Grave Mistake by Janice J. Richarson

I purchased Grave Mistake by Janice J. Richardson in August and finished it September 1st. I really love this series. Set in Canada, near Niagara Falls this is a beautiful series about a funeral home director that should not be missed. 

How on earth do you make a cozy mystery about someone who owns and operates a funeral home, making it warm, cozy and a book you can not put down you maybe thinking but Jance J. Richardson does just that. There is something so real, relatable and magnetic about this series! Book three did a great job of keeping up and building on the suspense of the last two and has me waiting on baited breath for book four. So glad I bought this book and series! 

Mistakes have consequences.Funeral Director Jennifer Spencer forgot to check the weather report. A tornado wrecked havoc at the cemetery where a burial was to take place. First mistake.An interior designer is murdered. Jennifer is determined to find the killer. Second mistake.Adding to the business of running two funeral homes comes an illness, a wedding and potentially the most grave mistake of all.Two mistakes too late.

Find this book in e-copy or print by clicking here from Amazon.
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

On My Table and In My Cup August 26th-September 2nd

September is here weather I like it or not. Having spent most of August to ill to do much, I feel a tad cheated and here we are on the Roller Coaster that will take us into the Christmas holidays. For me the start of summer feels like that climb to the top of the free fall, and September first is when that decent begins and at the bottom of that hill is Christmas.  Maybe it is not that way to you but it does feel that way to me. I am trying to look on the positive side and I am feeling better, just still not myself.  This past week I was well enough to get up before dawn with my husband and he would take me to the beach where he walks every morning along the Seawalk and I sit on the beach breathing the salt air, sipping my tea and taking it all in. 

 If you follow me on social media you already know all this. I am very lucky to live so close to such beautiful and naturally peaceful settings in such turbulent times. 

I went three times this week and this was the first day, just catching the sun  as it rose above the Lions Gate Bridge. 

The view is beautiful even when you are not facing the bridge.  I have had so many things on my mind lately, the news, has not be great, my heart goes out to those who are dealing with the flooding in Asia and The USA, though you don't see much on the catastrophic floods in Asia unless you read international news. The stories of  those helping others is what I look for and while I know prayers are not enough, I wish there was some real way we could help anyone in such need. 

On to books, what a treat to be reading Jennifer David Hesse upcoming mystery this weekend. I am half way through and loving it.

I also finished Grave Mistake by Janice J. Richardson this week , my review of this one will be up later next week. This is a can't miss Canadian Cozy series!

Wednesday I read The Good Witches Guide to Wicked Ways, this is actually a really old book I got at a second hand store that I enjoy having on my shelf, great tips and written with humor.

I finished Pudding Up With Murder and have this review coming up shortly! Julia Buckley is a favorite author of mine and this is such a great series!

I remembered to post my review of Betty Hechtman, along with sharing the hats I made on my knitting retreat.

I shared my review of J.A. Hennrikus' A Christmas Peril earlier in the week as well, an exciting holiday cozy you need to watch for!

Coming up tomorrow I have the review of Allison Brook's Death Overdue.....love the cover don't you?

With Buy A Friend A Book Day I was delighted to receive at my door, The TEa Lovers Devotional!

As well via Email I was thrilled to receive Amanda M. Lee's Casual Hex, I wanted to thank you Lin and my Secret Elf for making it such a fun day for me! I hope you all had fun as well. I sent out some early to my partner in the Elf swap, hoping it arrives to them soon! I also sent out a few more to surprise a few unsuspecting friends. I love Buy A Friend A Book Day and can not wait for next years swap!

Thank you all for joining me here today for a cup of tea and cozy mystery week in review.  I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

On My Table and In My Cup July 1-8th

Another week has flown by in the blink of an eye. I am more busy now than ever before and I am so thankful for the time to do what I do! I get up much earlier then my family so that I may have time to share my passion for reading and enjoy a pot of tea or two before my full day of work begins. Dragging myself to bed when the sun is still high in the sky and the boys are unwilling to drift off to sleep makes for long days but I love it.  This weekend i am starting to read Kate Kingsbury's Doom with a View, this one is out in several weeks time and one I have been looking forward to reading. With summer, ghost stories go hand in hand. 

