It seems that in November and December, our feet don’t stay planted in one spot for too long. Be sure you take some time to put your feet up and take a step away from all the hustle and bustle by picking up a new cozy mystery to read!
Twice Told Tail (A Black Cat Bookshop Mystery) – Ali Brandon – While being suspicious of an anonymous online bidder who is offering a lot of money for one of her antique books, Darla Pettistone is roped into helping bridezilla Connie Capello get ready for her big day until their shopping excursion ends in murder.
Deck The Hallways (A Fixer-Upper Mystery) – Kate Carlisle – While trying to transform a Victorian mansion into apartments for homeless families in time for the holidays, contractor Shannon Hammer must pull-off a Christmas miracle to save her father from prison and find the real killer of a miserly bank president.
Hooking For Trouble (A Crochet Mystery) – Betty Hechtman – When she believes she has witnessed a murder, Molly Pink, the founder of the Tarzana Hookers Yarn University, calls in her ex, homicide detective Barry Greenberg, who reports that nothing is amiss, forcing her to unravel the clues herself to find the truth. Includes recipes and crochet patterns.
We Wish You A Murderous Christmas (A Year-Round Christmas Mystery) – VIcki Delany – When the son of Jack Olsen, who owns the Yuletide Inn, decides to no longer celebrate Christmas at the Inn, sending the local shopkeepers into a tizzy, Merry Wilkinson is faced with a holiday homicide when he is found stabbed to death.
The Good, The Bad, And The Guacamole (A Taste of Texas Mystery) – Rebecca Adler – When her best friend, Patti Lopez, is accused of murdering her ex-boyfriend, smooth-talking country crooner Jeff Clark, Tex-Mex waitress and part-time reporter Josie Callahan must put her sleuthing skills to good use to serve up the real killer.
Shades of Wrath (A Caprice De Luca Home Staging Mystery) – Karen Rose Smith – Hired to decorate a run-down mansion, which will now house Kismet, Pennsylvania’s women’s shelter, home stager and stray animal rescuer Caprice De Luca must instead design an investigation that will expose a crafty killer after the shelter’s director is murdered.
First Degree Mudder (A Pacific Northwest Mystery) – Kate Dyer-Seeley – An outdoor writer, Meg Reed, deciding to take her job to the next level, trains hard for Mud, Sweat & Beers, an extreme 5K mud run, only to find herself getting down and dirty in a murder investigation when her coach, Billy the Tank, is found dead.
Crime and Catnip (Nick & Nora Mystery) – T. C. LoTempio – Agreeing to look into the disappearance of a museum director’s niece, caterer Nora Charles and her faithful feline, Nick, are plunged into a world of coded messages, false identities and murder where they must solve this mystery in order to survive. Includes sandwich recipes.
Pros and Cons (A Magical Bookshop Mystery) – Amanda Flower – When she finds one of the members of the local writing group dead right before the annual Food and Wine Festival, Violet, after the shop magically tells her she will need to rely on the works of Edgar Allan Poe to solve the murder, must act fast before someone else’s heart beats nevermore.
Better Off Thread (An Embroidery Mystery) – Amanda Lee – While playing elf to Captain Moe’s Santa for sick children at a local hospital, embroidery shop owner Marcy stumbles upon the dead body of the hospital’s administrator and must, with the help of her police officer boyfriend and her Irish Wolfhound, find out who is trying to pin this murder on Moe.
Frosty The Dead Man (A Snow Globe Shop Mystery) – Christine Husom – When she finds Mayor Lewis Frost, Frosty to his friends, dead, apparently struck by the snow globe she sold him earlier that day, curio shop owner Camryn Brooks must shake things up to find a killer who is cold as ice.
The Ghosts of Misty Hollow (Ghost of Granny Apples Mystery) – Sue Ann Jaffarian – While visiting a best-selling crime writer who needs her input as a medium, Emma Whitecastle is immediately contacted by a family of ghosts who originally owned the historic Massachusetts farmhouse and need her help in locating the spirits of their two children who disappeared, which results in the appearance of a dead body.
Spouse on Haunted Hill (Haunted Guesthouse Mystery) – E.J. Copperman – When the cops show up at her doorstep, searching for her ex-husband who, owing some scary people a lot of money, has disappeared and left a body in his wake, Alison Kerby, with the help of ghosts Maxie and Paul, sets out to find her ex and clear him of the murder before the bad guys get to him first
A blog post that dares to ask the question, is it possible to celebrate the holidays without the clutter and overabundance that characterizes most households during December? Let’s rephrase that: is it possible to do away with the clutter and overabundance and still have a fun holiday?
Technology changes faster than most of us can keep up. Almost all of us are familiar with regular DVD technology even if we can’t set the clock on it. Blu Ray, the next step up in DVD technology, is now thirteen years old, and not enough people have moved along with it. But you should, especially with Blu-Ray players, fully decked out, costing as little as $49. If you don’t have one, this should be on your Holiday list.
picture clarity far superior, but with the right equipment (cameras, wifi, high-speed cables) you can Skype through it (make video phone calls), surf the internet (yes, order from Amazon right off your TV), access Netflix and other video programs, play music CDs, and flip items from your iPad or phone right onto your Smart TV for large-screen viewing. The downfall: your TV must already accommodate this. If you still have a hump-backed 100-lb picture-tube TV, you’re out of luck for almost everything.
4K Ultra is the next step in television and DVD technology. 4K Ultra-High-Def (UHD) is mind-blowingly clear television – clearer than looking out your window. If you thought your high-definition TV was amazing, imagine something twice as fantastic – because it truly is working with twice the capacity (1080 pixels for the standard HDTV vs. 2160 for 4K). The picture is mind-blowing, and allows for monstrously larger screen sizes without losing clarity. Next time you’re out shopping, stop by Costco or Best Buy and take a look. If you thought blu-ray was amazing, just wait.
bought) cannot play the 4K DVDs, a 4K DVD machine will play your regular blu-ray discs (no, they can’t play them as clear as 4K because the discs aren’t coded that way, but they can upscale them so it’s very close). They are absolutely affordable (you can pick up a 3-D 4K UHD disc player with wifi capacity for as little as $119; a 43” TV goes for as little as $379).
Downloads are available to any Cheshire resident with a current library card. You can access all downloadable platforms from our website 
