Five Amigos Fall-O-ween Fun Week 2! Cozy Mysteries You Will Fall In Love With...

We are so happy to have you join us here today for our second week in our Fall-O-ween Fun, this week our Double Double Due of Karen and Karen are ready to share our picks of the week!

This time I am starting first! My choice for this weeks fall themed cozy is Lucy Arlington's Every Trick in the Book! 

Lila Wilkins has it all: the home of her dreams in the charming town of Inspiration Valley, North Carolina; a perfect police officer boyfriend; and a new job she absolutely loves. At the Book and Author Festival, which is sponsored by the Novel Idea Literary Agency, Lila expects to discover some talented new authors, but what she finds instead is the body of an editor to whom she bears an eerie resemblance. Trouble is, the editor’s death isn’t the only literary murder taking place. Soon a blossoming author is also killed, and Lila has a gut feeling that the two murders are linked. Now she must hunt down the dark figure who killed these women—and to her surprise, she just might find the clues hidden in a manuscript…

You can find it on Amazon.com by clicking here.

Karen K's choice today is Julia Buckley's The Big Chili! 

"This series debut is a must read! An entertaining start to a series that introduces the reader to Lilah Drake, who lives in Pine Haven, Illinois. Lilah’s covered dish business provides her clients with meals they can claim they cooked themselves. The characters and a well written mystery lend itself to a fun, engaging and appealing ride which will leave you guessing until the very end. The recipes included are also enticing."

Lilah Drake’s Covered Dish business discreetly provides the residents of Pine Haven, Illinois, with delicious, fresh-cooked meals they can claim they cooked themselves. But when one of her clandestine concoctions is used to poison a local woman, Lilah finds herself in a pot-load of trouble…After dreaming for years of owning her own catering company, Lilah has made a start into the food world through her Covered Dish business, covertly cooking for her neighbors who don’t have the time or skill to do so themselves, and allowing them to claim her culinary creations as their own. While her clientele is strong, their continued happiness depends on no one finding out who’s really behind the apron.So when someone drops dead at a church Bingo night moments after eating chili that Lilah made for a client, the anonymous chef finds herself getting stirred into a cauldron of secrets, lies, and murder—and going toe to toe with a very determined and very attractive detective. To keep her clients coming back and her business under wraps, Lilah will have to chop down the list of suspects fast, because this spicy killer has acquired a taste for homicide…

This is a first in series we both loved!  You can find it on Amazon.com by clicking here.

We are so thrilled you decided to spend part of your day with both of us! Don't forget to popover and visit our Amigos Mary, Lisa and Sheryl to see the choices they have made this week! 

Wondering what Mary has chosen today? Come check it out by clicking here! 

Wander over and see what Lisa has for us today over at Lisa K's Book Review by clicking here.

stop by and check out what our friend Sheryl has for us today over on Booth Talks Books by clicking here.

Thank you for joining us for a cup of tea and a fall cozy mystery to fall in love with! We love having you join us so please leave us a comment here or email us at karenmowen@gmail.com

Buy A Friend A Book Day Suggestions!

August 31st is fast approaching and I have some cozy suggestions for you of books you can purchase and give to friends! I love this new-ish holiday. I have participated the last three years and I have joined a swap with friends this year on Elfster which lets the friends create a wish list of books. When you have friends like I do who read constantly it is often hard to choose a book for them that they may not have already read so this year Elftster is a God Send!

For those of you who may not be familiar with Buy A Friend A Book Day this is a fun day where you simply buy a book you think a friend would like on August 31st and give or send it to them. This holiday event is meant as a fun way to share a love of books and reading with others. You can purchase on line (with free shipping) from The Book Depository to send to friends far away or you can purchase a book at a small independent book store (Which is also a very good idea!) and then give it to your friends.

If you are stuck on ideas of great cozy mysteries to purchase for friends I have more then a few suggestions here on my blog and you can find reviews and photos of all the books I have read and reviewed in the tabs at the top of my blog!

To get you started here are a few of my favorite suggestions of series I hope you will not only read yourself but perhaps gift a friend:

Duffy Brown's Cycle Path Mystery Series 
Terrie Farley Moran's Read Em' and Eat Mystery Series (with recipes from yours truly in the back!) 
Victoria Hamilton's A Teapot Collector Mystery Series (notes and information about the enjoyment of tea from yours truly can also be found inside!)
Ellery Adam's Book Retreat Series 
Lucy Arlington A Novel Idea Series
Lorna Barrett's A Booktown Mystery Series 
Krista Davis A Domestic Diva Mystery  or her Paws and Claws Mystery Series
Victoria Hamilton's Merry Muffin Mystery Series 
Susan Furlong's Georgia Peach Mystery Series
Miranda Jame's Cat in The Stacks Mystery Series 
Kathi Daley Zoe Donovan Mystery Series, Whales and Tales Mystery Series and Sand and Sea Hawaiian Mystery Series
Vicki Vass (Anything this lady writes I love!)
Auralee Wallace- Otter Lake Mystery Series 
Kathleen Bridge A Hamptons Home & Garden Mystery 

