Happy Wednesday. 

Please enjoy today's edition of

THE COZY TIMES

This is a weekly online publication focused on bringing you the latest news from the newspapers of our favorite cozy towns!

The Cozy Times runs every 

Wednesday and Saturday.

Today I'm featuring the

Wrensdale Weekly

The Wrensdale Weekly is the local newspaper for Wrensdale, MA.

For today's edition, I am pulling from the archives of the Wrensdale Weekly and featuring articles from the December 9, 2015 issue.

TCT Note: Coupons featured in the Weekly are no longer valid.

Check it out!

Wrensdale Weekly

December 9, 2015

by staff contributor Linda Reilly

Local Woman Found Slain after Community Center Fundraiser

Restaurateur Talia Marby made a gruesome discovery at the town gymnasium on Sunday. After returning to Wrensdale’s annual Santa Fundraiser to retrieve a forgotten bowl of sweet batter, she discovered the body of Oriana Butterforth, 37, of Wrensdale, on the floor of a storage closet. According to Wrensdale Police Detective Patti Prescott, the apparent cause of Butterforth’s death was strangulation. Additional details are being withheld pending further investigation.

Prescott, who is currently acting as liaison with the Massachusetts State Police, expressed shock at the town’s second murder in fewer than two months. “The fact that Ms. Marby discovered both deceased victims is a source of deep concern,” Prescott said. “If it’s a coincidence, it’s a bizarre one,” she added. “That’s all I can say at this time.”

Earlier this year, in October, Marby found the body of Philip Turnbull inside his lighting shop. Turnbull had been fatally stabbed with a fillet knife. Marby, according to police, was instrumental in capturing his killer, who is currently serving a life sentence without chance of parole.

Butterforth lived with her mother, Anita Butterforth, also of Wrensdale. The victim was the proprietor of Once or Twice, a vintage accessories boutique that opened just this past November in the Wrensdale Arcade.

Marby recently celebrated the opening of her new deep-fried restaurant, Fry Me A Sliver, at the site of the former Lambert’s Fish & Chips.

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Wrensdale Weekly

December 9, 2015

by staff contributor Linda Reilly

Queenie’s Variety to get minor facelift

After 78 years in operation, the country store that that represents the heart and soul of Wrensdale will undergo some long overdue renovations.

“It’s definitely time,” said Rita Gregory, granddaughter of the original founder. “About three months ago, in the canned goods aisle, a customer tripped over a crack in the linoleum and nearly broke his neck. I tell you, it was a wake-up call.”

Along with new laminate flooring, the interior of Queenie’s will be treated to a fresh coat of paint. The vintage shelving will remain, but the addition of a new feature—a cozy corner where the latest paperback bestsellers will be displayed for sale—has local book lovers celebrating.

When asked if the creaky entry door for which Queenie’s was known would be replaced, Gregory coyly replied, “We haven’t decided yet. Yes, it does stick a little. But that door has admitted generations of loyal customers. Chances are good it’ll stay right where it is.”

Queenie’s Variety will close for a three-day period during the renovations, which are slated to begin late in January of next year.

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A special thank you to 

Wrensdale Weekly staff contributor  

Linda Reilly 

That's this week's edition of 

The Cozy Times 

I hope you enjoyed!

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To learn more about the quaint town of 

Wrensdale and it's residents, read the 

Deep Friend Mystery series by author 

Linda Reilly

FIRST IN A NEW SERIES!

Talia Marby serves up delectable English deep fried fare in the heart of the Berkshires—but she soon discovers there’s something fishy going on…
 
Sometimes in this life, you have to fish or cut bait. After walking away from a miserable job and an even worse boyfriend, Talia Marby has no regrets. She’s returned to her hometown and is happy to help her dear friend Bea Lambert by working at Lambert’s Fish & Chips, a cornerstone of a charming shopping plaza designed to resemble an old English village.
 
But not all the shop owners are charming. Phil Turnbull has been pestering Bea to sign a petition against a new store opening up, and his constant badgering is enough to make her want to boil him in oil. When Talia and Bea stumble upon Turnbull murdered in his shop, the police suspect Bea. Now it’s up to Talia to fish around for clues and hook the real killer before her friend has to trade serving food for serving time…
 
Includes delicious recipes!

Revenge is set to sizzle in the tasty new Deep Fried Mystery from the author of Fillet of Murder.
 
For Talia Marby, the sweet smell of success is a lot like the pungent aroma of fried fish and vinegar. Her new business, Fry Me a Sliver, is rapidly expanding beyond fish and chips to become one of the best eateries in the Berkshires. But the nasty owner of a neighboring boutique is making a stink, baiting Talia in a very public fight at a community center fundraiser and nursing an inexplicable grudge.
 
When the boutique owner is found strangled with Talia’s scarf knotted around her neck, our favorite fish fryer finds herself in hot oil. Needing to clear her name, and fast, Talia’s investigation soon yields some shocking surprises as well as a sizzling suspicion: someone had good reason to want the victim dead—and it’s frying Talia’s nerves...

Includes delicious recipes!

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