Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Cozy mystery set in the 1920s with an agoraphobic heroine and a tiny dog named Presley.

The Socialite's Guide to Murder (Pinnacle Hotel Mysteries, #1) by S.K. Golden

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I liked this, but not enough to buy the second book. I will be librarying it, thank you, mostly because there are a couple of elements I’m curious to see how they play out. It’s really a classic case of had a good time while reading it, but wouldn’t be upset if I couldn’t ever read another in the series. This takes place in 1958 in NYC at the fictional Pinnacle Hotel, where our main character Evelyn has lived since the age of six, when […]

Murder most delicious

Blackmail and Bibingka by Mia P. Manansala

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CBR Bingo Square: Edibles I love cooking, and I love murder mysteries, so I’m always happy when those two things coincide. Pushing Daisies had all that pie, Recipes for Love and Murder is very fun, etc etc. So I’ve also enjoyed Mia P. Manansala’s series focusing on Lila Macapagal and her Filipino family, particularly as audiobooks. Blackmail and Bibingka is the third in the series, and Lila, the baker-slash-mystery-solver, seems to finally have her life in order: the coffeeshop she opened with her best friend is doing great, […]

“Literarily speaking,” he said, and proceeded to lecture. Christie, he contended, was overrated. More of a popular author.

Last Word to the Wise by Ann Claire

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Ellie and Meg Christie, sisters and co-owners of the Book Chalet, have been winkled into testing out their cousin’s new matchmaking service. Ellie’s date is odious, but Meg hits it off with hers – until it seems like he’s stood her up for brunch the next day. Except it turns out that Joe Darcy is actually dead, and Meg is at the top of the suspect list. This is the second book in the Christie Bookshop Mystery series, a new cozy mystery series. I read […]

“Everyone’s got secrets; it’s Florida!”

Grounds for Murder (A Coffee Lover's Mystery) by Tara Lush

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My summer of cozy mysteries continues! Grounds for Murder is the first book in a four-part cozy mystery series set in Devil’s Beach, Florida. Our hero is Lana Lewis, a journalist-turned-barista. (Tara Lush is a journalist, as well!) Lewis was doing great as a reporter in Miami, but a series of unfortunate work and personal events led her to moving back home to the Beach. Her hippie dad owns Perkatory, the local island coffee shop. She takes over as the shop manager as she tries […]

Trope Blend of Culture, Mystery, Food, and Romance with Mixed Results

Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala

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Arsenic and Adobo is a decent cozy mystery that is pretty aware that it is that, as well as a romance. It pulls off one of those things better than the other. What I don’t get is how Lila can open the novel with “my life has become a rom-com cliché” but be so dense about a romance that doesn’t involve her. There’s obviously something going on with her Tita Rosie and a certain detective, but she (Lila and Rosie both) never even says anything. […]

The Dog Show Judge and the Ex-Nun

Peg and Rose Solve a Murder by Laurien Berenson

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Sister-in-laws Peg and Rose never gotten along, but in the interest of repairing their relationship they decide to join a bridge club as partners. When a member of the club is murdered, they decide to work together to find the killer. This was a breezy cozy mystery, with a case that managed to be interesting without being too much of a head scratcher. I really enjoyed the relationship between Peg and Rose, who are attempting to become friends after a long and contentious history, and […]



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