Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Historical cozy mystery set in a manor house with spies and ghosts

A House of Ghosts by W.C. Ryan

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It’s 1917 England and Kate Cartwright works in intelligence. Her boss, simply known as C, instructs her to attend a house party at Blackwater Abbey and to take her fiancé with her. Two problems: Kate has already declined the invitation to the house party, and she broke off her engagement. C tells her too bad, her presence at Blackwater Abbey is a matter of national security. Top-secret weapons plans from England have been discovered in Berlin, and C has heard that the traitor or traitors […]

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is the quintessential cozy mystery

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie

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The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is said to be Agatha Christie’s best novel and one of the best murder mysteries ever written. It’s only my second Christie novel, so I can’t really speak to the first point. But it does seem to be the template for most cozy mysteries. It was charming, funny, easy to read, and had quirky characters.  The book is told from the point of view of Dr. Sheppard, a local doctor in the English village of King’s Abbot. Hercule Poirot has […]

Come for the Historical Lady Police Offer, Stay for the Cozy Mystery

An Orphan of Hell's Kitchen by Liz Freeland

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Full disclosure, I requested this book based on its description and did not realize it was the third book in a series! It’s a testament to the author that I didn’t feel out of sorts reading this novel out of order as she did a good job ensuring any plot points from the first books were subtly explained or inconsequential. Louise, our main character, is a policewoman in New York City right before the United States enters World War I. Louise has German immigrant parents […]

Something Read Something Dead puts the cozy in a beach wedding murder

Something Read Something Dead by Eva Gates

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Something Read Something Dead is the fifth book in the Lighthouse Library series by Eva Gates. This review is partly for Something Read Something Dead and partly for the series overall.  The Lighthouse Library series is about thirty-something librarian Lucy Richardson who flees her native Boston after her boyfriend proposes. Lucy moves to the Outer Banks of North Carolina where her mother’s family lives. Growing up, she spent every summer on the Outer Banks with her mom’s family, and says it is her favorite place […]

Soul Food, Murder, and an Author Mystery Unraveled

Murder with Fried Chicken and Waffles by A. L. Herbert

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I picked up Murder with Fried Chicken and Waffles since it was a Mocha Girls Read book club pick. I LOVE COZY MYSTERIES! Whether it’s on Hallmark or the page, I’m usually interested in it. This series has a catchy title format using Murder with X FOOD. The author even includes several recipes as the book is set in a popular soul food restaurant in Prince George’s County, Maryland. I have family nearby, so I was doubly into the premise. The main character is Halia Watkins, […]

Liz Talbot Regroups

Lowcountry Boomerang by Susan M. Boyer

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Well “Lowcountry Boomerang” was a really great installment into the life and work of private investigator Liz Talbot. Happily married to Nate, and running their PI agency. The eighth installment has the usual, a curious murder case, Colleen still the island protector and keeping an eye out for Liz and Nate. And Liz’s father and his dog doing something ridiculous. I really needed a comfy book this weekend, and this one fired on all cylinders for me. I also like that for once, Boyer seems […]



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