I'm in a list making kind of mood so I thought I'd start making random five lists. Sometimes they'll be bookish other weeks not so much. I'm working on catching up on series and decided to put a few reviews of them all together here.
1. To Err is Cumin by Leslie Budewitz - I really enjoy this series. The more books I've read the more I've come to enjoy spending time with Pepper, her dog Arf, and the whole cast of characters at Pike Place Market. The mystery here was an unusual one as Pepper accidentally ends up with an envelope of money that seems to have come from nefarious sources - a fact that is backed up when a body is found. This definitely kept me guessing and I enjoyed the read from start to finish. This had caught me up on the series though another book is coming out this summer so I'm looking forward to picking that one up. My Rating: Really Liked It (4 Stars)
2. Hot Button by Kylie Logan - Serious collectors can make for a strange cast of characters and that is definitely the case with the button convention going on in this second book in the Button Shop series. I know nothing about buttons other than I liked playing with the ones shaped like animals and flowers in my grandmother's sewing room when I was little but this was still a fun read that I really enjoyed. I liked Josie as the main character and her retired police detective uncle as well as her maybe boyfriend and current police detective sidekick. There was a lot going on in this one that kept me guessing and enjoying every page. I'm glad I already have the next book on my shelf and I'm looking forward to reading more from this author. My Rating: Really Liked It (4 Stars)
3. Picked to Die by Sheila Connolly - This series was one of my intros to cozy mysteries at least a decade ago. I really loved the early books but as the series has gone on the less engaged with them I've gotten. I like Seth and his family and Meg is okay as the lead character. I do dislike Bree quite a bit. I get her frustration at times but she's flat out rude. The mystery in this one was okay. The solution made sense and the story is a bit unexpected if anti-climatic. I'm at the point in this series where I'm missing a book or two in the series and my library doesn't have the next book so I need to decide if I'm going to hunt down the next book or skip it. Based off this book I didn't like it enough to go hunt the next book down and buy it so I skipped it but I do like the series enough to finish the books that I do own. My Rating: Liked It (3 Stars)
4. A Poisoned Season by Tasha Alexander - This is the second book in the Lady Emily historical mystery season. In this book Lady Emily has come to terms with her husband's death but is having some trouble fitting into society as a widow and is perpetually shocking her mother. The mystery involved a potential claim to the French throne and a number of possibly connected thefts. Lady Emily kind of annoyed me as I get wanting to stay true to herself but she didn't seem to fully understand the potential for consequences in a world where she has lived her entire life. I did like the way her character is developing and thoroughly enjoyed the mystery, however. I'm looking forward to picking up the next book in the series. My Rating: Rally Liked It (4 Stars)
5. Revenge of the Wrought Iron Flamingos by Donna Andrews - I love the most recent books in this very long running series and am slowly making my way through the earlier books. This wasn't my favorite. I do love Meg at a festival and the anachronism police made me laugh. I also liked an early glimpse of Faulk and as usual Meg's dad makes me smile anytime he's on the page. The mystery was a good one as usual and there were plenty of suspects and motives. I did find Meg a bit annoying in this book. She just seems prickly and indecisive and I didn't care for how she treated Michael. I know this gets worked out as the series goes on but I just found some of her behavior a little jarring. I'm looking forward to the next one in the series though and hopefully Meg is back to her familiar ways. My Rating: Liked It! (3.5 Stars)
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