Review - Silence of the Flans

This is the second book in the new Emergency Dessert Squad series.  I have often said that I consider the second book the most difficult, following up even a fair debut carries a tremendous burden to do even better.  I reviewed the first book, Eclair and Present Danger (click here) and we had a delightful guest post by the author (click here).  Read on if you are interested in how the second book did in my humble opinion.

Author:  Laura Bedford

Copyright: March 2017 (Berkley) 300 pgs

Series: 2nd in Emergency Dessert Squad Mystery series

Sensuality: Mild

Mystery Sub-genre: Cozy

Main Characters: Winnie Johnson, baker and owner of Emergency Dessert Squad

Setting: Modern day, Silver Lake - a small college town somewhere

Obtained Through: Publisher for honest review

From the cover: "Baker Winnie Johnson does her best work when the heat is on. As owner of the Emergency Dessert Squad, she has a deft touch in the kitchen and a soft spot for lost causes. So when her business professor beau, Jay Morgan, expresses misgivings over having to fail one of his fourth-year students, Winnie cooks up a sweet solution. 

 

She’ll offer an extra credit opportunity in exchange for a little help with her growing business. But when her protégé’s first dessert delivery poisons a student journalist, the publicity threatens to burn Winnie’s business to a crisp. Now the entrepreneur-turned-detective must uncover the ingredients behind a recipe for murder before she crumbles under pressure."

Winnie Johnson enjoys the company of seniors and lives to slave away at a stove.  Renee Ballentine, the stileto wearing single mom is her best friend and cheerleader.  Mr. Nelson is the downtstairs elderly neighbor and another cheerleader who is fighting mad over the town catering to a developer.  Bridget is the elderly newspaper gossip columnist and another cheerleader for Winnie.  Greg Stevens is the hunkie fireman who shows an interest in Winnie and tries courting her in this story since Jay shuts Winnie out.  Jay Morgan, the professor and guy who makes Winnie's heart beat faster, gives her the cold shoulder throughout the story.  I had a difficult time with that scenario and his lame excuse.  Lovey, the cat she also inherited that hisses at her continually is ever present and maybe warming to Winnie a little. 

Silver Lake College is a featured setting other than Winnie's kitchen or front porch. The plot implicates Winnie as a murderer and provides the reason for her to investigate. It is straight-forward with the impact of her business failing and the town (particularly Jay) suspecting her as the  driving urgency.  That resulted in some pacing lulls - as least for me.  

There is no suspenseful killer confrontation or reveal. Winnie realizes she is alone with the killer, then - end scene.  New chapter after killer arrested.  The rest is the wrap-up.  If you have followed many of my reviews, you know a well crafted tense or suspenseful killer confrontation is my favorite.  I can appreciate even the less nail-biting killer reveals, but to not cover it at all?!  I don't know about you, but I feel incredibly cheated by that non-climax.  Whiskey-Tango-Foxtrot?

I like the quirky premise of this series, a rescue dessert squad that delivers the individual dessert in an ambulance - on a stretcher.  But the concept also requires a significant amount of suspension of disbelief that selling desserts one custom order at a time, custom baked at the time of the order, out of a house kitchen, plus delivery is not only affordable but pays enough to support two employees.  If you can overlook that logical hiccup, then the idea is cute.

Rating: Good - A fun read with minor flaws as noted. Use your own judgement as to whether these items I noted will be a deal breaker for you.

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Review - Feta Attraction

An early review for this new series claims "The feel of "Murder She Wrote" with the modern swing and excitement of "Castle."  That is quite a claim!  I'm don't think I would characterize it that way.  Find out more about this new Greek restaurant themed cozy mystery.

Author: Susannah Hardy

Copyright: January 2015 (Berkley) 304 pgs

Series: 1st in Greek to Me Mystery series

Sensuality: mild kissing, unhappy marriage situation

Mystery Sub-genre: Amateur Sleuth

Main Characters: Georgie Nikolopatos, manager of the historic Bonaparte House Restaurant

Setting: modern day, Bonaparte Bay in upstate New York

Obtained Through: Publisher for honest review


Georgie's husband, Spiro, has been MIA for days, which he does from time-to-time. Thus, Georgie is busy running the Greek restaurant her husband and his mother co-own. She also has to coordinate with the crew of the TV show Ghost Squad, who received a tip from Spiro their restaurant/house is haunted. She and her mother-in-law need to clear out for the night so the Ghost Squad crew can have the house overnight to themselves, but what was supposed to be a pleasant evening at a spa retreat ends up with Georgie discovering the body of rival restaurant owner Domenic “Big Dom” DiTomasso floating in the water. 

