Always Past Tense?

I can't recall reading a single cozy that wasn't written in past tense. It is the most common tense to write in. Most people prefer reading past tense to present tense--myself included. And past perfect or future tense would just be annoying.

But could a cozy work in present tense? One of the arguments for using present tense is that is makes the action more immediate. Everything is happening NOW. The reader is experiencing everything as the protagonist does.

Yeah, well, that's one of my problems with reading present tense. I know I'm not in Cute Little Town, Arkansas, walking into a bagel shop. Present tense throws me out of the story and unsuspends my disbelief.

So, how about you? Does present tense bother you? Do you think it would work for a cozy?

Inquiring minds want to know.

Shakespeare’s Landlord (Lily Bard Mystery #1) by Charlaine Harris

Lily Bard has moved to Shakespeare, Arkansas, to get away from her past. [Bard/Shakespeare, get it?] During one of her insomnia-fueled late night walks, Lily witnesses the body of a nosy landlord being dumped in the park. She makes an anonymous phone call to the police, again to keep her past buried. As she goes about her cleaning woman duties in many of the apartments the landlord owned, Lily finds out much that is of interest to the local chief of police. When her martial arts instructor gets interested in her, her life may change forever.

Harris has a way with quirky characters. Lily Bard and the other citizens of Shakespeare are no exception. The story moves along at a good pace and certainly kept me guessing. As a matter of fact, I was convinced I had it figured out about a quarter of the way through. But I was wrong. This twist didn't feel like it came of left field like some do.

A fun, quick read. Just what I want out of a summer mystery. Think I'll check out some of Harris' other books set in Shakespeare.

Punny Titles

Not every cozy mystery writer uses puns in her titles, but a whole bunch do. I happen to like puns. Maybe it's the Shaggy Dog stories my uncle told so well. Many people love them, many don't. But they persist.

Here are a sampling of title puns from my bookshelf at home (I admit that I picked up a few of these just because of the titles):

Club Dead and Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris (Sookie Stackhouse mysteries)

Sew Deadly by Elizabeth Lynn Casey (Southern Sewing Circle mysteries)

A Real Basket Case and To Hell in a Handbasket by Beth Groundwater (Gift Basket mysteries)

On What Grounds by Cleo Coyle (Coffeehouse mysteries)

Needled to Death, Dyer Consequences and Fleece Navidad by Maggie Sefton (Knitting mysteries)

The Lies That Bind and If Books Could Kill by Kate Carlisle (Bibliophile mysteries)

Evans Above by Rhys Bowen (Constable Evan Evans mysteries)

Curiosity Killed the Cat Sitter by Blaize Clement


So here's the question: Would a title like these make you more or less likely to pick up the book?

The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson

I devoured the first book in The Millenium series. The second one took a bit longer-vacation was over, after all. I have struggled with the third one for two weeks and thrown in the towel. What changed? The pace of the story. Even though the first two weren't action-packed, Blomkvist and Salander were constantly digging and figuring things out. In the third book, our two main characters are absent from the narrative much of the time. I am invested in those characters, not the new people from Sapo (the Swedish version of the CIA). Not even Berger, Blomkvist's married lover. I want Blomkvist and Salander, preferably interacting with each other. But they've been separated since the beginning of book 2. It's always hard to say whether the problem is with the original author or the translator. Did Larsson go on too long explaining the history of Sapo and reminding the reader of every little detail about our heroes? Or did the translator think we, as Americans, needed more explanation of how things are done in exotic Sweden? In the end it doesn't matter. The story became bogged down, and I didn't care to slog through it. So I turned to end to make see how it turned out, and put the book back on the shelf. It was a sad end to what started as such a fun ride.

Who Reads Cozies?

Obviously, I do. But who else?

I think the stereotypical reader one thinks of picking up a cozy mystery is a white-haired old lady, reading glasses perched on the end of her button nose. She sits primly in her overstuffed, doily-laden chair, a pot of freshly brewed tea on the pie-crust table next to her. Of course, the teapot is enswathed by a hand-knitted tea cozy.

