Lesa's Book Critiques: SUNDAY SPOTLIGHT – MADDIE DAY

 Lesa's Book Critiques: SUNDAY SPOTLIGHT – MADDIE DAY

Lesa's Book Critiques: Winners & a Cozy Mystery Giveaway

 Lesa's Book Critiques: Winners & a Cozy Mystery Giveaway

Jungle Red Writers: The Perils of Pantsing, a guest blog by Maddie Day/Edith Maxwell

Jungle Red Writers: The Perils of Pantsing, a guest blog by Maddie Day...: JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING : What can I say about the Agatha-nominated, incredibly prolific Maddie Day, especially since, as Edith Maxwell, she&#...

Jungle Red Writers: Edith/Maddie Day is on a roll! A new cozy capers b...

Jungle Red Writers: Edith/Maddie Day is on a roll! A new cozy capers b...:   HALLIE EPHRON: It gives me great pleasure to welcome our own Edith Maxwell into the spotlight as she debuts with yet another book by he...

Criminal Minds: Guest Post - Edith Maxwell / Maddie Day

Criminal Minds: Guest Post - Edith Maxwell / Maddie Day: Catriona writes : It's my absolute pleasure today to welcome Edith Maxwell (Maddie Day) back to Criminal Minds, to celebrate the public...

Jeanne Reviews: Murder on Cape Cod by Maddie Day

Mackenzie  Almeida runs Mac’s Bikes  in the small seaside village of Westham, MA where she is kept busy with bicycle repairs and rentals.  She usually has help from her half-brother Derrick and a couple of other people, but they are suddenly proving unreliable.  Things only get worse when the local handyman meets with an accident, if once can call being stabbed to death with a fishing knife an accident.  The local police certainly don’t, and they find Mac a suspicious character because she argued with Jake not long before.  Mac doesn’t really have any fears they’ll try to pin the murder on her. . .  but that fishing knife looks very much like one owned by her brother Derrick.

 And Derrick has disappeared.

This is the first in the Cozy Capers Book Group Mystery series.  As with a lot of “first in series” books, a lot of ink is spent introducing characters, the layout of the town, Mac’s pet parrot, her baker boyfriend, etc.  Also as is the case with many cozy mysteries, a colorful cast is required so Mac’s father is a minister from Cape Verde, her mother is an astrologer, and the police detective is half Wampanoag. Brother Derrick is a recovering alcoholic with a young daughter and Mac’s beau is a hunky baker.  As the subtitle suggests, Mac is a member of a book group and they decide they will solve the mystery.

Day writes well and her characters are enjoyable. The plot—well, while the murder investigation goes on, the plot is more concerned with introducing characters and their problems.  The solution is interesting but comes via info drops tucked in at the end rather that sprinkled throughout the story.  As my tastes run more to the “fair play” mysteries where the reader has enough clues to solve it, I was disappointed.  Those looking primarily for a nice visit with likeable characters will find this book to be a treat. 

The second book in the series, Murder at the Taffy Shop is due out in March 2021.  Day also writes the “Country Store Mystery Series” set in Indiana. (The last piece of information is relevant because I have a friend from Indiana who was interested to see there was a cozy mystery set there.)

 

Lesa's Book Critiques: Christmas Cocoa Murder by Carlene O'Connor, Maddie Day & Alex Erickson

Lesa's Book Critiques: Christmas Cocoa Murder by Carlene O'Connor, Maddie Day & Alex Erickson

Mystery Lovers' Kitchen: Indian Spiced Roasted Potatoes

Mystery Lovers' Kitchen: Indian Spiced Roasted Potatoes: We're so pleased to have Maddie Day visiting again. This recipe has me drooling.  I think we're having potatoes for dinner!...

Guest Post: Jeanne and Treadmill Books: Flipped for Murder by Maddie Day

Please welcome back Jeanne of the BPL to the blog today…

Treadmill Book:  Flipped for Murder by Maddie Day

 

Mass Market Paperback

Roberta “Robbie” Jordan is prepping for the grand opening of her restaurant/store, Pans ‘n Pancakes in little South Lick, Indiana.  Although her mother was a Hoosier, Robbie grew up in California; after her mother’s death, a visit to her Aunt Adele made her want to try small town life for a while, especially after finding a charming and affordable place to start her own business. 

Not that it was without a bit of a struggle.  Stella Rogers, the assistant to the mayor, seemed to be working overtime to put the brakes on Robbie’s plans, but then Stella is not the nicest of people.  Still, it comes as a bit of a surprise when Stella turns up dead with one of Robbie’s signature biscuits in her mouth. . . .

This is the first in the Country Store Mystery series and certainly shows promise while sticking to the standard cozy formula.  Truthfully, I found the backstory about Robbie’s father to be more compelling than the boilerplate mystery, and that thread will apparently run through future mysteries. The characters are likeable enough, except for those who aren’t supposed to be --and those are cozy –dreadful, i.e. people whose lives are devoted to making others miserable for no particular reason except that it makes them dandy villains and even dandier victims. The investigating officer is pleasant, but amazingly enough Robbie is able to uncover information about the locals that the life-long resident lawman didn’t know.

 

Audio CD

I did have some quibbles—fathers are apparently doomed in Indiana, as there were three fatherless characters introduced in the first few chapters—but the big one was the casual way in which one character’s actions are dismissed. Even though he fires a gun at Robbie and is later found lurking in her apartment with a gun, he’s considered harmless. Ooooookay. There’s a standard issue love interest, a plucky senior citizen or two, and some local color.

I will be interested to see how Robbie’s family drama plays out, so I will probably pick up more books in the series.  This is, after all, a first in series book and sometimes the rough edges smooth out after the characters and setting have been introduced.

Also, there is a sweet cat.  That counts for a lot with me.

Books in the series:

Flipped for Murder

Grilled for Murder

When The Grits Hit the Fan

Biscuits and Slashed Browns

Death Over Easy

Strangled Eggs and Ham (June 2019)

Lesa's Latest Contest-- Autographed mystery giveaway

This week, I have 4 autographed copies of the first in a new series, Maddie Day's (Edith Maxwell) Flipped for Murder. Details available on my blog, http://www.lesasbookcritiques.blogspot.com. Entries from the U.S. only, please.

Lesa Holstine  

lesa.holstine@gmail.com  

http://www.lesasbookcritiques.blogspot.com