Angela: Fingers crossed, I think we’re live. Yes! Every time, I feel as if I’m going. Have you ever seen the office?
Ella: Mhmm
Angela: Where it’s like, I’m not superstitious, I’m just a little stitious. That’s how I feel when it comes to this technology. I’m like, I’m just a little superstitious.
Ella: Yeah.
Angela: Oh my goodness
Ella: I like how it never wears off either, because you’ve been doing so many live streams but you’re still like ahh.
Angela: Every time, I go YouTube, please be nice to us tonight . Youtube Gods. For everyone who’s joining us, I’m so happy to introduce you to the amazing Elle Hartford. She has been a member of the cozy mystery book club for so long, I was just talking to her beforehand which is why we’re a couple minutes late because she’s just so easy to chat with and just started to fall into conversation with her.
So, I just wanted to let you know that she is awesome, she has her Twitter and Instagram which is her name, I’m glad I have the T right next to me because I don’t want to mess up the introduction. You’re too important to get an introduction and fumble over my words. You’re just so sweet and awesome, and she actually had a book come out so all of the applause to you, and so, we are going to end up doing a giveaway for her book at some point in time so please be on the lookout for that , but I am so happy to chat with you.
I feel like you’ve been a sleuther with the book club for so long, that actually chatting with you live is so exciting.
Ella: Yeah, it’s so exciting to be here, I can’t believe it.
Angela: I was so happy you said yes and we were able to get this organized. I love how you say you’re excited, I’m excited for this, and everyone seems to have really enjoyed the books
Ella: Yeah, we picked a good one.
Angela: So, I just feel as if we got this great host, we got this great book , we’re kind of in for a great night.
Ella: Excellent!
Angela: Oh my goodness, so many comments are already popping up. I recognize Renee’s profile photo every time , and every time I get so excited for Clue. I’m going oh, I got to go rewatch that movie , because of the image that you have there , and let’s see if I can bring it up, there we go,
For those of you who don’t know the movie Clue. Oh my gosh Rants N Reads, Lori, oh I’m seeing all of the familiar favorites, and i know we have a couple newbies tonight so welcome. Oh my goodness, you all are so sweet, I’m so glad you guys are joining us tonight, yes and everyone’s congratulating you. It is such a big deal and such a huge accomplishment.
Ella: Thanks! Another thing i can’t really believe, that it actually happened.
Angela: Lady Gizmo wants to know if it’s a cozy mystery
Ella: It is. It’s a little more on the fantasy side though, because it’s fairy tale themed so it’s cozy mystery but a little bit out there.
Angela: It’s so funny because when you mention profile photos here people, I actually didn’t have one for the longest time. I had those moments of oh yeah you have to update and do this, sometimes you just forget the most obvious things it happens
Ella: Well, there’s so many things to remember
Angela: Well, plus too, now that you know that people are doing movie clips or images and you have to get creative would you do an episode of psych would you put up you Angela Lansbury, I mean there’s so many options.
Ella: Yeah.
Angela: I’m trying to pull it up, I love how there’s the behind the scenes, I’m like okay will this work? So every comment tonight goes towards a giveaway that poisoned pen press is making possible, so one lucky sleuther is going to win four paperback cozy mysteries and here are the books that you will win.
Ella: Love those covers.
Angela: I love, so Poisoned pen press and Kensington, I think they have the most beautiful book covers. Crooked lane has hardcover books so i look at those book covers a little differently than the other ones but when it comes to paperback cozies, Poisoned Pen and Kensington definitely has it going one, and then for hardcovers, I mean honestly, crooked lane, they do such a great job
but i love these book covers and they just sound so cute, so one lucky sleuther tonight and i’m gonna ask you to do that. You’re going to have to pull a name at random at the end of the night
Ella: Alright.
Angela: Let someone’s cozy dream come true Every time, this little guy, he wants to know who I’m talking to, who’s not him, every single time. So if you guys hear any noises, it is my dog Max and he’s also a little mad at me because he got a bath yesterday and I was trying to clean his eyes, so he might even be a little bit more fussy because of that so we’re on the lookout.
Ella: Ohh, he’s so cute though.
Angela: And that’s the thing he uses, the cuteness ,he knows he’s cute.
Ella: Yes!
Angela: I mean, that that’s almost like fernie and the bird in this book, we have to talk about
the bird at some point.
Ella: True, true.
Angela: So, from the looks of it I’ve been asking people on Twitter and Instagram and I posted the poll here. YouTube polls are always amazing to me, I’m going okay it’s dropping down it’s going up but it looks like everyone’s been really enjoying this book so i wanted to ask what you thought of our august read, Cloche and Dagger.
Ella: All right let’s see, and I’m looking at it like that will help me remember.
Angela: As he growls.
Ella: Ohh, hi Max. He’s making an appearance. He’s like a gymnast, he has no bones in his body.
Oh my goodness
Angela: Anywho.
Ella: So, I did really enjoy it of course. I’d say for me maybe not quite a five star, like I did
really like it but i have to admit I like some of her other series better and I think it’s just because the protagonist, this protagonist was very funny but she was also kind of all over the place and it was a little hard for me sometimes to keep up.
Angela: I will give you that, because I think this came up earlier and I want to make sure because you mentioned that this is your first live stream, Allison was saying that she didn’t want a certain male lead to be in the bag, but I also was getting annoyed with our heroine, our leading lady because she was suspecting him and I don’t think he did anything worthy of being suspected.
Ella: Yeah, she kept coming up with all sorts of reasons to not like him, but why.
Angela: Exactly, but I think it was her pointing holes in the guy that I liked a little bit too, I’m going oh, you get protective of the ones you like and that’s going to make you dislike the people who are putting them down
Ella: Yeah.
