Driven to Ink by Karen E. Olson

#3 Tattoo Shop Mystery
Copyright: 2010
Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime
Genre: Mystery
Pages: 299
Challenges: off the Shelf, Cruisin' through the cozies
Author's Website
My rating: 3.5/5


Simple Description: 
Brett's day was off to a great start, until she found a dead body in her car's trunk.  Something like that will put a damper on anybody's day.  The worst part of it is that she had lent her car to Sylvia Colman for her drive-thru wedding.  Did Sylvia and her new husband have something to do with this?  Why is a tattoo cord around the dead man's neck?  And why is a cord missing from her tattoo shop?

While Brett doesn't really want to get into trouble with the cops she also can't help asking questions and looking for answers.  She knows Sylvia couldn't have killed the man but it does look like she's involved somehow.   In searching for answers Brett spends a lot of time with Jeff, Sylvia's son and rival tattoo artist. Is it possible Jeff isn't as bad as Brett thinks he is?

My Thoughts: 
This is book #3 in the series and I'm really looking forward to book #4 (which has already found a place in my library).   This series quickly became one of my favorites, starting as early as book 1.  I enjoy Brett's character.  She realizes she shouldn't be digging for info and investigating things on her own but at the same time she knows she wants to know what's going on.  I do like that she involves her brother, a cop, and let's him know what she finds.  He's never happy with her, but he doesn't ignore what she has found.

I like there there was more interaction between her and Jeff and that we learned more about Jeff.  I think he's a great secondary character.

I personally love tattoo's, so the fact that tattoo's are a part of this story is something else that keeps my interest.  I think those who don't have tattoo's and don't necessary like them could enjoy this series.  But I think those who are intrigued will find the tattoo part an extra, fun, perk to the stories.

A Touch of Gold by Joyce and Jim Levene

#2 Missing Pieces series
Copyright: 2011
Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime
Genre: Mystery
Pages: 304
Challenges: What's in a Name, Crusin Through the Cozies, 2011 Pub Challenge
Author's Website
My rating: 3.5/4

Simple Description:
The story starts off with us hearing one of the stories from Duck's history along with a group of children.  Max, the curator of Duck's history museum, is telling the story and Dae is there to listen and participate since it is story hour with the Mayor.   After the story is over and the children get some refreshments they head back to school. Dae starts to leave to but turns around when she realizes she forgot to give Max one of the gold coins she found on the floor.  It's then that the museum explodes, killing Max and hurting Dae.

When Dae recovers, she finds her abilities have changed.  She can still find lost objects for people however now she can also get information about objects when she touches them.

Through these new visions Dae learns that the pirate gold Max found years ago, wasn't really found by him but was given to him.   She wonders if this had something to do with his murder.

Soon Dae and Kevin are doing some investigating on their own to try and find who killed Max and who attempted to kill the wife he left behind.   Sure, the authorities are looking in to it, but Dae is pretty sure they are wrong.

My Thoughts:
I thought this was a great follow-up to the first book in the series.  In fact, I liked this one even more.  I think with the first one, while I liked Dae, I did have some issues with her.  In this book, I didn't feel like I had any issues with her.  I thought she put her life at risk but don't all amateur sleuth's at one point or another?  I really like the characters of  Dae, Kevin, and Gramps.  They work really well together and I really like them.

The mystery aspect of this one kept me guessing until pretty close to the end.  I really had no idea who the murder was for most of the book, but a clue towards the end pretty  much told me who it was before Dae figured it out.

I also liked how one mystery about a person who used to live in Duck, was kinda solved.  At least, we got more info on it and it did have relevance to the story and it was a nice twist. I won't say more than that though.

If you read the first one in this series and enjoyed it, I definitely recommend reading the second one. I'm pretty darn sure you'll enjoy just as much, if not more.



Thanks to the publisher for providing this book for review.

Devil's Food Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke

#14 Hannah Swanson/Cookie Jar Mystery
Copyright: 2011
Publisher: Kensington
Genre: Mystery
Pages: audio
Challenges: crusin through the cozies, audio, 2011 Pub Challenge
Author's Website
My rating: 3/5

Simple Description: 
This one starts out with a bang, there is something fishy going on almost right away.  Rev. Bob and his new wife are finally able to take a honeymoon when they run into visiting minister who knows the family.  Matthew lived with Bob's Grandma Knudson when he was in high school and she was the minister's wife.  However shortly after being reunited with Matthew, Grandma Knudson things something isn't right.  She asks Hannah to look into her suspicions.  With Andrea's help, Hannah is able to explain away Grandma Knudson's suspicions.  Then Matthew turns up dead.  And the real Matthew comes in to town.  Or is he?

