After my recent spate of reading end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it books, I decided I needed something light and easy.  I mean, I was probably 10 pages away from building a shelter and stocking it with firewood, canned goods, and bottled water.  What better way to cleanse your mind of apocalyptic visions than by reading a good cozy mystery!?!

Having won a box full of them this spring from Sharon's Garden of Books, I chose one and sat down for some nice relaxing reading.  Farm Fresh Murder, by Paige Shelton, is the first in a new series of cozies.  The main character, Becca Robbins, grows strawberries and pumpkins on her small farm, and turns them into the best preserves and jams around.  She sells them at Bailey's Farmer's Market, which is managed by her fraternal twin, Allison.  One morning, when Becca arrives with her wares, she discovers that someone has bludgeoned one of the vendors to death, and the police think it is her dear friend Abner, who has disappeared.  Hoping to clear Abner's name, Becca starts investigating on her own., leading to much foolishness and mayhem!

I must admit that I tried to read a few of the cozies from the give-away box, and with the exception of this one and Town in a Blueberry Jam,  I haven't liked too many of them.  However, I think that I have come up with a list of Cozy Mystery Rules According to Heather:

1.  The main character must be smart, independent, and strong.  None of these simpering ladies-who-lunch that don't so much solve the mystery as stumble upon the murderer in a compromising situation and manage to fend them off until being saved by someone else.

2.  The plot must take the main stage, not the recipes/scrapbooking tips/knitting patterns.

3.  What descriptions of cooking/baking/scrapbooking/knitting there are must move the plot forward.

4.  The setting should be evocative of someplace homey and comforting, with a strong sense of community,  without being boring.

5.  Any romance has to either move the plot along or be realistic-I don't read romance novels, but I do enjoy romantic things, so plots need to stay on this side of the romantic vs. romance novel line.

Farm Fresh Murder meets almost all of these requirements.  Becca's character is a twice-divorced, independent woman farming her land her way.  Fiercely loyal to her friend, Abner, she actually formulates a plan to clear his name, and follows through on it bravely but not foolhardily.  Still, she does sort of end up in the killer's clutches by mistake.  She can be impulsive, but she is always thinking, even as she is doing something she knows could lead to trouble.  Even though the author describes the process of making preserves and jams, and talks about Becca working in her pumpkin fields, it is always with a purpose-clearing her head, making product so she can have a cover to go to the market and question people, that sort of thing.  So it is interesting without becoming the purpose of the book.  The setting of a South Carolina farm/farmer's market is charming without being cloying.  Reading about Becca's life made me want to quit my job, buy a farm in the south, and sell my produce/jam/whatever out of a booth where people come and know me by name.  And Becca's love interests are woven into the plot beautifully.  There is the police officer investigating the murder, who she goes to for information and help.  And then there is the fellow vendor, an artist who is drawn into the mystery when Becca wonders if he could be a suspect!  All in all, Farm Fresh Murder looks to be the start of a fun new series for cozy lovers!

Town in a Blueberry Jam, by B.B. Haywood

A month or so ago I was lucky enough to win Sharon's Garden of Book Review's Spring Cozy Give-Away.  One beautiful spring day I received a box with over 10 titles-HOORAY!  Thanks again Sharon!

Now, it should be said that I am fairly new to the cozy mystery sub-genre.  Last year I was browsing on the Books-A-Million website, and I discovered a couple new mystery series with female protagonists.  I assumed they would be like Sharon McCone or Kay Scarpetta.  Instead, they were more like Jessica Fletcher.  Women of a certain age, ordinary moms/shopkeepers/bakers/scrapbookers/librarians/vampires/telepaths (OK, I guess vampires and telepaths are not ordinary, but there are cozy mysteries about them, so whatever) solving mysteries not because it is their job, but because they are kind and thoughtful, or nosy and bossy, or wrongly accused themselves, and want to see justice done.  Little did I know that I was finding a new-to-me sub-genre complete with it's own websites and blogs!

So, with a box full of cozies to choose from, I picked Town in a Blueberry Jam, by B.B. Haywood.  Mostly I chose it because it is the beginning of a series, and most of the other titles are continuations, so I wanted to start something fresh.  The story revolves around the ridiculously-named Candy Holliday, a former marketing exec turned blueberry farmer in southeastern Maine.  After her marriage failed, and her mother died, she moved with her father, Doc, to Blueberry Acres to try a different kind of life.  As the story opens Candy is preparing for the annual Blueberry Festival, which includes the pageant to crown the Blueberry Queen.  After an unexpected turn-of-events leads to the winner being a 30-something woman instead of a high school student, chaos and murder ensue.  Candy and her best friend Maggie are left to try and find the truth behind this mysterious death.

The thing about cozy mysteries is that you just have to take them as they are.  They are light, rather shallow, easy to read, and I don't know about you but I can usually see the answer to the mystery coming from pretty early on in the book.  What makes them enjoyable, at least for me, is the fact that they are light, rather shallow, easy to read, and easy to figure out.  They are the perfect book for when my brain is tired, like it is at the end of a school year.  I don't necessarily want deep, thoughtful literature.  I want escapism.  Town in a Blueberry Jam helped me to escape from the stress and chaos that the end of the year brings in my world.  There are two major things in its favor.  One,  it is set in my favorite part of the country, New England.  Haywood does a good job evoking a small-town summer in that part of the world.  And, it kept me guessing.  I thought I had it figured out, but there was a twist at the end that I didn't see coming.  Overall, Town in a Blueberry Jam was a pleasant, if not earth-shattering, way to spend a couple of days.