Murder in the Mystery Suite and A New Scone Recipe

 

 Murder in the Mystery Suite by Ellery Adams has been by far the most fun cozy mystery I have read this year. Action and Adventure await the reader in this new and fantastically written cozy.

Captivated from the first chapter and begging myself not to read it too quickly for fear the story would come to a very quick end I have tried my very best to read only a chapter at a time to savor it.

The main character like so many cozy mystery has a tragic back story and has overcome her sadness and strife and lives a full and happy life until she discovers there is so much more going on then she realizes and her future is ever so more complicated  and wonderful, then she could have imagined. Complicated, wonderful and so exciting!

 

If ever there was a new cozy series to dive into it is this one. Each character is so rich and mulch-layered you will feel totally invested in each of their lives. The Storyton Book Retreat series is going to be one I read for as long as Ellery Adams writes it. I am anxiously awaiting word on when we can next expect  to pre order the next adventure!  Murder in the Jane Austen Parlor is due Summer 2015!

More then just a picture perfect setting and your average cozy mystery this story is packed with so many wonderful surprises. From fantastic character names to sub plots that will have you laughing out loud, imagining, wishing and hoping for more!

I highly recommend picking up Murder in the Mystery Suite by Ellery Adams and am pretty sure we will need to start a fan club for this series.

As promised to my Facebook Friends who follow my daily photo post and Instagram  I am including my newest scone recipe I created while reading Murder In The Mystery Suite. 

Enjoy! ~Karen

Vanilla Yogurt Drop Scones
Pre Heat overn to 375 degrees 

2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup margarine, butter or lard
3 tsp baking powder
1 egg
4 tbsp Vanilla Yogurt

Method:
In a mixing bowl place the Flour,Sugar and Margarine. Mix together until the mixture resembles chunky bread crumbs. Add baking powder and mix in. Add the egg and Vanilla Yogurt until mixture is just combined.
Spoon  large drop fulls of batter on to parchment lined baking sheet bake until the edges and top of your scones are golden brown. Remove from oven and sever still warm with jam and cream ( Use Whip cream, Sour cream or Cool Whip if you do not have clotted cream sold near you)
These are perfect with Earl Grey Tea.

As with all my posts I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

* I will mention that this book was not sent to me to review and was a mystery I pre ordered from The Book Depository. I live in Canada and the free shipping from The Book Depository is where I order my books from. I do not work for them and they do not advertise with me but as a public service announcement I thought I would share.

Well Read Then Dead, New Series, Great Read.

I Pre Ordered  Terrie Farley Moran's Newest Book Well Read, Then Dead and was very excited when it arrived from The Book Depository. I actually stopped reading the book I had started a few days before, in favor of reading this one, boy am I glad I did.

 

If you are looking for a new series that takes you away pick up a copy of Well Read, Then Dead and get whisked away to Forida.  Settle in at "Read 'Em and Eat Cafe" a place to find some great literary inspired food and pick up a great vacation read...

I honestly felt like I was in the cafe as a customer who was "eavesdropping" through out the story and loved being apart of the clever book club meetings.

I really enjoyed this read and look forward to reading more about main character Sassy and her friends adventures. I also enjoyed sharing these photos in my instagram stream daily (http://instagram.com/karenmomofthree) as well as on facebook. One of my readers asked if I would share my Banana Muffin Recipe.

Here are my Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Pre heat the oven to 375 degrees

1/2 cup margarine or butter

1 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

3 very ripe bananas

1 tsp baking soda

1tsp baking powder

1/3 cup milk

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup chocolate chips

Method:

In your mixer place your margarine and sugars, beat for 3 minutes on high. Add your eggs and continue beating your mixture. Open the bananas' and mash them slightly with a fork. Place them in the bowl and continue beating until the banana is incorporated. Add the milk and mix to combine.

Add your flour and baking powder and soda and mix to combine. Add the chocolate chips and mix until just combined.

Spoon the mixture into your paper lined muffin tin and bake until the muffins are golden brown and the top of the muffin springs back up when you gently press it.

Check out more about Terrie by visiting her website by clicking here

As with all my posts I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

Panty Raid! A Great Start To A New New Mystery Series by Lorraine Bartlett

Today I woke up to find that my husband kindly downloaded Lorraine Bartlett's new Mini Mystery Panty Raid to my Kobo. Now that is love. I was so excited to read this outside today under my tree with my tea. This Prequel of an up coming Mystery series about two best friends was so enjoyable.  Two friends at a cross roads in life, one drops everything to help out her best friend in need, Tori's underwear has been going missing and together Kathy and Tori sleuth out the "perve". I laughed out loud with this story and really enjoyed it. I am truly looking forward to purchasing this series when the first book is released in the fall.

As an added bonus at the end of the short story Lorraine includes a wonderful recipe for Oatmeal cookies, of which I had to bake right away! I have eaten about a 1/2 dozen already! The recipe and the new series get my thumbs up! Order your own E book version on Kobo of Lorraine Bartlett's Panty Raid by clicking here.
Kindle by clicking here
Nook by clicking here
As with all my posts I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

A Vision In Velvet. Juliet Blackwell Tells A Great Story!

