Kernel of Truth (A Popcorn Shop Mystery #1)

Author:  Kristi Abbott
Genre:   Mystery

Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #:  9780425280911
Berkley Publishing
278 Pages
$7.54; $7.99 Amazon
March 1, 2016

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Opening a gourmet popcorn shop was never on Rebecca Anderson's bucket list.  But after a failed marriage to a celebrity chef, she's ready for her life to open up and expand.  She has returned to her hometown of Grand Lake, Ohio, with her popcorn-loving poodle, Sprocket, to start a new business - naturally called POPS.  As a delicious bonus, Cordelia "Coco" Bittles, a close family friend who has always been like a grandmother to Rebecca, owns the chocolate shop next door, and the two are thinking of combining their businesses.

But when Coco's niece, Jessica, discovers her on the floor of her chocolate shop, those dreams go up in smoke.  The local sheriff thinks Coco was the victim of a robbery gone wrong, but Rebecca isn't so sure.  As suspects start popping up all over, Rebecca is determined to turn up the heat and bring the killer to justice in a jiffy!

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When Rebecca is making caramel topping one morning, she hears someone screaming and runs next door to find her friend Coco's niece Jessica.  When Rebecca investigates further, she sees that Coco is dead.  Now Rebecca wants to find who killed her friend, and why.  But doing so could put her in more danger than she realizes...

I really wanted to like this book, I really did.  It had a different premise and I liked that.  The first sentence should have been a precursor to the rest of the book.  But it wasn't.  I just didn't think much after that was believable.

First, this is a cozy mystery, and this woman swears like a sailor.  I know it doesn't bother some people, but I really don't care for cozies where the protagonist is throwing out cuss words like yesterday's trash.  Personal opinion, people.

I also didn't understand a popcorn shop that was open for breakfast.  Who buys popcorn for breakfast? What popcorn shop sells coffee?  They sell specialized popcorn and sodas.  That's pretty much it.  And if I found one that did sell coffee, I sure wouldn't eat there.  A substantial breakfast is so much better for you than a sweet popcorn bar.  I really can't imagine - unless there's no diners in this town - that it would be as popular as indicated.  Popcorn shops are specialized shops, not restaurants.  Then, have you ever eaten a popcorn ball?  They're nasty, sticky things and you're picking popcorn out of your teeth constantly.  I would have believed it if she sold specialized cones, tins, or bags of popcorn instead - because that's what popcorn shops sell. 

Then, when the rumor started that she killed Coco, this town was awfully quick to believe it.  I would hope that if it came down to it, they'd try her in another city, because she sure couldn't get a fair shake here.  What happened to innocent until proven guilty?  I guess if she hadn't done stupid things, it might have been easier on her, but since I didn't like her anyway - she was snarky and nasty - it really didn't matter.  Her husband probably didn't pay any attention to her because of the snark.  Who wants to spend time around someone like that?  I sure don't.

But the last was the animal cruelty.  I don't believe in it, and I certainly don't believe it's necessary in a cozy.  It wasn't necessary here.  There are several other ways that the scene could have been handled without the animal cruelty.  I will never read a book by an author who does this without a very good reason - and there wasn't one here.

In the end, we already knew who killed Coco practically from the beginning, and throughout the book it was proven time and again, so no surprise there.  Unfortunately, there just wasn't a lot for me to recommend this book.  I won't be reading this author again.  Sorry.

https://www.amazon.com/Kernel-Truth-Popcorn-Shop-Mystery/dp/0425280918/ref

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2980904923

More on Kristi Abbott's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/a/kristi-abbott/