But is that really who reads them? I guess a few, but seriously. How many women like that do you know?

I started reading Agatha Christie before I was in my teens. Could some of the readers be those middle graders who aren't happy with the books that are supposed to be for them? Maybe, but I sorta doubt it.

Many of the cozies I've been reading have a bit of chick-lit feel to them. The protagonist is a young woman (usually white, btw) who works for a living. While most don't live in the big city--something the heroines in chick-lit tend to do, or so I'm told--they often have an interest in the latest fashion, coffee, chocolate, etc. Oh, and handsome young men. So, I think the audience may cross over there.

What do you think? Do you read cozies and chick-lit? If you don't read both, what is it about cozies that draws you in? Do we have any guys out there who like the cozies?

The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson

The story of Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander continues a year after the end of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. They are separated, with Blomkvist trying to figure out where she is. After Lisbeth returns to Sweden, three people are murdered and the police are convinced she's guilty. Blomkvist is just as certain that she isn't. As he investigated, he learns more about the past of this complicated woman.

Another exciting tale that had me running for the bookstore to pick up the third, and final, book in the series before I finished this one. The stakes are even higher in this one, especially for Lisbeth. I won't go into more detail so as not to spoil anything.

There's still a lot of telling, but it's such a big story, that's kind of a blessing. The beginning of the book also has a lot of dialogue where two characters are telling each other things they both know just to tell us. Easily solved with a character who doesn't know.

Small quibbles aside, this book has one of my favorite lines in the series so far. We are learning that Salander has a twin sister who is quite different from her. Larsson writes, "Lisbeth was first. Camilla was beautiful." Six words that sum up what would have taken a lesser writer pages to get across.

So sad that Stieg Larsson died so young. Imagine how many other wonderful stories he could have spun for us.

Are There Subgenres That Cozy Authors Should Tackle?

I guess, technically, they’d be sub-subgenres, since Cozies themselves are a subgenre of Mystery.

Many of the sub-subs that have been covered already are Historical, Paranormal and Fantasy. Margaret Fazer writes two different series set in Medieval times, Madelyn Alt has her Bewitching series and, I have argued, Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse books are Cozies since Sookie solves a mystery in each book. And most of the modern cozies have an element of Chick Lit about them.

Then there are the sub-subs that are peculiar to Cozies. I’m talking about the cooking series, the craft shop mysteries, the professional woman (although not a police professional) series, etc.

What others can you think of that might work in the cozy realm? Looking at Romance subgenres what about Futuristic, Time-Travel or even Erotic? Okay, I’m thinking the last one would definitely NOT fall into the Cozy outline.

The Speculative Fiction oeuvre might give us a couple of the ones already mentioned plus Horror and Science Fiction in all its permutations. Gail Carriger already covered Steampunk with her Parasol Protectorate series. Anything falling under Horror would probably have to be funny in order to fit. And I’m not sure even that would help. Could we have zombies invading St. Mary Meade?

Any other suggestions?

Professional Protagonist?

Having an amateur sleuth as the protagonist is a big part of the cozy oeuvre. Miss Marple is the nosy spinster. Jessica Fletcher is a mystery writer. Goldie Bear is a caterer. There are shop owners galore.

Could a cop star in a cozy?

I've never read one, but it's an interesting idea. How would one go about cozying up with a cop?

Would toning down the violence do it? I don't think that would be enough to tip us into cozy territory.

How then?

Any ideas? If you do, I might steal adapt them to a book or two.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson

This was one of those books that I'd heard and read so much about that I just didn't believe it could live up to the hype. Plus, I'd started to hear some grumblings about how the series, which is supposed to expose rampant misogyny and sexual abuse of women in Sweden, is itself misogynistic.

Lisbeth Salandar is a study in contradictions. She is under protective guardianship, having been declared unable to take care of herself. The state has determined that she is violent and mentally "deficient." Yet she works as a freelance investigator for a security firm and is an expert computer hacker.

Mikael Blomkvist is a famous investigative journalist who is editor in chief of Millenium (the source of the trilogies name). At the beginning of the book he is found guilty of libel due to an expose he wrote about a CEO of a multi-national firm. He takes a leave from the magazine and goes to work for an eccentric former corporate leader.

