Tag: cozy mystery

• Book Review: Sugar and Spite, An Agatha Raisin Mystery by M.C. Beaton with R. W. Green

  Mystery is by far my favorite genre, and within that genre I tend to gravitate toward cozy mysteries. Add to that a Scottish author and, well, I’m all in. Everyone has a guilty pleasure when it comes to their reading life, and for me, the Agatha Raisin mystery series falls squarely in that court. With…

  michardillo

  August 1, 2025

  books

  Agatha Raisin, ARC, book-review, books, British, cozy mystery, death, England, fiction, food, Hamish MacBeth, M. C. Beaton, Macmillan Publishers, mystery, NetGalley, novel, R. W. Green, Ray Bradbury, reading, Sugar and Spite, The Homemade God, The Quiche of Death, The White Octopus Hotel, writer, writing

• Book Review: Death on the Marlow Belle by Robert Thorogood

  In Death on the Marlow Belle (Poisoned Pen Press, September, 2025) this fourth installment of The Marlow Murder Club, a cozy murder mystery series, author Robert Thorogood has returned us to Marlow, a very real town located on the Thames River thirty miles from London. This is brilliant news for all of Thorogood’s fans, as…

  michardillo

  June 16, 2025

  books

  Agatha Christie, And Then There Were None, book-review, books, British, Columbia Theatre Players, community theatre, cozy mystery, death, Death Comes to Marlow, Death in Paradise, Death on the Marlow Belle, Downton Abbey, England, English, fiction, Goodreads, James Bond, Kindle, Lady Rosalind, London, Lord Grantham, Marlow, Miss Moneypenny, mystery, NetGalley, novel, Oscar Wilde, PBS Masterpiece, Poisoned Pen Press, reading, Richard Osman, River Thames, Samantha Bond, Ten Little Indians, The Importance of Being Earnest, The Marlow Murder Club, The Queen of Poisons, The Thursday Murder Club, theater, theatre, writer, writing

• Book Review: The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict

  Those of you who know me, I mean really know me, know how much I love to read! Growing up, I would read just about anything; of course, the back of the cereal box, but also, the back of the shampoo bottle in the bathroom. But, my favorite all time thing to read is a…

  michardillo

  February 17, 2025

  books

  Agatha Christie, Baroness Emma Orczy, book-review, books, British, cozy mystery, Dorothy Sayers, England, fiction, Golden Age of Detective Fiction, literature, London, Margery Allingham, Marie Benedict, NetGalley, Ngaio Marsh, novel, Queens of Crime, reading, St. Martin’s Press, The Queens of Crime, writer, writing

• Book Review: Murder by the Book by Lauren Elliott

  Murder by the Book (the novel, Kensington Cozies, 2018) by Lauren Elliott is the first in the Beyond the Page Bookstore Mystery series. I checked this book out to read on my Kindle via Libby through my local MCPL mostly because of the title and the cover. Many years ago, I directed a play by…

  michardillo

  January 29, 2025

  books, Essay

  Beyond the Page Bookstore Mystery series, book-review, books, cozy mystery, Craig Sodaro, death, education, fiction, Hamlet, Kensington Cozies, Kindle, Lauren Elliott, Libby, literature, middle school, Murder by the Book, mystery, New England, novel, Pioneer Drama Pulbishers, reading, teacher, theatre, writer, writing

• A Very Merry Bookmas!

  It’s Christmas Day! I’ve had a wonderful Advent and now Christmas season with my family and close friends. It has to be the most relaxed Christmas I’ve ever had, having retired from teaching this January 12, 2024, I came into Advent this year without reams of papers to grade, midterms to create and then grade,…

  michardillo

  December 25, 2024

  books, Essay, faith, food

  Advent, baking, book-review, books, chocolate, Christmas, cookbooks, cooking, cozy mystery, essays, exercise, faith, family, fiction, food, friends, healthy, Judi Dench, Kate Quinn, Martha Stewart, Maryland, Mass, Mrs. Quinn’s Rise to Fame, nonfiction, novel, Olivia Ford, prayer, reading, self-care, Shakespeare: The Man who Pays the Rent, teacher, teaching, The Briar Club, The Cookbook, writer, writing

• Book Review: A Lady’s Guide to Etiquette and Murder by Dianne Freeman (Book #1 in the Countess of Harleigh Mystery Series)

  I recently grabbed a book off of the new mysteries shelf at my local library and knew almost immediately that I was missing quite a bit of backstory, only to realize I was starting with book #7 of a series. I enjoyed An Art Lover’s Guide to Paris and Murder – albeit without the backstory…

  michardillo

  November 5, 2024

  books, Essay

  A Lady’s Guide to Etiquette and Murder, An Art Lover’s Guide to Paris and Murder, book-review, books, British, Countess of Harleigh, cozy mystery, death, Dianne Freeman, Downton Abbey, England, English, family, fiction, Libby, library, literature, MCPL, mystery, novel, parenting, reading, social media, vacation, Victorian Era

• Book Review: Mystery in the Title (Miranda Abbott Mystery #2) by Ian Ferguson and Will Ferguson

  In a previous post, I reviewed I Only Read Murder by the Canadian Ferguson brothers, and made a not so subtle request for the sequel to read and review – albeit on its very publication date. The Fates (as in NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing, lol) smiled upon me, and I’ve just finished Mystery in…

  michardillo

  October 31, 2024

  books, Essay

  book-review, books, cozy mystery, death, fiction, Hollywood, I Only Read Murder, Ian Ferguson, indie bookstore, literature, movie of the week, MOW, mystery, Mystery in the Title, NetGalley, novel, Oregon, Pacific Ocean, reading, Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Hound of the Baskervilles, vacation, Will Ferguson

• Book Review: An Art Lover’s Guide to Paris and Murder by Dianne Freeman

  The “good news:” This gorgeous cover (you had me at “art” and “Paris”) made me snatch this book right off the shelf at my local library (shout out to Aspen Hill Library, a branch of Montgomery County Public Libraries, Montgomery County, Maryland). It had been a long week and I was needing to read my…

  michardillo

  October 23, 2024

  books, Essay

  An Art Lover’s Guide to Paris and Murder, art, book-review, books, Countess of Harleigh Mystery, cozy mystery, Dianne Freeman, England, fiction, France, library, London, mistresses, murder, mystery, novel, Paris, Paris Exposition, reading, tea, Victorian Era

• Book Review: I Only Read Murder by Ian Ferguson and Will Ferguson

  With a busy week where I was spending a lot of time at my former school directing an adaptation of The Taming of the Shrew (written by my daughter, allow me a moment to brag), I had very little time to read, and when I did settle down after wrangling middle schoolers, I was out…

  michardillo

  October 22, 2024

  books, Essay

  book-review, books, cozy mystery, fiction, Goodreads, Happy Rock, Harlequin Trade Publishing, Hollywood, I Only Read Murder, Ian Ferguson, middle school, Miranda Abbott, mystery, Mystery in the Title, NetGalley, Oregon, reading, theater, theatre, Will Ferguson, writer, writing

• Book Review: Elizabeth Sails by Kristin Owens

  My husband and I are freshly retired and we are making up for lost time planning vacations since we haven’t been able to travel much over the years. One of the things we are currently debating is whether or not we want to go on a cruise. I’ve been on two, albeit both a very…

  michardillo

  August 23, 2024

  books, Essay

  book-review, books, cozy mystery, cruise, cruising, Cunard, death, England, fiction, food, haikus, luxury liner, mystery, NetGalley, novel, Queen Elizabeth, vacation, wills, writer, writing