A man in hiding.
A gang of outlaws searching for retribution.
This is no time for cupcakes.
Today is Brody Steele’s first day as the new owner of The Red Herring, Pleasant Valley, Maine’s only mystery bookstore. The cute shop has a loyal customer base as well as an ornery cat.
Unfortunately, Brody doesn’t know the first thing about running a legitimate business, he doesn’t want to be in the … he doesn’t want to be in the small town, and he hates cats. On top of all that, he hasn’t read a book since high school.
When a cute woman walks into the store, he thinks his bad luck is about to change. But as she starts asking about the previous owner’s whereabouts, his safe new existence begins to unravel.
For Brody Steele is a man with a secret he must protect at all costs. The U.S. Government has invested a lot to keep it hidden, and his enemies will stop at nothing to expose him.
Does happiness or death await Brody in this charming seaside community?
If you like stories with a solid male lead, wonderfully odd characters, and a troublesome cat, then this book is for you.
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Looking for something to keep you cozy, entertained and captivated all at the same time? Search no further with this novel. Conway in his debut foray of cozy mystery writing brings a refreshment to the genre with Cozy Up to Death. It fits the bill of description of a cozy mystery: reading it is best done in an environment where you’re warm and comfortable. Whether it be by the fireplace in the winter, or in the twilight of a warm summer day, this book should not be far from reach to keep you entertained as the hours pass by. Conway writes with a manner hooks you from the beginning, and leads you along with a convincing story and an untypical protagonist. Unlike other mystery novella, Cozy Up to Death is dashed with flavors of subtle humor likened to that of Nelson DeMille in his John Corey series, flourishing dialogue and truly different from his previous works (see Charlie-316, 509 Crime Stories). Yet, this book shows that Conway can deliver with amazement and any reader of the mystery genre, whether cozy fans or not, will want to continue reading the Cozy Up series after reading this one.
Today is Brody Steele’s first day running The Red Herring, a mystery bookstore in Pleasant Valley, Maine. However, he’s not a reader. So what is he doing here? It’s a cover since Brody has just entered the Witness Protection Program after turning on his former motorcycle gang. Brody is sure he will find his new life too quiet. However, as he tries to settle into town, he begins to find questions. Is there danger lurking just below the surface?
I’m always looking for something different, so I was intrigued by the premise of this book when I first heard about it. It took a while for the story to get going, but once Brody started to realize something was wrong, I was hooked all the way until the climax. I enjoyed the character growth we saw in Brody, and I liked several other characters as well. I did think the writing could be a bit more polished. I also found a few things about the Witness Protection Program, as described here, a little hard to swallow. Then again, I haven’t done any research on it and instead learned everything I know about it from the TV show In Plain Sight, so I decided to sit back and enjoy the story, which I most certainly did. Despite the series name and book title, we do get more violence than in a typical cozy. Overall, I’m glad I gave the book a chance, and I’m curious to see where the series will go from here.
I read this book because I liked “The Long Cold Winter” by this same author. This story, however, follows a totally different, and just as enjoyable, route.
The writing style reminds me a bit of Donald Westlake books.
Brody Steele is stuck between a rock and a hard place and I love his character. His interactions with the people in Pleasant Valley is alternately laughable, touching, and serious.
A very well-written and entertaining story that I highly recommend!
I want to read about characters I like. I wasn’t always sure I liked Beau, but he’s observant, decisive, and becoming a decent person. The story is compelling and has nice touches of humor.
This book charmed me from its opening pages as an older lady enters The Red Herring mystery bookstore and begins speaking with the new owner. Brody Steele, in witness protection, has a dry sense of humor and delivers it perfectly throughout. Steele, all too aware of his sordid past, desires to change and “be a better man”; unfortunately, his past has a way of sneaking up on him.
I highly recommend this book. Brody Steele is the type of character who’s easy to cheer on no matter what he’s done in the past
I thought this was a great book and a great start to a series. Having a guy in the Witness Protection Protection program owning a bookstore in a small is a great start to this cozy series. The characters were believable because of the wonderful writing.
Cozy Up To Death by Colin Conway
The Cozy Up Series #1
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be plopped down in a completely foreign-to-you setting and told you had to leave behind yourself and become someone entirely different? Why would this happen? Perhaps because you gave evidence to the FBI against someone with the power to kill you and fearing that would happen the government gave you a new identity. That happened to Beau Smith in this new take on the Cozy Mystery genre.
Beau has been put in Pleasant Valley, Maine to live a quiet life as a bookstore owner and given the name Brody Steele. He has a quiet town to settle into, a business to learn, a cat that came with the store and a town that wonders what happened to the previous owner. There is definitely a mystery or two or three to be solved and Beau/Brody is in the thick of things even while trying to maintain a low profile and not give away his past identity.
What I liked:
* Beau/Brody: a man with an interesting past who seems to enjoy the change a small town and its residents provide – especially Daphne
* The cat of many names – what an interesting idea for customers to have a cat in the bookstore and also have the legend that went along with the cat’s name
* The quirky characters sprinkled through the story
* That the cozy’s main character is a man and not the typical hero one would expect in this genre
* The twists and turns and surprises
* Beau’s ability to take charge
* The writing, plot and pace of the story
* That there was more action in this book than in most cozies
* The bad guys
What I didn’t like:
* The bad guys…glad they got their comeuppance
Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I read more in this series? Yes
Was it the typical cozy mystery? No, not really, but I thoroughly enjoyed it anyway
Thank you to the author for the ARC – This is my honest review.
5 Stars