I will admit to having some difficulty with some of the violence and abuse, especially with regard to Lisbeth. But it's hard to write a book about the mistreatment of women without showing some of that mistreatment.

Blomkvist appears to be a chick magnet, even having an ongoing affair with his married business partner. Her husband approves of the arrangement. His lovers all know of each other and don't mind. I've found that many thrillers cast the male lead in this light (Bond anyone?) so was more amused than annoyed.

The puzzle and the action pulled me in, switched off my writer brain and had me turning pages like a mad woman. I took the book on vacation, thinking I might finish it during the week. When I realized that I'd finish the book about ten minutes into my the second leg of my flight, I ran to the the airport gift shop for the second book in the trilogy--even though I had two other books with me.

Big City Cozies?

Most cozies are set in small towns. Think Miss Marple's St. Mary Mead or Jessica Fletcher's Cabot Cove. Why? Well, because of the idea that everyone knows everyone else in a small town. Therefore, our amateur sleuth can use her knowledge of her neighbors to solve the crime.

And let's face it, New York gets enough ink. As does Los Angeles, Chicago, London, Paris, etc. Why not give small towns their due?

But why couldn't a cozy be set in a big city? Well, Cleo Coyle's coffee shop mysteries are set in New York. She confines the action mainly to Greenwich Village, and Clare does seem to know everyone in the vicinity of the shop.

Some of the historical cozies are set in New York or London. So it has been done, and rather successfully?

Do you have a preference for your cozies? Big city or rural village? Does it matter?

Gunpowder Green (Tea Shop Mysteries #2) by Laura Childs

The second book in Laura Childs' Teashop Mystery series, this book finds Theodosia and company investigating another murder in historic Charleston. On the day of the annual yachting race between two exclusive yacht clubs, an antique pistol used to mark the end of the race explodes, killing a 60-year-old mover and shaker. This leaves his 20-something bride a very rich (and not altogether grief-stricken) widow.

Once again, the characters are richly drawn and the plot moves forward at a just-one-more-chapter pace. The reveal is satisfying and well played. The only off notes are the coda at the end that read a bit like the tag from 80's detective shows and the overabundance of unusual names. I understand it's set in the South, but someone must be named Mike or George or Mary or Kate.

Little quibbles with an otherwise fun read.

Which Person--First or Third?

A lot of cozies are now written in first person. It keeps you tied to the protagonist. You know what she knows and only what she knows. For some readers, it heightens the suspense and makes it feel like they are the one solving the mystery.

The earlier cozy authors (Christie, Sayers) used third person. They usually stayed fairly close to the main character, but there are exceptions. In Christie's first Miss Marple mystery, she doesn't show up until almost halfway through the book. We're with the local vicar.

What do you think? Any preference?

Foucault’s Pendulum by Umberto Eco

Three bored editors make up "The Plan," an explanation connecting all things occult and determining where the point of all power on Earth is located: under the titular pendulum in Paris. The story covers how they developed The Plan and the unexpected events that follow its creation. Think "DaVinci Code" and "Angels and Demons" combined, well-written and with a bit of actual scholarship behind it.

Eco is a master of language, story and history and of weaving them all together into a ripping good yarn. The book definitely kept me turning pages (the relatively short chapters helped with that as well). But Eco also never met a list he didn't like. Lists that go on for paragraphs. Lists that the reader knows contain some tidbit she'll need later, but longs to skip. He also took one pivotal conversation between the three editors and broke it into six or seven chapters. While long chapters can be daunting to some, this just broke the narrative tension too much and made it easier instead of harder to put the book down.

I also think the length was unnecessary. Eco may have reached the rarified status of an author no editor wants to cut. An editor should have cut. The aforementioned lists could go. So could a secondary story set in South America of about 75 pages that gave us one somewhat key piece of information that could be related in another place. There are long forays into Belbo's (one of the editors) past that really add nothing to the main storyline. The focus should remain on Casaubon, the editor who starts as a student writing a thesis on the Knights Templar. He sets everything in motion.

