I haven't read any "real" books for a while. I have been too busy trying to read all the comic books that have been piling up on my nightstand. I finally made it through those books, and so I am starting to read some novels again.
So, while I was at the library this week, I saw the new David Skibbins book in the new book area. I really enjoyed his first three books in his "Tarot Card Mystery" series. I would almost call this a "cozy." Granted, the main "sleuth" is not a woman, but Warren has certainly been an amateur, not a professional, investigator. Warren doesn't live in a small town, but the way Skibbins writes about Berkely, and the areas Warren frequents, make it sound like a small town. Warren is a likeable fellow, in spite of his bipolar disorder, and he is surrounded by friends.
Skibbins has taken those components of a cozy mystery to make the reader comfortable, then skewed them slightly to take the books outside of the expected comfort of a cozy, and made a really enjoyable series of books that can be read by those who enjoy cozy mysteries, and those who want a little sharper edge.
In this volume, Warren enters the world of bondage and domination to help prove that a friend of a friend is innocent of murder. The usual cast of his friends (Sally, Heather, Max...) are all on hand, and have a hand in, to solve the case. I found this a very satisfying read.