A murder in the local hospital is raising everyone’s temperature in the latest book in the New York Times bestselling Cackleberry Club series. Suzanne Dietz, co-owner of the Cackleberry Club Café, is visiting her fiancé, Dr. Sam Hazelet, when a masked gunman bursts into the emergency room. He shoots two people and would probably have done more damage had Suzanne not brained him with a thermos … brained him with a thermos full of chili. Still, the gunman manages to escape.
Now the ladies of the Cackleberry Club are determined to find the killer before he finds them.
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Dollycas’s Thoughts
Shots are fired in a hospital, no less, as this ninth Cackleberry Club Mystery gets underway. Cackleberry Club co-owner Suzanne Dietz was ducking for cover as two people fell struck by bullets. In a moment of pure genius, rage, and adrenalin, Suzanne stuns the shooter with a thermos full of chili meant to have been lunch for her fiancée, Dr. Sam Hazelet. Down but not out the shooter escapes with a duffle bag of drugs stolen from the hospital pharmacy. The gunman was dressed in military gear and wore a mask so Suzanne couldn’t give much info to identify the suspect but that doesn’t mean she, Toni, and Petra aren’t going to pull out all the stops to catch the shooter before they kill again.
I love Suzanne, Toni, and Petra and glad they are back after a bit of a break. These ladies are so genuine and have huge hearts. They are always ready to support a person or cause that comes into their orbit. They are exactly who you would expect to meet when you walk into a small-town Midwest cafe. They give a friendly welcome and try to add a smile to get your day off to a great start. The food they serve up is top-notch too. Supporting characters Dr. Sam, Junior, and Sheriff Dougie all bring diverse personalities to the story. These men couldn’t be more different from each other just like our leading ladies so they are a perfect fit for this series.
Ms. Childs really twisted things up this time. Suzanne is completed invested in finding the shooter so she doesn’t always make wise decisions and she jumped to a few conclusions without the evidence to back them up. I had to stop and take a second to shake my head at one event that was crazy and downright unbelievable but centered myself with the point that the story is fiction, meant to entertain and it sure did that and the event did really move the story forward so I accepted the situation and moved on. The scene was exciting and it was fun to live vicariously through the adventure the characters were caught up in. The author does blend the subplots with the main plot with an expert hand. She brings the book to a conclusion in a thrilling way that I know raised my blood pressure.
Egg Shooters is an egg-traordinary addition to this series and I have enjoyed every one. We are also treated to tempting recipes that were mentioned in the story at the end of the book. I am very excited for the next installment of this series.
I have enjoyed the books I’ve read in this series. It’s a delightful cozy mystery. You are drawn in from the beginning and all of the drama and crazy antics of Suzanne and Toni keep you interested. Between the hijackings and drug thefts, you also enjoy hanging out with the gang at The Cackleberry Club. The characters are well developed and, even though this is the 9th book in the series, you could read it as a standalone. This book had a couple of mysteries going at the same time which I enjoyed. My one negative comment is that I thought Suzanne was a little reckless in getting involved in solving the mysteries. It would have been more entertaining for her to accidentally show up in situations than to intentionally commit crimes to assist in solving the bigger crimes.
Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Books for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.
I am enjoying Childs’s Cackleberry Club mysteries centered around a restaurant, bookstore, and knitting store. Love her middle-aged, quirky characters!
This is an amazing cozy mystery!
I love the main characters in this book. Suzanne and her two friends who own the Cackleberry Club Cafe can’t be more different from each other. They have truly figured out how to work together running their business though.
The plot of the mystery is fantastic. There are plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader guessing and confused.
The narrator does a fabulous job! She is a wonderful voice actress and has a wide variety of voices and accents for each of the various characters. She really made the story come to life.
I received a complimentary copy of this audiobook through NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review. All of the opinions expressed are my own.
Disclaimer: *Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a copy of this book for free in the hope that I would mention or review it on my blog. I was not required to give a positive review, only my honest opinion – which I have done. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.*
Egg Shooters ” the 9th instalment in the “Cackleberry Club” Mystery series by Laura Childs. It has been awhile since I read the series having only read up to book 6, but I really enjoyed visiting Kindred and the Cackleberry Club Cafe again.
