Kneading to Die

Kneading to Die by Liz Mugavero is a cozy mystery that was suggested by one of the yahoo groups I belong to.  I am not using it for any other challege and participation in discussions is voluntary.  I must admit I would have chosen this book to read in any case as I love animals and the title is interesting.

Stan has had her job eliminated.  She fell in love with this house in a small town.  Unsure of what to do best, Stan is taking her time to decide.  One of the things she does do is to cook a special diet for her cat.  She also makes treats for the cat.  These treats become popular among the other animals in town.  She keeps finding a dog on her doorstep.  Of course the dog's owner is a handsome, single guy!

The local vet is killed and Stan was not in the appointment book.  She does suspect her best friend who had been in the area when the doctor was killed.  The friend leaves a dog with Stan and then is out of touch.

It is a very interesting read.

Quite Honestly

 













Quite Honestly by John Mortimer is my Q book for A-Z challenge and is my book for humor at the Eclectic reader challenge..

The back of the book describes it as" A comic novel of middle-class do-gooding gone quite awry.  Lucy Purefoy is a college graduate who joins SCRAP - Social Carers, Reformers and Praeceptons which is an organization to help ex-convicts coming out of prison.  Lucy meets a burglar named Terry Keegan. She become fascinated by him and falls in love.  They move in together.  Lucy things they will become closer if she steals things.  She begins taking small things but then decides to steal a painting belonging to a friend.  She is caught and sent to prison.  At the end of the book, Terry is now the member of SCRAP and he is at the prison to meet her.

This book is told from both points of view.  We get Lucy telling her story and Terry telling his.  I can understand why she wants to have the excitement of burglary even though it is misguided.  Lucy compares prison with the boarding school she was sent to as a child.

I like the endings which mirrors the beginning of the book where the two of them tell of their first meeting.  It is interesting to read the descriptions of the other characters and of the surroundings.  Mortimer does show a sense of humor especially having the head of the burglary ring become the head of SCRAP.  Lucy may be a bad burglar but she does not give up the ones who helped her which is honorable.

Perilous Pranks

 

Perilous Perils is an e-book by Joyce and Jim Lavene.  It is part of their Renaissance Faire series.  I am using it as P in A-Z book challenge and it is a cozy mystery.

Jessie has received her Ph.D. in Historical Arts & Crafts and has been appointed director of a museum at the Faire.  She decides to put blue dye into Wanda La Fey's shower to get back for Wanda's gluing her dress to a chair.  When Wanda does not scream after taking a shower Jessie discovers that she is dead and blue.  Jessie seems to be the main suspect.  However, "Shakespeare" was married to Wanda and Wanda was seeing Marcus who was one of the Knights.  Others told Jessie that Sir Marcus had also been seeing Ginny Stewart at the Tavern.  Wanda's ghost is also been staying close to Jessie and aids her in catching the murderer.

I love this series and this novella is wonderful.  There are some new characters and many of the old favorites.  I love the description of Jessie's wedding gown and look forward to reading about her wedding in the next book in the series.