Independent publisher of award-winning books by Kelly Brakenhoff
Mine solves murders. The other one wants to control your thermostat. A few weeks ago, I noticed something strange. Not ‘anonymous letter slipped under my door’ strange. But strange enough to earn a mental sticky note labeled: suspicious. There was a sudden blip of activity around my Cassandra Sato Mystery series. Nothing huge. Just enough […]
Hello friends, I didn’t finish a single shiny new series book this month—probably because I’ve spent the first few months of the year juggling seven nonfiction titles, three ongoing mystery series, and surviving my IRL book club choosing Yellowface. So yeah, welcome to The Mixed Bag Edition, a look at what I’ve been reading so far in 2025. Want […]
If you’re a Gen Xer like me, imagine The Love Boat meets Murder, She Wrote and Top Chef. For Millennials: picture Doctor Odyssey meets Clue. Set sail with a cruise director who’s just trying to keep things afloat, both literally and figuratively. That’s the vibe of A Cruise for Sous, the second book in M.J. Mac’s Cozy Cocktail Cruise Mystery series.
Saltcliff on the Sea sounds like the perfect getaway—quaint California seaside vibes, charming locals, and a cozy inn with Instagrammable sunsets. But murder has a way of ruining even the best vacations.
The smell of popcorn, the hum of a projector, and a quiet seaside town with a small movie theater showing classic Hollywood films—sounds idyllic, right? Until a dead body shows up before the credits roll.
If you’re in the mood for a quirky, laugh-out-loud cozy mystery, A Hopeless Murder by Daniel Carson is a fun choice. This first book in the series introduces us to Hopeless, Idaho—a town bursting with eccentric personalities, nosy neighbors, and more secrets than you’d expect from a place so small.
You know I love a good academic mystery, so this month I’ve got an interesting twist for you. Imagine it’s the 1920s, and if you thought your college days were tough, you are in for a treat.
Ever had a corn dog that led to a police escort? Welcome to Chloe Martin’s life in A History of Murder, where a rush to find a restroom turns into a full-blown mystery in Jericho Falls, Nevada. Chloe’s unexpected return to the town after thirteen years is not a happy homecoming.
Dearest Gentle Reader, I must confess. Choosing a tale that boldly claims to be “Bridgerton meets historical mystery,” I half-expected The Missing Diamond to drown me in high society balls and tea-time gossip. Thankfully, Lynn Morrison and Anne Radcliffe had a different plan.
We live in interesting times. I hear that phrase quite often these days, and how apropos it is! Put bluntly, there’s a lot going on in the world that really, really sucks. Many people just want to make like an ostrich and bury their heads in the sand, and who could blame them?