Well I just got back from a trip to Las Vegas. My husband had this birthday trip planned for a while and we were not able to cancel and rebook our trip and our family insisted that we go as planned despite my brothers recent and sudden passing. I am glad we did go. I think my brother would have wanted that too.
for the trip I did not do as much reading as I would have liked but I did start A Vision In Velvet while waiting for our flight from Bellingham to Las Vegas.

I have read Juliet Blackwell's Wishcraft Mysteries for a few years now and always enjoy the relationships that main character Lily builds with her adopted city and friends. Her familiar Oscar, (Part time Potbellied Pig) features prominently in this book and his back story slightly more revealed. The community comes together and Lily's circle expands in this great addition to the series. I look forward to reading this series for what I hope will be years to come.
As with all my posts I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

Bran New Death by Victoria Hamilton A Marvelous New To Me Series

Marvelous Muffins. Yes one of my most favorite things to make and on Canada Day (July 1, 2014) I found out through my friend Lisa about Victoria Hamilton's Merry Muffin Series. I quickly ordered the first two books from The Book Depository, The second book in the series, Muffin But Murder,  had just been released and actually arrived in the mail first.

I actually get nervous when I start a new series and if I am going to start a new series I usually check it out of the library first to make sure it is one I am going to like. But With Victoria Hamilton I knew it was a leap of faith worth taking and jumped in with my ordering of the first two books from The Book Depository. I choose the Book Depository as the Shipping is FREE and as I live in Canada this is a huge deal, shipping is very expensive. I also love getting mail, snail or email and packages are like the icing on the cake.

I actually found this book to be fairly relaxing to read. I really enjoyed getting to know the characters and loved the dynamic of the relationships. I was impressed that the characters that could have easily been pitted against each other, actually worked together and soiled friendships formed for what I hope will be continuous through out the series. I love all the different ages of the characters and how they all fit together.

Reading about these muffins that Merry was making made me inspired so on my last morning of reading Bran New Death, I made my boy's favorite Chocolate Chip Banana muffins and enjoyed them outside while I finished the book.

 I am really excited to read Muffin But Murder and have added it to my To Be Read Pile for this summer. I look forward to sharing my review of it with you and more muffins when I am through!
You can find out more about the wonderful series that Victoria Hamilton has written by clicking here.

Heirs and Graces A Read I Could Not Put Down

I finally got around to reading Heirs and Graces by Rhys Bowen, I have loved this Her Royal Spyness Series since discovering it on one of my spin the mystery rack excursions at my library last summer. I read all of them except this one last summer as I was on the wait list for this one for what seemed like a lifetime I actually forgot about it until about three weeks ago, when I was spinning the racks again at the library.

I found the previous book in the series The Twelve Clues of Christmas (An excellent read also) and picked it up thinking I had not read it yet. Such a wonderful book, I realized quickly that I had read it and went on line and requested Heirs and Graces, which I was able to pick up the next day and well, once I opened it, I could not put it down. I read the entire thing in one night.

I actually found this book to be incredibly well written, even better then the previous in this series. I loved the plot the new characters and the adventures that Lady Georgiana finds her self in. If you are looking for a wonderful series set in the UK, travel back in time to visit with Lady Georgiana you wont regret it.
You can find out more about The Royal Spyness Series by clicking here.
As with all my posts I would love to here from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

Book Yourself In to Book Clubbed by Lorna Barrett

The Booktown Mysteries by Lorna Barrett are one of my most, if not my most favorite of the Cozy Mysteries. I have all of these books and hers is the only book I allow myself to order in Hardcover. I honestly can not wait to read each new one in the series and pre ordered this book from The Book Depository as soon as it became available.

 I was so thrilled when this book arrived last Friday and I could not wait to start it, Saturday morning.

Sunday night I was reading this wonderful book when I got some very sad news, my younger brother passed away in his sleep. We are devastated by his death and a bit lost at the moment.

I have been overwhelmed by the generosity of so many wonderful friends in the last few days and I am very thankful that in the stolen moments of grief, I had a tiny town with wonderful Characters to escape too. The wonderful group of Characters I have been reading about for the last few years was very comforting. It was wonderful to get caught up in the lives of the Stoneham Residents and loose myself for a few minutes.

I don't want to give too much away about this book but I will say how very much I appreciate this series and how it has evolved. I love how Lorna Barrett writes.  I find I get to know each Character better with each book, have come to consider them some of my most favorites. Lorna had me guessing until the end who the killer was and shocked and amazed at how wonderfully this story ended.
I also love the recipes in the back of this book a wonderful added bonus!
So if you have the opportunity and desire to loose yourself in a wonderful series I highly recommend Lorna Barret and The Booktown Mysteries. I am so grateful for the day I stood in front of the cozy rack at my library spun it and by chance the book that stopped in front of me was one of Lorna Barrett's. I took that chance on a book based on it's cover, and I am so very glad that I did. You can find out more about Lorna Barrett and her Booktown Mystery Series by clicking here.
As with all my posts I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com