Deadly pies!Spring Festival and murder.Can Maddie clear her name?Finding the body was a shock. Accused of putting it there pushes Maddie over the edge and into the Sheriff’s path. Her ex-flame is as confused as she is when the mystery heats up with another batch of clues.Danger threatens at every turn, and when Maddie ends up on her own, scared and out of her depth, it seems that even an … scared and out of her depth, it seems that even an award-winning baker isn’t safe from Maple Falls’ first serial killer. As the timer ticks down in the race to find the murderer before Maddie’s put in jail or the body count climbs, she enlists the help of her friends.
If only solving murder were as easy as apple pie!
Do you love Murder She Wrote? Then you’ll enjoy Maddie’s style because she’s not taking no for an answer either.
Get your copy now.
The Maple Lane Mysteries are light, cozy mysteries featuring a quirky cat-loving bakery owner who discovers she’s a talented amateur sleuth.
No swearing, gore or graphic scenes
Catch up with Maddie’s other exploits:
Book 1: Apple Pie and Arsenic
Book 2: Bagels and Blackmail
Book 3: Cookies and Chaos
Book 4: Doughnuts and Disaster
Book 5: Eclairs and Extortion
Cheryl is a USA Today bestselling author from beautiful Auckland, New Zealand with two alter egos: C.A. Phipps who writes cozy mysteries and sweet romance, and Cheryl Phipps who writes contemporary romance and Women’s Fiction.
She loves stories filled with feisty heroines, suave heroes, and wonderful small towns, and crafting her own heart-warming tales of strong family ties, mixed in with a little romance, humor, and delicious baking!
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Good series opener with great, interesting characters. Maddie comes back to Maple Falls, initially to help her gram move, and finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation. Intriguing cozy mystery; look forward to more from Maple Lane Mysteries.
This is the first in a series by C.A. Phipps, and I really enjoyed the characters and the world-building. It is a light cozy mystery, which is just how like them to be. Looking forward to reading the next in the series.
Madeline Flynn comes home to Maple Falls,
Oregon with her fur baby, Big Red who is a
Maine Coon Cat. She has come home to help
her Grandmother sell her home. But Gran has
other plans. Step one in Gran’s plan was to
pose an excuse to bring Maddie home.
Gran talks Maddie into buying a bakery and
living above the bakery plus staying in Maples
Falls with Gran.
On the day of the Spring Festival bake contest,
Maddie wins the pie contest. Maddie and her
friends are going for a drink afterwards but
when Maddie gets to her vehicle she discovers
the dead body of the mayor behind her Jeep.
Who would want to kill the mayor?
The reader will love the small town people and
their ways. All the characters have distinct
personalities and make for an intriguing
adventure. There is suspense, drama, deceit,
humor and a hint of a budding romance.
An enjoyable read!!
I am looking forward to reading more of her books. They are fun clean books with plenty of surprises. I liked that it added to the story rather than an abrupt ending when the murder was solved. I would recommend to others.
Who ever thought the move back to Maddie’s small hometown would be so dangerous?!
May 28, 2018
Format: Kindle Edition
An enjoyable first effort by the author in the cozy mystery genre. I got the true small town vibe from the setting; the baker heroine was backed up by her energetic, tea-loving Gran and a group of friends with distinctive personalities; and the suspense of not knowing if, when, or how the killer would strike again kept me interested until the murderer’s big reveal. I had pretty much figured out the motive for the murder early on, but the threats to Maddie kept the mystery alive as I could not connect the two.
The heroine even had an old boyfriend turned sheriff and the town’s most sought after bachelor that added a tad of romantic tension to the story. And Big Red, the heroine sleuth’s Maine Coon Cat, added a touch of tongue in cheek humor.
Maddie, the heroine, is in no way perfect, despite her stellar baking skills, her super work ethic and her loyalty to family and friends. She can be impulsive, jealous and a bit too caught up in her own drama to see the bigger picture, but she’s got a lot of people that love and support her anyway.
I definitely would not mind coming back to Maple Falls for another helping of cake and crime. I also would not mind if it included a bit more romance!:-)
I read a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review.
This was a fun, wonderful story with quirky characters and an entertaining page-turning storyline.
cosy-mystery, amateur-sleuth, women-sleuths, friendship, family
From her position with a friend’s family patisserie in NYC, Maddie makes a mad dash to her hometown to help her Gran with the work of selling up and deciding to move. When she and her Maine Coon cat get there, prepared to stay more than the time she’s allotted if needed, Gran nudges her in the direction of sharing expenses, opening her own bakery, and creating a two bedroom apartment above the shop. The location is perfect, but the building is a mess and requires professional help to make it what they need. Meanwhile, Maddie connects with all of her old friends and discovers that her high school boyfriend is now the Sheriff stationed in their small town. Everything looks rosy until one of her friends is murdered and the cause of death is arsenic. That’s when Maddie discovers her inner sleuth!
An excellent read!
Maddie’s success on her bakery is mired by death of a friend. Who will help, the sheriff Ethan and hopefully they don’t have a serial killer in their small town. She is enjoyable, quirky and runs a mouth watering bakery and has a talent for amateur sleuthing.Danger threatens at every turn, and when Maddie ends up on her own, scared and out of her depth, it seems that even an award winning baker isn’t safe from Maple Falls’ first serial killer.
This is the first book I have read by C.A. Phipps.
Maddie comes back home for a week’s visit to help her Gran move into another place. She wants to sell her home. A week might not be long enough but Maddie will give it a go.
Gran has other things up her sleeve and convinces Maddie to stay in town and open her dream bakery here instead of NY. Working with Victoria, the realtor and old school chum are not well liked by either. Maddie cringes dealing with her but the bakery and the apartment above are acquired.
The Sheriff stops by to wish them well and Maddie is taken back when she sees Ethan standing there. She left him after high school.
Can these two learn to be friends and also solve the murder of the Mayor and Maddie’s friend Denise?
There are some fun characters in the book. Maddie and her friends plus Gran and Ethan. The story starts out a bit slow but picks up.
**While I thought the story was fun, I have to point out I kept wondering chapter after chapter if a murder was ever going to take place. I double checked to make sure it was a cozy mystery, the murder does take place in Chapter 12. A cozy- typical has a murder with the first 3 chapters so I was taken back by this. While the story is good and I will read a second one, the murder might take a while to happen in each book.**
I really enjoyed reading this book. The small town vibe is well done. Maddie and her friends, the girlz, Ethan and, especially Gran, all add to the fun. Maddie has to do some growing up. She continues to deny her feelings for Ethan, but that just means that the gang will be back for another book! I really enjoyed this mystery.
Apple Pie and Arsenic is a brand new cozy mystery by C.A. Phipps. Maddison Flynn is brought back to her home town of Maple Falls when her Grandmother decides to sell the family home and move into something smaller after being sick. Once home Gran talks Maddie into opening up her own bakery right there in Maple Falls and converting the upstairs into an apartment for the two of them to share.
After getting the bakery up and running Maddie decides to enter her apple pie into the Spring Festival, after winning first place a group of her friends decide to go out to celebrate her win. When Maddie makes it to her car she finds one of her friends dead and is immediately a suspect. It’s up to Maddie to clear her name and help prevent another murder in town.
If you like small town settings, wonderful friends, and family values then this is the new series for you!