Mystery on the Menu is a collection of three novellas by Nicole Kimberling featuring chef Drew Allison and Deputy MacKenzie. Set on the small island of Camas, an easy ferry ride to Seattle, where all the law enforcement folks have the same last name (it's a family thing). These are not cozies! They are much grittier than that, and, for this reader, some scenes give a bit too much detail (as in close the door folks, fade to black, end scene)! That being said, I like the characters, the setting, the story ... all in all three excellent reads here. In Entree to Murder Drew finds his bartender dead in basement of his small eatery, which means, of course, Drew is the prime suspect. It's also how he meets Deputy "Mac" MacKenzie. In Recipe for Trouble his former lover shows up, now a well known tv personality (and chef). There is a fire in an old barn where (naturally) a body is found. We meet more of the MacKenzie family, learn of past events and get to know the 'family' Drew has made for himself (love this): it's a three generation family including himself, Evelyn and Julie from the Beehive Senior Living facility (and chefs, too), and a new, young apprentice/worker, Lionel. When the body is identified there is a connection with things from the past, possibly to the disappearance of Mac's father. Is his Uncle (and sheriff) hiding something? And why did Drew's business partner (and friend), Sam, leave town so abruptly? AND sell her half of the partnership to the tv chef? Homicide and Hospitality starts with the discovery of a body ... it's Sam, Drew's former partner ... what is she doing back in town? Yes, it is the Christmas season, but she has no family here and has pretty much cut all ties with what friends she had. Well, there is her brother, who is in jail. It takes a while to put all the pieces together, but he has asked her to access their storage unit to find some papers that have information he's sure will get him out of jail. What secrets might those papers hold that get Sam killed? A page turner for sure.

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Remember that line from Monty Python? "And now for something completely different."? I never watched a lot of those, but I did like that line, and it seems to fit this book: Killers of a Certain Age, by Deanna Raybourn. There are four of them, now retired and on a cruise, a retirement gift, a 'thank you' for all their years of hard work. Until they see someone they shouldn't, who hasn't, er, followed the proper protocol, leading them to realize they are the target. Backtracking a bit here, these women were assassins with a secret organization. They took out bad guys, quietly and efficiently, so why would said organization want to take them out? That, my friends, is the story here! It switches between their recruitment and training, various jobs, and the retirement cruise and beyond as they track down the who and the why of the order to take them out. Funnier than you'd think, and hard to put down.

A Poisoning in Piccadilly is the first in the Lady Eleanor Mystery series by Lynda Wilcox. It's New Year's Eve. There is a party, of course, but things go bad when the rich American gentleman Lady Eleanor is dancing with dies in her arms. At first she is a suspect, but there is no connection, she'd never met him before. So, it moves on to his children, staff, business contacts ... and just where are the missing papers he was supposed to deliver? Not a bad start!

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What could be more fun than a masked ball? And it started out that way, but you know that wouldn't last. In fact, it happens soon after Kitty arrives with a report from one of the house staff that there's been an accident, some one has taken a tumble down the stairs. It was an earl, and he is dead. When her good friend, Lord Newcastle, becomes the prime suspect, Kitty gathers her team (and what a great team it is!) to prove his innocence. Murder at the Masked Ball is book 3 in the Kitty Worthington Mystery series by Magda Alexander.

Lot's of family secrets play into this mystery, The Vile Narrows, by Jackie Elliott. Bad and sad things from the past, dinosaurs, and religion. The first body is curious enough, it belongs to a visiting professor, what is the connection to the community? And then an elderly man, across the Narrows, is also killed. Turns out, he was the father of the first victim. Andi's father is the prime suspect, but he is missing. She knows he didn't do it, but needs to prove it. This is part of the Coffin Cove Mystery series. The blurb on the covers says it best "a gripping murder mystery full of twists."

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There's good and bad with Case of the Ice Cream Crime, one of the Corgi Case Files by J.M. Poole ... it was an excellent read, but (sigh) now we have to wait for the next one! (It's in the works). :-) The Cookbook Nook has been vandalized ... lots of damage and a big mess to clean, but very little is missing, in fact, only ice cream was stolen. Then other places reported break-ins ... again, only ice cream was missing. Granted, it's very special ice cream, unique flavors and so on, but why would anyone steal it?

Cajun Fried Felony was the other Miss Fortune Mystery by Jana Deleon I had missed, and recently ordered a copy of my own to read. By now you are aware that nothing comes off as planned in Sinful, and the annual Thanksgiving Turkey Run is no exception. A 'gertie' accident unearths a body, the body of a former resident and someone no one missed when she moved away. She had returned a few weeks back, up to her old tricks again, stirred things up as the saying goes, and then was gone again. Folks just figured she'd returned to New Orleans. There might be lots of suspects, but one stands out. He hires Fortune and the Swamp Team to prove him innocent. Follow along with their first case as Fortune starts her new life as a P.I.

