Best Cozies for January: Hardcover, Debut, Series and more

Hello to a New Year, and what promises to be a year full of great cozy mysteries!

This month's selections hold a mystery for just about any interest the fan might
have - from pets to pecans, from ghosts to glee clubs, there is a little
something for everone. And all of them feature a great story with an intriguing
mystery to go along with it.

Here are a few that caught my eye this month -

January Book of the Month

EGGS IN A CASKET

One of my favorite cozy mystery authors, Laura Childs, always has a great mystery up her sleeve, and this month the mystery involves those feisty gals from the Cackleberry Club! This is the fifth book in the Cackleberry Club series, and it is full of fun, murder and mayhem! I loved it and I think you will too! EGGS IN A CASKET: A Cackleberry Club Mystery #5 By Laura Childs (Berkley Prime Crime)

The ladies of the Cackleberry Club are always ready to serve—whether
they're cooking up breakfast or sniffing out a bad egg.

While Petra handles the breakfast rush at the Cackleberry Club, the café's other
two owners, Suzanne and Toni, head to Memorial Cemetery to help prepare for its
150th anniversary celebration. But as they search the winding paths for the
historical society tent, they discover something else out of place: the body of
ex-prison warden Lester Drummond lying facedown in someone else's freshly dug grave.

In the small town of Kindred, everyone knows everyone, and Lester was no
exception. Suzanne knew him as the creepy guy who made unwanted advances on her
friend Missy Langston. But now it appears the man was hiding a few secrets...and
at least one of them was worth killing for.

As the case cracks open, there are plenty of suspects to consider—from
recent parolees to Missy herself, who Suzanne and Toni saw speeding away just
before they found the body. Now, with a cemetery celebration in the offing, and
the local authorities in over their heads, it's up to the Cackleberry Club to
unscramble the clues and clear their friend's name.

Laura Childs also has out an anthology of her first three books in the "Tea Shop Mystery" series. Titled TEA FOR THREE, this book features DEATH BY DARJEELING, GUNPOWDER GREEN, and SHADES OF EARL GREY. Plus there are new recipes included in this book, so it is a must-have for tea drinkers and mystery lovers!

January Hardback of the Month:

THE HARLOT'S TALE

THE HARLOT'S TALE: A Midwife's Mystery #2 by Sam Thomas (Minotaur)

It is August, 1645, one year since York fell into Puritan hands. As the city
suffers through a brutal summer heat, Bridget Hodgson and Martha Hawkins are
drawn into a murder investigation more frightening than their last. In order to
appease God's wrath—and end the heat-wave—the city's overlords have
launched a brutal campaign to whip the city's sinners into godliness. But for
someone in York, this is not enough. First a prostitute and her client are
found stabbed to death, then a pair of adulterers are beaten and strangled.
York's sinners have been targeted for execution.

Bridget and Martha—assisted once again by Will, Bridget's good-hearted
nephew—race to find the killer even as he adds more bodies to his tally.
The list of suspects is long: Hezekiah Ward, a fire and brimstone preacher new
to York; Ward's son, Praise-God, whose intensity mirrors his father's; John
Stubb, one of Ward's fanatic followers, whose taste for blood may not have been
sated by his time in Parliament's armies. Or could the killer be closer to home?
Will's brother Joseph is no stranger to death, and he shares the Wards' dreams
of driving sin from the city.

To find the killer, Bridget, Martha, and Will must uncover the city's most
secret sins, and hope against hope that the killer does not turn his attention
in their direction.

(This is the sequel to THE MIDWIFE'S TALE)

January Mass Market (paperback) of the Month:

PECAN PIES AND HOMICIDES

PECAN PIES AND HOMICIDES: A Charmed Pie Shoppe Mystery #3 By Ellery Adams (Berkley Prime Crime)

Her Charmed Pie Shoppe is open for business, but baker Ella Mae LeFaye is about
to discover solving a murder is not as easy as pie.

Owning the Charmed Pie Shoppe and serving enchanted treats in the magical town
of Havenwood, Georgia, seemed like a little slice of heaven for Ella Mae LeFaye.
But now her hopes for both a lasting romance with Hugh Dylan and business
success are starting to seem like pie in the sky, and Ella's left wondering:
Where has the magic gone?

When an enchanted grove is set ablaze, Ella realizes she has more grave problems. With her magic waning, she's going to have to sleuth from scratch to stop an arsonist who has no respect for sacred ground—or human life.

January Debut Hardback:

ROSEMARY AND CRIME

ROSEMARY AND CRIME By Gail Oust (Minotaur)

Piper Prescott, a transplanted Yankee living in the South, has got her sass
back. She might be down, but don't count her out. "Change of life?" she asks.
Bring it on.

Recently divorced, Piper decides to pursue a dream she's secretly harbored:
owning her own business, Spice it Up!, a spice shop in her adopted hometown,
Brandywine Creek, Georgia. But Piper's grand opening goes awry when the local
chef who's agreed to do a cooking demo is found stabbed. Not only did Piper
find the body, she handled the murder weapon and doesn't have a witness to her
alibi, making the case look like a slam dunk to brand new police Chief Wyatt
McBride.

Desperate to uncover the truth—and prove her innocence—Piper enlists the help of her outspoken BFF Reba Mae Johnson to help track down the real culprit. The pair compile a lengthy list of suspects and work to eliminate them using their own creative brand of sleuthing techniques including stakeouts, breaking and entering, and one very unorthodox chocolate pie. When Piper narrowly avoids being a victim of a hit-and-run, she knows she's getting closer to the truth, but can she catch the killer and clear her name before she becomes the next victim?

January Debut Paperback:

PAWS FOR MURDER

PAWS FOR MURDER: A Pet Boutique Mystery #1 By Annie Knox (Obsidian)

Izzy McHale wants her new Trendy Tails Pet Boutique in Merryville, Minnesota, to
be the height of canine couture and feline fashions. But at the store's opening,
it turns out it's a human who's dressed to kill.

Izzy's own beloved pets are dressed to the nines for the grand opening of Trendy
Tails. Feisty feline Jinx is large and in charge, and happy mutt Packer is
lapping up the attention. Izzy and her best friend Rena have their hands full
meeting Merryville's menagerie and serving tasty pupcakes and kitty canapes from
their "barkery." The last thing they need is the town's local activist, Sherry
Harper, scaring off customers and getting tongues wagging by picketing the event.

The two manage to stop Sherry's protest in its tracks, but the trouble for Trendy Tails is just beginning. Sherry is found murdered in back of the shop, and Rena is immediately named as the lead suspect. Now Izzy and her furry friends have a new pet project—collaring a killer.

Some other titles you might find fun to read

PLAYING WITH FIRE: A Sweet Pepper Fire Brigade Mystery by J.J. Cook MURDER SENDS A POSTCARD: A Haunted Souvenir Shop Mystery by Christy Fifield THE GHOUL NEXT DOOR: A Ghost Hunter Mystery by Victoria Laurie A CHORUS LINEUP: A Glee Club Mystery by Joelle Charbonneau HOME OF THE BRAISED: A White House Chef Mystery by Julie Hyzy TEACUP TURBULENCE: A Pet Rescue Mystery by Linda O. Johnston TAPESTRY OF LIES: A Weaving Mystery by Carol Ann Martin

Hope that you find something wonderful among these titles to read. Next month
promises to have some fun reads as well, so be sure to check back!

As always, Cozy Reading, Y'all!