Skip to main content

Mystery Book Annotation

 


Author: Amanda Flower

Title: Crime and Poetry

Genre: Cozy Mystery, Gentle Reads

Publication Date: April 5, 2016

Number of Pages: 345

Geographical Setting: Cascade Springs, New York

Time Period: 2010'ish

Series (If applicable): Magical Bookshop Mysteries

Plot Summary: Violet Waverly finds herself back at her hometown in Cascade Springs, when her grandmother Daisy calls and says she's "dying". Violet finds that Grandma Daisy is in perfect health, and Daisy then asks Violet to help her work in her magic bookstore "Charming Books" whereas its stated "Books tend to fly off the shelf and pick you." (Flower, 2016). Violet trying to finish her Doctorate back Chicago is then forced to stay and help her Grandma Daisy when a well-known carriage driver is found dead with a book from Charming Books. The victim is Benedict Raisin who upon discovering put Daisy in his will and now Daisy is the prime suspect. Now it's up to Violet and her new feline friend Emerson to help Grandma Daisy from going to jail and find the one who caused this crime. However, how does Emily Dickinson's poetry help solve a murder in a small town?

Subject Headings: Women Booksellers, Fiction

                               Cats, Fiction

                               Magic, Fiction

                               Murder, Fiction

                               Mystery Fiction

Appeal: Fast-paced: This book was whimsical and easy to follow, it kept me involved along with trying to figure out who did the deed. A Sabrina, the Teenage Witch meets Hallmark mystery in a wonderful mystery.


3 terms that best describe this book: Cozy, Engaging, Charming (literally)

Similar Authors and Works (why are they similar?): Edith Maxwell, Laurie Cass, and Ann Claire. With the use of NoveList, all three of these authors have gentle read/cozy mysteries that involve small town settings with heroines involving themselves as amateur sleuths. Some have magic involved while others have feline companions, but all appeal in similar fashion to this book.


3 Relevant Non-Fiction Works and Authors

A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg

A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage

Agatha Christie: A Mysterious Life by Laura Thompson
 

3 Relevant Fiction Works and Authors


Secret, book & Scone society by Ellery Adams

Old town antique mysteries by Cordy Abbot

Kitchen Witch Mysteries by Lynn Cahoon

*This was such a great series, I continued on and now on the last book. I got through these over the course of a month with everything else in between I read.   

References

Flower, A. (2016). Crime and Poetry. Berkley. 


Comments

  1. Brooke DeBoestFebruary 24, 2023 at 2:35 PM

    Hi Bre, I’m so glad you did a cozy mystery! I have read some of Amanda Flower’s Amish cozy series, but I haven’t read this one. I usually avoid ones with magical elements just because I like the more realistic settings. I may have to try this one though!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Bre WeeksFebruary 25, 2023 at 11:34 AM

    Brooke,
    I just finished the final book in the series. I really enjoyed this very much, especially the development for Violet and her love interest David

    ReplyDelete
  3. Laurie FancherFebruary 25, 2023 at 2:04 PM

    Hi Bre, I have to say I have honestly never read a cozy mystery but I obviously see them constantly go in and out of the library I work at. They're clearly super popular! And I love the punny titles they tend to have. This seems like it was a great representation of the genre, complete with a cat which seems almost necessary for cozy mysteries. It's good to hear the whole series was enjoyable too!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Emma Q NordenFebruary 26, 2023 at 8:11 PM

    Brie,
    I have always wanted to read one of these book, but I want to read it on a rainy day when I have nothing else to do in a big comfy chair with tea and butter cookie. It seems like the best situation for these cozy mysteries. I love the plot, with Grandma being locked up in prison and Violet needs her cat to solve the mystery of who killed the carriage driver. It is also such a grandma move to say she's dying so her grand-daughter will come for a visit and help her in her bookstore. I am very intrigued as to what the poetry as to do with the resolution of this book.
    -Emma

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

YA and New Adult Prompt

  I had to really contemplate on this posting, because it hurts me to think that some people out there are saying adults should not be reading YA or graphic novels. For whatever reason, it just makes me think about how those words are hurtful and almost have a controlling sense to them, much like all these legislation bills we see to have books removed for certain age groups. In my experience as well as two of my good friends I work with in the public library, I have found that showing the community that we support their needs. It's not about what others think only the patron's we deal with on a daily basis interaction. I spoke to my co-workers/friends, and they gave me some insight that really helped me tame down my personal anger towards the nay sayers out there.  At our library here at Eckhart, we actually have a section of graphic novels and manga. This shows we want to encourage adults to reach for these materials, if there is a strong interest in them. I have always been
5 comments
Read more

Week 3 Prompt

I am looking for a book by Laurell K. Hamilton. I just read the third book in the Anita Blake series and I can’t figure out which one comes next! 1) I would first ask if the series they finished was a graphic novel series, since that was one of the first things that came up in NoveList. From there I would recommend the next graphic novel series or go to the next book in the series which was The Lunatic Cafe. I would then inquire if they would like to have the next couple books in the series on hold for them, in case they want them. What have I read recently? Well, I just finished this great book by Barbara Kingsolver, Prodigal Summer. I really liked the way it was written, you know, the way she used language. I wouldn't mind something a bit faster paced though.  2) I would ask the patron if they were interested in another genre she's written for or would do a read-a like of the same title but with a faster reading pace. If they wanted to go a different author, what I do with No
2 comments
Read more

Week 15 Prompt

  When it comes to promoting the fiction books, first and foremost, it depends on the library. For the library I work at, we always try to do a monthly display for certain types of fiction, or something related in the literary world for that month. As an example, this month we have fiction books on display for "Spring". Anything that takes place in spring or a renewal of something in the book. For one thing, doing fun displays like this are really interesting, and we also did a NoveList display. This shows what our resources we use for making decisions with RA. We used popular authors and displayed books we had to represent as "If You Liked" by each author.  Another example I would use and that I have helped with, is our new shelf books we always try to shuffle around the newer titles. If someone working has seen the same titles for over a week or so, switch them out. This is something I usually do, and usually after that a patron will see something that was already
4 comments
Read more