Paranormal Series Recommendations:

Heather Blake's Wishcraft Series 

Joyce and Jim Lavene (ANY THING THEY HAVE EVER WRITTEN I highly recommend) 

Juliet Blackwell Witchcraft Mystery Series 
Carol J Perry Witch City Mystery Series
Victoria Laurie A Psychic Eye Mystery 

First in series this year that I thought were outstanding:
Laura Bradford's Elcair and Present Danger 
Julia Buckley A Dark and Stormy Murder
Vicki Vass Gem Hunter
Amanda Flower Crime and Poetry
Nikki LeClair Haunting Me
Judy Volt  Asiago and the Accomplice 
Jenny Kales On The Chopping Block 

Poetry, may I recommend the southern styling's of Patricia Neeley-Dorsey 

I hope you enjoyed just some of my favorite books and series suggestions and that you may consider joining me in celebrating Buy A Friend A Book Day this August 31st!
Thank you for joining me here for a cup of tea and a cozy mystery suggestion for buy a friend a book day! I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

Got A Cozy Series? I have found a cookie cutter for that!

Today I wanted to share an Etsy shop I recently found that has cookie cutters that they print with a 3D printer.

As I have just finished the Lucy Arlington Cozy called Off The Books, I was drawn to this cookie cutter shape and can see myself making these cookies and icing them with yellow icing in honor of the Vespa in the Novel Idea Mystery Series. Offered by KayKayLine Etsy shop at  $9.90 US this cookie cutter also embosses the cookie for easy decorating. 

I am so looking forward to Duffy Brown's next Cycle Path Mystery Book  Breaking For Bodies out April 5th and this Bicycle Cookie would look fab with my book and tea! Click here to see the cookie cutter listing.

And here to order Duffy's new book 

For the Teapot Collector's Series by Amanda Cooper, I found a teapot cutter I just loved!

I think the little dots are adorable don't you? Click here to see this listing.

I also just finished reading Kernel of Truth by Kristi Abbot so this Popcorn themed cutter jumped out at me!

This book came out March 1st and was such a fun read! Click here to learn more about this series. 

There are more then 40 pages of cookie cutters that have been created using a 3D printer offered in KayKayLine Etsy shop it is truly worth the look! Click here to visit the Etsy shop and be sure to let me know what you think there are at least 4 other series I could mention that have cookie cutters I think match but perhaps I will save them for another post! 

Thank you for joining me for A cup of tea and an etsy shop review. I look forward to sharing more ideas and review with you soon. 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 February 27- March 5th

This week I have had lovely things to read, eat and drink on my table and I do feel so very lucky! My Tea Time Magazine has just arrived and I always get the "Kid at Christmas" feeling when it arrives at my door. I also got A Familiar Tail a book recommended to me by Lisa of Lisa K's book reviews. I can not wait to dive into it!

I am currently reading And Then There Were Nuns by Kylie Logan .

I have read and reviewed Off The Books by Lucy Arlington, Always a great story in this series.

I also read and reviewed Those Who Walk In Darkness by Joyce and Jim Lavene. 

As well as The Grim Steeper, such a treat to have not only read and enjoyed this story but to have the book dedicated to me was truly wonderful.

  I have had lovely selection of black teas on my table this week but Monday when I had my new photos taken I actually had a Oolong  Davids Tea called Long Life Oolong in my cup and tea pot. The teapot never made the photo shoot but it did hold this refreshing tea, it is a fresh tea with peaches that tastes lovely hot or cold. 

You can learn more about this Davids Tea by clicking here.

Thank you for joining me this week for a cup of tea and a week in review! I look forward to sharing more reviews with you again soon. 

Off The Books By Lucy Arlington, A Novel Idea Mystery Book! One of my most favorite series to read!

Reading Off the Books by Lucy Arlington was like returning home to visit friends. As always it was full of activity from page one. I felt like we were apart of the Novel Idea team through out the book as if I were apart of the story actively not just along for the ride!

I love that the Vespa that Lila owns is really it's own character (like pets are in most cozies that is) In Off the Books, the little Vespa doesn't disappoint!

"Literary agent and amateur sleuth Lila Wilkins is back to seal the deal in the "New York Times" bestselling Novel Idea Mystery series. "Lila is showcasing some of her biggest authors at a bridal expo. But when the joyous event turns deadly, she ll have to figure out who penned the perfect crime..." The Novel Idea Literary Agency has planned a wedding-themed week for Inspiration Valley, celebrating not only North Carolina s best vendors but also some of the agency s most popular bridal books. The fact that Lila can use the event to plan her own impending nuptials is just the icing on the cake. But wedding bells turn to warning bells when Lila finds a dead man facedown in the frosting. Soon it s discovered that the victim was connected to several Novel Idea authors, all of whom quickly become suspects in the case. It s up to Lila and her fellow agents to find the real killer before one of their clients winds up scribbling stories from behind bars..."

