Bringing up baby–Bringing down a killerAn over the top, good-time cozy mysteryWhile staking out a cheating husband, Kate can’t help but to indulge the cravings from her newest pregnancy. Little does she know the owner of the bakery has her eyes on Jim, Kate’s beloved husband. Things turn deadly as Kate’s cravings take over. It’s up to Kate to keep her Family Life on track while solving another … her Family Life on track while solving another deadly whodunit!more
Killer Cravings (A Maternal Instincts Mystery Book 6)
By dianaorgain
mystery with Kate, mom to Laurie and a new PI. She is delightful and energetic, with a great sense humor and the ability to sort through clues to find the bad guys. Her pregnancy hormones are in overdrive with a huge surprise during this second pregnancy.
Kate often says that her baby girl Laurie is happy, and she worries about being a good mother. She has the perfect husband, Jim, and their marriage is wonderful. As a PI, Kate finds out how some marriages are not happy when she does a job to catch photos of a cheating husband. It makes her even more thankful for how wonderful her loving husband is, knowing that she will never have a reason to doubt Jim. Until Cassandra.
Kate has new cravings with this pregnancy, one of them being the most decadent brownies ever. Jim found them, and keeps her well-stocked. She gets an opportunity to meet the staff and owner of the bakery the night Vicente Domingo’s play, in which her mother has a starring role, opened. Vicente, a PI, is a competitor. He is also a playwright who will find out on opening night that the serious play he wrote was turned into a laugh-fest by the director.
At the party after the opening night, Kate sees her favorite brownies as the bakery is catering the event. She takes a bite and it doesn’t seem so tasty any longer, so she tosses it, thinking she needs to find a new go-to sweet. One of the employees of the bakery collapses and the EMT’s can’t bring her around. Cassandra, owner of the bakery, feels ill and is rushed to the hospital. As Kate takes in the surroundings, she is stunned to realize that the employee who can’t be resuscitated is the mistress of the cheater she was hired to photograph. When Cassandra hires Kate to find out who the bad guy is, Kate learns more than she ever wanted to know. Especially when violent attempts on her life begin.
The characters are very well-developed, especially Kate and Kenny, her baby-sitting teenage musical prodigy. Jim and Paula are probably second best defined; the author shows us everything we need to know about each character. Well, except for who the real bad guy might be. Kate is driven by emotions as much as her intuition while working cases. Galigani, her mentor as well as her mother’s boyfriend, wants her to develop her own contacts in the police department, bringing a new character to McNearny’s “bad cop” persona. I really like “good cop”, Deb Fisher, and look forward to her and Kate’s friendship growing.
There are unusual plot twists and turns. There was somebody I wanted to blame as bad guy, but had a little bit of doubt. W was delighted to see how the killer was captured. The ups and downs of being pregnant, and rampant emotions, keep this story fast-paced and far from dull. It is a great add to the series. I don’t recall reading cozy mysteries with pregnant sleuths, so Kate is unique in that aspect as well as the people she surrounds herself with. I enjoy her family and friends, new and old, and am looking forward to seeing the next one. I highly recommend Killer Cravings! PS I want some of those brownies – makes me hungry thinking about them!
From a grateful heart: I received a copy of this ebook from the author, with no requirement for a review.
Book six in the Maternal Instincts Mystery series. I have to say that this book had me hooked the minute I saw the cover art. The colors are incredible which combined with the picture itself makes it oh so cute I have say. Then I started reading it and I could not put it down. If this is the quality of the entire series then I really have to go back and read the rest of them. The main character is Kate who is a new P.I. and the current case involves a stake out which is interrupted by her strong pregnancy cravings hence the title. While investigating her case she starts to suspect that her husband is cheating n her which is always a nice thought when pregnant for baby number two that was not planned. Add in a murder and it just gets even better. This book is full of great characters, humorous zingers, twists, turns, and enough action to really keep the reader turning the page. If you are a cozy mystery fan and enjoy the antics of motherhood you really have to try this book. I really enjoyed it so I give it 4/5 stars.
Synopsis:
Bringing up baby–Bringing down a killer An over the top, good-time cozy mystery While staking out a cheating husband, Kate can’t help but to indulge the cravings from her newest pregnancy. Little does she know the owner of the bakery has her eyes on Jim, Kate’s beloved husband. Things turn deadly as Kate’s cravings take over. It’s up to Kate to keep her Family Life on track while solving another deadly whodunit! (Goodreads)
Review:
Kate is a great character and I enjoyed getting to know her. She has a lot on her plate: a 6 month old daughter, a husband, training to become a PI and she is pregnant again. That is a lot for anyone to handle and keep their sanity. And between pregnancy brain and her cravings, Kate is barely hanging on to hers. Some of Kate’s thoughts and actions were very funny and realistic. I also enjoyed getting to know her husband Jim, you could tell how much he loved Kate. All of the secondary characters added a lot to the story and I felt that they all combined to make a great cast of characters.
The author is very talented in her descriptive writing and through much of the book I felt like I was right there, sitting in on stake outs and watching all of the action taking place. The mystery was carried on well throughout the book and there were enough twists and turns to keep it interesting and difficult to solve.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well crafted humorous cozy. This is the sixth book in the series and I did not feel lost at all, I felt like I knew what was going on.
I have read all of the Maternal Instinct books and enjoyed them all. This one is no exception. It is very entertaining and the ending is surprising. I liked all the characters except for Deb the cop. I highly recommend this book.
My first in this series. Even though out of sequence still able to follow storyline and enjoy book on it’s own merits. Plans to catch up on series in future.