Cookie Dough or Die (Wheeler Large Print Cozy Mystery) Review

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Cookie Dough or Die (Wheeler Large Print Cozy Mystery) ReviewOlivia Greyson is the owner of The Gingerbread House which occupies the first floor of her Victorian home in Chatterley Heights. It is a shop that features cookie cutters and other baking items. Olivia lives upstairs with her tiny dog Spunky. Olivia (Livie) and her friend Maddie run the shop and Maddie bakes and creates the most yummy cookies. Olivia gets to be close friends with prominent Chatterley Heights citizen and business woman Clarisse Chamberlain who also has a passion for cookie cutters. She often helped out at Livie's shop and gave her business advice.
No one it town is more shocked than Livie when she learns of Clarisse's death. The sheriff calls it an accident, maybe suicide, but Livie can't wrap her head around those ideas. Clarisse was too meticulous and too strong, neither of these options fit. She knows Clarisse had something on her mind of late but until Livie can figure out what that was she can't be sure, but her gut is telling her this was not an accident. Some one killed Clarisse Chamberlain and she is going to find out who before the last cookie crumbles.
I really liked this story. It is a wonderful debut to what I am sure will be a wonderful series. Cozy mysteries are my favorites and I am continually amazed by the variety of settings used for each series. A simple cookie cutter shop is an excellent setting and I can see many possibilities for future mysteries.
The foundation has been well laid in this first story. Letting us get to know just enough about they main characters to want us to keep reading more about them to learn who they are below the surface. The supporting characters in this story were fun, quirky, opinionated, smart, and witty. I hope they are around in future installments.
This is not only a new series but a new author. An author I can't find anything about. Not a web page, a Facebook page or email. Leads me to wonder if this is a new author or an author we already know using a pseudonym. If Virginia Lowell is indeed a brand new author, this is an excellent written mystery for a debut. I hope we can learn more about her in the future and that she continues to write books as good as this one. Through my research I did find out that book two in this series A Cookie Before Dying is slated to be released December 6, 2011.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Berkley Prime Crime, A Division of the Penguin Group. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."Cookie Dough or Die (Wheeler Large Print Cozy Mystery) Overview

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Toujours Dead (Maggie Newberry Mysteries) Review

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Toujours Dead (Maggie Newberry Mysteries) ReviewOoh la la! What could be more romantic than spending a carefree, rent-free year in the South of France with a tall, hunky Frenchman who loves to cook? If you're Maggie Newberry, you might be hard pressed to find an answer to that question, despite the few inconveniences she discovers upon arriving in Provence to help boyfriend Laurent settle affairs with an inherited vineyard.
It's not enough that several locals are breathing down Laurent's neck and pressuring him to sell his land, but Maggie appears to have her own collection of detractors. Sneering Gaston LaSalle, the spawn of gypsy stock, has made harrassing Maggie a top priority, while local tart Babette (who, appropriately, works in the bakery) is hell-bent on seducing Laurent. It's a sure bet Maggie would tell them what to do with themselves...if only she knew enough French.
Oh, and did I mention the dead body found in the basement of Maggie's house on Thanksgiving? That the house was also the scene of a brutal multiple homicide committed fifty years ago which continues to haunt the village and her residents? Come to think of it, maybe Maggie could think of more romantic things.
If you're looking for something mysterious, a mystery with a French twist, consider a stop in Provence with Susan Kiernan-Lewis's Toujours Dead. Toujours follows Maggie through her adjustment to country living, her friendship with expatriates Grace and Windsor Van Sant, and ultimately the murder of a brash American opportunist which she believes is connected to the half-century-old massacre that happened on her front steps. Lewis paints a desirable picture of Provence and creates in her townsfolk an array of interesting characters one would hope to meet on a European vacation.
Especially Laurent. A gorgeous Frenchman who cooks? If anyone needs me, I'll be at Priceline.com.Toujours Dead (Maggie Newberry Mysteries) OverviewWhen her boyfriend inherits an ancient vineyard in France, Maggie Newberry quits her job in Atlanta to accompany him for a year abroad. They settle in the tiny village of St-Buvard, but murder has gone long before them and follows close behind.