Still, I felt it well worth powering through the 623 pages in order to get to the satisfying end.

Are The English Better At Cozies?

I think it’s safe to say that the British invented cozy mysteries. Famous Author, who was offended by the term, said that the name comes from tea cozies, “like the English use.” So, are cozy mysteries penned by British authors better?

My own introduction to mystery novels was courtesy of three British authors: Agatha Christie, Mary Stewart and Daphne du Maurier.

Ms. Christie wrote both the Hercule Poirot mysteries (which I would not classify as cozy since he is a professional detective) and the Miss Marple books. Between my mother’s book collection and the local library, I read just about every one of Agatha Christie’s books before I graduated from high school. She is, not surprisingly, a big influence on my choice of genres.

Mary Stewart is probably best known for her Merlin series (The Crystal Cave, The Hollow Hills, etc.). However, she wrote many other books that fall into the mystery/suspense genre. The ones I remember reading are Madam, Will You Talk?, My Brother Michael, Touch Not the Cat, and Airs Above the Ground. They are all a bit darker than most cozies, with elements of the supernatural, but the construction of the mystery was always strong.

Daphne du Maurier’s books can’t really be called cozies either. But, again, there is that supernatural undercurrent with a strong mystery at the heart of her stories. Rebecca, The House on the Strand, Jamaica Inn, Frenchman’s Creek, My Cousin Rachel, and Don’t Look Now are all stories that I can go back to time and time again--and still have nightmares.

Dorothy L Sayers, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Margery Allingham, Jo Bannister, M.C. Beaton, Rhys Bown, Simon Brett, and Jonathan Gash are just a few of the other well-known and respected British cozy authors.

Then we have the American authors who set their mysteries in Jolly Olde England. Sometimes literally in Olde England.

-Nancy Atherton writes the Aunt Dimity mysteries

-Stephanie Barron’s novels feature Jane Austen as the sleuth

-Carrie Bebris uses Austen’s characters of Mr. & Mrs. Darcy to solve mysteries

-Susan Wittig Albert writes a series featuring Beatrix Potter

-Emily Brightwell writes the Mrs. Jeffries mysteries

-Margaret Frazer pens the Sister Frevisse medieval mysteries

-Laurie R King’s sleuth is Mary Russell, a protégé of Sherlock Holmes

-Elizabeth Peters writes the Amelia Peabody mysteries

I leave it to you. Are the British better at writing cozies? Or are we Yanks just as good?

Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris (Sookie Stackhouse, Book 2)

In the second installment of the Sookie Stackhouse books, Sookie and vampire boyfriend, Bill, fly to Dallas to investigate the disappearance of a member of a Dallas vampire family. She is quickly in over her head, but manages to get herself out of as much of the trouble as Bill does. I like that in a female lead. With a boyfriend as powerful as a vampire, the write could be tempted to let him solve everything. Kudos to Harris for not doing that.

We don't really learn anything new about our main characters, with possibly the exception of Sam, Sookie’s boss and friend. But that's nothing major and could have been thrown into a different story. It's a quick, fun read that's not at all taxing on the brain.

Sometimes you just need one of those.

Too Many Cats?

When Jenny conducted her study of cozies, she reviewed a book by Rita Mae Brown and Sneaky Pie Brown (her cat). Ali recently posted about a cozy I loaned her. It's called Curiosity Killed the Cat-Sitter.

You may notice a theme. Cats. Lots of cats. A cat (or a couple of them) feature prominently in the following series, sometimes solving the murders:

The Cat Who . . . Mysteries by Lillian Jackson Braun

Cat Lover's Mysteries by Susan Conant

Midnight Louie Mysteries by Carole Nelson Douglas

Cats & Curios Mysteries by Rebecca M. Hale

Cat in the Stacks Mysteries by Miranda James

Jane Stuart & Winky Mysteries by Evan Marshall

Jacques & Cleo, Cat Detectives Mysteries by Gilbert Morris

Joe Grey Cat Mysteries by Shirley Rouseau Murphy

Biscuit McKee & Marmalade Mysteries by Fran Stewart


You get the idea. In addition to these, a LOT of cozy mystery protagonists own a cat or two.

