Hello again book lovers! Today I want to share with y’all what I’ve read, what I’m currently reading, and what is up next in my cozy mystery reading adventures. July has been for me a month of non stop reading and yet my TBR pile doesn’t seem to be getting any smaller.
With it being so hot and know for some you the temps have been in the 100s this is the perfect time to stay inside and read a good book:).
What good books are you reading?
Finished Reading
Murder Is No Picnic (Cape Cod Foodie Mystery) by Amy Pershing
This is the third book in the Cape Cod foodie mystery series and I highly suggest you read the 2nd book An Eggnog to Die For before you read this book as there are references to the second book that for me at least was a slight distraction from the actual plot of this book.
Samantha Barnes the Cape Cod foodie is really excited for her 4th of July clambake she’s planning and has discovered the perfect blueberry buckle to serve. When she gets the chance to meet famed celebrity chef Clara Foster and learn how to make the blueberry buckle for her blog is beyond excited. The day was great and Sam had so much fun with Clara so she is shocked to discover the next day Clara has died in a house fire. When carelessness is believed to be the reason for the fire Sam knows that Clara was too a good a chef to leave a frying pan on a stove unattended and is determined to prove that Clara was murdered.
I found myself steadily engrossed in the plot. I definitely see growth in Samantha and all of the additional characters in this book. I never found myself getting bored with the storyline and there were not too many red herrings.
I give Murder Is No Picnic 4 stars
Murder, She Knit (A Knit & Nibbles Mystery) by Peggy Ehrhart
This was the July Cozy Mystery Book Club pick and I was looking forward to discovering a new (to me) series and author. There are nine books in this series with book 10 in the works so it is a very popular series.
Five years after Pamela Paterson became a widow she is settling into her life and career as an editor for a craft magazine and an empty nester. She runs into an old friend Amy who has moved to Arborville, NJ to teach at the local college. Pamela invites Amy to her knitting group known as knit and nibble but Amy never shows up and when everyone in the group leaves Pamela finds Amy’s body in her yard stabbed with a knitting needle when she goes looking for her cat.
This book was not for me and when the killer was revealed I just couldn’t see how the person who was the killer could have been the killer. I mean everything pointed to 1 of 2 people and it wasn’t the killer. How could everyone enter and left Pamela’s house and not see Amy’s body or hear the murder? I was also disappointed that there were knitting patterns included in the book. I never really fully connected with Pamela.
I give this book 2.5 stars
Currently Reading
Murder at the Christmas Cookie Bake-off (A Beacon Bakeshop Mystery) by Darci Hannah
I am hooked on this series! I read the first book in this series Murder at the Beacon Bakeshop quickly because I just couldn’t put the book down. Then I immediately bought the second book in the series which just so happens to be Christmas themed and I just couldn’t wait until December to read it!
Darci Hannah does not disappoint with her second book in this series and I am trying to pace myself but if work didn’t interfere with my reading I would be home right now curled up with a cup of coffee reading this book but I will be reading on my lunch break!
Next Up
Death by Bubble Tea (Night Market Mystery Series) by Jennifer J. Chow
I am very excited to read this first book in this series by Jennifer J. Chow who is also the author of The Sassy Cat series and Winston Wong series. This will be my first time reading anything by this author but I am really looking forward to reading this book especially since it takes place in Los Angeles and not in a small town. If the reviews I’ve been seeing on Instagram by bookstagrammers are anything to go by this is going to be a treat!
Book Blurb:
When Yale Yee discovers her cousin Celine is visiting from Hong Kong, she is obliged to play tour guide to a relative she hasn’t seen in twenty years. Not only that, but her father thinks it’s a wonderful idea for them to bond by running a food stall together at the Eastwood Village Night Market. Yale hasn’t cooked in years, and she hardly considers Celine’s career as a social media influencer as adequate experience, but because she’s just lost her job at her local bookstore, she feels she has no choice.
Yale and Celine serve small dishes and refreshing drinks, and while business is slow, it eventually picks up thanks to Celine’s surprisingly useful marketing ideas. They’re quite shocked that their bubble tea, in particular, is a hit — literally — when one of their customers turns up dead. Yale and Celine are prime suspects due to the gold flakes that Celine added to the sweet drink as a garnish. Though the two cousins are polar opposites in every way, they must work together to find out what really happened to the victim or the only thing they’ll be serving is time.
Regina the Southernista 