Cozy mysteries, Cocktails & Cowboys. A blog for readers focusing on cozies & other mysteries including information about development, characters, book reviews, author interviews and more.
Arizona restaurant reviews written by Jayne Stanford, the character from the series.
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The best way to generate some content for your novel based on real life - also known as Happy Hour with the ladies.
This book moves away from my regular cozy mystery into historical women's fiction. It's the first book I've read by this author. The Valley is the first book in a trilogy set in colonial times Virginia. The setting grabbed my attention since that is the state I grew up in and love dearly. This review does have some spoilers and the book has a large cast so take notes. Sophia Grafton is a wealthy and spoiled child with homes in London and the countryside. She is raised by her adoring father who lavishes everything on her and allows her to run wild. As she reaches the marriageable age of sixteen it becomes apparent she needs a firmer hand. After no prospect is agreed upon by Sophia and her father, he moves her to their country home while he recovers from illness, in the hope that a local lad will catch her eye. Despite a marriage proposal Sophia remains single until her father's death. She soon finds she is penniless with no option but to travel to the new world and...
We meet Trudy when she's at her Aunt Gert's funeral and desperate to use the ladies room. Once in the stall, her two cousins slip in (late for the funeral) and their conversation is the impetus which changes Trudy's life forever. Her happy marriage and family life are flushed, figuratively, right down the toilet. Later, when she inherits her aunt's home, it is the opportunity for her to change her life for the better. She leaves behind the marriage and the bratty grown daughter and starts on a project to renovate the old house. Fortunately, it turns out that her aunt was wealthy and paid the hunky neighbor to do some of the work. It seems the plan was always to push Trudy into the right direction. This was a sweet story that kept my attention throughout. It was funny and made you root for Trudy to figure out what she really wanted and needed. I never like to give away too much of the story in my reviews so I'll stop here before you figure it all out. I wil...
This is the first book of two in the series. This is basically a light mystery with a paranormal element and a bit of romance. Set in 1968, Jesse Graham has ended her engagement because her fiancé, a somewhat famous musician, has been cheating on her. Luckily she has inherited her aunt's house where she can live while she decides on her future. In the process of renovations, she meets her hunky neighbor, sees her aunt's ghost and figures out an old murder. I admit to forgetting most of what I learned about Catholicism as a child, however there were parts of this book which didn't ring true for me in Jesse's relationship with her friend. Maggie, the nun. I questioned the language Jesse uses with her friend. Even though they grew up together I would expect her to have more respect for her friend's religion. Jesse routinely curses and they drink beer as if it were water. There is also a section where Jesse convinces Maggie to remove something which doesn't belo...
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