As Robbie arranges a breakfast-themed cook-off at Pans ‘N Pancakes, visitors pour into Brown County for the annual maple extravaganza. Unfortunately, that includes Professor Connolly, a know-it-all academic from Boston who makes enemies everywhere he goes—and this time, bad manners prove deadly. Soon after clashing with several scientists at a maple tree panel, the professor is found dead outside a sugar shack, stabbed to death by a local restaurateur’s knife. When an innocent woman gets dragged into the investigation and a biologist mysteriously disappears, Robbie drops her winning maple biscuits to search for answers. But can she help police crack the case before another victim is caught in a sticky situation with a killer?
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MY REVIEW
This is the second time I've had the pleasure of visiting the little town of South Lick, IN. The first time was when Robbie opened the restaurant/store in the first of the five installments (in 2015 our time), Flipped for Murder. The fifth of the Country Store Mysteries is Death Over Easy, coming about mid-year 2018. (And at least there were no jokes about Kentucky this time around! *lol*)
And it's evident that I've missed a few things in the interim books 2 and 3. Robbie has a 'new' boyfriend. I remember the one, and it's certainly different that the MC stops seeing the first love interest she develops after arriving in town. But different is good! Relationships in cozies are generally a straight shot with maybe a couple of switch backs. This time, Robbie leaves that first road entirely and heads off in a new direction! (Sounds kind of like the process between my first and my current marriage! *lol*) Personally, I would have liked to see a little more interaction between Robbie and Abe, but that's a personal preference, and for all I know, it may be tco in a different book of the series, so I'm reserving my opinion on that one for now.
What a piece of work is (um...was?) that Professor Connolly, am I right? What is it about people that when they get a little bit of knowledge or money or talent, that all of a sudden they are God's gift to (fill in the blank) and everybody else is beneath them? Some say 'Pride goeth before a fall', but in Connolly's case, pride goeth before a shove and a knife to the chest! And apparently he ticked off more people than your average cozy baddie, because there was more than one person who thought they had caused the man's death (aside from the person who knew s/he did)!
The murder weapon is from the kitchen of Robbie's chef friend, so that spurs her to get involved 'unofficially' in the investigation. And the body was found on the farm belonging to the family of one of Robbie's employees, so they get a couple of look-overs from the police as well.
There are a slew of colorful characters in South Lick. From Buck with his two hollow legs (I swear he eats more food in one meal than I have all day sometimes) and frequent 'Indiana-isms', to Dr. Sajit Rao, biologist and father of Robbie's part-time cook Turner. I like in books (and movies, etc) where it shows that love can happen across differences in the couple - be they racial, religious, or whatever.
I found it very easy to relate to the characters in 'Biscuits'; this is probably because I see the same kind of small town-folk at 'Don's Country Store' about half a mile away from my house. And don't get me started on the gossip! *lol*
Well, gossip and murder notwithstanding, South Lick sounds like a great place to visit. As long as the grills at Pans 'n Pancakes fire up, I'll find my way back there from time to time.
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MEET THE AUTHOR
As Edith Maxwell, she writes the Local Foods Mysteries (Kensington Publishing) and the Quaker Midwife Mysteries (Midnight Ink).
You can find all Maddie’s/Edith’s identities at www.edithmaxwell.com. She blogs every weekday with the other Wicked Cozy Authors at wickedcozyauthors.com. Look for her as Edith M. Maxwell and Maddie Day on Facebook and @edithmaxwell and @maddiedayauthor on Twitter.
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GIVEAWAY!!!
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Click on the banner above to go to the tour site, where you will find links to more reviews of this book, as well as interviews and guest posts! You can also find out how to become a blog host for future book tours while you are there!
The following are the remaining stops on the tour:
February 10 – Bibliophile Reviews – REVIEW
February 10 – Brooke Blogs – GUEST POST
February 11 – Island Confidential – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
February 11 – The Montana Bookaholic – REVIEW
CTA: That's it y'all! If you enjoyed this post and have the time, I sure would appreciate your posting it to one of your social media channels!
(Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the author and publishers via Great Escapes Virtual Book tours and NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.)
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