Tag: cozy mystery

• Book Review: The Oxford Guide to Scandal and Lies by Kate Westbury

  A lot of the recently published novels that I am reading, whether it is historical fiction, cozy mystery, or contemporary fiction, don’t seem to be particularly well-written. The Oxford Guide to Scandal and Lies (The Oxford Guide #1) by Kate Westbury is a paradox for me. It is well-written, but the plot and character connection…

  michardillo

  August 4, 2026

  books

  ARC, book-review, book-reviews, books, British, cozy mystery, death, England, English, fiction, Ginevra Bishop, Inspector Morse, Kate Westbury, Kindle, literature, Minotaur Books, mystery, NetGalley, novel, reading, Sidney Braithwaite, spy, St. Martin’s Press, The Oxford Guide to Scandal & Lies, writer, writing

• Book Review: The Mad Widows by Scott Moore

  I just finished The Mad Widows by Scott Moore last night and what a wild ride of a book! The whole time I was reading this book, I kept thinking, “It’s like I’m reading a screenplay!” I could actually picture what was going even if I couldn’t clearly put a face on any of the…

  michardillo

  July 25, 2026

  books

  ARC, Bad Moms, Bad Moms: The Novel, book-review, book-reviews, books, cozy mystery, death, debut novel, fiction, grief, grief counseling therapy, It’s Okay to Laugh (Crying is Okay Too), Jon Lucas, Kindle, literature, mystery, NetGalley, Nora McInerny, novel, reading, Scott Moore, Simon and Schuster, suicide, The Hangover, The Mad Widows, writer, writing

• Continental Breakfast for Two, si’l vous plait…

  If you could have dinner with any fictional character, who would it be? “Only in England is the coffee so atrocious. On the Continent they understand how important it is for the digestion that it should be properly made.”  The Big Four, Hercule Poirot on English coffee Before I retired from teaching middle school English,…

  michardillo

  July 24, 2026

  Essay

  Agatha Christie, And Then There Were None, books, British, continental breakfast, cozy mystery, croissant, dailyprompt, dailyprompt-2832, David Suchet, England, English, fiction, food, Hercule Poirot, literature, Miss Marple, Murder on the Orient Express, mystery, novel, reading, Sunday roast, tea, teacher, teaching, writing

• Book Review: The Masala Chai Mystery Club by MJ Soni

  This cozy mystery should get an award for inclusivity! It ticks off all the boxes: gender, ethnicity, age, disabled/abled, economic status, it’s all in there. Was it too much? Maybe. At the beginning it was a whole lot being thrown at the reader. I’ve seen reviews that say the first 20% or so was slow…

  michardillo

  June 2, 2026

  books

  book-review, books, cozy mystery, Crooked Lane Books, debut novel, fiction, food, Goodreads, HOA, India, Indian food, literature, MJ Soni, murder mystery, mystery, NetGalley, novel, reading, recipes, Richard Osman, tea, The Masala Chai Mystery Club, The Thursday Murder Club, writing

• Book Review-The Antique Hunter’s Guide to Murder: A Novel by C.L. Miller

  To use a term often used in antique appraisals, this debut novel comes with quite a provenance, as it was written by the daughter of the late Judith Miller (1951-2023), a regular specialist on the wildly popular BBC Antiques Roadshow. Antiques Roadshow, both the UK version and the American version, is a favorite of mine.…

  michardillo

  May 8, 2026

  books

  antiques, Antiques Roadshow, ARC, Atria Books, BBC Antiques Roadshow, book-review, book-reviews, books, British, C.L. Miller, Chippendale, cozy mystery, death, debut novel, Ebook, England, English, fiction, Goodreads, Judith Miller, Kindle, literature, mystery, NetGalley, novel, NPR Books We Love in 2024, reading, The Antique Hunter’s Guide to Murder, writer, writing

• My March 2026 Reads!

  Only four books but they were ALL 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 EACH!!!

  michardillo

  April 4, 2026

  books

  Alexander McCall Smith, book-review, books, Change the Recipe, cookbook, cozy mystery, essays, fiction, food, Goodreads, José Andrés, Kindle, literature, marcelle bienvenue, march reads, memoir, NetGalley, nonfiction, novel, reading, Richard Wolffe, Robert Thorogood, The Lost Language of Oysters, The Marlow Murder Club, The Mysterious Affair of Judith Potts, writer, writing

• Book Review: The Mysterious Affair of Judith Potts by Robert Thorogood

  This is book #5 in the Marlow Murder Club Mystery series by Robert Thorogood. I really enjoy this series a lot, and my enjoyment was increased when PBS Masterpiece Theater ran the Marlow Murder Club series (Seasons 1 and 2) inspired by books #1 and #2. I was thrilled when I read that Season 3…

  michardillo

  March 7, 2026

  books

  archeologist, author, book-review, books, cozy mystery, crossword puzzles, dog, dog-walker, England, fiction, Greece, Kindle, literature, Marlow, Masterpiece Theater, murder mystery, mystery, NetGalley, novel, NYT word games, PBS, Poisoned Pen Press, reading, Richard Osman, River Thames, Robert Thorogood, Samantha Bond, The Mysterious Affair of Judith Potts, The Thursday Murder Club, vicar’s wife, village, writer, writing

• Book Review: All My Bones by P. J. Nelson

  This is my second book by P. J. Nelson, also the second in the Old Juniper Bookshop mystery series. The first one, Booked for Murder (Minotaur Books, December 2024, 325 pages), was an enjoyable read, although I noted in my review a few things that I found odd, namely that it is a book about…

  michardillo

  January 2, 2026

  books

  All My Bones, author, book-review, book-reviews, Booked for Murder, books, bookshop, bookstore, cozy mystery, Fever Devilin series, fiction, Flap Tucker series, food, Kindle, literature, Minotaur Books, mystery, NetGalley, north Georgia, novel, Old Juniper Bookshop, P J Nelson, Phillip DePoy, reading, Safe in Their Graves, small town, writer

• Book Review: The Star from Calcutta by Sujata Massey

  The fifth installment in the Perveen Mistry series, The Star from Calcutta by Sujata Massey, is to be published March 3, 2026. I started this series in 2019, when I was recuperating from surgery to repair a a broken ankle, and read the first two books in quick succession. I really enjoyed the third and…

  michardillo

  December 26, 2025

  books

  book-review, books, British, British rule, cozy mystery, dog, fiction, food, India, India film industry, murder mystery, mystery, NetGalley, novel, Perveen Mistry Series, reading, Soho Press, Sujata Massey

• Book Review — Revenge, Served Royal: A Mystery (Lady Petra Inquires #3) by Celeste Connally

  

  First of all, I am a devoted fan of the Great British Bake Off show and have watched each season many times. I love a good cooking show, and I’ve watched the cooking shows made by previous winners of the GBBO, like Nadiya Hussain, the 2015 winner. I also love all things British, all things…

  michardillo

  August 22, 2025

  books

  Act Like a Lady Think Like a Lord, Agatha Award, Agatha Christie, baking, book-review, books, Bridgerton, British, Celeste Connally, cooking, cozy mystery, England, English, fiction, food, GBBO, George III, George IV, Great British Bake Off, Lady Petra Inquires, London, Minotaur, mystery, Nadiya Hussain, Netflix, NetGalley, novel, Prince Regent, reading, Regency Era, Revenge Served Royal, St. Martin’s Press, Windsor Castle