ROCCO's February Cozy Roundup!

Here's ROCCO's take on Penguin's February roster of cozies!

TOP PICK:
The Fast and the Furriest
Sofie Ryan
February 6
Five Stars

Sarah Grayson owns Second Chance, a shop that sells lovingly refurbished items, in the charming town of North Harbor, Maine. But she couldn't run the store without the help of her right-hand man, Mac--or her dashing rescue cat, Elvis.

Mac's life before North Harbor has always been a little bit mysterious, but it becomes a lot more intriguing when a woman from his past shows up in town, and then turns up dead. Suspicion falls on Mac, but Sarah--and Elvis--know he can't be the killer, and they hope they can prove his innocence quick as a whisker.

Love, love, love this series!  Elvis is a remarkable cat and Sarah is turning into an excellent detective.  Also found myself liking the romance aspect!  If you haven't yet tried this series, I suggest you do so. Good reading on a cold winter night! Five PAws!!!!!!

ROCCO's Second Top Pick
CLAWS FOR CONCERN
MIRANDA JAMES
FEB 20
FIVE PAWS

Charlie Harris is busy enjoying his new grandson when a mysterious man with a connection to Charlie's family starts visiting the library, bringing with him troubling questions about an unsolved murder...

Charlie may be a proud new grandfather, but he and Diesel still have work to do at Athena College and the small Mississippi town's public library. He's too busy to deal with true-crime writer Jack Pemberton, who wants Charlie as the subject of his latest book--and who won't take no for an answer. 
 
A more appealing proposition for Charlie is spending time helping a kind, elderly man navigate the library's genealogical database. But he's shocked when he learns that the visitor's search is focused on a member of his own family: his late aunt's husband.

Charlie befriends the man and considers inviting him to stay in his home, but he's soon given reason to question that notion. Jack is certain that Charlie's new houseguest was involved in a shocking homicide that took place years ago in a small town near Athena. As this cold case heats up, Charlie and Diesel have to uncover a killer who may already be too close to home...

It's hard to believe that this is the ninth instalment in this popular series, and one can see why!  Each adventure is more thrililng than the last. I personally never tire of watching Charlie and his remarkable cat, Diesel, unravel the clues that will unlock the mystery. This time out, Charlie gets a little too up close and personal with a homicide. I liked the idea of the true crime writer wanting to do a series on Charlie's adventures but wait! Hasn't that already been done LOL.  This book will not disappoint die hard fans of the series and new ones will want to binge on the previous adventures.  Five Paws!!!!!

CLAIRVOYANT AND PRESENT DANGER
Lena Gregory
Feb 6, 2018
Four Stars

Cass has always relied on her abilities to guide her, but after communications with a ghost land her in the middle of a murder investigation, she has to wonder if her gifts are really more a curse.

Cass knows she is meant to help track down the killer--much to the chagrin of local law enforcement--when the apparition leads her to a dead body on the beach near her psychic shop, Mystical Musings. But the police are not the only ones who wish Cass would stick to reading palms. Someone is trying to scare her off, and it will take all her powers of premonition to catch the killer before Cass herself becomes the next victim...

This is the third instalment in the psychic island msytery series.  I've always been a fan of the paranormal, and there is just enough to satisfy me in this series!  Cass gets spunkier with each book! Four stars!


REPRINT OF THE M ONTH
PEKOE MOST POISON
Laura Childs
Paperback edition Feb 6.

In this reprint of New York Times bestselling author Laura Childs's latest Tea Shop Mystery, Theodosia Browning attends a "Rat Tea," where the mice will play...at murder.

When Indigo Tea Shop owner Theodosia Browning is invited by Doreen Briggs, one of Charleston's most prominent hostesses, to a "Rat Tea," she is understandably intrigued. As servers dressed in rodent costumes and wearing white gloves offer elegant finger sandwiches and fine teas, Theo learns these parties date back to early twentieth-century Charleston to promote better public health.

But this party goes from odd to chaotic when a fire starts at one of the tables and Doreen's entrepreneur husband suddenly goes into convulsions and drops dead. Has his favorite orange pekoe tea been poisoned? Theo smells a rat. And as she reviews the guest list for suspects, she soon finds herself drawn into in a dangerous game of cat and mouse...

Who doesn't love a tea shop mystery? Theodosia is quickly becoming one of my favorite female sleuths!  The plot is clever and Theo and company are in top notch form.  I also found the idea of a "Rat Tea" interesting!!!!!!  If you weren't able to get the hardcover, get the paperback now!  Five Stars!


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