and I can’t eat them right now due to the whole you know what going on. Anyway, the town is a typical Michigan tourist town, making the most of what its got during the summer, and Marlee Jacobs is at the center of the mix, as she runs The Berry Basket. The Berry Basket sells basically everything berry based, kind of like the Cherry Republic is cherry focused, if you have ever been there. She has a fiancee who is from a family of fruit growers, one of the biggest in the state, and his devotion to his family is…extreme. However Marlee seems to deal with it.

There is of course, a murder, and Marlee becomes an amateur sleuth to clear her name. I enjoyed this introduction to the series, as you can see by the fact that I have read two more!

Blackberry Burial, the second book, finds Marlee yet again in a celebration centered around berries. This one was my favorite celebration (all three of these books have some sort of berry party theme) as it was a reunion for students of the Blackberry Art School there or something like that. (I can’t quite remember the name) It is based off the old art school that used to be in Saugatuck, which began in 1908 as a summer retreat for artists. I love this idea so much, I can’t even tell you. The fictional school in the book has a summer camp, and sounds very elite and the students become very close to the other students in their group. They even give each other berry nicknames. Anyway, right before the kick-off, which coincides with a road rally thrown by the town, Marlee yet again stumbles onto something mysterious, a skeleton in the woods. This time her baker Theo, who is very shy, is the one being blamed and Marlee steps in to find the real killer in this old cold case.

Finally, Killed on Blueberry Hill, the third (but not final) book in the series. This one was my favorite because it was had very messy, sloppy relationship plotlines and I was there for it. And that is all I will say on that aspect! It was also maybe the most complex murder mystery of the three so far, and just another enjoyable summer read, with summer festival and carnival feels.

There are two more in this series, but they are fall and winter themed so I am saving them.

Moving on!

Sad Cypress was a very fast, quick little mystery. Elinor Carlisle, who is known for being very reserved, is accused of murdering both her aunt and a young woman named Mary Gerrard, and it looks like a pretty open and shut case. Until Poirot is called in, that is.

I don’t want to say too much about this one. It was a good quick summer read, a proper mystery. I thought some things seemed hinky as I was reading but I didn’t quite put it all together.

I was feeling like I needed something scary, and I had been meaning to give Coates another try. I have read some of her books are hit or miss, and The Haunting of Ashburn House was a hit. It gave me the creeps big time! It was sort of a slow read, and I thought Adrienne was kind of weird honestly, but she was redeemed by the fact that she really loved her cat, Wolfgang. This is more of a jump scare sort of creepy, and the tragic event that occurred in the house was gross, but it also invited questions that made me keep reading to find out the truth of that night.

Spoiler Alert:

Wolfgang is ok. No trigger warnings there.

And that wraps up a big chunk of my reading in July! I have one more book that I could review but I am saving it for the next round.

Books, Screens, In-Betweens

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized44 Comments

I am linking up with Deb at Readerbuzz,  Kathryn at Book Date, and  Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

Hello everyone! I hope that you are having a good weekend! Our week has been very very slow. Lol. That heatwave kept us indoors for a whole week for the most part. We ran out and did things here and there, but not anything too exciting. Wyatt and I spent a lot of time reading and painting, our two fallbacks for free time here. This week the weather is supposed to be a lot nicer, and we will be out and about. It is the annual art fair in our city this week and Wyatt and I always go one morning together, then I go again with Billy during the evening. Billy and I used to work downtown in our twenties and spent 12 hour days the week of art fair, but we absolutely loved every second. Ah to be 23 again. Lol.

Books:

I’ve fallen into this cozy mystery series and can’t stop! They are such perfect little summertime reads. They are set on the west coast of Michigan, in my favorite area near Saugatuck in a fictional town named Oriole Point. I am loving them! I read Dying for Strawberries and then immediately bought Blackberry Burial for my kindle, which if you know me, then you know I have not used my kindle for like five years. Anyway, I am loving this series, written by Michigan author Sharon Farrow.

Once I finish Blackberry Burial, which I should in a day or two, I am going to start My Own Cape Cod by Gladys Taber.

Screens:

Billy and I have been catching up on Only Murders in the Building this week. It just seemed like a good week to finally watch it. We have also been continuing on our nostalgic movies of the 80s and 90s watching with Wyatt as well! So far this weekend we have watched The Great Outdoors starring Dan Ackroyd and John Candy, Annette Bening and Stephanie Faracy. Wyatt was cracking up at so many of John Candy’s antics, much like I did in 1988.

