I read one of my favorite authors, Tonya Kappes, Deserts, Driving & Derelicts over the last week and it is one I bought over a year ago, I really enjoyed the first book in this series, pre ordered this one on Amazon.ca and then well life got in the way. I loved the idea of this series, where the main character brings back to life a family Trailer Park, with the help of the small town and trailer park residences. The first one was a really good feel good cozy mystery and this one did not disappoint either. Actually found myself not wanting to put this down while reading it and loved the fact it is set in the summer, taking me away from days of wind, rain and snow. I am also utterly enchanted by the covers of this series and inspired by them. While I am not now and cant really ever see myself as a camper, I do love the idea of the trailer, a park and getting away for a while. This series helps me do that when I have to stay put. I look forward to buying and reading the rest of this series and thank Tonya Kappes for writing such a fun series. I would love some time in Normal, Kentucky.
I bought Beaches, Bungalows & Burglaries by Tonya Kappes, actually I pre ordered it from Amazon.ca and I was so excited for it to show up on my ipad to read this past weekend. A great first in what I am excitedly anticipating being a long running series. Based in Normal, Kentucky with a wonderful bunch of down to earth characters and a setting that was not seemingly to cozy to begin with but then as the story transforms so does the setting. I loved the grit, the comedy, the personalities and the predicaments that main character Mae West, finds herself in throughout this mystery and story. Loved everything about this one and especially the cover! I have even preorder the next one from Amazon.ca!
Welcome to Normal, Kentucky~ where nothing is normal. A Campers and Criminal Mystery Series is another brainchild of USA Today Bestselling Author Tonya Kappes. If you love her quirky southern characters and small town charm with a mystery to solve, you're going to love her new cozy mystery series!
Mae West, a far cry from the Hollywood actress, has been thrown for a loop. Her plush lifestyle in the big city of New York comes to a screeching halt after the FBI raids her mansion and arrests her husband, Paul West, for a Ponzi scheme that rips people out of millions of dollars.
Mae finds herself homeless, friendless, and penniless. All hope isn't lost. . .the only thing Mae got to keep that the government didn't seize is a tourist camp ground, Happy Trails, in Normal, Kentucky and an RV to live in. One problem, Mae's idea of camping has room service.
By the look of the brochure, Happy Trails has plush Kentucky Bluegrass, a crystal clear lake, a beach chair with her name on it and thoughts of how much money it could bring her after she sells it. Mae figures she'll take a couple weeks vacation with her toes dipped in the lake. Things aren't always as they appear. The Kentucky Bluegrass is nothing but dirt and the crystal clue lake is murky with green slime on top.
Mae quickly find out that Happy Trails and the citizens of Normal were also victims of Paul's schemes, making her lower than tha lake scum in the residents' eyes. Mae doesn't think things could get much worse, but as luck would have it, Paul West has escaped from prison and is found dead, murdered, floating in the Happy Trails mucky green lake.
Mae is the number one suspect on Detective Hank Sharp's short list. After all, Mae has the perfect motive as a kept wife who has been scorned to ashes, embarrassed to death, and seeking revenge.
Time is running out for Mae to prove that she's innocent and nothing like her husband. If only she could get someone to believe her and talk Detective Sharp into looking at other residents who've lost all their savings to Paul's Ponzie scheme before the curtain is closed on this Hollywood namesake.
Cake & Punishment by Maymee Bell is coming out in May, published by Crooked Lane Books and it made me Ugly Cry! I loved this book. Maymee Bell has set up a truly wonderful southern cozy town in Kentucky and in a great cozy way. I love the way she wrote this book and the setting for main character Sophia to come home too. While some of the book is set up so you know and hope what is going to happen, the mystery and murderer actually caught me off guard. I found that I was so involved in how the wedding was going to get off the ground, kept me perfectly distracted from the clues Maymee gave of the Killer!
It was so easy to picture the town and the homes that are described in the story as well as the country club. I truly enjoyed this mystery and cannot wait to see what happens in the next one. This book actually made me feel like yes sometimes you can truly go home again. Great first in series Maymee Bell you have a reader in me!
Thank you for joining me for a cup of tea and a cozy mystery review I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com
I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com
If I could give an award for the coolest Murder Weapon ever used in a cozy it would be to Tonya Kappes. I loved Dead as a Doornail. This May release doesn't disappoint and with Sheriff Kenni her Deputy Ghost, trusty dog and small town already and usually in Chaos, somehow sheriff has her hands full with not just a murder investigation but a wedding of the year, brazilia and duties that fall far outside her job description. This was a great read and it is a fun series. Tonya Kappes is a wonderful author. Perfect touch of southern charm, the perfect paranormal character and the right amount of romance. A must read.
