‍ ‍ September is one of Southern California’s hottest times. When I taught I used fans in my classroom until we were assigned a room in an air conditioned building.

‍ ‍ Our next meeting is on September 27th for The Angels of Venice. It’s scheduled at 2:00 pm on Zoom. The meeting after that is on October 25th for the book Sparkling Cyanide. Both are good reads. We hope to see you there.

Read the Newsletter for September. We included some cozy television news as well as updating each of us with club news.

‍ ‍ August is the month with no holidays except for going back to school — a holiday for some and maybe not for others. It is also the month when I think about a new box of Crayola crayons. I love the smell of them as well as their sharpened look. It is also the month when we have a meeting on the 23rd at 2:00 p.m. Pacific. We’re discussing The Curse of the Pogo Stick by Colin Cotterill. We’d love to see you at our Zoom meeting. Come and have some fun!

August has a meeting on the 23rd to look forward to. We’re reading The Curse of the Pogo Stick by Colin Cotterill. It’s a cozy from Laos, rather short, and a good mystery. Join us for a fun meeting and a game of Jeopardy. Stay as cool as possible!!

‍ ‍. What’s on your summer fun list? Share what you’d like to do sometime during the summertime. Meanwhile, don’t forget to join us on the 26th at 2:00 pm PDT. We’re discussing The Cracked Spine by Paige Shelton and then playing a game. Come to the meeting, have a bit of summer fun, and make some friends. We meet on Zoom so RSVP on the Events page.

‍ ‍. July is a great month to sit on the beach under a big umbrella with a good cozy mystery book. Enjoy the time. but don’t forget to meet with us on July 26th for our meeting. We’re reading The Cracked Spine by Paige Shelton. It’s got a bit of paranormal, a fine mystery, and a tad of romance. What could be better?

‍ ‍. We meet on June 28th on Zoom at 2:00 pm Pacific. Our book is The Case of the Elusive Bombay Duck by Tarquin Hall. You’ll love the book. It’s a cozy, funny, and has a sleuth that you’ll love. Join us whether or not you’ve read the book. We have a lot of fun!

‍ ‍ Barnaby’s birthday is this Sunday. He doesn’t know that he has a choice of birthstones. He’s just interested in treat treats. Happy birthday you June babies!

Jot down May 24^th on your own calendar. This month we’re reading Mastering the Art of French Murder by Colleen Cambridge. I liked this mystery, you will also. It involves Julia Childs as one of the characters which gives the novel a familiar feel. Join us whether you’ve had a chance to read the novel or not. Of course we talk about the book, but we also talk with each other on Zoom and become mystery club friends. In addition, we play a game and award prizes. It’s a fun hour on a Sunday. We’re scheduled for the 24^th at 2:00 pm Pacific, 5:00 pm Eastern.

‍ ‍. Happy May to you and to all of you May birthdays! We had a glorious time with Landis Wade’s visit on April 26th and learned so much about the Charlotte, North Carolina gold rush. His novel Deadly Gold Rush had this as the running theme. It was an exciting novel and we can’t wait for the third edition of the Indie Retirement Community’s sleuths next year.

‍ ‍ Happy birthday April people. Aries is in fine fettle. It’s time to paint some more. It’s time to write some more. It’s time to read some more. My April song is ever present in my head.

Our monthly meeting on April 26th will be splendid. Landis Wade is speaking to our group. Deadly Gold Rush is his newest novel and free on BookBub and Kindle until April 13th. Join us and have a wonderful time for a special hour on Sunday, April 26 at 2:00 pm Pacific.

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We are so excited to host Landis Wade at our April 26th meeting. He’ll be talking about his newest novel, Deadly Gold Rush. Please join us for an interesting discussion. Having an author speak to us makes reading their novels much more informative. We’ll get to hear about Landis’s process, how he researched his work, and what made him focus on the gold rush. Above all, we’ll get to live with our group from the retirement community once again. How fun!

Happy Pisces month! It’s March and the month is chock full of birthdays and holidays. We have our meeting on the 22nd of the month. Please join us on Zoom at 2:00 pm PDT . Find the link if you RSVP on this website. Then on April 26th Landis Wade is coming to our club meeting. Read Deadly Gold Rush. It’s Landis’s newest book and an excellent read.

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‍ ‍Dear Cozy Death Mystery Book Readers,

‍ What a wonderful month! March is full of holidays and on March 20th the beginning of spring. Look for your rainbows and pot of gold, dear readers!

‍ ‍ We had an amazing meeting in February. We talked about everything Victoriana while we discussed A Study in Murder.‍ ‍On March 22nd we’ll meet and talke about Death in Brittany.. It’s a mystery that involves artwork and a tour of the area. You’ll enjoy it. Meet with us on Zoom.

We had a marvelous time at our last A Cozy Death Mystery Book Club meeting. We read Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Suntano, a favorite author of mine. If you read it, and I hope that you did, you’ll catch on to the fact that Vera is considered “old” at 60. Oh my! No, my friends, 60 is not old, not old, not old! However, if you’re in your teens or twenties -- maybe so. At any rate, we had a rousing good discussion about the perspectives of different characters and people in general. After that we played a game—gabberwocky.

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!