I've read two new cozy mysteries in the past couple of weeks. Each one is part of an on-going series, but I think that both can be read out-of-order and the reader will be able to follow along with what is going on in the story.
First, we have
Books of a Feather: a Bibliophile Mystery by Kate Carlisle. This is the first book I've read from this series, but I did enjoy it and I've thought about going back and reading some of the other titles. Our protagonist, Brooklyn is a bookbinder by trade. She and her hunky and all-too-perfect security specialist fiance have just returned to their recently renovated San Francisco loft. When Brooklyn's friend and director of the Covington Library, Ian, invites her to a gala celebrating an exhibit of a copy of
Birds of North America by John James Audubon, she has no idea the world of problems that are about to fall in her lap. The president of the local chapter of the National Birdwatcher's Society, Jared Mulrooney, approaches Brooklyn with a problem. It seems that Jared has spilled wine on a beautiful book of bird illustrations thought to also be an Audubon title. He wants her to clean it up and restore it the best she can before anyone at the birdwatcher's society can find out. Unfortunately, Jared turns up dead in a back room of the Covington shortly after handing Brooklyn the book. It's Brooklyn who finds the body. There is also the matter of the thief who keeps steeling rare and expensive books from her best friend's bookshop and the divorce proceedings in which Brooklyn must give expert testimony on an old book owned by a feuding couple. To top it all off, a homeless man thought to be her parents' friend gets murdered in Brooklyn's loft while the couple is out getting breakfast. What is a bibliophile to do? How about try to stay alive!
The second book I've read lately is Survivors Will Be Shot Again: a Sheriff Dan Rhodes mystery by Bill Crider. I've read several books in this series and I've enjoyed each one. Crider populates this small Texas town with a number of characters that could be your own friends and neighbors. The book begins with Sheriff Rhodes contemplating whether or not to buy a Dr. Pepper on his afternoon off. He has boycotted the company ever since they decided to discontinue his beloved Dublin Dr. Pepper made with "real sugar." Just as he has decided not to break his boycott, a masked gunman enters the convenience store and demands money from the clerk. Rhodes has his Kal-Tec in his ankle holster, but opts to toss a loaf of bread at the would-be robber; distracting the man long enough to get him to the ground. So much for a break from police work! He then gets a call from the ornery dispatcher telling him that a local man has found a body in his barn. Rhodes goes out to investigate and thinks the man's death may be linked to a series of thefts in that part of Blacklin County. During the course of his investigations, Rhodes also finds several patches of marijuana, an alligator,another body, an alligator snapping turtle, and the usual line-up of suspicious characters. If her can just keep local professor Seepy Benton and Jennifer Loam, journalist and founder of the local news blog, out of the way long enough for him to do some proper investigation. I did happen to figure out who done it a little faster than usual, but, if you enjoy cozies, this is a definite must read series.
No comments:
Post a Comment