Angela: I also want to know about the throwing of the cake a little bit, her viral video.
Ella: Yeah, really though. At some point, it wasn’t the first time they mentioned it, it was later on when they were talking it over. She admits that there was also a diamond necklace involved so she was like chucking diamonds at people.
Angela: I’m just going to throw this out there, even just throwing the cake without the diamonds it’s still assault technically, so she could be in jail. She was really lucky that she didn’t end up actually getting one of those prosecutors trying to make a name for themselves on something like that.
Ella: Good thing she fled the country.
Angela: That’s what flavor cake was, every flavour, you know, one layers vanilla one’s chocolate never coming out of that elephant. I just saw this comment, she reminded you of Lorelai Gilmore, because she was so funny.
Ella: I see that and her friends were funny too, so that was very Gilmore girls, that’s true.
Angela: Okay, I like. yes okay Kim P, she wasted too much time suspecting Harrison.Oh okay yes, this is very on the money, the ex, I honestly don’t even know this guy’s
name, he just is the quote-unquote roster that’s all she refers to him as.
Ella: I don’t i think he had a name, I think you’re right.
Angela: Did we ever get his name?
Ella: I don’t think so.
Angela: I honestly cannot remember if he was given an actual name, other than the rat bastard.
Ella: I don’t think he was, I really don’t, I’m not sure on that though but I think her cousin would give people nicknames too, of course which becomes kind of a major point. So maybe it’s a family thing.
Angela: Thank you Lady Gizmo, he was not given a name. So that was supposed to be a funny little moment I guess for Jenna Mckinley there, i was actually surprised that she got away with the rat bastard in a way.
Ella: Yeah.
Angela: I always think hallmark as a sort of just jumping off point or as a reference point and you can’t say that on hallmark
Ella: So true, and i didn’t even think about it while I was reading because it just fits so perfectly with how she feels about him clearly.
Angela: I think it worked with the character maybe, maybe that for me that’s how it works, even referencing Lorelai Gilmore, for her, there were certain things that only she could do on the show. She definitely had jokes and bits that probably wouldn’t land well outside of star solo but within that realm, it was historical on on the mark so maybe that was how it was with this one a little bit of okay Scarlett we just we’re just going with you we just we’re gonna be along for the ride.
Ella: That is a fair point.
Angela: Okay, so this was one of my notes for the evening, because I think that we had multiple mysteries in this book. Again, I read the book and I listen to it on audio, so that I come
prepared and i don’t forget names and things, and the first time i read this book was audio, I always stumble over how to phrase it because you’re saying you read an audiobook.
Ella: Oh yeah.
Angela: So, I listened to the audio and I believe I was already , I think two and a half three hours into the audio before there was even reference to a body so there was a very long wait between
the book beginning and the cozy mystery part of it kicking off but I think viv almost was the real mystery. You’re nodding, so please take it away.
Ella: Yes, sorry. No, I definitely agree with you and yeah, I made notes and it wasn’t until literally page 100 or maybe 102, before the body came in but yeah i think viv was like the placeholder kind of, like another mystery to think about until that one happens
Angela: Ialmost don’t know what to do with that because in a way, I liked viv and i didn’t want anything to happen to her but on the other hand I’m going, you literally just didn’t have internet
Ella: I know, I really wanted it, it would have been fine if her excuse had been maybe just a
little bit stronger or tied in just a little bit more you know ,because she came back and I was expecting her to have a bigger reveal of why she had been gone.
Angela: I just gave the dog my water, I just emptied my water bottle into his, so now he’s happy hopefully. I’m hearing the sound effects, okay thank you, yes I love audiobooks. I love m audible subscription, I think audiobooks are wonderful and so, sometimes I stumble over how to phrase
things because it’s almost going okay you don’t say you read a podcast but you, yeah my literary grammar side pushes through sometimes, where i’m going I don’t know if it’s accurate.
Ella: It’s spontaneous overthinking right.
Angela: Okay, so this is kind of going along with Viv being missing for a while, so you thought Viv you thought she should have reappeared earlier, I’m going to go with yes.
Ella: Okay, but I could tell why she was kept back for so long, because when she reappeared, it’s basically like boom boom boom they solved the mystery, because she was able to answer so many questions.
Angela: Well, that’s exactly when you mentioned before the nicknames, I almost didn’t realise it was a family trait because you have Scarlett who’s doing harry for Harrison, and she’s being red instead of Scarlett, then this one over here has a nickname for her customer, which obviously the cousin who has not been working with her does not know, and that’s exactly the catalyst
for everything that happens, the nickname, not fun.
Ella: Although also, I don’t know if this is jumping forward, we need to talk about the wardrobe and why it pulled that trick on her, I don’t get it.
Angela: I also saw this comment, so yeah, we’re kind of going to just for, I love how she doesn’t appear until the end of the book but everyone just has so many questions about whatever, going we just have to talk about her right from the get go.
Ella: Alright.
Angela: So yes, Harrison and Viv do a little kiss on the lips just a little peck, but it happened, I was surprised.
Ella: They were like, the flirting was pretty intense. Especially for a cozy, I feel like a lot of time was given to the relationship, so it kind of made sense. We would get some payoff for. That, I guess.
Angela: Okay, maybe he’ll like that better. I bribed my dog to be a good boy, I’m like will you drink this like that . There’s so many treats in front of him, it’s ridiculous right now, but we also didn’t have a cozy companion, just throwing that in there. We’re going to get back to Viv, but I was so surprised at this because we have a cozy companion without having a cozy companion.
Ella: Yeah yeah. I’m wondering if one shows up later in the series, I the k I read book two but a long time ago so I don’t remember.
Angela: Oh my gosh. I thought Viv would end up dead not just be a flake.
Ella: Yeah.