I read Tonya Kappes upcoming cozy Six Feet Under last Wednesday and It felt like coming home. This is the 4th book in the Kenni Lowry Series that comes out this March. Kenni is the sheriff with a great dog, who is assisted by the ghost of her grandfather who was also sheriff before he passed and her deputy is her boyfriend. Not to mention that her mother is part of the town elite and this is one tightnight small community. When murder comes to town yet again, suspicion is thrown on her Mamma and Kenni takes herself off the case, technically... plenty of other things to investigate in town like some pink colored disability parking permits and some remarkably younger looking faces....I hope you will love this series as much as I do and truly enjoy six feet under. You can pre order it now on amazon by clicking here. *I am not an amazon affiliate I don't make any money if you click.
Thank you for joining me for a cup of tea and a cozy mystery review I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com
A week has gone by and what a week it has been, new year, new tea and new teacup rescue for me. I was finally feeling better this week and headed to my local Murchie's Tea shop to stock up on my favorite blend and discovered their Balmoral Blend which is such a lovely blend of black teas with a soft malty flavor which is perfect for afternoon tea.
The tea shop is near two second hand stores so I stopped into both having no car with me and was delighted to find a long sought after toast holder, silver and only $5! The china shop that I go to had a half price sale as well and I got the lovely Royal Albert Cup, Saucer and bread and butter plate for $16! A truly great find, and a fun way to spend some of my Christmas money!
I have bought the Witches Spell-A- Day Almanac for about 5 years now, I love reading this book, some lovely sentiments in this book, something I find apply and some don't but I enjoy the read and the history in this book year after year. Happy to have found it just before the new year again.
Just arrived on my table Friday is two of the books in the Terry Lynn Thomas series The Spirit of Grace which I have been looking forward too for so long! I have a few more to get through before I can start these but I am delighted to have them peaking out at me from my TBR pile.
Tomorrow I have my review of Tonya Kappes upcoming cozy Six Feet Under, this is a series that I really enjoy and I am looking forward to sharing this with you tomorrow.
I had a very busy week of reading and I read and shared my review of The Cat of The Baskervilles by Vicki Delany another great story in this series and my favorite so far! This one is out in a few weeks and I recommend it!
A Grave Issue by Lillian Bell was a first in series I read earlier this week and loved! I like where this story went and I cannot wait to see where it goes next! One to watch for!
One of two cozy shorts I read this week. I bought myself this one from Lorraine Bartlett earlier this week and read it. I love it when you find just the right book for the moment and it makes your spirit soar! I loved this book and the Lotus Bay mystery series. I hope we see more from it soon!
All I wanted was a Drink by Michelle Ann Holstein was the other holiday short I read. This was funny, smart and very well done. A great way to end the holidays on my end.
Monday I will have for you the review of Class Reunions are Murder, I really did not want this one to end. Very well done and I am anxious to share the review with you all on Monday. I still have book hangover from it! Such a great read.
Thank you so much for joining me for a cup of tea and a look back at what has been on my table and in my cup this week. I look forward to sharing more with you tomorrow. I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com
Making my way through Death Overdue a Haunted Library Mystery by Allison Brook this weekend. Makes being mostly couch bound bearable. If you follow my blog or social media you know I have been unwell for more than a month now and I am slowly fighting my way back to health. Spending most of my day couch bound. Lovely to have such amazing books to read and I have even been able to enjoy more of my Murchies Vanilla Tea this week, I also finished my cranberry cream tea I bought earlier this summer, thinking of making the ten hour drive to get more...dreaming really. I have been doing lots of reading, and a bit of visiting, having my Uncle Ross, my dad's brother, drive more than 3,000 miles with his truck stacked full of photos of the family from the 1800's for me to have. Unbelieveable how these photos of many times removed relatives look just like family members alive today! DNA Wow! I can not wait to share some photos with you soon, also a gem was a photo my family took during the second world war of the then Queen of England touring Canada, that will go in a frame for sure!
I am getting really excited for Buy a Friend A Book Day which is August 31st! This is one of my most favorite days of the year and I am hoping I will be well enough to shop locally, otherwise I may have to do my shopping on line for a few people! Be sure to remember to pick up a book for someone in your life on August 31st!
I am excited to announce that I am co-hosting an event on October 3rd for the Release day party of author Joyce Tremel's A Room With A Brew on my Beyond The Bookmarks Facebook Page and you are invited! Great prizes, recipes, and so much more, I hope you will join us for an evening of fun and get to know other cozy lovers, we all want to go somewhere where everyone knows your name, come make a new friend and learn about this series! Click here to RSVP to the event!
I meant to share this last week, something I put together to share a bit about why I love cozy mysteries and one of the lessons I take away from some of my favorites. While I don't have daughters I do love the books about eccentric aunts who do something that guides them and helps them makethe changes that lead to a direction change in their life trajectory!As you can see above I have a few nieces, and what I think is a great goal!
Announced earlier this week over on Lisa Ks Book Review, we have enjoyed so much our Summer Three Amigos reading club that we have decided to expand and continue with our Five Amigos Fall-O-ween Fun Series. Adding My dear Friend Karen Kenyon to my blog here as a guest blogger, and our dear friend Sheryl of Booth Talks Books! We will be sharing our favorite Fall themed cozies and then in October switch to our Halloween themed, or paranormal cozy favorites.