I ordered my own copy of Off The Books from The Book Depository when I first heard it was comming out and It was truly worth the wait. This is one of my most favorite series and I really like that Lila is a little older then the 30 something, regular cozy mystery lead characters, it makes her even more endearing.
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

New Month, New Look And New Tea Blog You Can Also Find Me At

Hello. March brings in new changes. The end of the winter, the start of more spring like conditions, new adventures, new things to try and for me a new hair cut. I decided to take several inches off my hair recently and asked my photographer to do an updated tea photo. She worked her magic and we both found a photo we really liked and I am thrilled to share it with you today. On my Facebook page someone said this would look so good on the back of my best selling cozy mystery. I agree, now I just have to find time to write one. In the meantime I am practicing my writing skills on a new Tea blog called Steeped in Tradition, Exploring the world of tea . I will have a weekly post on Wednesdays starting today and I hope you will stop by. The blog is devoted to all things tea and I have the amazing luck to work with some truly amazing talented writers. I hope you will click here and stop by to say hello! I love it when you comment and let me know you are out there. So I invite you to leave a comment here or on Steeped Traditions and just say hello!

I am happily reading through Off The Books by Lucy Arlington and admiring my stack of books and kindle ebooks to read. I can not wait to share my review with you soon. Thank you for taking the time to join me today for A Cup of Tea and A Cozy Mystery. I would love to see you over at Steeped In Tradition as well, click here to read that post as well.

On My Table and In My Cup February 20th-27th

I have waited a really long time it seems to have this book on my table and as I am not half way through I must tell you that it is such a delight and a privilege to have been able to contribute in a very small way to this series. I can not wait to share the review with you soon and reveal a fun give away so be sure to check back in the next few days.

This time last week my table was almost bare of cozies to read but what a difference a week makes and my TBR pile is now a small mountain!

I have been able to read and review 5 books this week and such a range of books at that. I have no idea why I waited so long to read Murder on the Mind which is currently FREE right now on Kindle AMAZON, a great paranormal mystery and read!  Click here of a link to Amazon.

The weather was beautiful this week and I did do some reading outside. I love my Witchy reads and this self help book called Witchy Mama is out this June and I have already ordered a paper back copy as this was a book I feel I can read and refer to often! 

I had a great laugh with Tamar Myers 20th instalment of A Pennsylvania Dutch Mystery Tea with Jam and Dread out in May this book was delightfully entertaining.Click here to order your copy now! 

Cold Blood Hot Sea, A very good first in series from Charlene D'Avanzo and a thought provoking mystery at that! Also out in May click here to learn more.

The fifth book review this week was Kernel of Truth by Kristi Abbott also a first in series and a wonderful sweet mystery. Click here to order your own paperback copy.  Out March 1st! 

In addition to the changes in the length of my reading pile I also changed the length of my hair. I hope to have some new photos of my new do for you soon, I am terrible with a selfie so I hope you will bare with me, I feel like it is a huge change and it is shorter now then I have worn it in about 8 years.

I am also very proud that my Guppie pin arrived (Sisters In Crime group) more on that later. In my cup this week I have tried 2 new teas. I have had a lovely Monks Blend from Steeped tea, along with a Lavender Earl Grey. I have had quite a week and hope that you have enjoyed your visits, as much as I have knowing you took the time to stop by.
Thank you for joining me for a cup of tea and a cozy week in review. I hope you enjoy the rest of your Saturday.

Read Along With Me 2016- Here are the cozies I have pre-ordered so far!

Well the mail man came and went yesterday with no books for me and as I am getting impatient for something to read I thought it would be a good time look at my pre orders and get even more excited/impatient. But I am trying to be on the cutting edge of my own happiness so I thought I would share...

I am so looking forward to Off the Books! 33 more days to go and I anxiously await it's delivery! I ordered it and all my pre orders from The Book Depository because I never have to pay shipping, it is free on every order and as a Canadian it is a great deal.

Out in just a few days and on it's way to me is Fran Sterwart's A Wee Dose of Death. I am really looking forward another Scotshop Mystery!

I love the Teapot Collector Mystery series by Amanda Cooper (and I am very excited because something I wrote is included in the back of the book!) The Grim Steeper is out in only 88 more days until it's release! 

Breach of Crust, Ellery Adams Charmed Pie Shoppe Mystery is out in 96 more days! Love the title down you?

I am so looking forward to both  Gone With The Witch, one of my favorite Heather Blake series which is out in 153 more days!  I simply adore this series! As well as...

the highly anticipated The Diva Serves High Tea! I can not wait! I am so excited for this one also out in 153 more days!

with 187 more days to go is Read-To Death the third book in the Read em' and Eat Mystery Series, and I have a recipe in this one too! I am really excited to be a part of this series as well and am so thankful to Terrie for including one of my recipes in this book as well!

Currently my longest wait for a pre order is Murder in the Secret Garden by Ellery Adams, not due out for 215 More days! 
I hope you will join me for these wonderful cozy reads and pre ordering these titles before they are released helps the authors so much! Bonus for us is that we get books in the mail regularly that we are so looking forward to reading and I know they are going to look great on my table!  Thank you for joining me for A cup of tea and a look a head at some wonderful cozy mysteries! I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com