Dawn Dowdle's Cozy Corner, Column in Web Mystery Magazine, Summer 2005

"Oh! What a tangled web we weave, When first we practice to deceive." Sir Walter Scott

Dawn Dowdle's Cozy Corner

Last issue's Cozy Corner

Dawn Dowdle loves reading mysteries and is the proprietor of a copy-editing service, Sleuth Editing, specializing in mysteries. When she can, she attends Malice Domestic. She has made friends with many mystery authors. Her website is Mystery Lovers Corner.

Direct correspondence to Dawn Dowdle or to Editor.

Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Susan McBride

(Avon, 0060563907)

Andy Kendricks is a debutant dropout. She missed her own coming-out party and went to art school. Now Andy manages websites for non-profit organizations. It’s not like she needs money. And she believes in their causes.

But Cissy, her mother, talks her into working for her dear friend Marilee Mabry. It’s supposed to be a short-term job. Marilee has gone through six webmasters already. Marilee is a Martha Stewart type and has a home-show coming to TV.

When a murder is discovered, Andy investigates to find the killer. Andy finds many skeletons in the closet, but can she figure out who the real killer is in time?

Murder On Lenox Hill by Victoria Thompson

(Berkley, 0425202607)

Sarah Brandt is a midwife working in the tenements of New York around the turn of the 20th Century. She often helps her friend Detective Sergeant Malloy with cases.

She is summoned by the wealthy Lintons to their home. Their teenaged daughter, Grace, is mentally still a child. Sarah confirms their fear that she is expecting. Since she is never left alone, no one can figure out who the father could be. Sarah does her best trying to determine who it might be, but to no avail. She asks Malloy to help.

Sarah and Malloy begin to investigate deeper based on some information from Mrs. Upchurch, the Reverend’s wife. But can they trust the information she has given them?

Then the Reverend falls dead during a service. Can Sarah and Malloy figure out who is guilty of murder and who took advantage of Grace?

The Spice Box by Lou Jane Temple

(Berkley, 0425200434)

Lou Jane Temple is famous for her culinary mystery series featuring caterer Heaven Lee. This is a new culinary series set before 1900.

Bridget Henry is an Irish Immigrant. She is all alone now. Her friend helps her get a job as a cook in the home of Isaac Gold, the wealthy owner of a department store.

She finds the body of Mr. Gold’s son in the dough box on her first day. He’d been shot twice in the chest. Mr. Gold has no faith in the police finding his son’s killer, so he decides he’d better do it. He enlists Bridget’s help. He also ends up assisting her in her search for her sister. They set off on many adventures ... Bridget finds herself in quite a few interesting situations.

Dating Is Murder by Harley Jane Kozak

(Doubleday, 0385510349)

Wollie Shelley creates greeting card sayings, but she’s also an artist. Currently she’s painting a mural for friends while they are on their honeymoon. Her friends talk her into being a game show contestant on the reality TV show Biological Clock. The three female contestants each date the three male contestants. The audience will vote on which couple would make the best parents, but the winners do not have to have a baby.

Wollie’s friend Annika, who also helped out behind the scenes at Biological Clock, has vanished, and Wollie is convinced she’s in danger. Annika’s mother calls from overseas, and Wollie decides to help. She begins interviewing the family Annika was an au pair for. The police don’t take her disappearance seriously. The detective seems interested in Wollie, not Annika’s disappearance.

Wollie finds herself being stalked by various characters. She ends up in the middle of an FBI investigation. As she continues to investigate to find Annika, she finds herself getting deeper and deeper in danger. Will she be able to find Annika without putting herself in grave danger? Is someone on the show connected to Annika’s disappearance? Can she finish out the show?

Peach Cobbler Murder by Joanne Fluke

(Kensington, 0758201540)

Shawna Lee Quinn has opened the Magnolia Blossom Bakery right across the street from Hannah’s own shop. As most people know, Hannah and Shawna are not friends. And if things don’t change soon, Hannah and Lisa might have to close their doors. Plus Mike is often spotted at Shawna’s, much to Hannah’s chagrin.

Shawna promises to bring her famous peach cobbler to Lisa and Herb’s wedding reception. Hannah is not happy, but tries not to think about it. Then Shawna doesn’t show up. When Hannah returns to her shop later, she notices lights on at Shawna’s. After calling and getting no answer, Hannah goes over to see if everything is okay at Shawna’s. She finds Shawna dead.

Knowing that everyone knows she didn’t like Shawna, Hannah realizes she is a suspect and had better investigate to find out who killed Shawna to clear herself. Lisa, Hannah’s sister and Hannah’s mother, along with Norman help her work to solve the murder. Most people were at the wedding with a great alibi. Who could have done it?

Hotline To Murder by Alan Cook

(AuthorHouse, 1420838253)

Not long after Tony Schmidt joins the Central Hotline in Bonita Beach, California, Joy is found murdered. Both are listeners—people who man the Hotline and talk to the callers. Tony pairs up with Shahla Lawton, another listener and Joy’s best friend.

They begin working many shifts together. Since Tony and Shahla work at the Hotline, they find they can often get information the police are unable to obtain. But instead of turning everything over to the police, they begin to follow up on much of the information themselves. Partly because the police don’t seem too receptive to the information and partly because of privacy rules.

They begin looking into some of the inappropriate callers and others with a connection to the Hotline to determine who might have had a motive to kill Joy. There are many strange people and they have to sift through information to determine if the person is just having trouble or if they might have a motive to have killed Joy.

Tony and Shahla put themselves in many very sticky situations and find themselves in peril more than once as they work to uncover the identity of the killer.

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"Oh! What a tangled web we weave, When first we practice to deceive." Sir Walter Scott

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