Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


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Do you like cozy mysteries? And small towns? And…MURDER?

Vinyl Resting Place by Olivia Blacke

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Olivia Blacke’s Vinyl Resting Place is the first book in The Record Shop Mysteries, and also my first ever “cozy” mystery. If they’re all like this, I’m in! In Vinyl Resting Place, Juniper Jessup is looking for something new. And maybe, something familiar. After getting laid off from her cool tech job in the Pacific Northwest, she sells her car and moves back to her little hometown in Central Texas. More specifically, she comes home to Cedar River. It’s a little but outside of Austin […]

Paige Shelton fueling my love for cozy mysteries and title puns

To Helvetica and Back (Dangerous Type Mystery #1) by Paige Shelton

The Cracked Spine (Scottish Bookshop Mystery #1) by Paige Shelton

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To Helvetica and Back was my first introduction to Paige Shelton. The idea of a murder mystery set in a typewriter store was enough to catch my attention. Also, how cute is the store name: Rescued Word?! We’re in Star City, Utah, a sleepy town known for skiing. Clare learned everything about repairing typewriters from her grandfather, Chester. He opened the shop years ago and loves that his granddaughter has taken up the family business. Murder is rare in this town, so when Clare learns […]

Murder and a Fulfilling Retirement

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

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The Thursday Murder Club has been on my radar off and on for a while; finally, another Cannonballer’s review of a sequel reminded me and coincided with a random bookstore coupon (in-store only), so I went shopping. This is probably what Only Murders in the Building must be like in book form; I don’t have the streaming service required, but I’m not too sad about that anymore. Basically, the premise is a group of residents of a retirement home in rural-ish England get together to […]

A second and third helping for the Noodle Shop mysteries

Dim Sum of All Fears by Vivien Chien

Murder Lo Mein by Vivien Chien

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When work is stressful, I unwind often with a cozy mystery. Vivien Chien’s Noodle Shop mysteries really hit the spot. Last year, I reviewed the first novel, Death by Dumpling for CBR 13. The series follows Lana Lee and her family’s noodle restaurant in the Asia Village shopping center. She stumbles upon a murder and helps the cute detective, Adam, solves the case. It’s a similar formula in the next two novels in the series. It was easy to go back into the series months […]

A talking cat + groomer mystery duo

Mimi Lee Gets a Clue by Jennifer J. Chow

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Mimi Lee Gets a Clue by Jennifer J. Chow is the first book in her Sassy Cat Mystery series. As a big fan of cozy mysteries and cute animals, the adorable illustrated cover sold me instantly. Mimi opens a grooming shop called Hollywoof. She hopes to cater to the dog clientele of Los Angeles. Even though it’s clear that Mimi prefers dogs, her sister gives her a fluffy white cat. He is aptly named Marshmallow. Quite soon, Mimi starts hearing Marshmallow talk. She thinks she […]

Pandesal? Mmm, Tell Me More

Arsenic and Adobe by Mia P. Manansala

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One of the cozy cooking type mysteries, I must knock it down a star because although our girl is charged with murder right out of the gate, there honestly is no danger of anyone buying that.  Lila Macapagal is back home from Chicago and is temporarily helping out in her Tita Rosie’s Filipino restaurant.  Unfortunately Derek Winter, a food critic who has been writing nasty reviews all over town, including her auntie’s, takes a face plant into his dessert, poisoned.  The dessert which Lila had […]



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