The Cozy Mystery Review
Weather patterns can be tricky to gauge.
This time of year, our area is experiencing spring-like weather one day, snow the next.
Birds flying back.
Some of them, anyway.
The birdfeeders are out, but not for long.
Bears follow birds in terms of backyard arrival.
You can watch bears wake up here: https://youtu.be/3l3RwUkHWTw?si=9Hg5nt0ta50gb-26
Birds conserve energy, so when birdsong erupts, it’s important.
They’re hungry.
Their sweet notes are songs of distress.
Bears also start the spring season stressed, resembling a tall, slender black lab.
By the end of summer, that same bear looks like an overstuffed recliner with tree-stump legs.
News stations and headlines can sometimes elevate stress.
Family, friends, or job drama might be weighing on you.
If you’re like me, sometimes the worrying keeps me from getting enough sleep.
There’s an old saying about stress.
‘You’ve either just finished a stressful time in your life, in the middle of a stressful time, or are getting ready for stressful times.’
One antidote I recommend is reading cozy mysteries.
- Inviting settings
- Caring communities
- Problems are solved like a jigsaw puzzle
- Gentle hobbies or pets
Reading at night helps me wind down.
I keep a pile of books beside my bed.
This week’s blog is a five-star review for one of the cozy mystery books on my nightstand.
Another perk for me is that it incorporates a bird-watching hobby.
Title: Sugar and Spite
Author: R.W. Green
Author: M.C. Beaton
Publisher: Blackstone Publishing, 10/14/2025
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Series: The Agatha Raisin Mysteries, Book 3
Beaton and Green’s cozy mystery is spirited, much like the main character, Agatha Raisin.
Birdwatching setting in Cotswold, England?
Among rolling green hills?
Be still my heart.
That’s a cozy mystery setting from our dreams.
What’s more, there are dedicated birdwatchers who call themselves the ‘Twitchers.’
Sugar and Spite contains a few complicated relationships.
There are strong, differing opinions among three longtime friends.
Somehow, they manage to still get along.
Agatha Raisin has an eye for fashion and understands cultural nuances.
The whole community is buzzing with intrigue.
One day, a man threatens a woman.
The next day, she is dead.
Struck by a falling tree, it seems like an accident, but is it?
The pacing is engaging, as are the characters.
I enjoyed the vivid setting and cozy ambiance.
Reading M.C. Beaton and R.W. Green’s Sugar and Spite kept my mind activated in England.
I still don’t get enough sleep, but it’s not because of stress.
It’s because I read book 36 of The Agatha Raisin Mysteries.
