Drop Dead Delicious~By Jill Brock

Drop Dead Delicious opens with Odessa tagging along with Maggie to meet her part-time boss, Frank. Maggie is a part-time investigator. Odessa had been working at an advertising agency in New York City, but Burke Peterson ruined her. (Since this is the second book in the series, we don’t know the back story on that, but it is still possible to read this book without reading book one. Which is titled Pennywise.) But now she is the owner of O So Sweet Cakes. Frank is teaching the girls to do a stakeout. They are investigating a suspected cheating husband (Mr. Portman). When they barge into his hotel room, he claims no wrong doing. So rather than give the pictures to Frank, Maggie steals the memory card. Maggie drops Odessa off at Blue Moon, Candace (Odessa’s sister's) restaurant. Her boyfriend Lee picks her up and tries to get her mind off of Burke Peterson’s sudden return. Burke calls her that evening wanting to meet at his hotel. Odessa refuses. When the FBI shows up at her front door, she knows that something is wrong. Odessa almost has to force them out of her home when they accuse her of helping Burke embezzle money. Maggie promises that if Odessa will help her on the Portman job, she will help Odessa get rid of the FBI. The FBI will be harder to get away from than either of them thought, because one of the partners from Odessa and Burke’s former firm turns up dead and Burke is accused of murdering him…

This was a good mystery. It was really cool to see part of the mystery taking place somewhere where the character isn’t in familiar territory. Maggie and Odessa take a trip to Las Vegas to get clues to help clear Burke's name. If you enjoy cooking (especially cakes) then this series is for you. I would recommend that a person read Pennywise first, but you don’t need to read it to make sense of this book. Another reason why I liked this book! And I especially like how Odessa finds her aunt’s famous recipes in the quilts she was given.

Espresso Shot ~ By Cleo Coyle

Espresso Shot is Cleo Coyle’s seventh book in the Coffeehouse mysteries featuring Clare Cosi. Clare is roped into supplying the coffee for her ex-husband and his new wife Breanne Summour’s wedding. Matt begs Clare to join him at a tavern to hang out with some friends. When Clare finds out that the guys are throwing Matt a bachelor’s party, she tries to escape. But she realizes that these are the men that keep her business running. A dancer is paid to impersonate Breanne at the party. When she has no car after the party, Matt and Clare invite her to the Village Blend but as they are walking down the street, the dancer is shot. Matt realizes that the dancer looked exactly like Breanne. Matt realizes this fact and confesses to Clare and her cop boyfriend, Mike. Matt, knowing Clare’s investigatory skills asks her to hang around with Breanne. Mike agrees and thinks this is a good idea and so Clare is forced to spend time with one of her least favorite people.

This is a good continuation to the series, but if you have any hope of Clare and Matt getting back together, it won’t happen. But I will be interested to see where Clare and Mike’s relationship will go now that Matt is married to Breanne. I enjoyed this book but not as much as some of the past books in the series. The series is listed in order at the end of this post. If you are a coffee fan then you must read this series.

1. On What Grounds

2. Through The Grinder

3. Latte Trouble

4. Murder Most Frothy

5. Decaffeinated Corpse

6. French Pressed

Truly, Madly ~ By Heather Webber

When Oscar Valentine gets caught in an affair, he fears his family's famous matchmaking business will suffer. So he entrusts the business to his 28 year old daughter, Lucy, while he and his wife, Judith, go to St. Lucia. There is one problem: Lucy doesn't have the family gift of matchmaking. Her ability is finding inanimate objects that have been lost. Lucy stresses about her first day running the family business because of Cupid's Curse. Cupid's Curse is the Valentine's inability to match themselves. Lucy fears that the Curse will spread into her customers and she will inaccurately match them. When one customer tries to get over his ex-fiancée, Jennifer, Lucy tries instead to reunite the two. Lucy shakes Michael's hand after the meeting and sees the engagement ring he gave to Jennifer on the finger of a skeleton. Lucy goes upstairs to ask the private investigator (Sean) for help locating Jennifer. Lucy drives up to Michael's town to try to find the skeleton. She chickens out, but decides to drive by his home anyway. She is forced to lie about her intentions when Michael catches her outside his home. Sean calls Lucy and tells her about his research, including his call to Jennifer's mother. But Jennifer's mother will not give any information about her whereabouts. Lucy cannot leave the skeleton and the ring alone so she and Sean continue to investigate. Getting them both way over their heads.

Truly, Madly is such a cute, fun mystery. I love the concept of a match-making psychic. Deeply, Desperately is set to release August 2010. There is supposed to be at least one more book following Deeply, Desperately. I really hope there are many more to come in this series because I really enjoyed Truly, Madly. If you love mysteries this is a must read new series. It would make a great Valentine's Day gift too.

