Fifth Cozy

Title of the book: Holly Blues by Susan Wittig Albert
Cozy type: by my calculations Book #18 in the China Bayles Herb Mysteries
Why I am reading this book: I have loved, loved, loved all the others and have to read this one
Had to send away to another library in the area to read it - I love Interlibrary Loan people!!!
Tidbit of info: Every one of Susan's books has great info about the herb the book represents. In this case holly. I had no idea holly was considered so magical. It has been said if holly is planted near a house that it is suppose to defend it from lightning and witchcraft. But in the same sense, holly sprigs have also been exchanged as tokens of friendship, offering a sincere wish that the recipient might enjoy a season free of bothersome bolts from the blue. Lots more can be learned at the beginning of every chapter in the book.
Great Paragraph: (Too many to choose from but I picked one that is also a wealth of info) ...I cam back and waited on two customers of my own (after being in Ruby's shop next door), which took a little time, because they wanted to find out about natural dyes, a fairly complex subject. I discouraged them from buying dried herbs, since from my experience, it's much better to work with fresh material you can grow or gather. I also suggested that if they wanted to try some easy vegetable dyes, they might experiment with onion skins and tea leaves for beige, coffee grounds for brown, red cabbage leaves for blue and purple, carrot tops and spinach leaves for green. Oh, and turmeric, a spice that makes a vibrant orange.
My take on the book: China Bayles runs a herb store, partners in a tea room, catering and a gourmet personal chef business in Pecan Springs, TX, plus she has a quaint little cottage in the back, amongst her herb gardens, that she rents out. One partner and best friend is Ruby who has a New Age store right next door to China. In this book, China's husbands' ex, and mother of his son, comes calling around Christmas time because she is supposedly in trouble. But what kind of trouble is not fully recognized until close friends and relatives start getting bumped off. Even though you are pretty sure through the book who the bad guy is, it is another great read.
My rating: All her books are must reads. Next one is Mourning Gloria (April 2011)
http://www.mysterypartners.com/China/, http://www.abouthyme.com/index.shtml, http://www.susanalbert.com/,

Third Cozy

Title: Chill Before Serving by Cynthia Lawrence
Cozy Type: States a Mystery for Food Lovers
Checked out from public library
What grabbed my attention in this book is of course the cozy type and the wine bottle on the label
Great paragraph: I actually hate to say it but there weren't any that jumped out at me.
Little Tidbit of info: Vitamins and herbal remedies aren't considered drugs so they are not regulated by the FDA but yet if taken in large doses, they can have severe effects on you and can react to medicines you are taking.
What I thought of the book: Catherine Deean works as a caterer in the restaurant business, with her partner Nick in LA. Cat and Nick recently hired a new chef that comes with baggage. Mainly he has been accused of murder. But it soon becomes evident that the past murder and the ones that happen later are not directed at the chef but something else. And that is what Cat tries to prove. In this cozy, she becomes involved with the newspaper journalist, who she has known for a long time. Someone different for a change.
My rating: It was a good read.

First Cozy

Title: Cook the Books by Jessica Conant-Park and Susan Conant
Cozy series: #5 in the Gourmet Girl
Checked out from public library.
Great paragraph: I checked another blog that I was nuts about, Chef's Widow, where the CW (as she refers to herself and to other women involved with rarely seen chefs) chronicles life with her chef and their two children. She's posted great videos of her kids and pictures of her few-and-far-between dates with her husband and she wrote honest, raw, sometimes painful accounts of her life.
Tidbit of info: The previous paragraph is from the book and real. The website is http://www.chefswidow.com/
About the book: Chloe's boyfriend, Josh, has left his chef position, when his restaurant closes, and decides to move to Hawaii to be a personal chef. Chloe is beside herself as she feels she cannot follow him and he won't stay for her. So she finally moves on with her life and answers a ad on Craigslist for a asst writer for a cookbook. She gets an immediate call after submitting her resume and gets hired. Her job is to take all the misc scraps of info and manage to put a book together for the son of a famous chef. A whole lot of pressure going on there. Death comes when she is asks to find certain recipes, from her ex-boyfriend of all people. But when she finds out how to get them from his friend, he turns up dead in a mysterious fire. And then the same thing almost happens to her best friend, she realizes she has to solve the case. Good unexpected ending and with good vibes for the future books.
My rating: Should read
Side note: Recipe for Baked Tomato Nests in the back of the book sounded really yummy.
Website: http://sites.google.com/site/conantparkmysteries/home

