Here's the start of a cozy series by C.C. Benison that sounds like it should fit books about Christmas and the Twelve Days of Christmas, but it doesn't! After his wife is murdered, Father Tom Christmas and his daughter have moved to a small town. The peace and quiet he hopes to find is shattered when a body is found in a Japanese Drum. Start with Twelve Drummers Drumming.

Lending a Paw, by Laurie Cass is also the start of a new cozy series. (A Bookmobile Cat Mystery). Minnie Hamilton drives the bookmobile for the local library. On the very first day of service there is a stowaway. Her cat, Eddie, reminds me a bit of the cats in the Lillian Jackson Braun 'Cat Who' books in that he provides useful clues as the story movies along. In the second book in this series, Borrowed Crime, Minnie is fighting for the survival of the bookmobile (the library director is not a fan). Her situation is not helped when a volunteer is shot and killed. It's amazing how much can be expressed/explained with a simple "mrrr".

The Edge of Dreams, by Rhys Bowen, is from her Molly Murphy Mystery series. This time the story uses the then new science of psychology (think Freud) to help solve the mystery and track down the bad guy. The characters are like old friends now and I look forward to their ongoing adventures. :-)

A cat, a library, a lighthouse .... what great elements for a cozy mystery! Booked for Trouble, by Eva Gates is actually the second in the series, but it was where I started. Wonderful characters to both love and hate, I'm going to go 'backwards' now and read the first one! :-) Thanks go to Crafty Reader for this recommendation.

Reading Hermit With Dog