Angela: Oh my gosh, I was kind of waiting for her to be a kidnap, here’s the ransom or here’s this reason why, here’s the worse vacation story in the history of stories. My plane was this, I lost my cell phone, I didn’t know your numbers because we no longer know numbers in this world.
Ella: Right, or even just like slightly tying in more to the mystery of,I don’t know, buying this material that, I don’t know.
Angela: Maybe it could be the material with the hat, the mysterious two fashionable hats, maybe there was something going on of oh, here’s the rare diamond that I hid in the hat because they have crystals in one of them, I remember that.
Ella: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Angela: Okay, so people are pointing this out.I also like this comment, you like the corpse earlier in the story. I kind of want to take that quote and put that somewhere on our website, we like the corpse early.
Ella: Well, and as someone who has written a cozy mystery, the going advice out there usually is to have your mystery start like, you know in the first couple chapters so it’s something I always look for now.
Angela: think Jenn McKinley was able to get away with it though because viv being missing.
Ella: Yes
Angela: Was the mystery.
Ella: Like the placeholder, yeah.
Angela: Okay. He’s been such a good boy all day and all of a sudden he wants attention because mummy’s not talking to him. Okay yes, we’re finding the plot holes with viv storyline here, she should have had internet access back at the airport, that’s a good point too, also free wi-fi is kind of a general accepted thing now. Yeah, they were cousins right?
Ella: Yeah, weren’t they?
Angela: Yeah. Oh, he wants to play, I just figured that, I know what that little look was.
Ella: Yeah, and I think that’s because it’s a business and it’s not just her business it’s the family business , so it’s not like she’d be totally used to only doing her own thing, there’s always been the grandmother or Scarlet involved a little bit so yeah.
Angela: I just saw this comment, it is true. I’ glad that she was okay. I liked her as a character so even though i was wondering if it was going to be a ransom or if it was going to be this or that, I’m glad she’s okay, and she did tackle the bad guy. She definitely was no pushover.
Oh yes, so this was one of the comments that I saw pop up on Instagram a couple of times when I asked about, Max’s opinions on things that he has to share, so you’re barking I apologise, but this was the reoccurring, okay we have the wardrobe that actually locks for no apparent reason.
Ella: Right.
Angela: And we have a bird that’s not a bird but it’s watching us., so what i think are the paranormal components.
Ella: Yeah, and at the end I feel like they really lean into the kind of ghost vibe
Angela: I knew he was going to growl.
Ella: I really liked it, I thought that was a really neat aspect to have but then if you start thinking about it, it is a little strange because really kind of what kicks off the murder and the whole investigation is the fact that Scarlet finds the wrong hat, which the wardrobe does, so why would the wardrobe set her up like that?
Angela: It’s the wardrobe’s fault. I just got this file of Beauty and the beast, and the wardrobe not wanting to open when the villagers come into the castle.
Ella: Yes.
Angela: Yes, so, the question is, if it’s the grandmother what’s her name, Mim?
Ella: Mimi, maybe Mim. I think it’s Mim, yeah.
Angela: I know, the wardrobe. There is kind of something with wardrobes though, where I’m wondering if it’s Narnia-esque, of oh you’re going
Ella: Yeah, or it falls back or something, she tried to explain it but I had a hard time picturing it, and so, I was just like okay magic wardrobe.
Angela: Oh my gosh, okay, so people are liking Ferd though, it’s funny because, I mean people do that, I do that. I talk to my dog like he understands everything, even though I know he doesn’t.
Ella: I’ll talk to inanimate objects.
Angela: I know, I was trying to figure out how do you say that, if the computer acts up, I talk to it, I’m going please start working, or if I drop something on the floor, I’m like oh thank God you didn’t break and I’ll tell, like the mug, I’m so happy you’re okay. So, people do that, so I don’t think it was too weird to have her have a fake.
Ella: I liked it, I just was a little unsure about why it did set her up like that
Angela: I almost feel like I have to design a mug of the quotes that are randomly interspersed throughout, we want a fresh body. I remember one time, there was a quote about yeah, if they killed this character, I wouldn’t have mind or yeah, if the character dies, we have the most random comments but I love it. It totally goes with what we’re talking about.
Ella: Right.
Angela: Yes! Okay, everyone seems to be talking about the body taking longer to drop, so this wasn’t just me making a note, this seems to be a general consensus.
Ella: Yeah, yeah.
Angela: Okay so, it is a lead into the second book. Okay, so I’m hoping it will come back or have the magical components. Okay Ally we’re not saying you’re wrong, I’m just saying it’s interesting that the body dropping is not the norm because it usually does happen so early, I just thought it was interesting that it didn’t happen until later, but you did catch the characters that’s a fair point.
Ella: That is true yeah, that is true, it also started making me really nervous because I liked all the characters, and I guess it says on the back who is going to die but it’s also like, I hope they’re not actually involved.
Angela: I would have been very sad if Harrison was involved, I did not think he should have been suspected, that’s just me though. I also really liked her little helper.
Ella: Yeah, she was cool, and Nick and Andre I thought were adorable.
Angela: I loved them so much. I’m trying to figure out how to say this in a nice way, because sometimes cozy mysteries don’t have diversity or representation and I was so happy when she referenced, they did the fun play on words I’ve seen with other movies and tv shows and other couples talk about oh no he’s not just my partner in business, he’s my life partner too yeah and they’re so cute, like they are relationship goals, I love them.
Ella: Plus they were such good friends.
Angela: They were so kind to her , see I was wondering how going into this, she’s setting it up so we’re in notting hill and again i can’t help but just think of Hugh grant and Julia Roberts movie that’s my same go-to reference but we’re not in a quirky fictional town, we’re in a real place that people have ideas or preconceptions about, and so, she made it work as if okay here’s my little shop on the street and here’s his little shop oh and he has his boyfriend, because they’re boyfriend, not fiancé , but because he’s visiting the shop, she’s kind of made the street the centre of it and they were a big part of the community for her, which I loved.
