March Murder Mystery Madness!

Happy March everyone. As you can guess by this title, I'm starting another mini-blog series!

I've had a lot of positive feedback for my series in March and hopefully will even get a few converts out of my strong pitch to come to the dark side and fall in love with paranormal romance. Now, though it may shock some people, I will read something without a love story as a central element. I know, I'll give you a minute while you pick yourself up off the floor.

With that little nugget of information, I give you:

Murder Mystery Madness!

Because I believe there is a significant chunk of the population who would forgo basketball and rather spend Sunday afternoon trying to analyze whether an 18th-century iron would make a triangle-shaped hole in the back of someone's skull. *Spoiler alert* It does, that is I mean, it would. Hypothetically, of course.

So this time around is going to be similar to last time. Each Sunday will have a little theme and since I'm hungry let's start with food-themed cozies!

The sub-genre cozy mystery started as an attempt to recreate the classic detective novels, such as Agatha Christie. They can still have creative crimes, but violence and sex happen when the audience isn't looking. This sub-genre is similar to sweet romance. To summarize, if you like watching British detective shows or Murder She Wrote, grab a cup of Earl Grey and snuggle into your recliner.

The Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder

This series goes on for a bit, and *bonus* includes recipes! Think Gilmore Girls with murder, set in Lake Eden, Minnesota. I've enjoyed it and a few of the others in the series.

Death by Darjeeling

This series features around the same central point as the Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder, mainly there is a tea shop, bakery, coffee shop, or something similar in an adorable town, but then it all starts to go wrong. This series takes place in Charleston, South Carolina. If you find you like my two suggestions so far, there are many more in this sub-genre. Murder and snacks, what's not to like?

Wish You Were Here

This series is set in just outside of Charlottesville, Virginia, which I find hilarious when the characters come to Short Pump to go to Nordstrom's and Macy's. I always love it when I know the area. This story focuses on a postmistress who owns a horse farm with a few animals, all of whom can talk to each other. If you have pets, this is great because you can get in their heads for a bit of the story. They can't speak to their owner but have a real starring role in the book.

I hope you give these three series a try and let me know if you have a similar favorite I've missed. I haven't read everything, but it's on my list.

Onward! See you next week for historical mysteries!

Kathryn