So, are mysteries over-saturated with cats? Or do you think, the more the merrier? I, personally, love cats, but probably won't give any of my protagonists one as a pet.

Needled to Death (Knitting Mysteries #2) by Maggie Sefton

Kelly Flynn is still staying at her late aunt's cottage in Fort Connor, Colorado while telecommuting to her job in DC. She's waiting to see how all the estate tangles play out since she is the only living relative of both her aunt and her aunt's late cousin. When she drives a carload of tourists to a friend's house so they can see the friend’s alpaca herd, Kelly finds the friend dead. Another death for her to figure out, with the help of the gang at the House of Lampspun knitting shop.

This installment of the series has the same strengths and weaknesses of the first with one addition--everyone says, "Ohhhhhh" and "Okaaaaaaay" a lot. But I have to admit that all the talk of knitting and using ribbon yarn have me wanting to pick up my needles again. Yarn shops should definitely carry this series.

Is The Term "Cozy" Insulting?

A few years back, Deb moderated a panel of mystery authors at the Pikes Peak Writers Conference. One of the panelists is a best-selling, award-winning author of what I would call a cozy series. An attendee asked a question that included the term "cozy mystery." Famous Author just about went ballistic.

"'Cozy' is a derogatory term," she stated. "It brings to mind tea pots with crocheted tea cozies around them. Like in the Miss Marple books."

There seemed to be a bit of bafflement among the other three authors. As well as Deb and me. Being compared to Agatha Christie is a bad thing? Isn't there a prestigious award for mystery authors that's named for her?

The attendee sputtered out and sat down. Finally, one of the other panelists--a not quite as famous cozy writer--spoke up. "I don't mind the term at all. But, Famous Author, what would you call the genre?"

"They are domestic mysteries."

Famous Author has the right to say her books fall into whatever genre she wants. She can call them "Regular folks doing detective-y work mysteries" if she sees fit.

However, to me, domestic mystery sounds like they never leave the house. A murder happens to one family member, another family member solves it by figuring out which other family member committed it.

I'm with Not Quite As Famous Author. You can call my books cozies. That's what I call them.

What do you think? What would you call mysteries in which the protagonist isn't a professional detective?

If you don't write mysteries, is there a term for the genre you write that you don't like? I know some science fiction writers hate the term sci-fi. Is there a taboo genre name for what you write? What is it?

Heat Wave by "Richard Castle"

The author name is in quotes, because we don't really know who wrote the book. It's a television show tie-in. There was much speculation at the time it was published that it might be one of the authors who sometime appear on Castle. James Patterson? Stephen J. Cannell? Michael Connelly? Someone else entirely? Fun speculation, but once I started reading, I really didn't care.

This was a quick, fun read. A bit like an episode of Castle with name changes. As a matter of fact, I recognized a few plot points from the show. Nothing deep or meaningful. Nothing that will stay with me beyond "The End." But a nice little bite of brain candy.

What Is A Cozy?

Jenny tackled this question a few months ago in her blog. She did a series of posts starting with this one.

But I don't know that I've ever answered that question in my own blog. If not, it's about time. The question seems straightforward enough but, as with any genre or sub-genre, not everyone agrees. The following is my take on what constitutes a "cozy" mystery.

-The protagonist is not a law enforcement professional. That is, the person who solves the murder is not who you would expect to do so. She (and it's most often a she) would not be a police office, a forensics expert, a private investigator, etc.

-Violence happens off-stage. This is especially true with regard to the murder(s). The reader doesn't get a lot of blood and gore. A protagonist or other character may be threatened with violence, but usually isn't seriously hurt. I have read a couple lately with our heroine being conked on the head or some such, but it's still pretty rare.

-Often the police are depicted as inept. I'm glad to see this trend changing in the newer cozies. It's not that the professionals don't know what they are doing, but they may not have the specialized knowledge of a certain job that the protagonist does, or they are hampered by the rules they have to follow. Rules that a tea shop owner or a housewife doesn't have to obey.