Ella: Yeah, that’s one of the best things about cozy mysteries, is the community feel. I think that’s one of my favorite parts.
Angela: Because otherwise, I think she just had Harrison and her own shop worker, what’s her name, Fee?
Ella: Yeah Fee, I think it’s short for Fiona, I wrote it down. Yeah, Fiona but they called her Fee.
Angela: Okay, so I felt a little everything in one, you definitely had the different tropes, you’ve got the romance trope, you had paranormal trope.
Ella: Yeah, we got that, I can see that.
Angela: Okay, so you just bought Viv getting up and leaving, that’s fair.
Ella: That’s fair, yeah.
Angela: Maybe it’s because I’m so not that, I know my entire organizational planner going
with my to-do list.
Ella: I know and i think that was my problem, because the whole family was kind of that way, like
Scarlet was admitting that she was that way too, and again, yeah also not me, so i think that’s kind of why i was like what’s going on here?
Angela: I’m trying to lean forward to read the comments and he’s not letting me because he’s on the left now. Okay, so you didn’t catch the wardrobe being magic, because it’s not..
Ella: It was subtle, yeah.
Angela: Yeah, Max is magical. It’s also, the premise isn’t go, we’re going to go find this in the
paranormal section or oh we have a ghost on the cover or something.
Ella: Yeah, it does kind of sneak up on you.
Angela: Oh you want friends, I’m still scrolling, it takes a while to get on, but yeah, they were just, they’re friendship goals, because the way they were so cute together and perfectly complimented what another, personality wise. They were so cute.
Ella: Absolutely.
Angela: Can we also appreciate the fact that he was wearing a bright pink elephant, he was about to work out and she asked him.
Ella: Oh, that’s right.
Angela: No, I don’t want to work out, take me to dinner.
Ella: Yeah, that was perfect.
Angela: I also thought it was a little cute how, again they made it a little awkward putting out that she was looking at Harrison crushing on him a little bit, but he brought Harrison when they met up.
Ella: Yeah, to dinner.
Angela: Like a faux date or faux set up or something.
Ela: Mhmm hmm.
Angela: Oh my gosh, I’m falling behind in the comments. Yes, Max just had a bath, I was trying to wash out his eyes, well not wash out but wash around his eyes, I want to look at that beautiful little face , so I gave him a little bath and maybe that’s also why he’s a little fussy tonight.
Ella: Payback.
Angela: Well, I mean the bandage is him, I got that trying to get in his face, so that’s the other thing too right? You just love your dog, you love your kids.
Ella: Yes, yes.
Angela: When I picked him up, I put down the notebook but basically, okay he has things he wants to say tonight apparently.
Ella: Maybe he’s upset that there wasn’t a cozy companion., aside from the bird.
Angela: Right. So, I was just looking down at my notes, so talking about the mystery itself, I didn’t solve the mystery, I don’t know if anyone else was able to put the puzzle pieces together because
Ella: The pieces came really late, like as soon as we started getting the pieces it made sense, I think but yeah it was hard. For a long time i was suspecting fake lord ellis, because I picked up on that cause that he was fake earlier.
Angela: See, I wasn’t really sure what was going on or who the real suspects were, I don’t know how to phrase that, the real suspects, because they’re all red herrings and they’re all fictional but mostly because she would reference Harrison, every so often then i would get defensive for him, and I didn’t want it to be Fee, the shop worker because that’s so horrible
Ella: And Andre.
Angela: I mean, they also were new and had not no kind of skin in the game situation so I
wasn’t looking at them as suspects, so we only got to really meet Elise when she did, as I just
said the name, we only meet the friends of our victim once prior to the open casket situation.
Ella: Right, yeah.
Angela: So we only really meet them twice I think, or maybe three times.
Ella: I think twice is right, yeah. Well she, they gossiped about them beforehand. So, they talk about the friends quite a bit, but I think we only meet them twice.
Angela: Okay, so I’m glad that people are not looking at Nick and Andre, because I would not have wanted them to look at them as suspects, they’re too cute. Okay, the ending was kinda spontaneous, you got me. Yeah, that’s a good way of phrasing it because yeah we didn’t have the clues and the things to. He’s going behind the bookcase, I love how I’m giving you guys a play by play of what’s going on, because I can’t move.
Ella: Well, we need to know, just in case we hear books falling over.,
Angela: Exactly. A little funko pop goes over. It doesn’t look like anyone actually solved this, okay we’re all in the same boat.
Ella: Harrison and the hats yeah they’re distracting.
Angela: Oh yeah, I actually put a hat aside, before my dog went and got me distracted. I feel like I was trying to channel my Alexis from Schitt’s creek vibe.
Ella: Nice, very nice.
Angela: I’m also wearing my bookish sweat pants, you also got to see those too, they have books on them.
Ella: That’s perfect.
Angela: I know, I didn’t put it on beforehand though because it kind of droops forward and then i want to go like this, like as a pirate hat.
Ella: Yeah
Angela: I don’t have any fancy hats like they do at the shop.
Ella: I know. You need like some bling or something on the side maybe.
Angela: Yeah, maybe the peacock feathers and stuff to dress it up and make it look like you’re going to one of the fancy events like the queen would.
Ella: Yeah.
Angela: This is not a hat that she would sell in her shop, she sells fancy hats.
Ella: Fancy hats definitely, definitely.
Angela: Okay, now I am curious about local hat shops, I’m going, are there local hot shops? How much do you they cost if they’re handmade and luxury items?