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Sugar Cookie Murder (Hannah Swensen Mysteries) Review

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Sugar Cookie Murder (Hannah Swensen Mysteries) ReviewThis is my first book in the Hanna Swensen series and I'm not sure I will look for others.
I didn't realize what a huge genre of "cookbook mysteries" are out there! I picked up a bunch of paperbacks at a rummage sale and there were a half-dozen of these types of stories all by different authors. That said, "Sugar Cookie Murder" wasn't one of the better ones.
Since I haven't read any of the previous books in this series, I have only this book to base my opinions on and that might be unfair. However, this is supposed to be a stand-alone book.
Anyway, as several reviewers noted, the "mystery" was hardly a mystery at all. The climax was horribly disappointing -- a quick confession and bang, end of mystery. Apparently the cops did nothing but guard the doors and the detective sat in an office being cranky while Hannah and her sisters ran around and solved the "mystery". Almost all the action -- such as it was -- took place in the banquet hall and focused on describing food. Lots of food. With a few million references to how cold it gets in Minnesota and how everyone there can drive through a blizzard like it was a warm sunny day. Obviously there is a history between all the residents which, fortunately, wasn't too heavy-handed although it did get kind of confusing now and then.
I didn't particularly like the characters, either. Again, the shallowness of everyone might have been because it's part of a series and there was more character-building earlier on. But Hannah came off as a bit whiney, controlling and indecisive. She has two guys on a string -- one is too good to be true but kind of ordinary, the other is an obnoxious, self-serving cop who is apparently hot for his secretary and Hannah both making him a class-A jerk, but he's a hunk so Hannah seems to cozy up with him moreso than the other guy. But she uses the other guy whenever it suits her so she's not much better than the cop. The sisters seem two dimensional, the mother is a ditz and the rest of the cast are mere shadows on the wall.
The reason I gave it 2 stars instead of 1 (too bad sometimes you can't give 0 stars!) was because I am hoping/assuming the earlier books were better and this was just a filler book. If I run across more of Joanne Fluke's books at a rummage sale I might buy them but I'm sure I won't be spending full price -- paperback or hardcover -- for any of them.Sugar Cookie Murder (Hannah Swensen Mysteries) Overview

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Death by the Dozen (Cupcake Bakery Mystery) Review

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Death by the Dozen (Cupcake Bakery Mystery) ReviewThe Food Channel comes to Scottsdale, Arizona, by way of the Scottsdale Food Festival. Mel Cooper and Angie DeLaura are determined to win top prize for the Fairy Tale Cupcakes Bakery or may die trying. They have to "beat" their arch rival Olivia Puckett first just to get entered into the competition and beating her with their delicious desserts will just be icing on their cupcakes.
Even with Mel's mentor, Vic Mazzotta, Food Channel celebrity chef, sitting in one of the judge's chairs, Mel knows she will need to use all her culinary skills to create the best dish using the daily mystery ingredients if they are going to take home the grand prize.
Shocked when Vic doesn't show up to judge the girls know something is amiss. They are just planning to search for him when a dead body is found in a freezer truck on the festival grounds. Someone had put Vic on ice, permanently. Now they not only have to ice their competition with their fabulous cupcakes they also need to find a cold blood killer.
My Thoughts
This is a scrumptious series and the latest installment is absolutely delicious!!
Two strong women, some hunky men and frosting how can you go wrong, lol!!!!
Truthfully the characters are lovable and becoming more defined in each story. I love Oz, the newest face at Fairy Tale Cupcakes. The plot is timely and clever. The mystery ingredients competition reminded me of the mystery box challenges of Master Chef on Fox. There were assorted "red herrings" to divert us and lead us astray. Plus cupcakes, lots and lots of cupcakes!!! (recipes included)
WARNING: You will be craving cupcakes while reading this so be sure to have some handy!!
Jenn even gives us a taste of the next temptation, Red Velvet Revenge, and I can't wait to get my sticky hands on it. For now just be sure to get your copy of Death by the Dozen today and enjoy!!!
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Berkley Prime Crime. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."Death by the Dozen (Cupcake Bakery Mystery) Overview

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