Author: Isis Crawford
Genre: Mystery
Hardcover; Digital Book
ISBN #: 9781496734969
Kensington Cozies
336 Pages
$13.51; $12.99 Amazon
June 28, 2022
⭐⭐⭐
At A Little Taste of Heaven, Bernie and Libby Simmons cater all sorts of affairs, from book clubs to bridal showers and everything in between. So when their counterman, Googie, asks them to cater a doggie wedding for his girlfriend Jennie's eight-month-old golden retrievers, they jump on the opportunity. The reception, which will also serve as a grand opening for Jennie's new doggie daycare center, is no small affair. Bertha and Ernie -- the bride and groom -- will be celebrating with more than a hundred guests, including the puppers' pals and their people.
But all weddings, even shaggy shindigs, come with some drama. Not everyone in town is excited about the upcoming pup-tuials -- or Jennie's business. Someone is sending threatening messages to Bernie, Libby, and others in town, warning them to cancel the festivities. But when folks start dying under curious circumstances, Bernie and Libby know it's up to them to untangle the leads and find the murderer before anyone else bites it.
✽✽✽✽✽✽✽✽
Bernie and Libby Simmons own a bakery called A Little Taste of Heaven, which used to be their late mother's. They're successful at it, and they live upstairs in an apartment along with their retired police chief father, Sean. One day at work, their employee Googie asks if they'd be willing to cater a dog wedding for his girlfriend Jennie's golden retrievers, Bertha and Ernie. Happy to do it, they want to see the space they'll be using.
Jennie is excited, but not about the fact that her business neighbor Rachel is trying to get rid of her any way she can. It's starting to cause problems, and unfortunately, Bernie and Libby are sucked right into the middle of it. Especially when Jennie's contractor, Tom Bannon, is found murdered and Jennie is the main suspect. When the women, along with the florist and photographer, begin to receive harassing messages, they vow to stick with it, even against the new police chief's threats. But when there's another murder, they're on a time limit to find a killer...who will have no qualms about killing again...
This is the seventeenth book in the series, and I have read most of them, and all of the latest. I have mixed feelings about this book (and I believe I mentioned it in other books as well). Bernie and Libby are apparently in their thirties, but they argue like teenagers. Which makes the next thing I mention make perfect sense: They have 'beaus' who apparently aren't really so. They never go on dates, never spend any time with them except at the local bar where Bernie's boyfriend Brandon is a bartender, or anything to do with a murder. I would have thought that their relationships would have progressed at this point. No talking about moving in together? Getting married? Are they going to be two old spinsters who own the local bakery? I know this doesn't bother others, but I like to see progression in mysteries. These have none.
I also don't really care for the cringe-worthy fact that they have no problem just going into someone's home and poking around. It might not be breaking and entering, but it's the next best thing to it. Surely there are other ways to get the information they crave. But other than the things I've mentioned above, I did enjoy the book. Enough that I would gladly read the next in the series. There's no doubt that they can figure out who the murderer is (almost a little too late, but that is also so in other series, so no big deal here). The ending was interesting, and the way it played out. I do like their father Sean and his friend Clyde quite a bit, and look forward to them being in each book.
The mystery was done well, as were the clues, and the time it took to solve it was no more than it should have been. Again, I enjoyed reading this book and look forward to the next by Ms. Crawford. Some of the recipes sounded yummy also and I may very well try them.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley but this in no way influenced my review.
More on Isis Crawford's Books: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/c/isis-crawford/
No comments:
Post a Comment