Ella: So we have friends who moved up to Saratoga springs in New York, which is like an old timey resort town and horse racing is kind of big there, so i know in the downtown, there’s a really cute downtown and there’s a fancy hat shop there because everyone wants their fancy
hat to wear to the races right.
Angela: True.
Ella: So, that’s the only time i think i’ve seen a hat, like a shop just for hats.
Angela: You can also tell, I go for very simple, this is a simple colour .
Ella: I do like the color in that one though, the pink is very nice .
Angela: I’m not exactly taking the chances here, I’m not doing any of the red carpet gotcha moments. Oh my gosh, the real housewives of notting hill that’s really cute, yeah
Ella: Very appropriate
Angela: Okay, so you did figure it out go you
Ella: Because she was kind of obsessive about the hat, Elise was at the end, she was .
Angela: So, I almost feel as if there’s a psychological component to the murder with the hat, it was the hat as a catalyst for bigger issues of, this is the woman who takes everything from me, this is the woman who takes the jobs and titles and whatever else. They were always competing and this woman was always winning, and then it was the hat was the thing that tipped her over the edge.
Ella: Yeah, it was an extremely spiteful murder. I mean, it’s murder, so it makes sense that you’d have a strong emotion attached but yeah she was kind of a piece of work.
Angela: But she also killed the husband ,we don’t even
Ella: Yeah.
Angela: Yeah, she just throws it in there, I told everyone he’s away at work for business, and then she was willing to kill two more people. So this woman was really gonna kill four people, all because the hat was sold to the wrong woman.
Ella: Yeah, yeah, talk about the straw that broke the camel’s back.
Angela: Okay, okay, thank you Annie. I don’t have any fancy hats.
Ella: I have hats for gardening that’s true because i burn immediately, I’m basically burning in the lamp light right now
Angela: I was going to say, your lighting came out beautiful. She was trying to get the lighting done before we went live and I was going to say it’s beautiful. Shining perfectly.
Ella: Thank you very much.
Angela: Not too bright, just the right angles, no shadows. Good.
Ella: Yeah, I have to remember this.
Angela: Oh, the things that go on behind the scenes, there was an image I saw where someone drew Ariel, where, there’s that scene in the movie where she pulls her head and you just see her through the people so they did behind the scenes of okay here’s her standing on two chairs and there’s the ring light there. You see the angles.
Ella: All true, oh my goodness.
Angela: Yeah, you don’t see the crazy dog knocking things over. Okay yeah, we need to buy some fancy hats and do our own little show-and-tell or a little buddy, I don’t know buddy hashtag buddy read of sorts.
Ella: Yeah, buddy hat club.
Angela: I’m trying how to say this, I almost feel as if I would buy the fancy hat just to wear it when I’m reading the hat shop mysteries, not to actually go out in.
Ella: You could though, yeah. You have to really immerse yourself.
Angela: I mean, do that whole thing where you’re a little kid dressing up and then you
don’t actually go to the party you’re just at home at the party.
Ella: Yeah, I think that’s excellent
Angela: So, I didn’t really have too many notes for tonight but I am curious, so what did you think of just the mystery in general? What did you think of the book, what was your takeaway or your favorite thing? Because you’re always so thoughtful and so I’m just curious if there’s something in particular you wanted to talk about.
Ella: Let’s see, let me look at my notes.
Angela: Same question for everyone else, if there’s something in particular you guys want to talk about tonight because I had written down about Ferdinad the bird, so that was one of the big topic, he came up a lot on instagram so if you guys have something you want to talk about please comment away.
Ella: Yes, and I actually think we’ve hit on some of my major notes that I made, but i also i have to say, and I know somebody, we touched on this briefly before but it’s just so cute how she makes these new friends and they get along and they all have like the same kind of punny sense of humor, and they’ve got that quick wit and everything, that’s what really makes it cozy for me. Is that feeling you know, so i really enjoyed that.
Angela: I think it would’ve been a totally different read without those two guys, without Nick and Andre, they were the levity, they were the break of the constant anxiety of what’s going on with Viv.
Ella: Yeah, and people breaking into her house.
Angela: We have to talk about that.
Ella: Right. It started with Fiona coming up to wake her up and standing right over her, which
then made me really worried that when there was an actual house break in, i was like oh no I hope it’s not Fiona again, because I like her, but that house man.
Angela: I am very happy that Harrison was there to tell her to actually get an alarm system
Ella: Yeah.
Angela: But one of my notes was, she didn’t know what to do when someone tried to kill her and also yeah
Ella: Yeah, she called Harrison.
Angela: I’m sorry.
Ella: That was very sweet but yeah, he could hardly convince her to call the police.
Angela: People call the police or the fire department they get locked out of their homes and their apartments, and this woman had someone literally try and smother her to death and she wasn’t going to call for help because she didn’t know if it was an emergency. I would have been blaring any horns, I would have been screaming and all the noise.
Ella: Yeah.
Angela: I’m just kind of curious, so i will admit though, I’ll give you the, she said she forgot if it was 999 911 she didn’t know the crossover
Ella: And that’s fair, it’s in a new country, that’s tough, yeah.
Angela: But it was the motivation of not wanting to bother them I’m going that’s very kind of you. I know it’s late slash early and they’re probably asleep, and you’re being nice, you don’t want to wake them from their rem sleep but there’s a killer on the loose.
Ella: Yeah, technically it’s the house breaker who is going around annoying everybody.
Angela: It sounds as if almost, Viv is a high-end fashion designer because they even mention her going to runway shows and things.
Ella: Right yeah, I can see that yeah.
Angela: Yeah, so thank you Mama Rox, the smothering moment of, when she didn’t want to call the cops, I’m going yeah, the lack of oxygen really did hit you. Oh, this is interesting, so the hat shop didn’t give you the cozy feels, interesting.
Ella: Oh okay.