With one body and another suspicious person, Hannah has her hands full.  However she's also dealing with things on a personal level.  There's still the issue with her not making up her mind between Mike and Norman.  Then Norman brings Dr. Bev, his ex-fiancée, into his practice as a partner, and he starts acting weird.  Hannah wants to know what's going on.


My Thoughts:
While this is still one of my favorite cozy series and while I did enjoy this book, I really wish Hannah would make up her mind between Norman and Mike. I think we all know Norman is the best guy for her, she just needs to get over how hunky Mike is.    If I have one complaint with this series..that would be it..the fact that Hannah cannot pick one guy to date.

Other than that..I thought this was a good addition to the series.  We get to meet with our favorite characters. We get more cookie recipes that I always want to try baking right away (but rarely do).

I do recommend this cozy series to those who enjoy a light mystery, but definitely recommend starting with book one.

 Audio Review: 
I did listen to the audio version of this book. I plan to buy a copy still, I want to add it to my collection and I want the recipes.  I thought the audio version was good.  Suzanne Toren was the narrator again and I felt she did a very good job.

Beaglemania by Linda O. Johnston

#1 Pet Rescue series
Copyright: 2011
Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime
Genre: Mystery
Pages: 304
Challenges: 1st in a series, Crusin' through the cozies, 2011 Pub Challenge
Author's Website
My rating: 3.5/5

Simple Description: 
Lauren Vancouver is the director of HotRescues, a no-kill animal shelter.  Lauren is very passionate about her job and about animal abuse and sometimes that can land her in trouble.  Lauren ends up at a puppy mill as the city is raiding it and she finds Efram Kiley.  Efram sued HotRescues and as part of the bargain he has to "volunteer" there so he can learn about treating animals correctly.  Unfortunately he hasn't learned anything since Lauren knows he's the one who dumped some of the puppies from the puppy mill down a sewer drain.  Lauren threatens him..he threatens her, then he ends up dead.  Lauren finds him at HotRescues near the animal cages.

Lauren is the top suspect and since she doesn't think the authorities are looking at anybody else, she decides to look into it herself.  Unfortunately, her life and some of the dogs live's are put in more danger until she's able to figure out who the real killer is.

My Thoughts:
I thought this was a great start to a new series.  I also thought it was fun that Kendra, the main character in the author's pet-sitter mystery series, shows up in this one.  She has a small role, but it was still fun to see her make an appearance. It also reminded me that I'm incredibly far behind in that series and I need to play catch-up.  That's another topic for another day though.

Lauren is very passionate about what she does and about the welfare of animals.  While sometimes I think this gets her into trouble, I think it works out great for this book/series and it gets the point across about how abusing animals is just wrong.  Lauren is a good character though, I think she'll grow in future books and I look forward to seeing it.

There are a lot of other characters, including a possible love interest for Lauren, and while we don't know too much about any of them, I look forward to learning more about them.

Overall, I really enjoyed this cozy and I'll be looking for book #2 this time next year.  I do want to point out that there is some light cursing in this book.  It's mostly in the first half of the book, I'm not sure I noticed it in the 2nd. It's not something that bothered me at all, heck, I'm probably worse in real life.  However I wanted to say something since it isn't something you normally see in a cozy.




Thanks to Berkley Prime Crime/Penguin for providing this book for review.

Fruit of All Evil by Paige Shelton

#2 Farmers' Market Mystery
Copyright: 2011
Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime
Genre: Mystery
Pages: 281
Challenges: What's in a Name? (evil), Crusin Through the Cozies, 2011 Pub challenge
Author's Website
My rating: 3/5

Simple Description: 
Becca once again finds herself involved in a murder investigation.  This time it's because her friend, Linda, and her friend's fiancée, Drew, are possible suspects.  When the mother-in-law to be is found dead in her home, the most likely suspects are family.   Becca briefly wonders if Linda did it, but quickly pushes that aside.  She's not so sure about Drew though, especially not after she over hears him on his cell phone when he thought he was in private.

Becca also knows that some of Drew's cousins act a bit iffy and bother her.  Could they have something to do with it?  How about the fact that the murdered woman worked at a bank and has sent several foreclosure notices, could one of the recipients be the murderer?  How about Becca's own boyfriend, he received a call from the victim earlier in that day, is he guilty?

