Sharon's Cozy Corner - March

Spring is springing to life (at least it is here in North Texas) and there are a bouquet of cozy mysteries are springing to life as well. Despite the fact that the weather is warming and we won’t be inside as much as we are in the winter, cozy mysteries are just right for taking along to the garden, on Spring Break or anywhere else you choose to spend a little time soaking up the sun!

Here’s what we have to enjoy this month:

One of my absolute favorite cozy mystery authors, Laura Childs, has her 12th Tea Shop Mystery, SCONES & BONES, out this month, and I couldn’t be happier! (Plus her delicious THE TEABERRY STRANGLER is out in paperback this month too – A two-fer!)

SCONES & BONES: A Tea Shop Mystery #12
By Laura Childs
Berkley; $25.95

Indigo Tea Shop owner Theodosia Browning is lured into attending the Heritage Society’s "Pirates and Plunder" soiree. But it’s an antique diamond skull ring that gets plundered by someone who murders a history intern in the process. Theodosia knows she’ll have to whet her investigative skills to find the killer among a raft of suspects.

THE TEABERRY STRANGLER: A Tea Shop Mystery #11
By Laura Childs
Berkley; $7.99

Charleston is bustling with shoppers looking for antiques—and, of course, Theodosia Browning’s delicious teas. But when the cobblestone alleys clear, Theodosia finds the map store owner strangled to death. Many wanted her shop— but enough to kill? Most alarming, however, is Detective Tidwell’s theory: that the killer mistook her for Theodosia.

FORMULA FOR MURDER: a Maternal Instincts Mystery #3
By Diana Orgain
Berkley Prime Crime; $7.99

Sleuth and first-time mom Kate Connolly and her baby are the victims of a hit- and-run, but escape unharmed. A witness identifies the car’s French diplomatic license plates, yet when Kate and her hubby try to get some answers, they get le cold shoulder. But there’s something going on at the French consulate that’s dirtier—and far deadlier—than any diaper.

A TOUCH OF GOLD: A Missing Pieces Mystery #2
By Joyce and Jim Lavene
Berkley Prime Crime; $7.99


Long before he became curator of the Duck Historical Museum, Max Caudle discovered its greatest treasure—a wooden chest full of gold. But a thief with his eye on the gold fires a cannonball into the museum, destroying the building— and killing Max.

Injured in the explosion, Dae finds her abilities have been amplified, overwhelming her with intense visions every time she touches an object. Now if ex-FBI agent—and burgeoning beau—Kevin Brickman can help Dae decipher her visions, she just might be able to stop the modern-day buccaneer from killing again.

BEAGLEMANIA: A Pet Rescue Mystery (Debut novel!)
By Linda O. Johnston
Berkley Prime Crime; $7.99

Lauren Vancouver is the head of HotRescues, a no-kill animal shelter north of Los Angeles, but it’s often human nature that puts her in the path of danger. Just like when she helps rescue four adorable beagle puppies that were dumped down a drainpipe at a nasty puppy mill. One of the mill’s employees has a history of dog abuse—and a bone to pick with Lauren. And when he’s found dead at HotRescues after threatening her, Lauren will have to sniff out the real killer to keep herself out of a cage.

FRUIT OF ALL EVIL: A Farmer’s Market Mystery #2
By Paige Shelton
Berkley Prime Crime; $7.99

Becca Robbins sells her farm-made jams and preserves at the local farmers’ market to make a living. But when a local lovely decides to tie the knot at the same market, someone else decides to make a killing—and only Becca has the down- home know-how to shut the lid on a canny killer. (I absolutely love this series!)

MURDER OF A BOOKSTORE BABE: A Scumble River Mystery #13
By Denise Swanson
Obsidian; $6.99

Who could be driven to kill by books and sweets? While school psychologist Skye Denison eagerly anticipates the grand opening of a new bookstore called Tales & Treats, many of Scumble River’s most outspoken citizens want to shut down the owners before they even open — and one is angry enough to commit murder.

Dropping off some books at Tales & Treats, Skye trips over a toppled bookscase, which has crushed a woman beneath its weight. While police search for motives, Skye sees the messy aftermath of a half-baked plot to murder somebody else. Skye is juggling her own busy life, but when all the clues lead to dead ends, she turns up the heat on her own investigation ... and stumbles upon the deadly secret that got this bookstore babe done in. And if Skye isn’t careful, the killer just might make her the sequel.