Angela: I will admit maybe, part of it has to do with the fact the crafting was done beforehand by Viv and I feel as if now that she’s back in the book we can probably get to see her making the hats versus l
Ella: More of the artsy side of things rather than business, yeah.
Angela: I’m kind of curious about that because one of the things we get with the baking copies is, oh we’re heating up the oven, we’re preparing, we’re doing this, so we didn’t really get the play-by-play of the creations. I will admit though, I loved when she found one of her old designs
Ella: Yes.
Angela: And it was a horrible hat.
Ella: Rhinestones and like all this stuff yeah, that was excellent.
Angela: I thought it was great.
Ella: I think it’s a neat aspect of her character, clearly her special skill isn’t hat-making, it’s dealing with people and we get to see her do that a couple times and that was impressive.
Angela: Yeah, it was interesting to me because Harrison pointed out and he almost spun it in a negative way because she looks at her as a positive, because she was ale to sell a hat to Ms. Langsley, she was able to figure out how to maneuver the situation. Harrison was wondering if it was manipulative , because she was like oh, this woman’s vain let me ask about a photo shoot because that will feed her ego.
Ella: Right.
Angela: She knew what people wanted, and she would say what they wanted, but it worked in the moment but at the same time I think he was questioning the authenticity of it, so then I was later on, because up until he pointed it out, I just thought she was really good at being a manager, well not manager
Ella: Because he’s hospitality.
Angela: Yeah. She’s the person I fell as if, if she was in charge of, I was going to say, running a school or something, she would know exactly what each student would need, like oh, you’re the student that needs to go there, you’re the student that
Ella: Right.
Angela: I’m going to send you over there to teacher, she would know where to send people without needing to have the full conversations.
Ella: Yeah, yeah, which is like a superpower. Although it does have that dark side of people manipulating, so that is true.
Angela: I didn’t think of it that way until he pointed it out, and then all of a sudden that was allI I could think about when she did it, because of the the lady. I’m curious why that conversation was the reason she purchased something, I kind of want more from that conversation, I wanted to just read the transcript of it.
Ella: Right. Like get Scarlet’s behind the scenes thoughts a little more maybe.
Angela: Maybe you’d just do a side by side of what the previous conversation with the other stuff .
Ella: Oh, right, to see what would have happened before.
Angela: I’m kind of curious about that too, did they not talk to the people who meandered around the store?
Ella: They’re like go away, I need to make more hats.
Angela: Right, you’re interrupting my creative time, I’m in the zone. Oh okay, so yes okay, he calls her Ginger, right?
Ella: Yeah he does, yeah.
Angela: Yeah so, we were talking about Harrison before, but we didn’t really talk about the relationship between the two of them.
Ella: As soon as he brought it up, like that like the don’t you recognize me conversation, as soon as soon as that happened I was like okay, this is second chance romance cool but then, because that’s a very familiar trope and you’re like oh okay it’s cute like we were parted as kids and now we can come back together, but then she spends the rest of the book coming up with reasons to not like him. So I was like, the tension is enjoyable but maybe 25% less tension .
Angela: It was very angsty to me. I wasn’t really sure what to do with some of it because we didn’t know up until her mother pointing it out that this was just another bad relationship, or she’s one of those women who constantly needs to have a relationship
Ella: Oh yeah that’s right. Yeah that she, that’s right.
Angela: So that kind of put things in a different spin or perspective because I just thought Harrison’s great, like this is the guy for you, go take your chance on him.
Ella: Yeah.
Angela: So, we didn’t really get the behind the scenes psychology of it until a little bit later on, but even then I hesitate because yeah maybe she was someone who constantly needed to be in a relationship, but this might be the relationship.
Ella: Right, this is the right one, yeah.
Angela: So, I wasn’t really sure what to do with that, I still don’t but I still like them together so again that’s why you’re going oh and there’s a book too because there this unresolved issue.
Ella: Right, yeah yeah yeah.
Angela: Okay, so this is a good question though. If you were supposed to go out on an ice cream date with someone and they stood you up to go out with someone else, or not even go out with just go stalk another older boy who they think is cute would you forgive them 20 years later?
Ella: I feel like I, especially, what was it like 19 years later, I think I could probably let it go.
Angela: I was curious because I think it’s much easier for her because she was the one who did the rejecting versus him who was the one who was rejected
Ella: Fair, and he does make a very valid point of lithe first girl who broke my heart and all that and it’s like oh yeah. She never really does apologize either which probably doesn’t help.
Angela: He’s so cute though. So, I don’t know what the proper word for him would be, reliable or dependable.
Ella: He is, he’s very steady, and she’s kind of all over.
Angela: Yeah. I was trying how to phrase it because when she’s attacked and she calls him, he comes right over. It’s not just a matter of him answering her call, he gets up out of bed and rushes over to her. He’s helping with the business, he helps her get into the funeral to do the open cast, I mean he has connections he’s helping her do what she wants to do. So, I’m trying to think how to say it because he is the rock and in that way of he helps her, and I think that’s why I was so annoyed about this whole oh i’m going to take one year off from dating guys. I’m going, but the perfect guy is walking by your door right now.
Ella: We know, yeah, and you’ve already been mean to him once.
Angela: Okay, we’re getting the comments, so he was holding a grudge. Okay, 20 years ago.
Ella: Yeah.
Angela: Because sometimes you’re going, are you being sarcastic or are you actually.
Ella: And they did have a lot of banter so yeah that’s true.
Angela: Yeah, he did really like her so I think that’s why it hurt more.
Ella: Yeah.
Angela: If someone you don’t care about rejects you, well you didn’t care about them in the first place. I think it was an ice cream date, he was more upset than her, he does want a second chance and she’s still. Yeah, her breakup is still pretty fresh.