Becca has lots of suspects and even though she isn't on the police force she is friends with the lead investigator and working with clue's they've both found, they solve the murder.

My Thoughts:
I have much the same over-all thoughts with this book as I did the first one, Farm Fresh Murder, when I reviewed it last year.  I love the setting, sounds like  a wonderful place to live.

I think Becca has good intentions.  The thing is she's not very smooth with asking questions, she's very much "in your face" and that can be hard to read with a cozy.  Her character also bothered me a bit because she didn't trust that her friend was not guilty right away, she had doubts.

The story itself is good and entertaining.  Lots of potential guilty parties involved.  I do think this series is still it's infancy and is good enough for me to hang on for more. I think it has a lot of room to grow and I hope to see Becca's character be a bit smoother on the next book.




Thanks to the publisher for providing this book for review.

Polished Off by Lila Dare

#2 Southern Beauty Shop
Copyright: 2011
Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime
Genre: Mystery
Pages: 293
Challenges: Crusin' through the cozies, Pub Challenge
Author's Website
My rating: 3.5/5

Simple Description:
The second book in the series once again starts with Grace, her mother Violette, and the other ladies working in her Mom's hair salon.  It's a normal day until Audrey Faye shows up asking for help.  She is running the local beauty pageant and wants to hire Grace and Stella to do hair and nails.  Grace jumps at the chance to earn extra money since she's wanting to buy her own house.

Things at the beauty pageant don't go as planned.  First off there are protesters.  They are against the beauty pageant and don't mind letting people know.  Then Grace finds that somebody is sabotaging the pageant.  To make matters worse, Grace is looking for Stella when she finds Audrey, dead.

When Stella's husband is the prime suspect in the murder, Grace decides to ask question and tries to clear his name.

My Thoughts: 
I thought this was an excellent cozy!  I just love Grace..she's such a strong female character, although she does have her faults.  This just makes her more real though.  In fact, there are several strong female characters and I love that.

The author also uses this book to raise questions about beauty pageants.  She smoothly weaves into the story things that show the good and the bad about beauty pageants.

The mystery aspect of the story was good and kept me going.  I had ideas of who the murder was but wasn't sure about who was sabotaging the pageant until Grace found out.

This is definitely a good mystery.  The writing is clear and flows well.  The story keeps moving and kept my interest.  I think this is one that cozy fans will enjoy.


Thanks to Penguin for providing this book for review.

Stitch me Deadly by Amanda Lee

#2 Embroidery Mystery
Copyright: 2011
Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime
Genre: Mystery
Pages: 336
Challenges: Crusin' Through the Cozies, 2011 Pub Challenge
Author Website
My rating: 3/5

Simple Description:
It's been a couple months since Marcy Singer opened her store and found a dead man in her closet.  Things are going well, she's enjoying the work and the town. Although, she's not happy about the cold..the virus and the weather.  Unfortunately, things are about to get a bit sticky again.  When an old lady comes into the shop and appears out of breath and a bit shaky, Marcy gives her some tea.  When the lady gets worse but not better she calls 911.   She soon learns that Louisa Ralston, the old lady, died due to heart complicates. And it wasn't natural.  Soon Marcy is the lead suspect.  What adds to the mystery of the woman's death is that before she died she showed Marcy and old sampler that had been in the family for a couple of generations and asked for her help in finding Ivy.  Marcy doesn't know if Ivy is a color of thread the lady wanted or if Ivy was a person.   Of course Marcy decides to investigate a bit, in order to clear her name and figure out what was meant by Ivy.

My Thoughts:
I enjoyed this cozy.  I really like Marcy and I like that the town is made of of small, independent shops. I like that while those aren't always the focus of the story, you know they are there and it helps with the atmosphere. Who wouldn't want to go to the local coffee shop for pastries and a sandwich, browse at the embroidery shop, then head to the micro-brewery for a beer and dinner?   I like the re-occurring characters in the series too.  While some were not as prominent in this book as they were in the first, that's ok.  They didn't need to be.  It was good just to have them mentioned once in awhile and I imagine we'll read more about them as the series grows.    I thought it was interesting how the author brought Marcy's Mom back into the story too.  While I had figured out who the murderer was well before Marcy and the police, that didn't spoil the story for me.