Accessory To Murder~By Elaine Viets

Accessory To Murder is Elaine Viets’s third book about Josie Marcus, a secret shopper and single mom. Josie often takes her friend Alyce on her secret shopping treks. Josie’s assignment was at the Dorchester Mall- one of the most unsafe malls in the area. While at the mall, the friends witness the chaos after an armed robbery. The following day, Josie is at Alyce’s home and the news is on. Alyce’s neighbor Halley Hardwicke (a young designer) is shot in the parking lot of the Dorchester Mall during a carjacking. All of Alyce’s neighbors meet up to comfort each other. Josie, not fitting in, leaves to pick up her daughter, Amelia, from school. Josie gets a frantic call from Alyce but hangs up as soon as Jake walking into the room. Josie finds out that the homicide detectives were at Alyce’s home asking about Jake’s whereabouts. When Josie’s mother sets her up on a blind date with a man from Jake’s law firm, Josie sees the perfect time to investigate. Josie sees the perfect time to investigate. She’s told that Jake was having an affair with Halley. Alyce begs Josie to investigate Halley’s murder and hopefully clear Jake’s name. Alyce is shunned by her neighbors because Jake has been taken into custody for Halley’s murder. To find out who the murderer is, you will have to read the book!

Josie’s life doesn’t match what her mother wanted, but she does a great job being a single mom. Her moments with Amelia are so cute. I love this series, especially when she’s secret shopping. I hope Elaine Viets continues this series.

Dead Men Don't Lye~By Tim Myers

When Benjamin Perkins finds Jerry Sanger’s body on the back step behind his soap store, his first thought is how to not tell his sister. Jerry and Louisa had been dating on and off. Ben calls his friend Molly because she is a detective that he trusts. Molly suspects Louisa because her reputation for overreacting. And of course for being Jerry’s girlfriend. Ben’s mother asks him to investigate Jerry’s murder to clear Louisa. Ben drives to other soap shops that Jerry supplied ingredients to. Both women are too distressed to for just being friends with him. Molly finds out that Ben has been investigating and chews him out for doing his job. While talking to Louisa, Ben finds that Jerry’s favorite hangout is a local independent mystery bookstore. He finds out that Jerry would flirt with any woman in the store. Because of his investigating, Ben is always one step ahead of Molly. Ben and Molly’s friendship hits the rocks when Ben goes on a date with Louisa’s lawyer, Kelly. When Ben gets a threatening voice mail, Molly urges him to stop investigating. The next night, when Ben and Kelly get back to his apartment, Ben’s Miata’s rag top has been slashed with a knife. But Ben won’t stop until he clears his sister’s name.

Tim Myers mysteries are just so much fun to read. His characters are so relatable. Anyone who loves cozy mysteries will love Benjamin Perkins and his huge, crazy family. Its really sad that this series only has three books. Even though this series is out of print, I will be looking for the rest on Amazon.com soon. It’s also cool how Tim Myers subtly references his other works.

*** Tim Myers has written as Melissa Glazer, Elizabeth Bright and Chris Cavender.***

The Case Of Red Rock Canyon~Renee Hand

This is a continuation of a series that began with The Case Of The Missing Sock. The client this time is Julian Cross, who is a producer for a show which is coming to the Mandalay Bay Casino in Las Vegas. Mr. Cross needs the Crypto-Capers help to find a missing Cartier orchid necklace. After the dinner meeting with Mr. Cross, Max, Mia and Granny connect with Morris via webcam. Mia is kidnapped from the Mandalay Bay while the family is investigating. Morris tracks Mia and her kidnappers as they speed away from the Mandalay Bay. While Max and Granny are eating they overhear a disturbing conversation Lucille Devereaux (Mr. Cross’s girlfriend) and Pierson Long (Mr. Cross’s biggest competitor) Pierson then tells Max that Lucille is dating him. Which contradicts what Lucille told him earlier in the day. “Lucille” at the restaurant was really Julie Devereaux. Lucille’s twin sister. The cast leads the Crypto-Capers to the Hoover Dam and Red Rock Canyon. That is as much as I can write safely without giving too much away.

The Case of Red Rock Canyon is a great continuation. I just love how interactive this series is. It’s fun to solve the puzzles with Max and Mia. This book ends in quite a cliff hanger, which means a lot of waiting until you can get your hands on the next book in the series. This is a must read for anyone who loves puzzles and mysteries.

