Make mine murder, hold the blood

Summer brings cozy reading for suspense fans

REVIEWS BY TASHA ALEXANDER

Summer is a good time to order up reading light on violence—after all, who needs blood and gore poolside? This season's crop of cozies will perfectly complement a day outside. These popular whodunits feature appealing sleuths (often amateur ones), quirky characters, a dose of humor and inventive crimes without too much violence, bad language or sex. Just be sure to keep the sunscreen away from the pages.

Charles Finch's well-researched debut, set in mid-Victorian London, introduces gentleman detective Charles Lennox, whose ambitious travel plans are continually disrupted by crimes in need of investigation. In A Beautiful Blue Death neighbor and friend Lady Jane Grey requests his assistance when her former maid, now working for the director of the Royal Mint, is murdered. Lennox quickly determines that the crime is more complicated than it initially seems—and things only get worse when a second murder occurs. Full of period detail and a wonderful cast of secondary characters, this intricate and well-written novel will leave any lover of historical mysteries eager to reach for Lennox's next case.


A vintage plot

Cece Caruso, vintage clothes aficionado and incomparable amateur sleuth, is back in her fourth adventure, Christietown, this time juggling wedding plans and a theater production she's written for the opening of a new housing development meant to mimic an Agatha Christie-esque English village. It's a fitting project for Cece, whose day job is writing about dead mystery writers—she's in the midst of finishing her biography of Christie. The death of her leading lady disrupts the show and Cece is soon embroiled in the investigation. As always, Susan Kandel's voice is engaging and full of wit, and her characters are well-drawn. Christietown is not to be missed—and if you haven't read the three prior books, get them all!


Social-climbing intrigue

Folk art expert Benni Harper's boss, Constance Sinclair, is convinced that her friend Pinky's death—said to be caused by heart failure—was no accident. With Pinky gone, there's an opening in San Celina's tony 49 Club, and Constance knows that a spot in the exclusive group could motivate a social climber to murder. She insists that Benni, who is busily preparing for both the opening of an exhibit at her quilting museum and a visit from her far-from-friendly mother-in-law, investigate. Though reluctant to accept, Benni not only solves the mystery with aplomb, she also discovers the truth about the reclusive artist whose painting is the centerpiece of her new exhibit. Agatha Award winner Earlene Fowler does an excellent job balancing the elements of a traditional cozy with a sense of danger and more than a little humor. The 13th installment in this series does not disappoint—readers will be delighted by Tumbling Blocks.


Knights in shining armor

Claire Malloy's 16th adventure, Damsels in Distress, is full of fun. Farberville, Arkansas, is overrun with eccentric would-be knights who are members of the Association for Renaissance Scholarship and Enlightenment and preparing for a Renaissance Fair. Claire can only hope the event will inspire people to buy medieval bestsellers at her bookstore. When murder and arson disrupt those plans, Claire is ready to investigate—she's feeling jittery about her upcoming wedding to police Lt. Peter Rosen and welcomes the distraction. Joan Hess has a deft hand with dialogue and does a fantastic job with the repartee between Claire and her teenage daughter, Caron. Full of humor and a very human set of characters, Damsels in Distress is a strong addition to Hess' long-running series.


Death to dieting

In the second Supper Club Mystery, James Henry and his fellow dieters, the Flab Five, are not meeting with much success on their low-carb plan. A new ice cream shop, Chilly Willy's Polar Pagoda, has opened in Quincy's Gap, Virginia, and it's loads more appealing than eating what they should. Praline sundaes or low-fat popcorn: What would you choose? But newcomer Veronica Levitt has a start-up business of her own, and she's bent on getting the Flab Five to join her at Witness to Fitness. When a deliberately set fire consumes Chilly Willy's and takes the life of an employee, James and his friends are on the case. J.B. Stanley's Fit to Die will appeal to anyone who's experienced the horror of dieting.


Tasha Alexander is the author of And Only to Deceive and A Poisoned Season. She's never met a carb she didn't like.

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