My only complaint is that the writing could be better. It just felt choppy at times and I didn't think it always flowed.  I thought sometimes we got too much detail info that we didn't need...things that had nothing to do with the murder at all.

However, I still feel this is a good story and the series does have a lot of promise.  I know I'll be watching for book 3.

Thanks to Berkley Prime Crime/Penguin for providing this book for review.

Apple Turnover Murder by Joanne Fluke

#14 Hannah Swensen Series
Copyright: 2010
Publisher: Kensington
Genre: Mystery
Pages: audio
Challenges: Off the Shelf, Audio Book, Crusin Through the Cozies
Author's Website
My rating: 4/5

Simple Description:
It's summer time and that means fundraiser time.  Hannah and Lisa are asked to bake cookies for a fundraiser the mayor's wife is hosting.  Of course, they are asked at the last minute but they still do it to help out.  The fundraiser has several different events and lasts for several days.  One event in particular is the talent show.  Hannah isn't planning to attend since one of her old professors is involved with it, but when Lisa's husband, Herb, needs her to be his assistant at the last minute, she agrees.  Unfortunately, while at the talent show Hannah finds the professor dead.  

Hannah and her sister Michelle are both likely suspects, even though the police don't really think they did it.
Still, Hannah spends some time investigating the murder because that's just who she is.  Plus, she wants to make sure Lake Eden doesn't find out that Hannah and Michelle were both involved with the professor (at different times of course).

Along with the murder investigation, Hannah's other sister, Andrea, is freaking out because her husband has been offered an incredible job offer and she thinks he might take it.  Even though this means moving the family out of state.

Normal and Mike are both still trying to win Hannah's hand.  Both are acting a little funny towards her too.

My Thoughts:
As my long time readers already know, this is one of my favorite series.  I just love the characters and I love being able to spend time with them.  This is a series I definitely recommend for cozy fans, but please start at the beginning.  I've read some negative reviews of this series on other blogs and most are new readers who start with the most recently published book.  This is one series that starting at the beginning is in your best interest.

One negative thing I've seen several times about the later books is that you read half the book before you actually get to a murder.  Normally with a cozy (or most any mystery) you have the murder right away.  Not always true with this one.  In this specific story I was on disk 4 (of 8) before the murder actually took place.  This didn't bother me at all, but I can see where it would bother somebody new to the series.  For me, I enjoy the characters and the setting so much that it's pure fun to just read about them and what's going on in their lives for half the book before we get to the murder. However, as a new comer I can see where this would be annoying and get some negative feedback.

As far as this book itself, I found in very enjoyable.  I enjoyed it as much as I have the others.  Some of the cookie recipes sound super good too.  I plan to try some within the next month or so and will post a weekend cooking post when I do.   My only complaint is that I really do wish Hannah would pick between Mike and Norman. She doesn't even need to get married, I just want her to pick one!  I think the story line with the three of them is getting old and needs to change.  Of course, my vote is for Norman, just in case Ms. Fluke wanted to know.

Audio Review:
I did actually listen to (most) of this book.  I admit that I was very close to finishing it one day but arrived home before I had a chance to, so I got out  my copy of the book and finished it in print form. It's the first time attempting this series on audio and I have to say I was impressed.  I wasn't sure how well I would like it since I feel I know the characters, would the narrator do a good enough job?  Suzanne Toren is the narrator and I think she does a great job.  I could easily follow what was going on and while she didn't drastically change her voice, she did enough that you knew when it was different characters.

My only issue with the audio is that the recipes are actually read out loud too.  While I realize they are part of the book, I found this unnecessary and a bit annoying because who is going to write down the recipe or try making it, while listening to it?   Luckily the recipes are at the end of the chapters and I was able to just skip to the next track.

In fact, I enjoyed this one enough on audio that I already received the next in the series from my library. It comes out next month, and I'm currently in 3rd place to get.  Of course, since I love trying out the recipes included in the book I'll also buy a copy to have on hand.

A Crafty Killing by Lorraine Bartlett

#1 Victorian Square Mystery
Copyright: 2011
Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime
Genre: Mystery
Pages: 292
Challenges: 1st in a series, Crusin' Through the Cozies
Author's Website
My rating: 2.5/5

Simple Description:
Katie Bonner's life can't seem to get easier.  She was separated from her Husband Chad after he used all their savings towards an investment without consulting her when he died in a car crash.  She became part owner of Artisan's Alley, something she tried not to think about.  Now it seems the main owner of Artisan's Alley is dead, and it was murder.

