The Marlow Murder Club

The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood (2021), 384 pages

Murder is afoot in the sleepy town of Marlow. Never fear as septuagenarian Judith Potts is on the case. If you love cozy British mysteries, this is right up your alley. Overall, I did enjoy it, but it isn't a favorite. I have also already read The Thursday Murder Club and it is almost impossible to not compare the two. The MMC feels a bit heavier and less fun the then The TMC. The characters didn't feel as original and I enjoyed the relationship between the characters more in The TMC. But, if you love The TMC and have zoomed through the series and looking for something similar, definitely check out The MMC. 

The Thursday Murder Club

 The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman, 382 pages.

Four retirees have a spot of excitement when instead of their normal solving of cold cases they instead get a real live murder right in their retirement community. They will put all their cleverness and pure, concentrated nosiness into the investigation, and are determined to find they answers, even as the case gets twistier and twistier. 

I am extremely late to this party, but I'm glad I finally got around to it! Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron, and Ibrahim are all delightful, as is the supporting cast. I'm not normally very interested in cozy mysteries, but something about this cast convinced me that the lighter tone was particular in this case. The mystery is also very well put together, to the point that it's hard to believe that this is a debut novel. The twists feel like they make a lot of internal sense, but they were still enough to keep me guessing. My only complaint is that it is sometimes so twisty that I started losing track of which mysteries still had to be solved, to the point that I didn't realize the last mystery wrapped everything up when solved. Despite this minor quibble about the wrap-up, I was definitely charmed, and will be continuing the series. 

History Lessons

 History Lessons by Zoe B. Wallbrook (2025), 373 pages.

After reading Annie's review, I thought I would check this out. Overall, I really enjoyed the cozy mystery and insight into higher academia. My only (very slight) gripe is that Daphne is almost too worldly with too much of an interesting family background to be relatable. Although - it does serve her well in detecting. 

Homicide and Halo-Halo

Homicide and Halo-Halo Mia P. Manansala (2022, 279 pages)

Back in Shady Palms, the annual beauty pageant has the whole town busy in preparation. Lila is extra busy as a backup judge and opening up her new Bruja Cafe with her best friend Adeena. When a major figure in the pageant turns up dead in the river, accusations are thrown across the map and the event continues.

What I liked:
✨Like before, love learning the Filipino recipes!
✨This one was more fun trying to figure out what happened, there were lots of good contestants!

What I didn't like:
💤Not usually a fan of parading around girls to be gawked at, so the pageant setting wasn't my favorite despite some very progressive changes to it
 💤The main character is very much the Main Character and it often feels like the things that revolve around her are excessive
💤Continuing the love triangle but not really developing those relationships further

 The second in the Tita Rosie's Kitchen Mystery series.

⭐⭐⭐ 

Arsenic and Adobo

Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala (2021, 336 pages) 

Life happens and Lila moves back to her midwestern hometown of Shady Palms for a bit of a reset and to help with her aunt's restaurant, Tita Rosie's Kitchen. Her ex Derek has become a food critic that's making his way around the local restaurants, and her best friend Adeena is a barista at the cafe next door. With an untimely death, Lila and Adeena become detectives to solve a small town murder. There's a cast of characters with varying involvement, small businesses, and family drama. With Tita Rosie's Kitchen closed until the murder has been solved, Lila has nothing but time on her hands to snoop!

What I liked:
✨Cute cozy mystery! Love a small midwestern town with a murder rate of 1 per capita.
✨Filipino culture, food, and language lessons!
✨Just straight up fun! I love watching a pair of besties solve crimes. They have dreams to open their own cafe, have their own dreams and desires, and have the best friend fights like anyone else. I love these two!
✨Realistic characters in this silly world: they had outbursts, acting outside of their norm, but coming back into themselves logically.


What I didn't like:
💤Pretty love triangle-y, or maybe even a square! At one point I swear there were three men interested in our main character. Just felt a little excessive, like every man was a potential love interest.
💤A lot of characters, got a little confusing at times
💤Some high school level drama

Favorite quote: "But knowing something logically, doesn't take away the guilt."

