Title: Cozy Case Files, A Cozy Mystery Sampler, Vol 10
Author: Ashley Weaver, Carolyn Haines, Ellie Alexander, Jane K Cleland, Donna Andrews, Vivien Chien, Elizabeth Penney, Diane Kelly, Cate Conte and Susan Cox
Publisher: St Martin's Press
Pages: 300
My GoodReads Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
A Deception at
Thornecrest by Ashley
Weaver: A pregnant woman, Amory Ames, is disturbed when a young woman, Imogen
Prescott, tells her that she has married Milo Ames, Amory’s husband, a few
months ago. In the rest of the novel, Amory, heroine of her own book series,
will go on to solve the mystery behind the killing of the stable-hand.
Hidden
Treasures by Jane K
Cleland: Josie Prescott and her husband Ty buy a new house. The previous owner,
Maudie, has been moved to an assisted living facility by her nieces. Then the
nieces want a trunk that, they claim, Aunt Maudie forgot to move.
Author Jane K
Cleland, according to her bio, once owned her own antiques and rare books
business. Her personal experience and knowledge enhance the book.
In a Midnight
Wood by Ellen Hart: The
body of Sam Romilly, a high school student who disappeared, is found 20 years
after the fact. The body is found buried beneath the grave of the principal’s
wife.
A Garland of
Bones by Carolyn Haines:
Private eye Sarah Booth, on a road trip with her best pals during the Christmas
season, finds herself encountering one accident too many. When too many people
begin to get hurt, she is determined to catch the wrongdoers.
Gift of the
Magpie by Donna Andrews:
Meg is part of the Helping Hands for the Holidays project, volunteering to help
neighbours with things they can’t get done. She is assigned to help Harvey
Dunlop with his hoarding problem. But then Harvey gets wondered and Meg begins to wonder which of his hoarded
possessions led to his death.
A Whisker of
Doubt by Cate Conte was
good. Even though I am not a cat lover at all. Maddie James runs a cat café and
volunteers to help feed feral cats in a gated community. But some of the
residents aren’t pleased with their efforts. There is a lot of friction, and
then one of the residents is found dead.
Without a Brew by Ellie Alexander: Sloan Krause and her
boss, Garrett, run an inn which specialises in beer. One of the brewery
patrons, Liv Paxton, has an unpleasant encounter with some other patrons. The
unpleasantness escalates until Liv disappears.
Bending the Paw by Diane Kelly: The police team of Megan
and her dog, Birgit, are called to the scene of a brutal murder. But the
strangest thing is that while there is blood everywhere, there is no victim. For
once, they will have to find both murderer and victim.
Thread and Dead by Elizabeth Penney: Iris Buckley’s apron
shop is doing well. When the rich and reclusive spinster Eleanor Brady calls
her home to have a look at her trunks full of vintage fabrics and buy whatever
she likes, it’s an offer that Iris just cannot resist. But Ms Brady has rented
her house to a team of environmentalists, and one of them is killed.
Killer Kung Pao by Vivien Chien: Lana Lee runs her
family’s Chinese restaurant, not an easy task. Then she witnesses a car
accident in the parking lot and finds herself involved in more than she can
handle.
The Man in the
Microwave Oven by Susan
Cox: Theo Bogart has left her old life and town behind and started a new life with
a new name and history. Fleeing from a tragedy in the past, Theo finds that the
peril from her past is far from over and that someone she knows might be a
murderer.
In each case, we
get the synopsis and about three to four chapters of each novel. I felt as
literary agents must feel when they have to make up their minds about a book
based on a few chapters.
This is certainly
a good way for readers to be introduced to new authors, and for new authors to
make a splash with their target audience.
Garland of Bones
and The Gift of the Magpie took too long to come to the point, and at the end
of it, Garland of Bones had lost me. Other than that, I liked most of the
others, and look forward to reading them.
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