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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2171 KP) rated Final Fondue in Books

Nov 15, 2020  
Final Fondue
Final Fondue
Maya Corrigan | 2016 | Mystery
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Fatal Festival
The town of Bayport, Maryland is holding a festival to celebrate their tri-centennial. Val Deniston is participating with a booth featuring food from her café, while her grandfather is hoping to win one of the contests with his chocolate fondue. And Val has talked Grandfather into renting out some rooms in the house they share to visitors in town for the weekend. These particular guests are there to start work on planning a wedding to take place in the area the next spring. When one of them turns up dead in the backyard, Val begins to question if the killer got their intended victim, or if someone else was the target. Can she figure out what happened?

This book has a solid mystery with great clues sprinkled throughout. Even so, I only began to piece it together about the time that Val started figuring it out. Val’s former life in New York City pops up in a big way in this book, and, while I enjoyed the way this cozy trope played out in this book, I did feel it slowed things down a little. The more I read this series, the more I’ve come to love the characters, especially Val’s grandfather, who is a lot of fun. The suspects are distinct and kept me guessing. At the back of the book are six recipes, including a couple of chocolate fondue recipes, all of which have five or fewer ingredients. This is another fun entry in a tasty series.
  
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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2171 KP) rated Cake Popped Off in Books

Oct 8, 2020  
Cake Popped Off
Cake Popped Off
Kim Davis | 2020 | Mystery
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I’m Glad This Book Popped into My Hands
Emory Martinez is helping her employer, Tillie Skyler, host a Halloween party. Emory is providing the cupcakes, and Emory’s sister is doing the main catering. Everything is going well until Emory finds the dead body of Mandy, the cocktail waitress, in her bathtub. Emory’s brother-in-law was one of several people seen fighting with Mandy at the party, so to clear his name, Emory begins investigating. She quickly finds a web of blackmail, but how did that contribute to Mandy’s death?

The first book in the series spent some time setting up changes in Emory’s life, and they are paid off wonderfully here. We don’t get to see much of Tillie in the first book, but I loved her in this one. She and Emory make a great team, and Tillie is such a fun character. I had struggled with some of Emory’s relationships in the first book, but they were much more enjoyable here. The plot is strong with so much drama and action I never wanted to put the book down. I had a couple of niggles with the climax, but they were minor and all our questions were answered. Some future plot lines are introduced here, and I’m anxious to see how they play out. In addition to cupcake recipes, we get some delicious sounding recipes for Halloween party dishes and cocktails. Emory’s second case is a delight, and I’m anxious to join her again for her another mystery.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.
  
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