Happy Monday Folks! I know, I know – many of you are snow and ice bound and are wondering what on earth a photo of flowers is doing on top of the blog. It’s there because I thought the photo looked hopeful. Of course, in Punxsutawney the groundhog was awakened to answer the yearly question of whether it will be an early spring or six more weeks of winter? Well, Punxsutawney Phil made his annual Groundhog Day prediction at Gobbler's Knob, saw his shadow and predicted 6 more weeks of winter.

What a happy new year this is! We have some new members and welcome to all of you. We’re very glad to have you. Our “List for 2026” is out. Please look at the website: www.acozydeath.com. under the Book List. You’ll see it dancing on the site and proud as punch. 

What a great meeting in September! We discussed Murder in an Italian Village by Michael Falco. There were mixed reviews of the book. Some of our members thought the book was fun and enjoyed the setting, the Italian phrases that were integrated throughout the novel, and the general upbeat feel of the writing. However, other members thought that the story was farfetched, were annoyed by the coincidence of the protagonist’s best friend’s brother as the Chief of Police, skeptical of the ease with which people could break into the Mayor’s office, and so on. How interesting that the book caused very polar opposite sentiments!

I hope your Thanksgiving was super, yummy, and one to relish. I was indeed thankful. When I was in the hospital the week before I had visions of being in through Thanksgiving and trying hard to be thankful enough that I could say “no” to the institutional gravy that appeared on all of the hospital food!  “Why?” I have to ask is gravy so important that it has to go on everything except the cup of salad. 

Happy, happy New Year. The sun came out after a night of pouring rain. It makes me cheery about 2026. May your year be healthy, full of happiness, and cozy reading!

The image is from one of the 2025 holiday decorated windows at Bergdorf Goodman’s Department Store in NYC.

Hello cozy mystery readers. Can you believe we have only 31 days left of 2025? I feel as if I’ve read only a third of the novels I’d intended to read and yet keep getting more advertisements for novels that I’d like to read – desperately!

‍ ‍ Welcome to November and the beginning of the holiday season! We’re looking forward to Thanksgiving, fall leaves, and the delicious feel of cooler days and nights. My sweaters are ready. Time changes this weekend and the days begin to feel shorter. What a great time of year!

‍ ‍. Look for the Book Reviews towards the bottom of the blog. There’s a mystery book there for everyone.

Hello, hello October! It’s the month of pumpkins of all sizes and shapes and candy corn that once eaten will make me all sizes and shapes. Seriously, though, I love this month. It means that fall has begun and there are holidays galore to look towards. It’s the month of pumpkin spice everything and beginning to use cozy throws at night when one sits in a comfy chair to read. Hot chocolate for everyone!

September has crept up on me. I know that I talked about the calendar last posting, but somehow I fell into the changing weather of August. The humid end of August reminded us of when we lived in Florida. Granted, the humidity wasn’t as great as that of Del Rey Beach. But as I said, it was a reminder. It was as if I were back resisting going outside and finally walking out and feeling the hair on the back of my neck curl ever tighter while I went to my car to go to work.

I forgot to post the reminder note and the Zoom link until this afternoon. Mea culpa. Read the note for both reminder and link information. See you on Sunday the 24th.

July was our last meeting using Meetup. We read Murder by the Sea by Danielle Collins. The novel took place in Kenya and gave all of us a taste of seaside culture in Kenya.

It’s August and the month of Departure from Meetup!  I feel a sense of relief and great joy. The relief is that Tahlia and I can keep our club a free membership.

Oh what fun we had with Misty Simon, author of many cozy mysteries/series, last month. Misty told us how she crafts her novels, what makes her feel close to her characters, and how she develops the setting for her plots.

July is here! The summer has officially begun and there are no holidays to interrupt the sunny days. The choice of planners for the “year” begins again!

We are excited to host Misty Simon on June 22nd on Zoom at 2:00pm. Please choose one of the many, many novels that Misty has written.

Misty Simon is our author for June. She’ll be speaking to our group on June 22nd on Zoom. Join us for an hour of wonderful discussion and many laughs. Misty is wonderful!

Happy Mother’s Day and National Mystery Month!

We’re reading Inspector Singh Investigates: A Most Peculiar Malaysian Murder by Shamani Flint.

Happy Mother’s Day! Check out the section What I’m Reading and watch for Tahlia’s and my podcast on YouTube. It’s our first! Hurrah, hurrah!

Our book for April is Poison in Paddington by Samantha Silver. We’ll be playing our version of Hangman after we discuss the book. All words will come from the book and there’s a prize for the winner!

It’s April Fool’s Day and the beginning of April. Have fun everyone!