Katie ends up becoming the main owner in this company.   While she doesn't really want anything to do with Artisan's Alley she knows that the only way to get the money back that her husband invested is to spruce up the place.

Things don't go well though.  Not only does Katie have to deal with a detective who doesn't seem too interested in solving the murder, there are issues with some of the artists, her office in ransacked, and there's another murder.

My Thoughts:
I had been really looking forward to this cozy and I came away a bit disappointed.  I really just couldn't connect with Katie.  She was so angry and so quick to judge and lose her temper.  I understand that she's still grieving the loss of her husband and feeling betrayed, but still, she was just too angry.  I did find that towards the end of the story she either lightened up or it just didn't bother me as much because I found myself not being annoyed and enjoying the story more.  Plus, while with most cozies it's true there is going to be a character we aren't supposed to like, it's also true that it's not supposed to be the main character.

I thought the story itself was good, I liked the concept of Artisan's Alley and Victorian Square and I think it  will make for an interesting setting.  It also gives the story lots of regular characters that could grow with the series.  I also liked how Katie went about investigating the murders.  While she didn't drop everything to investigate, she did ask questions and look into a bit, but fit it in with her daily routines.

However, after saying all that, towards the end I found that I was enjoying the story more and the writing and the main character didn't bother me as much as it had earlier in the book. I don't know if I just got used to it and let it flow or if it lessened a bit.  By the time I ended up turning the last page of this book, I had decided that I would read the 2nd book in the series when it comes out and give it another chance.  The series definitely has potential.  I think Katie needs to mellow out a bit and the writing needs to flow better, and if both of those happen I think this series could be really good.

Please don't let my review alone influence your decision on this one though, another blogger who reads a lot of cozies, Dollycas's Thoughts, reviewed this book and she loved it.





Thanks to Penguin for providing this book for review.

Doom With a View by Victoria Laurie

#7 Physic Eye series
Copyright: 2009
Publisher: Obsidian
Genre: Mystery
Pages: 314
Challenges: Paranormal fantasy Romance, series challange, Cruisin through the cozies
Own
Author's Website
My rating: 4/5

Simple Description:
Due to the economy people aren't spending as much on extra expenses and this means Abby's business is suffering.  When the FBI asks for her help with a case she accepts, as long as her PI friend Candice can also help.  While Agent Gaston believes in her and wants her help, the lead Agent in charge (and Dutch's boss) Agent Harrison does not believe in what Abby can do, even when she proves herself time after time.

The FBI is trying to find three kids who have disappeared, all of them are the kids of Senators from different states.  They are trying to find the kids before more disappear.

My Thoughts:
I believe I say this every time I review a book in this series and I'm going to say it again: I love this series and it's one of my favorites.   I really like Abby's character.  I think she's fun and has a good heart. I like a lot of the secondary characters as well, especially her boyfriend Dutch.

I thought the story for this book was good, Abby was faced with somebody who doesn't believe in what she does and I liked seeing her react to this.  Of course, she was also working with somebody that did and that helped too.

If I had anything negative to say regarding this specific story it's that the behavior of Candice and Agent Harrison was annoying, their reactions to each other was annoying.  They bickered a lot, with Candice trying to stand up for Abby and with Harrison being against using them.  It just carried on too much and could have stopped long before it did.

I still loved the story though, regardless of what did bother me.   I think by now we all know I like a bit of paranormal in my books and so of course I love that Abby is psychic, it really makes for a fun cozy.

Ghouls, Ghouls, Ghouls by Victoria Laurie

#5 Ghost Hunters series
Copyright: 2011
Publisher: Obsidian
Genre: mystery
Pages: 336
Challenges: Paranormal/Fantasy Romance, Crusin' Through the Cozies
Author's Website
My rating: 4/5

Description:
M.J. and the crew are on their way to Ireland for the latest ghost busting adventure.  They are still working on producing episodes for their upcoming tv show.  Their producer, Gopher,  has found one with a phantom even scarier than what they just encountered in Scotland.  They aren't too happy, until they find out it's also a treasure hunt.   Dunlow Castle is set on a rock out cropping that can only be arrived at by walking along a causeway during low tide.  If it isn't low tide, the walkway is buried by water.  The water itself is too dangerous for anybody by the coast guard to be in, and then only in dire emergencies.  The phantom itself is known to send people to their deaths over the edge of the cliff.   However, tourists still try to explore the castle because it's said that some Spanish ships crashed on the shore of the castle rock and one of the ships was carrying a lot of gold.  The gold has never been discovered.