SEALED WITH A KILL: A Decoupage Mystery #3
By Lucy Lawrence
Berkley Prime Crime; $6.99

Autumn in New England brings out the changing leaves, and the leaves bring out the tourists. When Brenna Miller gets stuck as the tour guide for a group of leaf peepers, she tries to make the best of it. But it’s hard to stay enthusiastic after the trail leads them straight to a dead body.

GHOST SHIP: A Port Chatham Mystery #2
By P.J. Alderman
Bantam Books; $7.99

A recent transplant to Washington State’s charming seaside town of Port Chatham, Jordan is still getting used to sharing her slightly run-down but historic lodging with ghosts. As if living with the long-deceased isn’t enough of a challenge, she’s just found a corpse: The town’s notorious womanizer Holt Stillwell is lying on the beach with a bullet in his head.

Before Jordan can reel in a suspect, another victim surfaces. And this one isn’t taking murder lying down. Holt’s ancestor Michael Seavey, the Pacific Northwest’s most infamous shanghaier, has materialized in Jordan’s house, seeking to solve his own death in a suspicious shipwreck in 1893. With two murders to solve and a killer on the loose, Jordan faces yet another equally terrifying prospect: her growing attraction to the very alive and criminally attractive pub owner Jase Cunningham.

A DEADLY CLICHÉ: A Books By The Bay Mystery #2
By Ellery Adams
Berkley Prime Crime; $7.99

While walking her poodle, Olivia Limoges discovers a dead body buried in the sand. Could it be connected to the bizarre burglaries plaguing Oyster Bay, North Carolina? At every crime scene, the thieves set up odd tableaus: a stick of butter with a knife through it, dolls with silver spoons in their mouths, a deck of cards with a missing queen. Olivia realizes each setup represents a cliché. And who better to decode the cliché clues than her Bayside Book Writers group?

BEGGING FOR TROUBLE: A Dog Walker Mystery
By Judi McCoy
Obsidian; $6.99

When Ellie, New York City’s most enterprising dog walker, goes to see one of her clients perform in a show, the screams aren’t just for the fantastic dance numbers. A murder happens backstage, and the only witness is a dog named Bitsy. Taking Bitsy to a dog psychic might not be standard procedure, but it may stop a killer from biting again.

HOW TO SURVIVE A KILLER SÉANCE: A Party Planning Mystery #3
By Penny Warner
Obsidian; $6.99

Mixing fun and fund-raising seems the perfect job for Presley Parker, which is why she started her Killer Parties event-planning business. But her previous parties pale in comparison to a spooky séance and a creepy crime. Presley’s newest gig is a séance party at San Jose’s famous Winchester Mystery House. Her client, Jonathan Ellington, plans to use the event to unveil his new “4-D” holographic technology, which will bring former owner Sarah Winchester “back from the dead.”

But the stunt backfires when a disembodied voice accuses Ellington of infidelity in front of his wife and business associates, and the techie who’s monitoring the holograph is found murdered. Suspicion falls on Ellington, but as Presley tries to get at the truth, she doesn’t need a Ouija board to tell her someone wants to scare her to death.

NASHVILLE NOIR: Murder She Wrote
By Jessica Fletcher and Donald Bain
Obsidian; $6.99

Weeks after young Cabot Cove singer Cyndi Gabriel is sent on scholarship to Nashville, everyone is stunned when she’s charged with the murder of a brash music publisher. Now it’s up to Jessica to uncover the truth, or poor Cyndi will never get the chance for an encore.

THE MAPPING OF LOVE AND DEATH: A Maisie Dobbs Novel #7 (Reprint)
By Jacqueline Winspear
HarperCollins 14.99

August 1914. Michael Clifton is mapping the land he has just purchased in California's beautiful Santa Ynez Valley, certain that oil lies beneath its surface. But as the young cartographer prepares to return home to Boston, war is declared in Europe. Michael the youngest son of an expatriate Englishman puts duty first and sails for his father's native country to serve in the British army. Three years later, he is listed among those missing in action.

April 1932. London psychologist and investigator Maisie Dobbs is retained by Michael's parents, who have recently learned that their son's remains have been unearthed in France. They want Maisie to find the unnamed nurse whose love letters were among Michael's belongings a quest that takes Maisie back to her own bittersweet wartime love. Her inquiries, and the stunning discovery that Michael Clifton was murdered in his trench, unleash a web of intrigue and violence that threatens to engulf the soldier's family and even Maisie herself. Over the course of her investigation, Maisie must cope with the approaching loss of her mentor, Maurice Blanche, and her growing awareness that she is once again falling in love.

A little something for nearly every taste this month! Enjoy your spring, and be sure to come back next month to see what new goodies I have in store for you then! And as always, Cozy Reading!