The story starts off with a bang literally, with the shooting at the hospital, I think with everything that’s been happening in America right now some aspects of the book could unsettle some people. It touches on PTSD as well as drug addiction but not in any great detail.
Now with that all said I did really enjoy this story, and it has made me want to catch up on the series. The mystery is interesting and well plotted, and I loved the characters which are well developed. I especially love the dynamics between Suzanne, Toni and Petra as they are so different from each other but meld perfectly together.
I kept guessing and second-guessing myself on whodunnit, I did suspect the killer for a quick second then thought no way. I also suspected the getaway vehicle from the beginning and was why aren’t they thinking of this.
Now I loved the recipes that are included in the back of the book.
I recommend this book to all my cozy lover friends.
I requested and received an advance reader copy of this book from Berkley and Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
You know how you wish some of your favorite books would be made into a movie?
For the Cackleberry Club I want a whole television series!
I love the characters. Toni would be so much fun to watch weekly.
The settings are comfy with a touch of glamour, especially the food.
And the action never stops!
Suzanne is intelligent and curious, observant and generous. She can not help herself from getting involved, whether in community events or dangerous investigations.
And she can not stop her brain from running through endless possibilities. I enjoyed being privy to those runaway thoughts.
The book opens plunging us immediately into action and tragedy. The mysteries compound quickly, with hijackings, murder, drug related crimes and mysterious disappearance among them.
Suspects are found on every page! When you think you have something figured out, you will begin to doubt your choices as more evidence comes to light.
I hope we do not have to wait long to revisit Kindred.
While taking dinner to Sam, Suzanne is the crossfire of a masked man stealing drugs from the hospital pharmacy. She manages to hit him with a thermos of chili but not before he kills one and injures another. Can the Cackleberry ladies figure out who is stealing pharmaceuticals before it is too late?
If you have been following my review you know I have binged most of this series in the past month. I really enjoy this series. Is it a favorite? No. Is it one I will keep coming back to? Yes. The recipes alone are worth it. I am not a big egg eater but these recipes, have made eating them interesting and fun.
I alternated between reading my copy from NetGalley and listening to the audiobook from Hoopla through my public library. The narrator has been the same and while she is good she is not my favorite. She makes Toni seem very dumb and Petra very mean. I don’t get that feeling as much if I read the characters. Maybe they really are like the narrator makes them sound and I am just more forgiving as I read.
Definitely a series for cozy mystery readers who like culinary cozies.
Triggers: murder, drugs
I received a complimentary copy from the publisher, Berkley, through NetGalley. All opinions expressed in the above review are entirely my own.z
EGG SHOOTERS by Laura Childs
The Ninth Cackleberry Club Mystery
With a plan to surprise her fiance at work, Suzanne Dietz is the one surprised when a masked gunman comes into the emergency room killing the security guard after robbing the pharmacy. With the Sheriff investigating truck hijackings as well as drug robberies, which now include a murder, Suzanne, egged on by friends and victims alike, decides to investigate. Could the two young men next door be involved? What about rumors of a survivalist camp or the new slick businessman the mayor is showing around town? Suzanne continues to plan and execute events for the Cackleberry Club, helping to serve up wonderful dishes, but will her eggstracurricular meddling find her in more danger than she can manage?
EGG SHOOTERS highlights some current societal issues, namely drug addiction. Among other things it shows how pervasive it is and how far people will go to get drugs. I enjoyed puzzling over the disparate crimes and wondering if they were connected, and if so, how?
As usual, Suzanne is overcome by her desire to investigate and throwing caution to the wind gets involved in all manner of escapades. If you’re able to willingly suspend your disbelief, you’ll find the action exhilarating and fun. Realistically, her behavior is rash and implausible, bordering on ludicrous. Taking everything with a grain of salt, I gladly followed Suzanne and Toni, although I was tsking as I did. I really enjoyed the final confrontation with the killer which was truly unique.
This ninth book in the Cackleberry Club Mystery series is a fast paced mystery fueled by food and friendship. EGG SHOOTERS is jam packed with intrigue, adventure, and fun.
FTC Disclosure – The publisher sent me a digital ARC provided through NetGalley, in the hopes I would review it.
This is book nine of the cackleberry club series. Can be read by itself or in the series order. I found this to be a quick moving story Loved reading over some of the past characters and had fun following them again while they try to track down a gunman and get to the bottom of things. All in all a fun read.