The Case of The Missing Sock~By Renee Hand

The Case Of The Missing Sock opens with the main character, Max, doubting his choice of direction. Max finds a trap and uses a boomerang to retrieve a piece of paper. On that paper is a note telling Max that he has passed his detective test and needs to pick up his updated certificate. Max Holmes is one of Scotland Yard’s youngest spies, at 14. Max’s parents and his sister, Mia, also work for Scotland Yard. Mr. Delacomb, owner of Delacomb Cereal Company, comes to Mia and Max’s home asking for help to find an antique sock and a pair of Prada sunglasses. He is reluctant to hire the “Crypto-Capers” because they are kids, but they are also his only chance. Mr. Delacomb comes to them with a single cryptogram. Max, Mia and Granny fly to Florida to search for clues. Morris (the fourth member of the Crypto-Capers) stays home to help from a distance. When the Crypto-Capers arrive in Florida, they relax at their hotel before heading over to Mr. Delacomb’s mansion. He recounts the night that he realized that the sock and the sunglasses were stolen. Max finds the key to the cryptogram in a box, in the same curio cabinet that the sock and the sunglasses were hidden. The clues lead the detectives to a local golf course. That’s as much of a teaser that I will write because I don’t want to give away the end.

I love this book because it proves that kids can solve mysteries too. There are not nearly enough mysteries where children are the heros. I hope more authors follow in Renee Hand’s footsteps. I also hope she continues to write this series. It will be great to see how the series develops.

***And the interactive cryptograms are great***

A Slice Of Murder~By Chris Cavender

A Slice of Murder is the first mystery in a series set in Timber Ridge, North Carolina. Eleanor owns a pizzeria named A Slice of Delight which she runs with the help of her sister Maddy. Eleanor gets a call for delivery, but when she arrives at the home, the owner, Richard Olsen, is dead. The following day, the Police Chief, Kevin Hurley shows up at Maddy’s home, demanding more questions of Eleanor. Maddy calls her friend Bob, who is a lawyer to accompany Eleanor to the station. Maddy, against Eleanor’s wishes goes to A Slice of Delight and opens the day after the murder. Maddy suggests that rather than waiting for the cops to solve the murder, she and Eleanor find the killer themselves. When Sheila Olsen, Richard’s sister, comes into A Slice of Delight, Eleanor and Maddy see the perfect chance to dig into Richard’s past. Unfortunately Sheila leaves when both sisters are occupied, so they don’t get any information. Maddy and Eleanor decide to close the shop so they can go investigate. Their first stop was Richard Olsen’s home, Chief Kevin is about to arrest them when Sheila appears from the back of the house, telling him they are helping her clean. Eleanor and Maddy spend time investigating with Sheila until she realizes the amount of money her bother had. Eleanor and Maddy are allowed to go through the “trash,” if they want to take it with them. Eleanor finds a love letter from a woman who is married to the mayor. The sisters decide to go to the pizzeria to calm down. But when they arrive, there are tons of customers standing around waiting for them. After closing the store, Eleanor and Maddy walk to their cars to find Eleanor’s window broken and “Killer written on it. They continue to investigate the murder even though Eleanor had been threatened. When Eleanor checks voicemail, there are a lot of hang up calls. When Eleanor answers the phone, the person on the line offers 200 dollars for a pizza delivery. Maddy finds the call suspicious and calls the Chief. That’s all I will give away!

If you are looking for a light, funny, cozy mystery, then this is a must read. This will be a great series and I’m hoping that it continues. I am looking forward to reading some of the other books this author has written.

***Chris Cavender is a pen name for an author who has written as Melissa Glazer, Elizabeth Bright and Tim Myers.***

Murder By The Numbers: The Righteous One~By Richard Hicks

Murder By The Numbers: The Righteous One opens with Eddie DeSilva’s retirement party. Eddie was forced into retirement because he shot someone on the job. First he was placed on administrative leave, and then it transitioned into forced retirement. His friend and psychologist, Pauline Graham calls him during the party begging for his help—her friend has been murdered. The police are suspecting the victim’s own daughter, but Pauline doesn’t agree. After Eddie leaves his retirement party, he goes over to Pauline’s house, so they can discuss the murder. Pauline begs Eddie to use his contacts at the force to get inside information. Eddie stops at the station to get whatever information he could. After that he drives to the women’s prison outside of San Diego to interview Allison Stanton, the victim’s daughter. Eddie goes by the murder scene to see what clues he can find. The new chief catches Eddie snooping around the department and calls him out. He tells her that he will be a civilian investigator and not use the force for information. Eddie begins to think of sailing down the coast to Mexico—just to get away. Unfortunately the yacht club calls him to say that his boat has a leak. Eddie realizes that he can not stop thinking of the murder, so he begins to investigate again. Eddie plans on attending Vincent’s (the victim) funeral, but his brakes “fail” and he crashes into a person's bushes. After he has recovered enough, he continues to investigate. The investigation leads him and Pauline to Pennsylvania.

The Enneagram is a way that tells people your personality type. There are nine numbers. The preface of this book briefly touches on the different characteristics of each number. The Enneagram is brought up in the book, but it is not distracting.

This was a really enjoyable mystery. If you love mysteries about cops, then I would recommend this book. I am looking forward to reading the second book in the series. Unfortunately it doesn’t come out until 2010. I hope this series continues beyond the 9 Enneagram numbers!