Cozy Up to Crime

  As we come to a close on 2020 (finally), during this time of year, I love to start planning my TBR around the new releases we can look forward to in the New Year. Especially after 2020, looking for positive things to anticipate is so essential. Luckily, for cozy mystery readers, there are some amazing debuts and sequels coming up in 2021, so here is a round-up of a few that I am most excited to read. A Hex for Danger   by Esme Addison (An Enchanted Bay Mystery #2) I really enjoyed the first book in this series, A Spell for Trouble , and when I saw the second book is debuting in 2021, I immediately added it to my TBR. This series is very unique, with its blend of seaside charm, Polish folklore, magic, and mermaids. Aleksandra, Alex, is a water witch newly aware of her powers and family history, who has left behind her life in New York City to reconnect with her family who own an apothecary in Bellamy Bay, North Carolina. In this second book in the series, Alex is helping her friend Ce

I've tried knitting, sewing, and weaving and have sadly discovered I am not particularly crafty, so sometimes I like to live vicariously through crafty sleuths in cozy mysteries! There's just something so comforting and cozy about mysteries set in fiber arts shops, or centering on particularly crafty characters. If you're looking for arts & crafts themed cozies to add to your TBR, this list of first books in a series is for you. Crewel World   by Monica Ferris (A Needlecraft Mystery #1) An oldie but a goodie, this series opener debuted in 1998 and despite having been around awhile, I still think that is one of the best punny titles I have seen! Set in Excelsior, MN, which I've never visited but I've looked up photos and it is adorable, we meet sisters Betsy and Margot. Margot seems to have everything together, including her own needlework and wool store, while Betsy is a bit more directionless. However, when Betsy finds the shop ransacked and Margot dead, she is

  My favorite reading season is here which means it's time to deck the TBR stack with Christmas-themed cozies! How many of these holiday cozy mysteries have you read? Read & Gone   by Allison Brook (The Haunted Library Mysteries #2) Missing gems, a library ghost, and an absentee father who is also a thief? Read and Gone  by Allison Brook, the second book in The Haunted Library Mysteries, packs all of that into a cozy read plus a helping of library events and Christmas coziness. Taking place shortly after the events of book one, Death Overdue , we find librarian and amateur sleuth Carrie Singleton settling in to her life in her hometown with a full-time job that she loves, a cute cottage, and a new boyfriend. Carrie's life, overall, is looking pretty perfect which means it's the perfect time for her family's dramatic past to come crashing in just in time for the holidays. Carrie's jewel thief father breaks in to her new home (literally), and his appearance starts

  Hello and welcome to my new book blog, Cozy Up to Crime! 2020 seems like an odd year to dive back into the world of book blogging after taking several years off, but this year has been full of change and reflection so now seems like as good a time as any. In the past year, I've switched careers from librarian to web developer,  and along the way renewed my love for reading. As a librarian, I was always reading for awards committees or for collection development, but not really for fun. Meanwhile, stay-at-home orders and the stress of being isolated from family and job hunting during a pandemic forced me into a major reading slump. Instead of losing myself in books, I spent a lot of time playing Animal Crossing and watching Hallmark Channel.  Cozy mysteries to the rescue! I love the films on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, and I realized that they are based on a whole genre that I had read casually in the past, but never really took a deep dive into. So I signed up for a digital