M.J., Gilley, and Health aren't exactly excited to be investigating this one but they go along with it.  Unfortunately things go from bad to worse on their first encounter.  Not only do they realize the Phantom is the strongest thing either Heath or M.J. have come up against, Gopher goes missing.  Even though the last thing M.J. wants to do is repeatedly visit the castle, she knows she has to in order to find Gopher.


My thoughts: 
I've loved this series since book #1 and this one doesn't disappoint.  Sometimes I think M.J. is a little too harsh with Gilley, but at the same time you can understand why.  Plus, it never lasts long.  Gilley is always good for a laugh too.  I have to admit that I did figure out the mysteries before the characters did, but that didn't ruin it for me. I enjoy the characters enough and the story kept moving and was interesting enough for that not to matter.

If you haven't picked up this series yet but think the ghost busting aspect sounds fun, I highly recommend it.
For me, this is what cozy mysteries are all about.  A bit of mystery and a whole lot of fun.  While I'm glad to be caught up on a series, it's also sad to know I'll have to wait another year to hang out with these characters again.


Thanks to Penguin for providing this book in hopes I would review it.

Buttercream Bump Off by Jenn McKinlay

#2 Cupcake bakery mystery
Copyright: 2011
Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime
Genre: mystery
Pages: 212
Challenges: Crusin' Through the Cozies
Author's Website
My rating: 4/5

Simple Description:
Mel and Angie are back for the 2nd book in the cupcake series.  They own Fairy Tale Cupcakes but have a habit of getting caught up in murder investigations.  This time around it's not really Mel's fault though.  Her Mom has finally decided to start dating again and when she is at her date's house, somebody kills her date!

Mel doesn't initially want to get involved, but when it appears the police consider her Mom (her Mom of all people!) as a major suspect she decides to do some digging.  Once she starts, she can't stop.

My thoughts: 
I loved this book!  I adored the first one and this one was a wonderful follow-up in the series.  Mel, Angie, and Tate are the three main characters and they crack me up. Mel more than the other two, but then we are told the story from her point of view.   There are several times I smiled and chuckled throughout this book.
One such time was after I read the following:
Mel flipped open her phone. "Hello?"
"Oh, thank God, you answered," Joyce said breathlessly. "My dress did it again."
"What? What do you mean?"
"My dress," Joyce said. "It caused another heart attach and this time I think I killed him."
Pg. 27

I don't know why, but that made me smile.

Along with the mystery aspect of the book, we also have Mel and her new romance with one of Angie's brother's.   The relationship doesn't seem to be progressing in the bed department and everyone seems to know.  This is another aspect of the story that is fun and just adds to Mel as a character.  

Even though this is only the 2nd book in the series, I'm already considering this series one of my top cozy mystery series.  No word yet on when the 3rd in the series, Death by the Dozen, will be released but I assume it's next year. I for one, am already anxiously awaiting it's release.


Thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy of this book in hopes I would review it.

Crusin' Through the Cozies Challenge

While I do host the Cozy Mystery Challenge annually from April - September, that doesn't mean I can't sign up for another cozy challenge does it?  This challenge goes all year round, so it is a bit different after-all.  


Yvonne from Socrate's Book Reviews is hosting the Crusin' Through the Cozies Challenge and here are the details:


1. Choose the level you wish to participate:

Level 1 - Snoop - Read 1-6 books
Level 2 - Investigator - Reading 7-12 books
Level 3 - Super Sleuth - Read 13 or more books

2.  You don't have to choose your books in advance. If you do, you can change your list at any time during the year. Books can overlap with other challenges.

3. Books can be in any format - paper, audio, ebooks...it all counts!

4. You don't have to post a review, but I'm sure others would love to know about the books you are reading and may even want to add it to their reading lists.

Have fun!




This is another one that I'm not going to list books ahead of time.  The reason for this is simple, I have a ton of cozies I want to read and several that I plan to use for other challenges.  Therefore I have a feeling that even if I did create a list of books to read I would end up reading others first and complete the challenge sooner.  In fact, I'm going all out and considering myself a Super Sleuth with plans to read 13 or more.  That means I'll keep the challenge open till December 2011 even if I do hit 13 cozies before then.   The fun will be to see how many I actually do read in one year.