I announced earlier this week a collaborative project with author Jayne Barnard! I am so excited about this cup coming Facebook event and I have so many fun things planned to share during the party. I would be so honored to have you join us for a few hours on Wednesday July 26th. The Maddie Hatter series is one I discovered in May with the purchase of my first book in the series, and I just finished book two (will be sharing the review tomorrow) and it is a series I am so excited about. I am dreaming of clockwork birds, chickens and zeppelins! My creative brain has been spinning and I have some fun crafts to share. If you are a parent, grandparent, aunt or special friend of a young reader (I am 42 and this series I personally love) I recommend the adventure mystery series of Maddie Hatter !

I have exciting crafts, fun facts, prizes and more to share at the party don't miss it!

Paranormal cozy mysteries have a special place in my heart as many of you know. I read Ghost of a Chance by Cate Dean this week and absolutely loved it, it was exactly the story I needed at the time and lovely as well as light. I could love to read the series!

Out of my comfort zone I read a suspense thriller that is up coming by Kathleen Valenti, this one is a very good mystery and will keep you on the edge of your seat, not a cozy to be sure but it does have a happy ending.

Sunday I reviewed Cat About Town by Cate Conte, this one is out in September and has a lovely feel to it, a great cat, small town and new business, this is a series I hope that will be long running, who doesn't love a cat cafe? 

I also shared a bit on Monday in our Three Amigos Book Club post my choice for this weeks book or series and I chose Janice J. Richardson's series. Set in Niagara Falls and centered around a funeral home, this series amazed me with how calm and serene I felt while reading it even though the trauma of death and funerals is something that I struggle with, I came away from reading both books with an undeniable sense of comfort. I hope you will too!

I discovered something I had no idea about when I was picking up my supply of Murchie's tea this week, they offer something called Purple Majesty, a PURPLE TEA that steeps purple! I must get this tea to try! It is a rare one but stay tuned as I give this one a try! 

Click here to learn more about this tea and how to order it from Murchie's!

A special thank you to Author Laura Bradford for spending some time with us yesterday, I am quite honored she could spend some time with us this week during her busy tour! 

Below is my Friday Spotlight Youtube video, I would love to have you pop over and watch under a minute! I have 9 subscribers and would love to make it a dozen as I build my new channel and step out of my comfort zone of being on camera!

Thank you all for joining me here this week for  a look back at what I have had on my table this week!

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

Three Amigos Summer Reading Club Week 3

This weeks theme is Patriotic Themed books and I am very patriotic, however I am not American.

 If you are new to my blog I am Canadian, living on the West Coast and proud of my heritage and country. I have a great fondness and love for my sisters in the USA and all the wonderful readers I have south of the 49th parallel line.  On Saturday we just celebrated our 150th Birthday here as as the Country of Canada, so we are still pretty young.

 In our house we celebrate Canada Day July 1st, it is a celebration much like the 4th of July, we have parades, picnics, BBQ and more. In our family we celebrate the 4th of July as well, we have lots of our family are American and living in the States... but let's get to my book for this week! 

Casket Cache is a book I read late last year and I really enjoyed. It is set in Canada, near Niagra Falls and I was surprised at how much I loved this book and series. Who knew I would find a book about a Funeral Director to be so comforting and so wonderful?

Funeral homes are supposed to be quiet... Jennifer Spencer inherits her uncle’s funeral home. Her move to the Niagara Region into the apartment above the Home went well, but in the first week alone, someone breaks into the funeral home. Then, Jennifer finds cash in a casket, a lot of cash. Certain it has something to do with the break-in, she’s unable to convince the police and winds up on their list of suspects. But Jennifer has families to serve and funerals to arrange; that is her number-one priority. Someone sinister and dangerous wants the cash back; that’s their number-one priority and Jennifer Spencer, funeral director, is in the way. A cozy mystery with heart, compassion, and humour. “CASKET CACHE presents us with the perfect balance of light and dark: a delightful small town with a local murder. It does this and also takes a step further by setting the action in and around Spencer Funeral Home, blending compassionate descriptions of care families receive in their time of need with the inside scoop on coroner’s calls, casket selection rooms and funeral processions. 

  Janice J. Richardson does an amazing job with this mystery and with this series. I challenge you to read this book! Click here to find it on Amazon.com

I would love for you to read it so we can discuss it! 

I loved book two as well and am anxiously awaiting book three! 

There are some really fantastic cozy mysteries written by some talented big named Canadian Authors who are actually Canadian but only a handful of cozies actually set here! 

I do hope you will give this Canadian based cozy series a try! 

On to what my Amigos have in store for you! We love hearing from you so when you visit to see their selections please leave them a comment and say hello! 

Click here to see what Mary has chosen for her book this week. 

