Cozy

Stanley Hastings #14

by Parnell Hall

Hall, Parnell

Genres: Mystery, Cozy

Hardcover

First published June 19, 2001

Reviews

[Heather W · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars - a wonderfully written story that gives you exactly what it says on the tin (or cover in this case), we follow Stanley, a private Investigator who solves a set of murders in a Bed and Breakfast/Inn while on holiday with his wife.


Stanley is a fantastic main character, I really related to him and got his sense of humour. His long suffering wife was also great to read about. The story moves at a great and steady pace. The solution is believable, although I didn't solve it, I wasn't disappointed with the ending. I look forward to reading more in this series.


As an extra, I thought that the recipes were a nice touch as well.

[Veronica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Couldn't figure out who did it in this case. Too many suspects! Good read!

[Alyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this finished it in a couple of hours. So good and I couldn’t put down. It’s cool reading about spots you’ve been to before and it was a perfect “cozy” fall reading book. I found this at an antique shop awhile ago and never picked it up till now but so glad I did and want to read more from this author.

[Eric_W · Rating 4 out of 5]

Our favorite P.I. is thrust into the middle of a mystery again, this time at a bed-and-breakfast his wife Alice arranged for them to help them get over the fact that their son will be at camp for six weeks. Not being a great fan of bed-and-breakfasts (my wife and I once stayed at one and had to suffer through breakfast with some NRA gun nuts that almost had me wanting to shoot someone) there are some great scenes and descriptions, all very tongue-in-cheek. The dialogues between Stanley and his wife are priceless and I cannot understand why they haven't been released as audiobooks. With the right reader, you could be rolling in the aisles.

[Josalyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh my gosh. If the main character and his wife would stop arguing for five seconds. This was like one of my NANOWRIMO novels where it felt like he was just adding random junk in for word count purposes. I am unimpressed.

[Trish · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read, but not one I'd recommend. Stanley is not a particularly likable character, and his relationship with his wife is weird (does he actually like her?!). I feel like this was supposed to be poking fun at cozy mysteries with several "wink, wink" moments, but the characters all felt a bit flat and the murders didn't even evoke much of a response from me.

[Sara Eames · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

An entertaining cosy mystery with an excellent lead character. The murder itself is solvable (although I didn't solve it) and the way it is solved is amusing. I loved Stanley and Alice and look forward to reading more of their exploits.

[Emmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good it kept me in sync. I could not put the book down and I think it's just an overall really good book you should definitely read it.

[Maria Kotris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed it but won't read it again

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of fun. Murder at a country inn

[Danielle Simpkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has me laughing out loud. I've been Alice. I've also been Stanley. So cute!

[Abigail Lewis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was okay. Did not finish in time for book club meeting. Not worth finishing after.

[Stef · Rating 1 out of 5]

Lord. Have you ever read a murder mystery and wished there was less murder and no mystery and tons of irrelevant conversation and chatting in circles? Then this is the book for you!

[Shane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the author, been following his books for 20 years. This was a fun cozy mystery. A bit different than the feel of the previous Stanley Hastings mysteries. But still a fun read

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

i love this author. the pi is on his way home from dropping his son off at summer camp for 3 months. his wife wanted to stop at a bed and breakfast or a inn, they had a long funny discussion about the difference. on the way they stopped to 'hike' , not exactly his favorite thing to do. on the way to the falls they encountered a young couple, they think the boy slapped the girl, they saw her crying on the way down, and a couple with a dog that ate the pi's sandwich and a bald man alone

when they got to the inn, or b&b as the case may be, they checked in and the pi went to find the tv so he could watch his ball game but a little girl was watching cartoons. so he went back to the room and his wife told him to go in the pool. so he went down there and the young girl was sun bathing. his wife shows up along with the dog. at dinner they see the bald man

he thinks somehow all these people 'followed' them to the inn and are in some way connected. his wife is accusing him of trying to solve a mystery where there is none

its really good, its so funny and im enjoying it alot! i just started it at lunch today so only read about 20 minutes.

he sees the girl kissing the inn owners son by the pond. he doesnt know if her boyfriend knows. he runs into her again at the falls when he has to go back as he forgot the backpack there. she had seen him see her kiss the boy and asked that he not tell anyone. he promised tho he had already told his wife who told 2 other women

at dinner she is in a booth with her boyfriend and shes crying. the boyfriend leaves her there , then she is found dead,, ,cyanide in her drink.

the cop questions everyone in the restaurant. first he acts like he thinks the pi did it, then the pi's wife. then the boyfriend. he ends up arresting the woman with the dog cause her x husband had a affair with the girl

the pi finds the bald man and leads the cop to his house. the pi keeps mixing up the two womens names, one is thinner than the other one. im glad he does that as i get peoples names confused too

its really good, i still dont know 'who did it'.

i only have 4 more pages, maybe i can finish at lunch. seems like the boyfriend did do it, but now the lady with the husband is dead too. dont know if he killed both but seems that way and the lady with the dog will be let go.

its really good and hes so funny!

[Shelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stanley is back, but this time he's on vacation. After dropping his son Tommy off at summer camp, Stanley and his wife, Alice, head to New Hampshire to stay at an inn (or is it a bed and breakfast?) and go hiking. They manage to get themselves caught up in a "cozy" mystery, with all of the guests at the bed and breakfast (or is it an inn) suspects in a murder. There's a goofy dog, a clever cat, and delicious-sounding recipes in what proves to be a fun spoof of a cozy while also being a good mystery, with the usual humor (sometimes on purpose, sometimes unintentional) from Stanley.

[Nadine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poor Stanley! His wife is relentless and gives us a bad name....but I do feel the love she has for her husband! I really liked the book a lot but thought Safari was much funnier!! The only criticism is that I hated the banter between the chief of police and Stanley. I wanted to reach through the book and slap the chief in the face. I am glad that you really don't need to read these books on order to enjoy them. Happy Reading :)

[Michaela Shea · Rating 2 out of 5]

It just goes to show you don't have to be a good writer or story teller to make a living from writing. You just new a couple of ideas, a weekend away and some bum glue. Barely entertaining, it's a slightly entertaining whodunit. And I've just discovered I've read another of his books by accident. Yikes.

[Fran · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mildly entertaining but certainly not great. Recipes and travel info (if accurate) were interesting.

[Grey853 · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed. There wasn't much of a mystery and the bickering between Alice and Stanley was annoying.

[Val · Rating 5 out of 5]

funny in places. enjoyed reading this. easy reading

[Zayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorites by Parnell. I found it really entertaining and engaging.

[Kaye Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good but the dialogue got tedious at time. liked the characters though!!

[Ron Judenberg]

to-read