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Twilight Falls

 Twilight Falls by Juneau Black (2023, 258 pages)

Set just outside of the cozy Shady Hollow town, Twilight Falls captures the eyes of artists, travelers, hikers, swimmers, and those looking to relax in nature. Fox reporter Vera is on a picnic date with police chief bear Orville along with dozens of other creatures enjoying the spring day. This includes the new scandalous couple: spoiled heiress Stasia and blue collar Jonah. The single parent of each strongly disapproves of the romance. Stasia's mom wants her to marry another rich beaver to carry on the family fortune, and Jonah's dad Shelby has an old school desire for him to marry another otter. Shelby has even gone as far as yelling at and arguing with them in public. 

What should have been a lovely sunset is disrupted by someone wrestling in the water at the top of the falls. The community comes together to help, but hope quickly dissipates. Vera and Orville are back on the case, this time with the town's impressive involvement.

The usual Shady Hollow vibe of cute and cozy, albeit a little predictable. Cute, easy read and I like the continuation of the romance!

What I liked:

✨Cute and cozy! Love the woodland creature characters
✨Murder mystery in a fun way
✨Interesting characters with funny and meaningful dialogue that furthers the plot

What I didn't like:

💤Chekhov's gun predictability (sometimes!)

#4 in the Shady Hollow series.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

Dead & Breakfast

Dead & Breakfast by Kat Hillis & Rosiee Thor, 336 pages

Married vampires Arthur and Sal have just welcomed their first guest at their new B&B in a small vacation town in Oregon. While there are a few other paranormal business owners in Trident Falls, there's also a fairly wide stripe of anti-paranormal sentiment in town, so when the mayor turns up dead in Arthur and Sal's flower bed, they're desperate to find the killer — and they're hoping against hope that it's not someone paranormal. With the help of an elfin coroner and a werewolf barista/lawyer, as well as the new city manager (human), Arthur and Sal are on the case.

This was a cozy mystery with a fantastic paranormal twist. I loved the straitlaced/flamboyant pairing of Arthur and Sal, especially as their relationship grows and matures over the course of the book. This definitely isn't something to read if you're looking for something challenging or super serious, but it's an excellent frothy and fun escape.

Evergreen Chase

Evergreen Chase by Juneau Black (2021, 32 pages)

 

Every year for the winter solstice, the woodland creatures of Shady Hollow move a specially selected pine tree to the center of town. Residents decorate the giant tree with ornaments, art, and nature crafts. The longest night of the year features food, coffee, gifts, candles, and general merriment! It’s the pinnacle of solstice celebrations for the town.
When the time came to cut down this year’s pine, the townsfolk find it missing. There’s a small window of time that it could have been stolen, and two new storks in town. With timing running out before solstice night, Vera sets out to retrieve the missing centrepiece.
I wanted to love this cute short story more, but the confusion about the timeline threw me off the whole time. Still very cute and a fast read! Perfect for an afternoon snowed in.

#3.5 in the Shady Hollow series. 

⭐⭐⭐ 

Mirror Lake

Mirror Lake by Juneau Black (2020, 216 pages) 

 

Continuing the woodland creature small town mystery series in Shady Hollow, fox reporter Vera Vixen takes a visit to the outskirts town of Mirror Lake. An outburst by a rat named Dorothy claiming that her husband was murdered draws Vera to the scene. But her husband Edward is standing right next to her, seemingly alive and well! Is there even a mystery to be solved here?

I thought this one would be more predictable, but then I was kinda wrong! The usual fun, cozy read from Juneau Black. 

#3 in the Shady Hollow series. 

⭐⭐⭐⭐  

Shady Hollow

 

 Shady Hollow by Juneau Black (2015, 222 pages)

A quaint village of woodland animals experiences their first murder. He will not be sorely missed, but still leaves townsfolk on edge.
While the cast of characters is stereotyped to the type of animal (the fox is the reporter, the bear is the officer, a beaver runs a saw mill, etc), I think overall it helps save some time explaining character traits. You're not meant to think too much about it.
Super cozy mystery that dives into the drama a bit, but overall very cute! Definitely going to continue reading the series. 