Click here to see what Lisa has chosen for her book this week. 

Wishing you all the best as you celebrate this week from my family to yours! 

Thank you for joining me for a cup of tea and a Three Amigos Summer Reading Club Suggestion. I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com 

On My Table and In My Cup November 5th-12th

Saturday morning and a bit of a later start for me today. We are to move in a a short while and I was up wrapping my china until the wee hours. I have been so busy I have yet to start this upcoming March release by Kirsten Weiss.

I did finish Ellie Alexander's A Batter of Life and Death earlier in the week, I was thrilled with it. Kicked myself for leaving it at an appointment on Tuesday and had to run back the next day and thankfully they had it. I was able to finish and review it, however I was not able to read on election night as I had wished.

I enjoyed Janice J. Richardson's second book in her Spencer Family Funeral Home series. It was a difficult week this week for some close families of mine loosing loved ones this past week, this series is incredibly comforting if you are someone who has ever lost someone close.  

A week ago I was at the Tea Festival in Vancouver and this weeks tea time adventures have been wonderful. I picked up and purchased several teas to try and have enjoyed a few this week.

Whistlers own Namasthe tea company joined my morning tea ritual this week. I enjoyed their breakfast blend and their booth at the festival so much! This is a tea to add to my rotation for sure.

One of the most exciting discoveries I had at the tea festival is the Wize Monkey Coffee Leaf Tea company, the taste of their teas were outstanding, crisp, fresh and invigorating. I am looking forward to seeing this company grow.

Yesterday we took time to honor the memory of all those who have fought for the freedom we so richly enjoy and those who continue to do so in these uncertain times. It is my hope you enjoy your weekend and that you will join me again here tomorrow of a cup of tea and a cozy review.
I would love to hear from you so please leave  me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

Winter's Mourning By Janice J. Richardson

Sunday I read Winter's Mourning by Janice J. Richardson. This is the second book in the Spencer Funeral Home Niagara Cozy Mystery Series. This book was extremely well thought out. Written with care and careful consideration. This series is very intriguing. The mysteries are very good. I enjoyed the poignant reflection as well as the challenges that Jennifer faces in book two. I don't know how author Janice does it, despite extreme events and circumstances main character Jennifer finds herself in there is still an incredible calm and serene feeling through out this book. This book was a phenomenal cozy to read. It is a reflective and a very respectful, cozy mystery.

Not all mysteries involve murder...Funeral Director Jennifer Spencer's walk along the Niagara Parkway on a rainy, cold day leads her to Winter, a distraught young woman who isn't speaking.Travis, the temporary director hired when Uncle Bill passed, is still out for revenge. That won't happen if she listens to the police officers assigned to protect her … but she doesn't.Can Jennifer survive her own harrowing ordeal in order to help Winter get her life back?Book 2 of The Spencer Funeral Home Niagara Cozy Mystery Series

Order your own copy of Winter's Mourning from Amazon like I did by clicking here.
Learn more about Author Janice J. Richardson by clicking here.
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

On My Table and In My Cup October 29th- November 5th

Saturday morning and another week has flown by, still a tiny amount of Halloween candy left not bad in a house of three boys, I can not be held responsible for the candy left un attended. Actually we had about 78 trick or treators on Halloween, not a busy night!  Currently on my table is the second book in Janice Richardson's Spencer Funeral Home Niagara Cozy Mystery, Winter's Mourning. I am very excited to have this to read. I can not wait to share my review.

I had the pleasure of reading and reviewing the November 15th release Cat Got Your Diamonds! This is a must read cozy and new series to love!

A guilty pleasure to read about someone training for a big run, while eating Halloween candy! Kate Dyer-Seeley has a fantastic  4th book coming out this month that I think you will love. I enjoy the fact that this cozy is set on the West Coast and look forward to reading this Oregon based series.

Deck The Hallways by Kate Carlisle gave me all the wonderful holiday feels you expect a Hallmark movie channel to do on a snowy December night. Don't miss this one!

In my cup this week, I was lucky enough to have a friend who knows how to fill up my bucket! She brought me the new Davids Tea Holiday tin and their Coffee Cake Tea which I simply adore! This has happily filled my cup since Thursday and these lovely little spoons came from a swap I did on Elfster that made my day! Though my almost 2 year old niece Phoebe grabbed them and stuck them in her purse, carting them around for the last two days everywhere we went. They are so darling and a great addition to my tea table.
Thank you for joining me for a cup of tea and 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