-Pets, particularly cats, seem to be involved a lot. Some books have them front and center, like Rita Mae Brown's The Cat Who series. Others are just pets. But it's unusual to find a protagonist in a newer cozy who doesn't own at least one pet.

-Bonus material, as Jenny calls it, has become de rigueur. It's hard to find a cozy published within the last two years that does not include at least one recipe. And depending on the protagonist's job, there can be patterns or how-to advice as well. These are fun little additions at the end of the book, but they can make a write want to shy away from career for her amateur detective that wouldn't easily lend itself to these bonuses.

-The tone is light. Even though we're dealing with murder, the overall tone of cozies is light. The murder itself is treated with seriousness, but the investigation often finds our protagonist in embarrassing, if not downright compromising, situations.

-(Addendum)Most are written in first person, so the reader only knows what the protagonist knows. This can be effective, but also annoying. As when the protagonist describes herself using terminology no woman I know would use.

-(Addendum) Titles are often puns on the job the protagonist holds. Curiosity Killed the Cat-sitter is one of the better ones.


That's about it. Are you familiar with cozies? Have I missed anything. Do those descriptions sound like anything you've read? Or would like to read?

Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

I hadn’t read a single vampire book in years, then I read the Twilight series and this book within a week of each other. FYI, Dead Until Dark was published four years before Twilight.

The Sookie Stackhouse books are located in the Fantasy section of the book store. However, I do consider them mysteries, because each one has a murder to solve. And I guess they can be considered cozies since the person solving the mysteries is a waitress, not a professional detective.

Sookie is a waitress in a local bar in rural Louisiana. Vampires have come out of the closet and are working to become integrated in society. She meets vampire Bill at the bar and soon embarks on a romantic relationship with him. Sookie can hear other people’s thoughts but can't hear the vampire’s. Soon women who have become vampire groupies are being killed, and Bill is a suspect. Can Sookie find out who the real killer is before the town turns on her cold (but smokin' hot) lover?

This was an incredibly fun and sexy read. The mystery was well-done and the characters were believable, for vampires and mind-readers and more. Ms. Harris is a funny and talented author.

The television show, True Blood, may be based on the books, but the story lines of the show have veered rather sharply away from the source material. Liking one may not mean you’ll like the other, but I think it’s worth a little time for fans of the show to check out the books. And vice versa.

Knit One Kill Two

This is the first in the Knitting Mysteries by Maggie Sefton

Kelly Flynn, accountant and financial planner, returns to the small town in Colorado where she was raised to bury her murdered aunt and see to the estate. While trying to settle her aunt's finances, she discovers a large loan that was taken out without Kelly's knowledge. Kelly gets involved with her aunt's knitting friends, who help give her insight into the life her aunt lived in recent years.

The mystery in this cozy is first-rate. Sefton had me guessing pretty much up to the end. There was also a pretty hefty body count, given that it is a cozy. The main characters—the ones integral to solving the crime—are quite well-written. There are a ton of characters, and I see now why my critique group complains about that. They can be hard to sort out.

Which leads to picking nits. Many of the knitting store regulars are interchangeable. That is until I realized that they fall into the different female stereotypes: The Party Girl, The Tomboy/Athlete, The Homemaker, The Dithery Old Lady, The Imperious Old Lady, etc. And Kelly always seems to be a step behind the reader, which can get annoying. I like to be neck and neck with the protagonist.

Some of the knitting scenes seem off to me, but that just be how I was taught to knit. I don't work on one sleeve at a time--it's easy to end up with different length sleeves that way. My teacher had me use two balls of yard and knit both sleeves together on the same needle. Most people probably won’t care.

This was truly a fun read. I've since read the next five books in the series (those reviews to follow). There are two more in hardcover. Since this writer is on a budget, I’ll have to wait until the paperback versions come out. Something to look forward to.

The Bone Collector by Jeffrey Deaver

This is the first of Deaver's books to feature Lincoln Rhyme, a quadriplegic criminologist. Rhyme has given up on life, literally. He has decided to have a doctor help him commit suicide. But a spree killer who starts taking tourists just before a big event at the UN and a gutsy female officer with problems of her own pique his interest.