 

⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

It's Elementary

It's Elementary by Elise Bryant, 353 pages

Mavis' daughter is one of few Black students at her elementary school, so when pushy PTA president Trisha forces Mavis into chairing the PTA's DEI committee, she's pretty sure she knows the reason why. But her first PTA meeting reveals plenty of juicy gossip, including a bone-shaking feud between Trisha and the new principal. When the new principal doesn't show up for work the next day, Mavis is convinced that Trisha's behind it, and she and the dreamy new school counselor decide to team up to investigate.

I like the general idea of this book — an overworked single mom following her suspicions about an overbearing PTA president and dealing with the casual racism of the other parents while attempting to solve a disappearance — but the author and/or editor needed to pay a bit more attention to the details, as several things came up that distracted me from the story. But it's a decent cozy mystery, and I'll probably read more if there are any sequels.

The Queen of Poisons

The Queen of Poisons by Robert Thorogood, 261 pages

When the  mayor of a small English town is murdered during a planning council meeting, the suspect pool is somewhere between tiny and nonexistent — after all, there were only four other people in the room when he died and the man was universally beloved. But the Marlow Murder Club — crossword creator Judith, quirky dog-sitter Suzie, and vicar's wife Becks — are determined to figure out who poisoned the poor man's coffee and why in the world they did it.

This is the third book in this popular series, and even though I haven't read the first two, I had no trouble falling in with this winning trio of amateur detectives and their sneaky sleuthing. The characters are delightful, and the mystery kept me guessing until the very end. I will definitely be checking out the first two books in this series, as well as any others that come after.

Coconut Drop Dead

Coconut Drop Dead by Olivia Matthews, 281 pages

Lyndsay Murray opened the Spice Isle Bakery just a few months ago, but she's already gathering quite a following for her Caribbean-inspired treats. With a booth at the annual Caribbean American Heritage Festival, she's hoping she can continue to grow the business, while also having fun soaking in the festive atmosphere. But when a local reggae singer is killed at the festival, Lyndsay finds herself doing whatever she can to help find the killer, and heal the community.

This is the third book in this series, and while the characters do reference the events of the first two books, it's not necessary to read them to follow the story here. I loved the tight-knit Murray family, the glimpse into Brooklyn's Caribbean American culture, and of course the mouthwatering treats served by the bakery. I'll happily read more of these books (and make the recipes at the end of this one!).

Homicide and Halo-Halo

 Homicide and Halo-Halo by Mia P. Manansala, 279 pages

Kara's review of this book finally gave me the push to read this book that I had been meaning to read for about a year. 

I'm afraid that I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as the first. The exposition was pretty front-loaded, and it was quite a while before it felt like the plot really started. That being said, I did still definitely like this book, and once the plot got going the mystery was twisty and interesting. I also thought it was novel (no pun intended) to have a cozy mystery series that actually gives the murders some weight. Lila is still reeling psychologically from the last book when this one starts, and that's not something I'm used to seeing addressed in the genre (that tonal dissonance is actually why I often struggle to get invested in books in the genre). Overall I would say that this isn't my favorite entry in the series, but my issues with it feel isolated enough that I'm definitely still planning on picking up the next in the series. I'm still excited to see what the author does next!
 

Homicide & Halo-Halo

Homicide & Halo-Halo by Mia P. Manansala, 279 pages

Lila is still dealing with the aftermath of her ex being murdered in her family's restaurant when she's asked to be the third judge in her small town's popular beauty pageant. While she's reluctant to do it, Lila agrees, since she's a past winner of the pageant and she has a new cafe to promote. Unfortunately, just as the multi-event pageant gets rolling, one of Lila's fellow judges turns up murdered, and Lila's cousin Bernadette is the primary suspect. Once again, Lila's pulled into solving a murder to help save her family.

This mystery series (start with Arsenic & Adobo) is fun, funny, and filled with mouthwatering descriptions of Filipino food (thankfully, there are recipes at the end!). But this second volume also has a lot to say about grief, trauma, and allowing yourself to heal. Manansala balances the fun and the serious really well, and turns out an excellent novel in the process. I'll definitely be reading more of this series!

