One part Vicar of Dibley, one part amateur sleuth who loves pastries, set in the mountains of Montana where no one’s business is her own… murder investigation, nothing will stop the gossip mill from connecting her to the dead body.
Can’t have that.
In order to clear her good name and keep her face off the front page, this part-time-baker-part-time-pastor becomes extra nosy…with a little side of breaking-and-entering. But when she comes face-to-face with the Sheriff, Vangie can’t ignore the fact that one of her macarons was involved in a murder. She has to find the real murderer.
Penance on the Prairies is the first book in the Vangie Vale Mysteries–a western-set female sleuth mystery. It used to be called “Vangie Vale and the Murdered Macaron.” (This is the second edition.)
RECIPE INCLUDED: The Murdered Macaron
“I loved Vangie Vale and the Murdered Macaron. Vangie’s wry wit and people skills make her the ideal amateur sleuth. And then there are the macarons…yum! R.L. Syme is a fresh voice in the cozy mystery genre. I can’t wait to see what she and Vangie get up to next.”
– Zara Keane, USA Today bestselling author of the Movie Club Mysteries
“An intricate web of lies and deceit, with so many twists and turns that she had me guessing until the very end. Usually, I can figure out whodunit pretty dadgum quickly, so if Ms. Syme can keep me guessing, then it’s definitely a well-written mystery!”
– Teresa Watson, author of the Lizzie Crenshaw Mysteries
“A new to me author and a book that will keep you turning the pages as fast as you can to see what happens.”
– Texas Book-aholic blog
“What I wouldn’t give to be in this story. It was fun, imaginative and full of yummy treats.”
– Babs Book Bistro
“I can’t wait to discover more characters and more delicacies from Vangie!”
– Bibliophile Reviews
“It might have been the book cover that drew me in. But it was the story and plot that kept me and lured me all the way to the end.”
– Varietats blog
“Vangie Vale is not your typical character in a cozy book. She is one complex woman in a small town in the beautiful setting of Montana.”
– My Reading Journeys blog
“This series is off to a tasty start.”
– Dolycas Review blog
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Vangie Vale is so fun! This was a great mystery with many intriguing characters. Vangie is my favourite, of course! The more I read, the more I wanted to read. Can’t wait to see what Vangie gets up to next!
After reading the non-fiction books by the other pen name of this author I knew I had to give her cozy mysteries a try too and I am so glad I did. This book was fabulous. This is one of the best cozies I’ve read. The mystery was so well done with plenty of twists reveals, secrets and lies as well as plenty of hints. The characters all felt so realistic and well done and I really liked following Vangie Vale around as she tried to solve this mystery. I also liked how this one had a clear cozie vibe, but at the same time also felt unique and fresh in the way it was handled, although I can’t quite put my finger on how the author managed that.
Let’s start with the mystery. I really liked the mystery in this book. The set-up was a little bit different, with the main character not being the one to discover the body, but she is sort of connected as a box of macarons from her bakery were found on the body and two possible suspects were in the town the murdered person was found because she send them there. She also got to know one of the suspects and believes he’s innocent. She wants justice served and so she gets involved. It made sense and I liked how a lot of the investigating was her asking questions and it didn’t feel forced even thought she was totally trying to solve the mystery.
This mystery had so many twists and turns. There are so many secrets and slowly they come to light one by one. So many lies as well and it was hard weeding through everything and figuring out what really happened. I like how the author kept the mystery going forward, with plenty of clues along the way that helped form a better picture, but at the same time you really don’t get the full picture until the end. It was a very satisfying way of progressing through the mystery. I also liked how the mystery went in some directions I hadn’t expected, there were some great twists. The mystery kept me guessing and I spent some time trying to figure out what was going on and who the murderer was. I managed to guess the killer right and was pretty pleased about that, but there was one person who was involved and I just couldn’t figure out how that person tied into it until the end. It was great when everything came to light.
Vangie Vale was such a great main character. I like how realistic and multi faceted she felt. She was a good person, but she also does things she isn’t proud of. She is a bakery owner, but also a pastor, which actually was quite interesting to read about. I felt like we really got a good feel for her personality. With how she could read people, but also how she could be wrong. How she felt when things happened and her fear when she was in a dangerous situation. There is a bit of what happened in her past that we don’t get all the details about, but that worked well here and I assume we get more information about that as the series progresses. I also would like to see both more about her job as a pastor and bakery owner, as while both were definitely a part of the book she wasn’t workign as much as I had expected.