Tonight Billy and I are going to watch one without Wyatt, I Know What You Did Last Summer.

We usually watch Jaws on the fourth of July but switched it out this year for The Great Outdoors. Sometimes you have to mix things up!

I am cohosts with Lisa at Boondock Ramblings and Cat at Cat’s Wire, of the linkup A Good Book and a Cup of Tea for all things books -not just books read or reviews, but bookstore visits or author visits or whatever else bookish you can think of!

Here is the link for July’s link up!

I also posted a few times last week!

Books, Screens, and In-Betweens – June Wrap Up

In Our Homeschool – Out with the Old, In with the New

Mini Book Reviews: Deadly Summer Nights, League of Lady Poisoners, The Last Resort, The Growing Summer

And finally, some in-betweens:

It was a pretty slow week, as I said above. I visited my mom quite a bit, read, painted with Wyatt, played games with Wyatt, went to therapy with him where he knocked it out of the park again, so there is not much to say here! However, one little thing happened.

On Friday, Billy had the day off. It was still dangerously hot but we needed out of the house, at least Wyatt and I did, so all three of us went for a drive. We popped into a few stores, I got a new dress to wear poolside at my cousin’s, we got blizzards from Dairy Queen (Oreo for Wyatt, Reeses for me, and mango for Billy), and then on the way home Billy thought our car needed a bath. We went through the car wash, and midway through my child decided he wanted a closer look at the machinery washing our car – and rolled his window down! He instantly panicked when water came flying in, and Billy scrambled to roll up the window from his driver side controls. It was one of those parenting moments where you just roll your eyes at each other over the crazy antics of your kid. We all cracked up too, because we never expected that to happen! At least now that he is 11! However, Wyatt is definitely turning into a tween boy, following his impulses, and reminding me of my little brother at that age. Lol.

I do have some photos from our lazy week! Not many though. LOL.

The drive thru line was so long at Taco Bell on one of those 112 degree days that I just read my book while I was waiting. You can also see my sunflowers that I painted from an Andrea Nelson art tutorial on Instagram, and then our two mischievous tween kittens, making a mess trying to catch a fly.

And that my friends is it from me today! I hope whatever you do today, you do something that makes you smile!!

BookTubers I Am Watching

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn books and reading12 Comments

Hello everyone!! I usually watch one or two YouTubers in the evening, and I have added a few new channels to my subscription list! Wyatt watches along with me, bless his little heart. It’s something we do, and it makes me think of when I would watch things with my mom at night, that I can’t say I really enjoyed but I enjoyed that time together.

The next two days are going to be in the 100 degree range with the heat index, so Wyatt and I will be stuck inside. We have lots to do but I am sure at some point in the day I will give up and throw on a “book lady” or two, probably from this list! (Wyatt calls them the book ladies)

First, let’s start with Amy Marie. She is mainly a cozy mystery and thriller book reviewer, and she is pretty prolific with her posting so I can usually count on a new video from her. I have added so many books to my TBR though watching her channel, so be warned. LOL.

Next up, is Rebecca from Rebecca’s Literary Wanderings. I enjoy her channel a lot, and I think that I have many reading tastes and ideas in common with her, so much so that sometimes she does a video and I am like dang, I was just going to write a post about this topic! I like her book choices, and her pursuit of a slow and simple life. She recently posted about a slow old fashioned summer, and it made me think of Wyatt and my Frog and Toad summer plans. (although our name is more fun) She reads a lot of gentle, vintage fiction, and is where I first learned about Gladys Taber.

I have also been watching Paula at Relatively Refined, although I do not usually watch her thrifting videos. I mainly watch her book videos. She reads a lot of different books, modern mysteries, vintage books, and has cute themed videos a lot, and we all know I LOVE a theme.

Finally, Jen at Jen’s Reading Life. She has introduced me to lots of new to me authors that are actually pretty old and vintage. She also reads a lot of Mary Stewart and I love Mary Stewart. Her latest video was all about summer mysteries for sunny days, which was a lot of fun. In it she mentions one of my favorite older mysteries, Hotel Paradise by Martha Grimes, and she is right, it feels so summer!

These women all have very watchable channels, full of book suggestions that range from cozy mystery to thriller to gentle vintage fiction to more classic mysteries. And my poor TBR pays the price.

I hope that whatever you do today, you do something that makes you smile!