Deaver's protagonist would provoke no sympathy if we weren't handicapped. He's a jerk, plain and simple. A brilliant jerk, but a jerk. Amelia Sachs, the female cop, isn't much more likeable. But their dedication to figuring out the clues, both the planted and accidental, keeps the story racing forward.

This is a page turner. The pace is often frenetic, but Deaver slows down--sometimes excruciatingly so--when the killer is at his cruelest. The book has a different outcome than the movie of the same name. I did feel a bit cheated by the big reveal, because it felt like the villain was a character who was chosen simply to throw the reader a curve.

I'd recommend it as a lesson in the art of pacing.

Definitely not a cozy.

An Addendum

I hope this is a one-off. After posting my review of Death by Darjeeling, I had a new insight. So here's the addendum.

I commented about the plethora of unusual names in Laura Childs' novel. That it bothered me and seemed excessive. The next day, though, I decided it might now be a tradition with tales set in the American South. Think of Steel Magnolias and Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. I will give Ms. Childs the benefit of the doubt.

In the twelve years I lived in Florida, I can't remember running into anyone with such an unusual name. But a lot of people will tell you that Florida isn't really the South anymore.

Death by Darjeeling

It appears that everyone--at least in my little group--is looking for a way to distinguish her blog. Jenny's doing Mentors, Deb's doing WILAWF, Ali's thinking up something new. And we're nothing if not copycats.

I've decided to review mysteries. Probably mostly cozies, but all mysteries are fair game. And I decide what to call a mystery.

I'm starting with the first entry in the Teashop Mysteries by Laura Childs. Ms. Childs also writes the Scrapbooking Mysteries and Cackleberry Club Mysteries.


Death by Darjeeling

A genteel Southern woman, Theodosia Browning, runs a tea shop in Charleston, SC. At the annual Lamplighter tour, a shady developer is poisoned while drinking a cup of her special blend. Suspicion falls on the shop in general and one waitress in particular.

A 4-star cozy. Childs pretty much hits all the right notes with this one. Lots of credible potential suspects. A likeable cast of regulars. Good dialogue. Nice pacing. And a plausible plot. The tension builds all the way through. And she got me. I didn't see the culprit coming, but there were no author cheats involved.

My one nitpick would be the extremely unusual character names. When you start with a protagonist called Theodosia, adding in first names of Drayton, Jory, Doe, Dundy, Delaine,
and then a Miss Dimple--well, it gets overwhelming. But it's a very small nit to pick.

In addition to the fun puzzle, setting and characters, the author includes yummy recipes. Earl Grey Sorbet, Tea Scones and Cucumber & Lobster Sandwiches are all tempting. And then there is the Liver Brownie Cake for the pooches in your life.

Well played, Ms. Childs, well played.

First Post of 2011

It truly seems like last week that I wrote my first blog post ever. Now it's time to sum up 2010 and plan for 2011. Which shouldn't take long. I didn't get much done in 2010. The same goals for the year can remain for 2011 with just a section title change.

Why didn't I get any of those goals done? Now there's a question.

Let's see--my workload increased dramatically, there were more house-related tasks that couldn't be put off any longer and I committed to making more craft items as gifts and such.

BUT, those aren't responsible for my not meeting my goals. The reason is that I was struggling with the process. I tried making some major changes to HM that might have been great suggestions, but that just didn't resonate with me. And that held me up. A lot. When I finally figured out what I really wanted to do with the story, I felt burned out on it. I needed to leave Sloan and Caleb and the gang for a while. I need to miss them just a touch more so when I do revisit them, it'll be a celebration.

So, what should my goals be for this year? I'm going to do something a little different. Agent Rachelle Gardner talked on her blog about how regular resolutions feel too much like another to-do list. She's opting for resolutions that are more about feeling rather than doing. She posted a list of adjectives. I like that.

Without further ado, my goals for 2011:

--Confident
--Healthy
--Peaceful
--Caring
--Funny
--Optimistic