Killer Crab Cakes

Newest book in the Fresh Baked Mystery series by Livia J Washburn. I have read all the other books in the series and keep up to date. What was different in this book was that Phyllis, and her retired school teacher friends, go to the Texas Coast to watch over her cousin's bed and breakfast while she is gone. More of a vacation than work, really. I wasn't for sure who it was until over half way but was a little put off with who the chief of police tried to blame who did it. The evidence was almost too slim. But the chief of police and his daughter, also on the force, were receptive to perceptions from Phyllis and her friends. Usually they aren't. Interesting setting of the story and also recipes at the end that sounded delish. But I think it works better when Phyllis' son, who is a law enforcement officer, can contribute. Another good read series. I think I am beginning to like her literary series more, which I mentioned last week. More places to go and things to learn. http://www.liviawashburn.com/

The Mirror and the Mask

Another Jane Lawless mystery, set in Minneapolis, MN, written by Ellen Hart. I have read all the books in this series and really like them. Jane is a restaurant owner/ amateur detective. Her father is a well known lawyer and her best friend commands the repertory theatre. In this twisty-turny, missing-person story, we meet Annie Archer who has come to town to find her step-father. She walks into Jane's restaurant, looking for a job and Jane ends up volunteering herself, and her private detective friend Nolan, to help her find him. Only Annie doesn't always confide in all the details correctly. While Annie goes off on her own agenda, Jane locates the step-father. Lots of interesting details about him unfold and right off the bat, his wife gets murdered. On top of her kind of walking into the solution of who did it, Jane loses her girl friend lover and Cordelia, her best friend, gets her niece back. That was a nice touch. Ellen Hart also has the Sophie Greenway culinary series, which equally are should reads. http://www.ellenhart.com/

Hot Flash

Okay so I read another foodie romance. I can't help myself. This one didn't so much talk about her job as she talked about her stage in life. In Hot Flash by Kathy Carmichael, Jill is a single mom just turned forty and working as a sous chef for a hotel restaurant. And she seems to be going through premenopausal symptoms, which she finds incredibly hard to believe. The beginning of each chapter starts with a letter she has just received in response to a survey she sent out to couples she saw in the anniversaries section of her newspaper. She wanted to know the secret to having a long and happy marriage. She gets some surprising answers but the one that seems to appeal to her are the ones that state the husband is either a traveling salesman and is gone a lot or the ones who are sports widows. So Jill decides to find a traveling salesmen and crashes the conventions at the hotel. After many debacles, the guy that is ultimately right for her is right under her nose but she fights it. It was a nice lighthearted read and funny. http://www.kathycarmichael.com/ Library book

Another foodie romance

All of these culinary romances are making me hungry. Another delicious romance I just finished is With a Twist by Deirdre Martin. I found out later it is sort of a sequel to Just a Taste, which I will now have to find. These books feature Vivi and Natalie, migrated Parisians, now working in Brooklyn. In this book, Natalie has decided to leave her half sister's bistro and venture out into Manhattan to be a restaurant manager. Lovesick Quinn, a newspaper reporter married to the job, persuades her to work at his parents Irish pub until such time as she can actually find someone to hire her as a restaurant manager. And so starts the relationship that proves to be very volatile. In pursuit of his great story, involving the Irish mob, he stumbles along believing his life is the job and women come second best. Of course for this story to work out right, he has to learn the error of his ways. It is quite amusing the interaction between Natalie and Quinn, French and Irish. With some suspense thrown in, the story moves along well and I feel was a good read. http://www.deirdremartin.com/ Library book

Lost Recipe for Happiness

Okay so I am learning since I have been on a diet that I have been gravitating towards books that have to do with food. I discovered a delicious romance called the Lost Recipe for Happiness by Barbara O'Neal. What drew me to the book was first it was about food and second it had ghosts. This is a story about Elena, who is lovingly haunted by ghosts of her family who died in a car accident that she survived only to be scarred for life. After she recovered, she moves on with her life to attend culinary school and to cook in a lot of different facets of the culinary industry. The story starts as she is fired by her chef partner Dmitri, who didn't like the fact she hogged the limelight in a recent restaurant review. As she leaves the establishment, the owner catches up with her and offers her a position as a executive chef in a new restaurant he is opening. She jumps at the chance and again moves on with her life. This is a heartwarming love story between two people who have been burned from bad relationships, that finally happens when both accept closure on their pasts. It is a very moving story that keeps you interested through the whole book. And even throws in a nicely written gay relationship between two of Elena's friends, too. I really like books that are constantly evolving and moving along. This is a should read. http://www.barbaraoneal.com/ Library book