I've been reading a lot while camping, and got way behind on writing reviews of books I've read, so I'm going to do several reviews in this one post. These books were all published fairly recently (last five years).
Murder in Hatterton Crow by Ormolu Mockingbird. This was published in 2013. Hatterton Crow is an English village, with several quirky residents, and modern technology doesn't work very well there. I liked the story, but it was fairly short, and the characters could have been developed a little more. I also thought the ending was a little abrupt. I probably won't go looking for more books in this series, but would read one if I come across one.
Queen of Poison by Lyndsey Cole. Published in 2014. Lily Bloom owns a florist shop, and manages to get involved in a murder. She is one of the suspects, so she and her mom, sister, and friends try to find the real killer. There is also a romance with her neighbor. This book was a nice, light read. If I run across other books in the series I will most likely read them.
Killer Rocks by Drema J Reed. Published 2013. This book features DJ Kelly and her friends who are partners in an Art Gallery in Seattle. Theses senior citizens take a vacation to Cannon Beach, Oregon, where they find a body buried on the beach, along with a box of rocks. The body turned out to be a diamond thief, which leads to confrontations with lawyers, other diamond thieves, and the police. All in all, I'd say I enjoyed the book for what it was--a light, easy read.
The St. Valentine's Day Cookie Massacre by Elisabeth Crabtree. Published in 2014, this is a novella. This takes place in Hatter's Cove, Florida, where Kat Archer works for the local newspaper. She is assigned the opening of a bake shop, when she discovers one of the employees, poisoned. She gets involved in the mystery of who did the poisoning. A nice summer read, with a little romance. I also read another book by Crabtree, which also takes place in Hatter's Cove, although it appears to be a different series. My review of it follows.
Death by Pink Flamingo by Elisabeth Crabtree. Published in 2014. The Pink Flamingo Hotel is located in Hatter's Cove, Florida. When the owner, Max dies, he leaves the hotel to his niece, Anna Hart, and his friend, Sylvia Sutton, and the two co-owner clash on everything, especially since Sylvia thinks Anna murdered Max for the inheritance. When Anna stumbles over Sylvia's dead body, she is thrust into the middle of things she doesn't understand. I really enjoyed this book, although the beginning premise of hiding the body seems a little unlikely. There is also some romance as an old boyfriend shows up after nine years of no contact. Looking forward to reading other books in the series.
And the not so cozy mysteries are several books by Abigail Keam, all featuring Josiah Reynolds. They include Death by Honeybee (published 2010), Death by Drowning (published 2011), Death by Bridle (published 2012), Death by Bourbon (published 20120 Death by Lotto (published 2013) and Death by Chocolate (published 2014).
Josiah is a former art history professor, but she now raises bees and sells honey. The stories take place in Lexington, Kentucky for the most part, and Josiah becomes involved in several murders and near murders. There are some fairly dark moments in the books, which move them out of the cozy category. I think the stories have several unusual concepts that caught my attention, and are probably the reason I continued reading the series--along with a subplot I wanted to see worked out. I also got them fairly cheaply. I wouldn't say the books were great, but they were good enough for me to proceed through the series. I'm not sure I'll continue with the series, now that the subplot I was wondering about was resolved.
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