Getting Cozy this November

A POTION TO DIE FOR

Heather Blake, who also writes as Heather Webber, has a brand new witchy series.  Her fans and new readers alike will love Carly Bell Harwell and her potions shop.  Heather has found a great niche.  Her cozies, all with a magical twist, have a charm to them that draws people in.  A POTION TO DIE FOR is no exception.  It's the first in the new Magic Potion series.   The sleuth, Carly Bell Harwell, owns Little Shop of Potions.  When Carly finds a dead man in her shop, clutching one of her potions, things start to unravel.  As in all good cozies, the heroine turns sleuth, in this case needing to clear her name.  The sooner the better, before the town condemns her and her shop.  I highly recommend Heather Blake's A POTION TO DIE FOR!

READ IT AND WEEP

Jenn McKinlay is another prolific cozy mystery writer.  With several series running at once, I wonder how she keeps it all straight!  READ IT AND WEEP is the 4^th book in the Library Lovers Mystery series.  In this one, the Briar Creek Community Theater takes center stage, and the production of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream is in turmoil after, what else, a murder rocks the theater. Lindsey Norris is no ordinary library director (what a fun job, right?!).  She's turned into the town sleuth, as well, and when a cast member in the Shakespeare production is poisoned, she's determined to figure out what happened and who the killer is.  Jenn has a winning series on her hands, and why not?  She's got plotting talent, plays fair, and sucks the reader in with her fun characters. 

CHARMS AND CHOCOLATE CHIPS

What's a hedgewitch?  Good question!  And if you're curious, you'll find out more in Bailey Cates' latest Magical Bakery book, CHARMS AND CHOCOLATE CHIPS: A Magical Bakery Mystery.  If you're in the mood for a little bit of magic tossed with some culinary bliss, this book is just the thing.  It takes readers back to Honeybee Bakery in Savannah where magic abounds... in the kitchen.  Bailey's takes her character's magic in a different direction than many paranormal cozies on the market today.  It's centered on the earthy elements of herbs and nature, making the series very relatable to readers.  Katie is still figuring out her magic, and her identity as a witch, and her relationship with Declan (love that good Irish name!).  Murder interrupts it all when an acquaintance from the Georgia Wild conservation group is murdered. As with any good amateur sleuth, Katie Lightfoot gets mixed up in the murder investigation. This is the third book in a great series.  It won't disappoint.

A BASKET OF TROUBLE

One of my favorite things about cozy mysteries is the covers.  They are fun, welcoming, clever, and give you the sense that a feel-good read lies inbetween the pages.  That is definitely the case is the next book featured.  In case you didn't know the power of a gift basket, give A BASKET OF TROUBLE a try.  This Claire Hanover Mystery by Beth Groundwater takes Claire to the world of stables and horses with a dead stable hand, her brother's business in ruin, and a lawsuit.  Like any amateur sleuth worth her salt, it's up to Claire to get involved and help save the day.  Beth writes an action-packed cozy (more so than the average) and it works, keeping you turning the pages to find out just how a crafter like Claire can help save her brother and avert more murders from happening.

THE QUOTIENT OF MURDER

Now I'm not mathematically inclined, but you don't have to be to love THE QUOTIENT OF MURDER, the fourth Professor Sophie Knowles mystery by Ada Madison.  I love the hook of this series.  It's different from the more craft-oriented focus of so many cozies, which makes for something just a little different.  Sophie is no average sleuth.  She's a math professor who uses puzzles to teach her college students.  Who knew math could be so much fun?  But, as will happen in Sophie's world, murder happens, and a student's horrible death can't be explained with a neat sum or orderly math operation.   But just like the puzzles she loves so much, clues can be pieced together to solve what she's sure is murder.  Sophie's a natural and her mathematical ability lends itself to sleuthing so organically. 

THE LOLA CRUZ CHRISTMAS STORY

To round out our November offerings, try the free introduction to the Lola Cruz mystery series with the short A LOLA CRUZ CHRISTMAS STORY by yours truly.  The story is a prequel to the Lola Cruz series and introduces aspiring PI Lola Cruz, her on again/off again love interest Jack Callahan, and the crazy Cruz family.  The series continues with three full length novels (Living the Vida Lola, Hasta la Vista, Lola!, and Bare-Naked Lola) featuring the sleuth, her charmingly intrusive family, her old high school crush Jack Callaghan, and her PI coworkers.  A LOLA CRUZ CHRISTMAS STORY will put you in the holiday spirit!