Ella: Yeah, and it was really big.
Angela: I wasn’t really sure what to do with her viral video, with the breakup, because did we actually find out why she was there at the party, or how she knew to go to it?
Ella: I think it was at the hotel that she worked at.
Angela: Okay, so that’s how she
Ella: They mentioned that in passing at one point.
Angela: Okay, because I was curious about that, that was my only kind of lingering detail of okay how did she end up there with the wife? Because she knew he wasn’t officially divorced, she thought he was separated but it was when you find out there’s also two other girlfriends in the picture, where you realize this guy’s really a snake.
Ella: Yeah.Well, I don’t recall how long their relationship was either.
Angela: 2 years.
Ella: 2 years was it? That’s a long time just to be separated and not get a divorce. I mean, I can’t help it. To each their own, but.
Angela: That’s why I was kind of curious, because then I think that honestly Jenna Kelly is a brilliant writer here because I think the conversation with her mom gave me so much insight into her characterization, because this is also where she says, you didn’t introduce him to us, you didn’t bring him over for any holidays and she points out things that we as the reader don’t know otherwise
Ella: Right.
Angela: And so, that gave you more context of okay he didn’t just cheat he was a bad relationship all around.
Ella: Right. Yeah, that’s a good point, yeah.
Angela: I am curious though about that $25,000 diamond necklace and what he does for work.
Ella: Apparently something that doesn’t cut into his free time. I have a very steady boyfriend and we joke all the time of, I don’t have time to have another partner .
Angela: I mean, most people have jobs and hobbies and friends and other things on the to-do list. I mean, even just doing Landry takes time. Playing with dogs take time. I mean, a lot of people have trouble finding time to sleep, how people juggle three adult relationships
Ella: Plus your wife, yeah.
Angela: And you work to get that $25,000 necklace. Maybe he inherited money.
Ella: Probably.
Angela: I mean, if you’re going to crash a party, you might as well throw cake.
Ella: Fair enough.
Angela: I think I was just curious about it because I almost feel as if so many videos go viral for so many different reasons, I was kind of curious why the throwing of the cake was enough to warrant a viral video because, I was hoping there was more to the situation of okay yeah she was yelling
at him and all the dirty laundry was being aired and she didn’t hold back anything in that moment, I feel as if there was more too, but we just didn’t necessarily know.
Ella: Yeah that’s a good point yeah, and I think, I’m actually not sure when the book came out but it did feel like it was written maybe, I feel like several years, even just several years ago it was easier for a random video like that to go viral, you know what I mean? Now, we’re so inundated with viral videos, it’s like how do you stand out but I feel like maybe a little bit further back in the wild days of the internet, the bar was lower, maybe.
Angela: I think it was 2016. Yeah, that’s true too. The viral videos of YouTube versus now there’s Tiktok.
Ella: Well, 2013 is when it came out.
Angela: Oh okay, so I was , oh wow. No wonder the viral video, people were still learning how to upload to YouTube.
Ella: Right.
Angela: Okay, definitely. That is a little bit more of a, okay we only have a few social media platforms, instagram was a brand new thing on the horizon, but I’m kind of curious
if it will come up again in other books, even if because now we are
Ella: If we meet him, because sometimes the rejected boyfriend comes back in future books that’s right.
Angela: And even then too, she’s a celebrity now of sorts.
Ella: Right.
Angela: So is this thing going to stay with her? Once it’s on the internet, it’s on the internet forever.
Ella: Yeah, that’s very true.
Angela: So I’m curious because she’s, Jen McKinley is publishing the seventh book in the series because originally it was just six books, because it was the three book deal, then a second three book deal. So I don’t now what the new book deal is, but I know there’s a seven book and hopefully there’ll be an eight and a night, because I know they do book in threes. So, I’m curious if there’ll be a homage to her previous viral video.
Ella: It’s got to be, it was such a big part of the book. It’s got to come back.
Angela: Okay, you hope they don’t rekindle anything. Yeah, I’m hoping that this guy is
Ella: Well, not go back to they guy but have him show up and just take him off again.
Angela: Oh okay, I like this comment about Harrison pushing the ex away, he defended her that’s the other thing, I liked Harrison.
Ella: Yeah, that was so cute, and the policemen were staring at the ceiling. That was adorable.
Angela: That was a great moment, because they let him kick the reporter out ,and again with her throwing the cake that’s assault, like him picking up the guy and toss him out on his butt, that’s assault but the cops are going oh i like the paint stroke you have there. That was really cute, but I love that Harrison got rid of the guy who was making her uncomfortable so all the more reason to like Harrison.
Ella: Yeah.
Angela: This is cute. He was also very handsome and academic right away.
Ella: That’s a good way to put it, yeah.
Angela: Little Blazer. Okay, so the ex does not come up again.
Ella: Oh, okay.
Angela: Okay thank you, because i feel as if that would have been just angsty and annoying almost. Throw the book, I don’t like you.
Ella: See, I was going to say, sometimes you can bring back annoying characters and it is a good thing, case in point.
Angela: I remember one time we were talking during the live stream, having a chat and
it was a matter of me saying oh if you have to kill off a character you can kill him off.
Ella: Right.
Angela: I love our out of context quotes, these are great. Yeah, he can be a corpse.
Ella: Makes for a very good very menacing mug full of quotes.
Angela: Well, the reason why I think my head was in that space was because last year for 12 days of cozies, I created the webpage featuring our sleuthing family. So sleuthers submitted their names and photos and this lovely lady was one of them, I’m trying to do that, like she’s on the website.
Ella: Meanwhile I’m disappearing .