Lisa, Mary, Sheryl, Karen K and I look forward to sharing with you and seeing what each other chooses for our fall selections and our Halloween ones we hope you will join in the fun too! We hope you will welcome our new Amigos and love our new series! This all starts September 4th.
The Witching Hour was my Witchy Wednesday selection for review this week, I enjoyed this book and shared a bit about this October release, I would not mind having this one on my shelf either.
Tonya Kappes has some wonderful books and this is a series I adore, I know you are going to love ax to Grind, do check this one out! I read it in one sitting not wanting to put the book down.
I read and reviewed the up coming release of From Ice To Ashes, this book is going to be out soon as an e-copy for you to enjoy!
I have a review of Dressed to Confess for you tomorrow I hope you will come back and see what I thought of this third book in series.
I made a point of getting my Friday spotlight video made and this weeks video is a spotlight on Ellery Adam's Charmed Pie Shoppe Mystery Series. It is up on my Youtube Channel, I invite you to stop by and subscribe! Click here for the video if it doesn't play above.
Thank you all for joining me here for what has been on my table, in my cup and on my mind this week. I love having you stop by and I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com
Tonya Kappes has the right combination of mystery, intrigue, with just a touch of romance and a ghostly sidekick in her Kenni Lowery Mystery series and the newest in the series Ax to Grind.
I was delighted to be approved to read book three in this series which is out September 19th and you can pre order now. Tonya writes with southern humor, hospitality and flair. I really loved the idea of a small town sheriff, her overzealous southern mother, a grandfather ghost and a partner who she would not kick out of bed for eating crackers....
Then there is the mystery and it is a good one, small town secrets keep and fester as the years go on and when a world renowned and reclusive romance author dies, leaving a huge estate sale open to the public that opens the small town up to the possibility of a murder living among them and scrutiny and leaves a mess of trouble for Kenni to unravel. Loved this one and think you will too!
Such a fantastic group of books on my table this week. I finished Occult and Battery last night and will share the review Monday with you. So happy to have had this one to escape with this week.
As another week has come and gone I wanted to share this is a photo of me last week in Penticton BC for the boys hockey tournament. I was so thrilled to find this cup and saucer before we left on our trip. I got it at a store called Echo's China, a little gem of a store within walking distance of my house. I brought it with me and enjoyed some lovely tea in the hotel room before and after our games.
This week was World Autism Day and we celebrated by participating in an adaptive hockey tournament and this was our pregame game faces photo. We lost all three games, but the last one was very close and we had so much fun.
I did get some reading done this weekend as well and loved Silence of the Jams by Gayle Lesson.
I came home to the Magnolia Trees blooming and Patricia Neely- Dorsey's Mississippi In Me her latest book of poems. Some truly lovely and inspiring work in this book and a delight to have all three.
I adored Tonya Kappes latest mystery Souther Fried, this is a delightful cozy with a light paranormal twist, a ghost in the form of her later grandfather really ads some whimsy and grit to this story. Out now and a great read.
Also on my table this week Town in Maple Madness, loved the cover on this 8th in series.
In my cup this week the Paris Blend of tea from a little tea shop in Richmond BC called the Arabella Tea room, it is a lovely black tea with the taste of currents and one I found about two years ago on my birthday. I find the afternoons I have been craving something a bit richer and this tea is full flavor and rounds out the afternoon hours nicely.
Thank you for joining me for a cup of tea a week in review. I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com
Last night I finished Tonya Kappes Southern Fried, the second book in her Kenni Lowery Mystery series. I loved book two, this was a great story and this wonderful cozy mystery is filled with Southern charm, manners and absolutely addicting Southern sayings. I really love the way Sheriff Kenni and the ghost of her grandfather work together in this one and I enjoy the new deputy as well.
Tonya does a great job of giving the readers what they need, a bit of what they want and enough to make you long for the release of book 3. This book is out now and you can find it on Amazon by clicking here.
I am so excited to be on the Southern Mystery Blog Tour for A Charming Voodoo by the wonderful and talented Tonya Kappes. Tonya has kindly offered one of my lucky readers the chance to win a free audio book from the Magical Cures Mystery Series audio series picked by Tonya Kappes! The Question is at the bottom of today's post!
In addition to the audio book give away Tonya Kappes has a grand prize for theBIG prize (A KINDLE, Amazon Gift Card, along with A Ghostly Grave and A Ghostly Murder Kindle Novels)
a Rafflecopter giveaway
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/MjdjNWYyZWIyMzQ0NWRhMjMzZTZjOTEwMjkwOThmOjQ=/?
Don't forget to enter to win the audio book by answering this question and emailing me your answer!
In order to enter this contest you must pop over to Tonya's Website and become a member (it is quick and it is free) you can visit it by clicking here
Thank you for joining me today for a cup of tea and a cozy mystery. I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com