There is a great group of side characters as well and they all feel realistic and have multiple sides just like Vangie. There are quite some characters involved into the mystery, but it didn’t feel like too much and I never had trouble remembering who was who, except for a few times a character we hadn’t seen a lot of suddenly popped up again. The only one who I didn’t get as good of a feel for as I would’ve liked is Emma, who is a good friend of Vangie, but I never really felt their friendship. I liked how Leo felt like a younger brother to Vangie and how she interacted with him. I also liked seeing how Vangie interacts with Henry who she finds attractive, the Sheriff with whom she keeps butting heads constantly and Derek who turns out to be more than he seems at first. I feel like there might be a hint of a possible romance with a few of those, but I am not quite sure yet how and if that will develop. I also liked how some characters start out one way, but when you learn more about them it paints a fuller picture and they seem different than what I expected at first.
The small town setting in a fictional town in Montana also was well done. It had that small town vibe and I liked getting to see a bit of the town and the inhabitants in this book.
To summarize: This was an amazing start to this cozy mystery series. The mystery was a really good one. It kept me guessing and there were some many twists and turns. I liked how there were plenty of clues and hints along the way, so it felt like the mystery kept progressing while you still don’t get the full picture till the end. I managed to guess who the murderer was correctly, but wasn’t sure about some other details. I liked main character Vangie Vale, she felt so realistic and multi faceted. She’s a good person, but also makes mistakes. She wants justice to be served and gets herself involved in this mystery. I really liked her and feel like we got a good feel for her personality. I also liked the side characters, many of whom feel just as real and have multiple sides just like Vangie does. I like how some characters turned out to be different than what they seemed at first. I really look forward to reading the next book in this series!
Saint Agnes, Montana is a small town where
Evangeline Vale better known as Vangie has
been placed a part time pastor.
Vangie has opened a bakery named the
Matchmaker Bakery. This is her full time job.
Vangie is able to match you to the perfect
pantry and beverage.
When one of the Matchmaker Bakery boxes
is found at the scene of a murder, Vangie
becomes a person of interest. Vangie decides
to begin her own investigation to find the
murderer. She opens more than one can of
worms.
Small town gossipy neighbors, a Sheriff with
an unknown dislike of Vangie, a colorful, cast
of quirky, well defined characters with a lot
of secrets underlying their behavior making
one wonder who can be trusted.
A fast paced, well plotted murder mystery
with many twists and turns.
A delicious murdered macaron recipe at
the end of the story.
Escape into a cosy thrilling suspense that will keep you guessing until the very end!
Vangie Vale & the Murdered Macaron, written by talented author R.L. Syme, is so good I absolutely could not put it down! It’s a refreshing and funny romantic new mystery series about a smart heroine with a job you’ve never seen before…matchbaker, also part time pastor and investigator. I loved this book because it’s set in a small town in Montana and watching Vangie deal with everything that gets thrown her way, was so much fun. She is a charming heroine always ready to help people, but sometimes… things happen that get her in trouble. Lovers of ‘who dun it’ of cosy mystery suspenses are in for a treat. The plot is suspenseful, fast-paced and filled with lots of clues and twists and turns, that grab your attention. I hope Ms. Syme’s new culinary mystery series is a beautiful success!
It tells the story of newly-arrived-in-town, Vangie Vale who wants nothing more than to stay under the police radar! Set in the small town of Saint Agnes, she the proud owner of a bakery that specializes in macarons, cookies, strudels, a job that helps her to relax. She is also a part-time pastor at a community church and part-time investigator, which keep her pretty much busy. Until, something happens when a customer buys some of macarons. Then the trouble began! Vangie can’t help herself from trying to find clues to know what really happened. She will invest time and energy in a case that might indirectly involve her. What really happen?
This book is all about lies, secrets and blackmail which make it a real page turner! I strongly recommend this new series The Matchbaker Mysteries. I can’t wait to read Vangie’s new adventure titled Vangie Vale and the Strangled Strudel.
I read a lot of books in a lot of genres, and I have to say this cozy stands out. It’s light, funny, warm, suspenseful, insightful and spiritually uplifting. All in one book! I’m amazed.
R.L Syme is a masterful writer. Her characters are unique, wonderfully flawed and totally lovable. Her plot is so tight I had a hard time putting the book down. Her prose is luscious. I’ve marked several lines on Goodreads, they are that good.
And full disclosure: I happen to love macrons.
I can’t wait to start the next book.
I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves cozy mysteries or good genre fiction.