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For a well-researched and easy to read history of the women in the NYPD, look no further than The Girls Who Fought Crime: the Untold True Story of the Country's First Female Investigator and Crime-Fighting Squads, by Maj. Gen. Mari K. Eder. While mostly a biography of Mae Foley (and what a dynamic woman she was), it's also about many of the other women who patrolled the streets, worked undercover, arrested the bad guys, and, of course, did a lot of the paperwork the men wouldn't do.

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M.K. Dean is a new author for me, but An Embarrassment of Itches, her first Cozy Pet Lovers Mystery will not be the last book of hers I read, that's for sure! Ginny has moved back to her small home town to help her mom when her dad gets sick. She buys a small place intending to turn it into a small animal clinic but the zoning falls through and she ends up being a vet who makes house calls. Her mom worries about this. Mom is a card carrying member of the NRA and thinks her daughter should be armed. As a compromise, Ginny names her new pup Remington. Her work is interesting (think about having to give a snake medicine) and she is making new friends ... but then one is found at the bottom of the swimming pool. Turns out she was not only very wealthy, but left everything to Ginny. Why? And what is going on with the new development that is supposed to be happening? An excellent beginning to what looks to be a fun series.

There were two books in the Miss Fortune Mystery series by Jana Deleon that I had not read. With good reason, I thought: the library had them only in e-book form, and, really I could skip one book here and there, right? When there was more than one missing title I opted to buy my own copies (which are shared with several other readers who still prefer printed books). Worked for a while, but recently I cracked and got those missing two books. Hurricane Force has Fortune bracing to face her first hurricane. As the town of Sinful is preparing for that, a missing, presumed dead, citizen shows up in the local eatery. His wife, Celia, is not amused (also not well liked, and is the mayor (we'll learn more about in other books)). During the high winds of the hurricane the streets are flooded with 100 dollar bills, that are counterfeit. Celia's hubby is found dead ... in her kitchen ... Fortune's boss calls to warn her that the man she is hiding from is headed for the US ... there are connections here (of course). This is a wild romp, even for this series!

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Back when I had horses, listened to NPR on more regular basis, and had a subscription to Western Horseman, I was a fan of Baxter Black, large animal vet and cowboy poet (!) so it was fun to return to his musings in Horseshoes, Cowsocks, & Duckfeet. Some are funny, some are reflective, some offer advice on life ... just a nice blending of his works. You will laugh, and nod in recognition of some of the common things we all share as we go to work, pursue favorite hobbies ... age ... !

I loved Disney as a child, still do, actually, so when I spotted one of the special issue magazines from History titled Walt Disney: Real Stories Behind the Legend I knew it was a must read. It was good! Lots of nice articles about how he came up with his ideas forstories, for animation, adding color and so on. He was nostalgic about the past, but always looking forward to the future (to paraphrase him). Wonderful pictures! Reading it made me both happy and sad. :-)

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I am thoroughly enjoying the Julia Bird Mysteries by Katie Gayle, and this (the third), A Village Fete Murder was no exception. Everyone is looking forward to the annual village celebration at Berrywick house ... complete with tea tents, cake stalls, flower competitions (where the competition is fierce), and a hedge maze. This is where Julia (and her dog, Jake) are when she comes across a body. It is someone who is not all that popular, as well as a strong competitor in the baking competition. Not willing to leave it to the police, Julia sets out to solve it (and then another murder) before the festival ends.

Edinburgh,1911. Maud McIntyre has set up her own detective agency (using just her first initial on the sign since women did not have their own businesses, I mean, really!) Her one time maid is her partner (but can play the part of the proper maid when needed) and together they set off to find who has been stealing expensive jewelry from fashionable houses (remember the big parties they used to give ...) Of course, there ends up being a murder, which they also investigate. Can they prove that as women they are up for the job? Not a bad book, but I do wish some of the Scottish-isms were better explained, I could not figure them all out just using context. The Scottish Ladies' Detective Agency is by Lydia Travers.

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Murder at Westminster is the Kitty Worthington Mystery #2, by Magda Alexander. It is 1923, and Kitty's 'debut' season ... something she did not want to do as it is intended to encourage proposals for marriage ... something she also does not want! Fortunately there is a distraction ... the murder of a nobleman, and her sister's boyfriend has been arrested for that death. She gathers her group around her again (including the ever gassy basset hound Sir Winston) and they search for the real killer. Each has a special and unique talent that makes them useful in tracking him down ... another grand romp from this author.

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