Secrets Between the Shelves, 4 Cozy Bookshop Mysteries by Cynthia Hickey, Linda Baten Johnson, Teresa Ives Lily, and Marilyn Turk is this week’s Reader Friday! Here’s the first line from Murder in the Mystery Section: “I unlocked the door to Through the Looking Glass and flipped the sign on the door to OPEN.”
But first the photo and verse. I snapped the shot at Artist Point in Grand Marais while walking around Lake Superior. It was at least 10° cooler around the lake! Grand Marais and Artist Point are great vacation destinations, and the verse popped in my head when I saw the sailboats.
Now for Secrets Between the Shelves,4 Cozy Bookshop Mysteries by Cynthia Hickey, Linda Baten Johnson, Teresa Ives Lily, and Marilyn Turk. Here is the cover and back copy:
Mysteries Leap Off the Page My take:
I love a good cozy mystery set in a bookstore, and there were four here! Each had characters I quickly came to love. The characters in each book drew me into the cozy atmosphere of the setting, with murder and mayhem following. The town in each story is unique, with a great cast of characters, and the romance flows naturally in the story. I followed along, trying to puzzle out who the murderer was, and there are plenty of suspects. This anthology is a cozy mystery fans are sure to love.
You can purchase Secrets Between the Shelves on Amazon or read it for free in KU.
Do you enjoy reading cozy mysteries? Leave a comment letting me know or leave the first line of the book you’re reading, and I’ll enter you in a drawing for one of Steve Hooley’s fine pens! (value $60) You can check my friend’s pens at his website. Must be a US address.
Winner of the July drawing is…Crystal!
And now for this week song. I’ll bet you’re not surprised to discover it’s “The Anchor Holds.”
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Comments 36
The book I’m reading is cowboy Stealing My Heart by Jessie Gussman. First line The sports car .missed his foot by an inch.
Author
That sounds like an intriguing book, Phyllis!
I have been thinking of buying this book. Sometimes I like to fit in a cozy mystery when I am reading several page turning mysteries. They also have a tendency to add a little humor which I think is also good, after all laughter is a medicine.
Author
I think you’ll enjoy it, Sharon. Sometimes I just want to read something short.
Beautiful photo, Pat. And the verse fits the nature of Lake Superior. It can get really wild and deadly at times.
I’m not a fan of reading cozy mysteries. I will watch them occasionally on TV. The Hallmark channels sometimes have some good ones.
I’m currently reading “Tracing Killer evidence” by Jodie Bailey. This is one in the Dakota K-9 Unit continuity series. The first line is, “She wasn’t usually known for following her gut into a bad idea, but…this might have been a bad idea.”
Author
Thanks, Tim! I love going up on the North Shore! I have to get Jodie’s book, too!
Great photo and 10° cooler when you were there. Sounds delightful. The Scripture is spot on.
Your review of Secrets Between the Shelves got me hooked. I’m ready for a good cozy mystery and since I know Marilyn and love her books, I know this will also be a good addition to the collection.
I’m reading Under the Desert Sky by Di Ann Mills. I finished the book on Wednesday and started a reread on Thursday. And, I may do a third back-to-to back read. It is that good. I am transported into the desert and really involved in the story. There are twists! The beginning is as follows: “Poisonous snakes come in all shapes and sizes. The one towering above stood over six feet tall and wore a gray, three-piece suit.”
Author
I have to get DiAnn Mills’ book, Barbara. She’s our keynote speaker for the MidSouth Conference next year! Glad you enjoyed the photo and verse.
I do enjoy a good cozy. It’s fun to try to figure out whodunit before the amateur sleuth does. Thanks for sharing this cozy anthology with us, Pat!
Author
I think you’d enjoy them, Priscilla…I guessed all but one…let me know if you read the stories and if you guessed the right killer. 🙂
I love a good cozy mystery book the book I’m reading now is called COLORADO K-9 RESCUE BY KATHLEEN DONNELLY and The first line of the book is The porch was secure. Or so she told herself. I know that first line doesn’t tell you much but the book is about a young woman who was kidnapped several years earlier and is now working as an FBI victim Specialist helping other families to cope and helping victims to recover. A must read
Author
Oh, Crystal, she is so good! I read her for research when I’m writing a story with a dog in it–she’s a dog trainer. 🙂
Pat, you did an excellent job tying together the photo, scripture and song! I enjoyed all. Thank you!
I do enjoy a cozy mystery occasionally, especially after reading several intense mysteries one after another. This one sounds interesting and I’ll get it on KU.
I just finished reading Submerged by Elizabeth Goddard – a good one!
Congratulations Crystal.
Author
I’m glad you caught the connections, Mary G! I may start doing that more often. 🙂 Yes, Submerged is excellent!
sometimes
Author
Me, too, BN.
Great photo and verse combo.
I do enjoy cozies, especially with a bookstore setting. These sound fun.
“Cold and ice-pick pain bored into Kit Garrido’s temples.”
Fire Mountain by Dana Mentink
Author
Ooooh, Gloria, I’m almost finished with Fire Mountain. That one is one page turning story!
Yes, indeed!
It sounds like a really interesting book. Thank you for sharing.
Author
The stories are well-written and just what I needed when I didn’t want to read too late–I could read one story and then go to sleep, knowing I had another one for the next night. lol
I’ve been reading cozy mysteries about a crochet group that meets and always comes across a murder that needs to be solved. There are 16 books in this series by Betty Hechtman.
Author
That sounds really interesting, Gail, especially since I plan on doing little crocheting the near future. 🙂
Pat, Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
Such a soothing picture and reassuring verse. An old church hymn crossed my mind when I read the verse, but I love the song you shared. In 2001, when it was still fairly new, I listened to it so much I almost had it memorized. So much meaning in it.
I am reading a non-fiction book and preparing to start the first read of a soon to be released book by Jody Hedlund. I decided to share the first line of Robin Patchen’s Vengeance in the Mist, the tenth book in her Coventry Saga series.
Two breaking and entering cases, two assaults, one bribery and–Misty Lake flipped through the last few files–a couple of narcotics possession charges.
Author
We have a tenor in our choir who sings this occasionally, Edward. And it always brings chill bumps to my arms. One of my favorite songs. Robin’s books sounds really good. I’ve read some of the Coventry Saga books…will have to see which ones and get caught up!
I do enjoy a good cozy mystery. I hadn’t heard of this anthology; I will have to look for it.
Author
I enjoyed it, Pam K.
I do like cozy mysteries sometimes! Congrats Crystal!
Author
As do I sometimes. I’m usually a romantic suspense or thriller reader, but these were enjoyable, Shelia.
My first line is from Final Approach by Lynette Eason:
“Air Marshal Kistine Duncan leaned back in her seat, her eyes skimming over the sunrise outside the Airbus 319’s window. “
Author
This just arrived in my mail box, Paula! Can’t wait to read it…maybe I’ll review it next week. 🙂
I sometimes read cozy mysteries but prefer suspense!
“Ida Dempsey pinned her bonnet on and skipped down the staircase, eager to enjoy the church picnic among the redwoods.” from The Angel of Second Street by Barbara Tifet Blakey.
Author
That sounds like a sweet romancce, Joan!
I love a good cozy mystery.
Author
Me, too, Brittany!