Angela: So, I just made a note of oh we can update the page because it’s been almost a year since I’ve done that and I had people submit quotes and I took the quotes and made images, so I think that was why it was on my mind of oh, live stream that’s another thing I can think of for future, I don’t know if it would be on the website, but future whatever, but I think that was just why the idea was kind of meandering around
Ella: Adorable ,it’d be good swag too .
Angela: Oh speaking of ,if you took a photo or you posted about the book, please let me know and I’ll send you a bookmark. I moved the bookmark out of reach because Max was around. Just send me the link to your post or the photo and I will happily send that to you as a thank you. I also ,I’m so proud of how this page came out because I just finished updating it a couple weeks ago. So, I was really sick for a really long time and I’ve been catching up on everything and one of the things I wanted to do was add more to the special sleuthing page that i created for international sleuths, because I can’t mail all over the globe.
So, right now I’m only mailing physical bookmarks to the US and Canada, because Forever Stamps go to Canada so it works out perfectly right, but I’m so proud of how this extra page for the international sleuths came out, because now there’s Murder she wrote images and I have a couple of adult coloring book pages made up by graphic designers and so, I just love that page .
Ella: Aww.
Angela: So if you are an international sleuther please let me know, I’ll share the password and you have access to all sorts of extras.
Ella: That’s awesome.
Angela: I just want to make swag, so i just wanted to throw that out there because sometimes people are like, I didn’t know you did this thing. That’s always a great one.
Ella: Well, it’s hard because you do a lot of things, so, you really do all the things.
Angela: I love how I’m just going yeah, there’s just so many different balls in the air you’re like oh, that’s almost falling and that one’s really high up, I can’t remember. It takes sometimes people messaging me for me to go oh yeah, make sure that you know that there’s this extra website
page for you, because similar to the sleuthing page, people who join the newsletter family, they have access to so many extras on the website.
Ella: That is true.
Angela: And so, someone messaged me the other day and and said, I literally clicked on this by accident your email, I was cleaning my inbox. It was so funny, I was reading the direct message i’m going yeah I should probably make sure people know to take advantage of this. So basically, I updated that page as well when I was doing everything and there’s downloadable bookmarks and designs there, more cozy mystery stuff for y’all so just wanted to throw that out there.
Ella: I still have some of your bingo boards on my bulletin board, and I was putting thumbtacks in them when I was reading the right cozy or something.
Angela: I will happily send out more bingo boards, and that was actually one of my surprises for everyone who lets me know about their posting.
Ella: Aww.
Angela: Honestly, if you’re doing tonight’s live stream you want to bookmark just let me know and i’ll mail you one, bingo boards that I printed off, some of them are Autumn themed, some of them are for upcoming months, I have an October one, I have a November one, so I was going to put in surprise bingo boards when I was mailing out the swag this month.
Ella: That’s awesome.
Angela: I love how, yeah, same mentality, you mentioned the bingo board, that was one of the things. Anyways, that was kind of a little moment going off topic for just wanting to mention that though. You’re just so sweet talking . Oh, it’s my pleasure, I’m honored you guys are taking time to chat and be a part of this community, it blows my mind when I see people comment, I’m going oh my gosh, I put this thing together and you’re here so I’m m thankful for you, it’s all about you.
So, I also will just mention, because again, it’ s all about you guys, the polls are up for , as I lose my voice. So, the polls are up for the 2023 book club reads, and make sure you vote, just check in once a week, and there’s been a new poll, so far six titles are voted on, are done and did I upload the banner? I’m pretty sure I did. Was I a good girl? Yes.
So this is where we’re at, so we have 6 titles down , 6 more to go. So, when we were talking about that earlier in the comments, so you guys jus reminded me, so there’s voting going on, I want your voices to be heard so please visit the twitter account and vote for the, right now U believe the poll is for July 2023 and I am so surprised that we have not had any ties as yet, but it looks like we’re almost heading to a tie, because right now, I think it’s been going between 28.1 % for two titles and it just keeps going back and forth so give it some time.
Ella: Those all look like really good ones, I was looking at them, trying to pick which one am i most excited for, but several of them look really good so I couldn’t pick .
Angela: I’m really happy with the themes that i’ve been able to create because again, I take all the titles, they’re recommendations from you all. Every title that ends up in a poll is recommended by a book club member, by a sleuther, so all of those books are submitted by you and then they’re voted on by you, I don’t even vote because i feel as if that’s, I don’t know, it makes me feel awkward, it feels as if I’m trying to sway the vote, or i feel as if i say something it pulls weight. I don’t want to make one person feel as like oh she wanted this book and I voted for that one, whatever you guys want i’m just going to go with it. So, if you don’t have a twitter account and
you have a title that you really want to see win just let me know because I have my personal twitter account. Max has a twitter account. I can vote for you, so your voice will be heard .
Ella: Max can vote, aww.
Angela: Yes, I can make your voices known. Oh my gosh. So, if you don’t have a twitter, I can still vote for you so don’t worry about it. The reason I’m looking down is because I was hit with a bone so I know he’s around here doing his stuff. Oh, the notes that I’m talking about, because I always have my little updates, I’m going yeah, I wanted to mention the bookmarks and this. So I’m looking at the cards, the cards, I was thinking of bingo cards, I was looking at the comments. Okay yeah, Jenna McKinley, she’s so fabulous.
Ella: I think the first book of hers I read was the library mysteries, I can’t remember what’s that one called, but yeah I definitely read others of hers before this one.
Angela: Yes, so I do the book mail where, even if you ask for one bookmark you’re getting more than one bookmark and stickers and bonus.
Ella: This will fill the envelope, right?
Angela: Exactly, if I’m doing postage, I’m going to fill the envelope. I mean, it makes me so happy to send those out in the world because you’re spreading the sleuthing love, so i just have the best time putting those little envelopes together because I feel like i’m doing something right or i’m doing something, I don’t know how to describe it.
Ella: Totally.