Baking Bad

 Baking Bad by Kim M. Watt, 312 pages.

The murder of the vicar in the small village of Toot Hansell greatly disturbs the local Women's Institute, partially because all the police around are making it a little hard to keep their local dragons a secret, and partially because they're the prime suspects. Leader of the WI (and retired RAF wing commander) Alice Martin, her psychic friend Miriam, and the two dragons are on the case trying to solve the case before the police investigation causes any more of a fuss.

I'm afraid cozy mysteries may not really be a genre for me. If dragons and baking weren't enough to keep me interested, I'm just not sure there's a better option. That being said, I imagine that if you are a fan of cozy mysteries this would be a solid entry.

Grave Reservations

Grave Reservations by Cherie Priest, 292 pages

Leda is a struggling travel agent who sometimes uses her psychic premonitions to help her clients avoid travel-related disasters. (More often, she uses those psychic abilities to wow the crowd at karaoke night.) But when she uses her abilities to help save a police detective, he turns to her to help solve a murder case that has completely stumped him. Soon, they're a team (though the straitlaced detective says they're not) and she's having all kinds of premonitions to help out.

I'll be honest: I read this book several months back, forgot to blog about it until now, and had to look up the main character's name, as I don't remember much about the actual crime or plot. But what I do remember is absolutely loving this cozy mystery, which is hilarious and fun and just completely wonderful. I can't wait to read more about Leda!

Arsenic and Adobo

Arsenic and Adobo by Mia Manansala, 316 pages

Lila recently moved back to her hometown of Shady Palms, Illinois, to help out in her family's traditional Filipino restaurant, which has been struggling from the combination of great food and poor budgeting. With a degree in restaurant management, Lila is sure to be helpful, but there's only so much she can do in the face of a series of bad reviews from her ex-boyfriend, Derek, in the local paper. His negative reviews don't stop Derek from coming into the restaurant and finishing his plate every day, though, which is exactly what he's doing when he keels over dead in his dessert. When the initial toxicology screening reveals a high level of arsenic in both his blood and the dessert, Lila and her family are at the top of the suspect list, and Lila must clear their name — and that of the restaurant — to save her family.

This series starter is a fun (and diverse!) entry into the cozy mystery genre, and holy cow, those recipes made my mouth water. I can't wait to see what else happens to Lila and her family and friends in Shady Palms.

Arsenic and Adobo

 Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala, 336 pages.

Lila Macapagal's life is starting to look like a rom-com. After she catches her terrible fiance cheating on her in the big city she moves back to her tiny hometown in Illinois to help her aunt save her failing restaurant. She also has to deal with meddling, match-making aunties and old and new crushes. Of course her food-critic ex-boyfriend being murdered in her family's restaurant throws a wrench in the genre. 

Now Lila has to solve the crime before she, the prime suspect, goes to jail for it. Luckily, the tight-knit Filipino community in Shady Palms, Illinois is ready to help, and Lila will meet a really fun cast of diverse characters in the course of her investigation.

I don't read much in the cozy mystery genre, but I really enjoyed this book. It was really funny, and I loved Lila's voice throughout. I also really appreciate the recipes in the back, and there's definitely some I want to try (if only I could stand the smell of bananas enough to make banana bread!). I'm definitely looking forward to the second book in the series next year!

A Game of Cones

A Game of Cones by Abby Collette, 352 pages

Just six months after the village of Chagrin Falls, Ohio, experienced its first murder investigation, another dead body turns up. This time, it's the representative of an out-of-state corporation that's planning on buying up real estate in the central business district to create a vertical mini-mall. Having had her fill of amateur sleuthing, ice cream shop owner Win Crewse would love to pass this investigation by, but when a friend visiting her from out of town becomes implicated, Win and her pals must start sleuthing once again.

This is the second book in the Ice Cream Parlor mystery series by Collette, and while it's still full of the quirky fun side characters of the first book, this one doesn't quite hold up as well. That said, it's so nice to see a cozy mystery series centering on a young Black woman and her family. I hope that Collette's series continues, and that the stories tighten up a bit as they go. The characters and location have so much potential!

*This book is scheduled to be released March 2, 2021