Tag Archives: Joan Hess

Top 10 Tuesday — Comfort Reads

31 May

I have always loved mysteries! From the moment I read that first Nancy Drew I was hooked. They are my go-to when I need a little escape. And though I read all kinds of mysteries, I find my comfort reads in cozies. Today’s TTT list includes cozy mystery series that I lost myself in. They are so much fun with main characters that I love. There are lots of books in these series — I have finished some, but have more to grab when I need that comfort fix. I hope you find a series to love (and binge 😉 ).

For more of bloggers’ comfort reads, check out That Artsy Reader Girl.

Top Cozy Mystery Series

Claire Malloy by Joan Hess

College town bookseller with a snarky teenager and a hunky police detective boyfriend.

MacLaren Yarbrough by Patricia Sprinkle

Small town Georgia nursery owner who knows every-body.

Miss Zukas by Jo Dereske

Completely serious librarian who is unknowingly hilarious.

Sarah Booth Delaney by Carolyn Haines

Former southern belle from the Mississippi Delta with a ghost for a sidekick.

Southern Sisters — Anne George

Birmingham Alabama sisters get into one funny scrape after another.

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Top 10 Tuesday — Characters Like Me, Because It Really Is All About The Books

7 May

I found this week’s Top 10 Tuesday prompt — Characters That Remind Me of Myself — a bit daunting. I lead such a boring life, that it would never make it as a book. 😉 I really struggled to come up with the requisite 10 to fill this post, until I started thinking about what consumes a lot of my thoughts — books! I read them, talk about them, blog about them, sniff them . . . . Anyway, I came up with a list of characters that are surrounded by books too. I really wouldn’t want to trade places with any of them because of their issues, and the fact that some regularly stumble on dead bodies or engage in nefarious activities! And while my husband may say our home is starting to look a lot like a bookstore or library, I do not work at either. But I am a book pusher  enthusiast who makes sure everyone has the opportunity to get their hands on the story that is just right for them. Whether you like cozy mysteries, suspense, romance, women’s fiction, or time-slip novels, I hope you find a book you just need to read!

For more fun with doppleganger characters, check out That Artsy Reader Girl.

 

A Dozen Book Pushing Characters

(aka booksellers or librarians)

Bruce Cable — Camino Island by John Grisham

Violet and Daisy Waverly —Crime And Poetry by Amanda Flower

Annie Laurance Darling — Death on Demand by Carolyn Hart

Callie Randall — Hidden Among The Stars by Melanie Dobson

Helma Zukas — Miss Zukas And The Library Murders by Jo Dereske

Madeline, Janet, and Carrie — The Printed Letter Bookshop by Katherine Reay

Rick Denton — Remembering Christmas by Dan Walsh

A. J. Fickry — The Storied Life of A. J. Fickry by Gabrielle Zevin

Claire Malloy — Strangled Prose by Joan Hess

 

Which character is like you?

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Top 10 Tuesday — Bookish Bookshops

16 Oct

Ok, I know that the title of my Top Ten Tuesday post is a bit redundant, but I have a reason for this somewhat silly title. Today, bloggers are supposed to share the bookstores and/or libraries they would love to visit. A very bookish bucket list. 😉 There are a number of real life bookstores that I would absolutely love to visit. Powell’s in Portland comes to mind. But those destinations will have to wait. So I thought I would share the bookstores I have already visited, however fictionally. Yes, my list consists of bookstores that reside in books, hence bookish bookshops. Some of the books are cozies in which bookstore owners double as mystery solvers, while others share stories beyond the covers of books and walls of stores.  Have you visited any on my list? I’d love to know what you thought.

Be sure to head over to That Artsy Reader Girl to find out just where other bloggers want to visit.

 

Top Bookish Bookstores

 

Bay Books — Camino Island by John Grisham

The Book Depot — Strangled Prose by Joan Hess

Charming Books — Crime and Poetry by Amanda Flower

Death on Demand Bookstore — Death on Demand by Carolyn Hart

Island Books — The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

Magic Balloon Bookshop — Hidden Among The Stars by Melanie Dobson

Oak Tree Bookstore — The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald

 

What bookish location do you want to visit?

 

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Audiobook Review: Murder As A Second Language

2 Oct

51f99xIfhGL._SX304_BO1,204,203,200_Her foray into French cooking was one type of disaster. But when Claire attempts to give back to her community by volunteering as an ESL tutor with the Farberville Literacy Council, she finds herself railroaded onto the Board of Directors  . . . and confronted with an epic to-do list including but not limited to responding to acts of vandalism, fighting charges of embezzlement, and the murder of a female Russian student. Now it’s up to Claire, with the help of her new husband, to solve the brutal crime-one as difficult to translate as the Cyrillic alphabet itself.

 

 

 

 

hess(From Wikipedia) Joan Hess is an American mystery writer, the author of two popular mystery series: The Claire Malloy Mysteries and The Maggody Mysteries (also called The Arly Hanks Mysteries).

Hess has been nominated for the Agatha Award five times, and won once, for her 1990 short story “Too Much to Bare”.

A longtime resident of Fayetteville, Arkansas, Hess now lives in Austin, Texas.

 

My Impressions:

I am a sucker for good cozy mysteries, and Joan Hess’ Claire Malloy series is one of the best. I started at the beginning and have read a good number of the books, but I have missed the last few. I chose Murder As A Second Language for my morning walks and am glad I did. Light and engaging with a main character who is smart, savvy, sassy and a bit sarcastic, this novel kept me laughing and guessing as I racked up the miles. This is the first book I have read since Claire’s marriage to hunky Deputy Chief of Police, Peter Rosen. But not much has really changed; Claire is on her own quite a bit with her daughter Caron’s independent high school activities and Peter’s long hours on a murder case. Claire is especially nosy inquisitive and inserts herself wherever trouble is. The murder at the Literacy Council with all its feuding board members and international students is puzzling and kept me on my toes. Murder As A Second Language is a fun read, but please note it is not a Christian novel. There is a bit of bad language and adult innuendo.

Recommended for fans of secular cozy mysteries. (There is some bad language and adult situations.)

Audience: adults.

To purchase this book, click HERE.

(I purchased the audiobook from Audible. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)

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