Spiro's continued absence becomes a matter of concern when Georgie gets a ransom demand to deliver the rumored long lost Bonaparte treasure if she ever wants to see him again. To top it all off, the police investigating Big Dom's murder clearly suspect Georgie, and now she has a hunky Naval officer investigating too. It’s up to her to find her missing husband and determine who killed Big Dom before this bad situation gets worse.

Georgie is married to a gay man while living and working in a historic home turned restaurant with her mother in law, but she is ready to change her life. She is an older than usual character with a grown daughter and has the foundation to be a great character. But she placed herself in danger too many times when clearly it was illogical. Sophie, her mother-in-law, is one of those family members with double standards for her son versus for her daughter-in-law but is nonetheless a spirited and kind lady. Inky, the flamboyant tattoo artist that husband Spiro has feelings for, is a quirky and fun character. Navy Captain Jack sounds like Lieutenant Commander "Harm" Rabb from the TV show JAG to me and his character was the breakout performance of the book.

Bonaparte Bay is the epitome of a small town where gossip runs rampant and is the town sport. A nice job was done with creating a real sense of the town with the history of Napoleon's brother and the Pirate days festivities. The location became vital to the entire story and that is a feature that I particularly enjoy in a novel. Kudos.

The plot hinged on the rumor of a treasure awaiting Napoleon in the house that was reportedly built for him by his brother in the event of a successful escape from Elba. The house has long been the restaurant/family home and Spiro's disappearance is tied to a desperate person insisting on the treasure. Who doesn't love a treasure hunt story? Napoleon's mythic fall and very real supporters who tried to break him out of exile are great to fuel the imagination. The pacing maintained a good clip, but I do have to mention a loose end with Spiro never getting any real consequences for some actions of his. That was a fly in the ointment for me.

Another point I must mention is the humor. The book has some quite funny scenes, but I felt the humorous situations resulted from uncharacteristic behavior to accomplish the laughs. I can't give details without some spoilers, so I will leave it at that.

The climax had a bit of suspense and daring action, which I always prefer. The wrap-up leaves some tantalizing hints for the next book.


Ratings: Good - A fun read with minor flaws that cozy fans will likely enjoy.

Review - Town in a Lobster Stew

While many of us are still experiencing cold temperatures and even some winter storms - let's jump to spring time.  Join me in small town Maine for a murderous stew.

Author:  B.B. Haywood

Copyright: Feb 2011 (Signet) 358 pgs

Series: 2nd in Candy Holliday Mysteries

Sensuality: N/A

Mystery Sub-genre: Cozy

Main Character:  Candy Holliday, Blueberry farmer and writer of the Community Corner for the Cape Crier paper

Setting: Modern day, Cape Willington Maine

Obtained Through: Publisher for an honest review

Apparently the trend so far in this series is to center the mystery around a town event.  In this installment the town is excited about the approaching Lobster Stew Cook-off competition on Memorial Day weekend.  The person who wins the the Cook-off becomes local royalty.  Wilma Mae Wendell contacts Candy because somebody managed to enter her house and find a hidden drawer containing a ledger with a 13-time prize winning Lobster Stew recipe.  Wilma wants Candy to find that ledger with the recipe - which was given to her by the creator of the recipe - her dear friend and neighbor Mr. Sedley. 

What seems like a mild little problem becomes a murder investigation when Mr. Sedley's body is found...in Wilma Mae's basement.  It appears he was killed in Wilma's house and dumped in the basement.  Now Candy is trying to figure out who would kill over a little recipe, no matter how good it is.

Candy Holliday has a lot of potential as a main character.  It seems as though Candy is a rough character still growing and becoming.  She moves through the book as a pleasant character but one that could be so much more.  I never got a sense for her emotions or passions.  Even when an issue is raised between Candy and her father around Candy being too busy and not relieving him with the blueberry farming duties that he can't keep up with - but it  was quickly dropped.  The opportunities to give Candy a bit more depth aren't explored.  The perfect example was in a surprising meeting with her arch-nemesis where Candy could have revealed more depth - but didn't.

