Cruisin' Through The Cozies

  socratesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2013/11/cruisin-thru-cozies-reading-challenge



I am joining Socrates' Cruisin' Thru the Cozies Reading Challenge 2014. I really enjoy visiting her blog any time. This is the level I've chosen for 2014.

1. Choose the level you wish to participate:

Level 1 - Snoop - Read at least 6 books
Lucy Stone, Sue and Pam have just returned from a trip. They traveled from the United States to England. I enjoyed reading about England in Leslie Meier's English Tea Murder cozy. Lucy Stone and her group are traveling along with another group. One of the men has a serious case of Asthma. One man, Dr. Cope, is a Medical doctor. There are two or three college students. One young man's mother is along for the trip and a few other people. I enjoyed their travels around England because Leslie Meier writes about the foods, the historical sites and the hotels in such a realistic way. Believe me, the author doesn't romanticize England like I might have wished. Some places are described as old due to Europe's age and also the blasting of bombs during the Blitz. 

Who gets murdered and the motivation for murdering that person is very interesting. Since there are two murders unless I can't count, I don't see why Leslie Meier didn't use the title "English Tea Murders" instead of English Tea Murder. What am I missing? I hope it wasn't her idea for a red herring spoiled by me.

Although, as I wrote, the murders and motives are interesting, the cozy seemed more like a fictional travelogue. I feel the bulk of the pages are about scones, tea, Devonshire Cream, Stonehenge, the Abbey, the Tower, etc. Perhaps, the author had taken a trip and wanted to write about it. Anyway, the murders take a back seat in the airplane while she wrote about Harrods. 

Since I like travel, it didn't bother me. If you want more murder than tourist attractions, this book might be disappointing. I've read a couple of Leslie Meier's long list of cozies. I happen to love Lucy Stone. So I ended up a happy camper.  http://www.lesliemeierbooks.com/

Wednesday, June 4, 2014


Burn Out by Teresa Trent

Rocky runs the Pecan Bayou Gazette. Unfortunately, his building catches fire with him in it.  I felt pretty sad about Rocky, but Betsy and her husband, Leo, and two boys had enough problems going on that I didn't worry about Rocky. I just had fun. There is a lot of humor in this cozy. I had to laugh as Betsy used a pink boxed pregnancy test to show what it's like to live in a small town. I always thought living in a small town would be great. After all, I would know everybody and everybody would know me. Now, I'm not so sure about my reasoning. Betsy goes to the pharmacy to quickly and secretly buy a pregnancy test. Impossible. At least, it's impossible in Pecan Bayou, Texas. She switches the pregnancy test off to so many ladies just to get the box in her house  that it's like playing musical chairs with this boxed test. With all her secrecy one lady comes to her with a pink blanket for her soon coming baby girl. Well, how does she know it's a girl when Betsy doesn't even know if she's really pregnant? Oh, it's a laugh a minute. Before she's out the door, the cashier calls a friend. "Guess who just bought a boxed pregnancy test?" It's amazing.

With all of Betsy's sick stomach spells, she still has time to try and find out who burnt up the Gazette with Rocky in it. There is a big red herring here. It's a good one too. However, the solution to the murder seemed slightly shallow to me.  To me, it didn't the motive didn't make sense. Why.....? Oh well, the reader will have to read this part. I won't give spoilers. 

Altogether I like Pecan Bayou and the people in the town. I am anxious to read the first book in the series. I thought it was interesting how Leo, Betsy's new husband, made her think of her first husband who left her after he found out she was pregnant. Betsy isn't sure whether Leo will do the same thing. She has a feeling his working late as a policeman down at the station isn't the whole truth. 

There are any number of twigs which are really thick branches to discuss in the cozy. All of which are making Betsy act anxious. She thinks, except for the upchucking, she's acting fine. Zach is her son while Tyler is Leo's son. Tyler is acting perfectly fine. Zach is beginning to act like a man before he's a boy. So you can tell there is a lot going on in Pecan Bayou not to mention again there is no newspaperman or building to print out all the local news. This is an important time. The wrong time for Rocky to go missing. It's Thanksgiving and Christmas will follow soon. Who in the world murdered Rocky and burnt the Gazette down? While you're wondering who murdered Rocky, at the end of the cozy there are quite a few recipes like Pumpkin Squares which is a story in itself. Since Betsy is known for her published hints like how to clean up doggie urine, there are hints in the back of the book also. http://teresatrent.com/

The Cats That Surfed The Web by Karen Golden

I enjoyed this cozy mystery so much. It's about a woman named Katherine. When she receives word of an inheritance from a great aunt for over forty million dollars, she finds herself leaving New York to live in Erie, Indiana for at least one year. If she doesn't live in her great aunt's huge Victorian mansion, she will forfeit the inheritance. So she take her three cats, Iris, Scout and Lilac and a friend named Colleen and heads for Erie. What happens there is shocking and bewildering. There is all sorts of murder and mayhem going on which drive her cats nuts. I never did figure out the solution to the mystery. However, I did love the solution. It made perfect sense. I am looking forward to another cozy mystery by Karen Anne Golden. By the way, there is a logical reason for the title The Cats That Surfed The Web.http://www.amazon.com/Karen-Anne-Golden
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