The supporting cast is a bit stronger.  Candy's BFF, Maggie, is a fun character even though she has had her rough spots.  Maggie jumps in to care-take Wilma Mae and shows a touching and funny side.  Candy's dad has only a few scenes in the book but he and his buddies promise to be a continued hoot.  Candy's romantic interest, editor of the small local paper only has a few appearances so it was hard to get a proper feel for him.  What did come across is that there is no "magic" in their dating, even Maggie comments on it.  Candy's arch-nemesis was a good character and I would have liked her showing up past the middle.

The mystery itself had a few twists but I had figured out the killer fairly early.  The road to Candy discovering the killer was a systematic investigation and played out well.  But I do have to say that the ledger was stolen for more than just the recipe contained in it - but we never find out WHAT that was.  That is a large thread left loose.




The setting is used to advantage in this book.  Be prepared to want to spend your next vacation in Maine.  This book subtly envelops you with the beauty of the state.

There was a suspenseful confrontation with the killer, which I do so enjoy.  The wrap-up had some good information revealed.  But I wanted a follow-up from the meeting Candy had with her nemesis - but that never happened.  There was a set-up for elements of this story to come back in another book to bite Candy.  That closing set-up made me wonder if the ledger will be part of the continuation of this story in another installment and then we will find out what was in it.  So it was successful in making me want to read the next story to find out how that plays out.

I had not read the first book so I can't compare this second book to the previous.  This is a good cozy mystery with some missed opportunities to become a really good mystery.  We may see Candy develop depth as the series matures.

Review: Hail to the Chef by Julie Hyzy

Time to get into the upcoming holiday - Thanksgiving. 

What better way than to read a mystery set during Thanksgiving at the White House!

Copyright: Dec 2008 (Berkely);336 pgs.
Series: #2 in White House Chef Mysteries
Sensuality: N/A
Mystery sub-genre: Cozy
Main Character: Olivia Paras, White House Executive Chef
Setting: Thanksgiving at the White House in Washington D.C.
Part of a Challenge: Fall/Winter Mystery Reading Challenge
Winner of any awards: 1st book in series won several awards
Obtained book through: Library

Amidst the flurry of activity that is the holidays at the White House, there is murder ruining the festivities. Join the new Executive Chef Olivia (Ollie) as she juggles the harried preparations for Thanksgiving and the following holiday season in the White House kitchen peppered with bomb scares and a splash of murder. Mix in some personality conflicts among the staff and you have the recipe for this original second entry in the series.

The book starts out with a bomb scare and Ollie being hustled along with the first lady into a bomb shelter. The story continues from there with the first lady under pressure to sell her share of a company by the other three owners, Ollie discovering an actual bomb, the Chief Electrician getting electrocuted and the president's nephew committing suicide. Ollie feels both the deaths are not what they seem.

The main character, Ollie, is spunky and caring. The first lady is portrayed sympathetically. Ollie’s kitchen staff comes to life including the cranky and negative Bucky, the supportive Cyan and newcomer Agda who speaks limited English but sure can cook. Other White House staffers populate the story including snarling electrician Curly, and the chief of security pit-bullish Gavin, even the temperamental pastry chef Marcel creating its own tight community with the White House.

Here we join Chief of Security with Ollie:

"There are people who things happen to. And whether you consider it a blessing or a curse, you appear to be one of them." He turned to face me. "I read your dossier."

I winced

"Don’t be embarrassed," he said. "It's not that you have a black cloud over your head – it’s that you have the ability to see and to sense things better than most.” He wagged his head from side to side. “I’m not talking about ESP or clairvoyance, although maybe describing it as a sixth sense is apt. You have a great deal of intelligence and an acute awareness – more than most people – which allows you to notice things out of place. And you have the curiosity to find out why."

"It's a curse, all right."

"I disagree. We hire people with your talents every day."

All the plot lines and subplots nicely wrap up and the sleuthing is done believably through Ollie’s natural observation skills for the most part. While the "bad guy" may not come as a surprise in the end it is nicely handled and working out the details has a few surprises. Descriptions are good without running on which I imagine is a challenge when the setting is the White House – kudos there. Pacing kept me reading. Granted, some people may not care for the kitchen operations included in the story –those people might feel the story isn’t as fast-paced as they might like. But for a cozy mystery I thought it was on par. Oh and there are recipes at the end which many cozy readers love.

For your convenience, you may purchase a copy here.

Until Monday's Musings I wish you many mysterious moments.