For country-store owner Robbie Jordan, the National Maple Syrup Festival is a sweet escape from late-winter in South Lick, Indiana—until murder saps the life out of the celebration . . . As Robbie arranges a breakfast-themed cook-off at Pans ‘N Pancakes, visitors pour into Brown County for the annual maple extravaganza. Unfortunately, that includes Professor Connolly, a know-it-all academic … know-it-all academic from Boston who makes enemies everywhere he goes—and this time, bad manners prove deadly. Soon after clashing with several scientists at a maple tree panel, the professor is found dead outside a sugar shack, stabbed to death by a local restaurateur’s knife. When an innocent woman gets dragged into the investigation and a biologist mysteriously disappears, Robbie drops her winning maple biscuits to search for answers. But can she help police crack the case before another victim is caught in a sticky situation with a killer?
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Once I started reading I realized how much I had missed the mysteries around Robbie Jordan. It is fast paced but not rushed and I didn’t want to put the book down. The ending seems just a tad “rough” for a cozy…
Robbie becomes multi-dimensional through her many interests. She is not only owning and running her restaurant the Pans ‘N Pancakes but also selling antique cookware, renovating and remodeling rooms over her restaurant into a B&B, loves to solve and create crossword puzzles and riding her road bike. Then thrown in is a little bit of romance and ….. a murder!
It is the maple syrup festival in South Lick, Indiana and a maple baking contest is held at Robbie’s restaurant. One of the judges almost chokes to death and is later found dead at the festival.
One of my favourite mystery series….It was a great read!
I requested this book from NetGalley and am thankful that Kensington and the author provided me with an advance copy.
Springtime in the Midwest is a beautiful place, with those little “big” things that make the season unique and brought to life by Maddie Day. Fourth in A Country Store series, Biscuits and Slashed Browns can be read as a standalone or within the series. The descriptions, such as the crocus growing, the (mostly) delightful characters, and a plot with just enough suspects for Robbie Jordan to ask a few questions around town to get her best friend Christina off the suspect list.
Robbie owns Pans ‘N Pancakes, one of the most popular places for coffee, breakfast, or lunch in South Lick, Indiana. She is remodeling the second floor for a bed and breakfast. At 27, she is a hard-working entrepreneur, happy with her life and enjoying the people in the town where her mother had grown up.
March brings the Brown County Maple Festival, with tourists and activities centered around the liquid gold from sugar maple trees. Also occurring is an academic conference on maple tree science. The first event is at Robbie’s restaurant, the Breakfast Cook-Off. Entries have been brought for tasting by the judges, who will decide the best maple-flavored breakfast item.
Judges include Christina James, local top chef and Robbie’s best friend, Nick Mendes, chef at the Nashville Inn, and Warren Connolly, a professor from Boston College. When he tries Robbie’s breakfast item, he shoves half of the maple-flavored biscuit in his mouth and chokes. Were it not for the fast action of Abe, Robbie’s boyfriend and a former Army medic, he might have died before help could arrive.
Connolly was nobody’s favorite professor. Sonia Genest, local professor, and Sajit Rao, a research biochemist whose son, Turner, works part time for Robbie, have words with him in the restaurant because of his “fake” research and pooh-poohing the effects of climate change. It should come as no surprise to anyone when Connolly is found dead. The surprise is where…at the Rao’s farm, behind the “sugar shack”, readied to start demos of the process that day. When discovered that Sajit Rao is missing, the bad guy/ gal could be anyone’s guess. Except for Christina, whose very expensive chef’s knife is the murder weapon.
The characters are unique, an eclectic mix. All who need to be are very well defined. I like Robbie best, then Adele – who wouldn’t want this beautiful woman as an aunt? The author has carefully designed strong characters, especially the women. Robbie is a Jill of many trades, hard-working yet able to appreciate simple joys. I like how the characters speak the colloquialisms of the area, especially Buck.
The plot kept me intrigued from the start. The lead-in to the crime prepares the reader with the circumstances. There are plot twists and turns that spin who the bad guy/ gal might be. I was a little disappointed to have figured out the culprit, but not the motive, early in the story, yet enjoyed watching how each of the suspects were vetted for veracity and wondered at times if I had been wrong. Overall, this is a great fourth in series, and I highly recommend it to those who enjoy “foodie” cozy mysteries that are well-written with a solid female sleuth and a down-home flair.
From a grateful heart: I received a copy of this ARC from the publisher and was under no obligation to provide a review, positive or otherwise.
BISCUITS AND SLASHED BROWNS by Maddie Day
Warning, may cause insomnia and/or dereliction of chores. My cure for insomnia is a cup of warm milk with a smidgeon of rum and reading to a point where Robbie preps the kitchen for the next morning’s rush and goes to sleep. No cure for neglected chores; they can just wait.
Despite her best intentions and her friends’ warnings, Robbie can’t help turning her puzzle-solving mind to mystery, especially when the shadow of murder falls upon friends she is SURE are innocent. It’s a very engrossing book, with many little clues to intrigue. I do appreciate it when murder victims are not nice people . . . one still disapproves of murder, but it’s not a tragic loss. Many twists and turns. “Since when did life ever go as planned?” I felt for Robbie when kitchen help fell through and Pans ‘N Pancakes was busy — thank goodness for helpful friends! (Reminded of why I stopped playing Diner Dash, too nerve-wracking with unhappy customers).
In addition to the mystery, there are friendships and cooking and maple syrup making. These people begin to feel like real friends, so I want to tell Betsy about the combination lockbox our Ambulance Service installed to hold front door keys, so she won’t be locked out ever again. I felt sorry for the guy having oatmeal on Italian Day, could some herbs be added so he has something special?
I was intrigued by the Leatherdos multi-tool (I looked it up) but fear it wouldn’t stay in my hair either. I also looked up Gruelle paintings — lovely indeed.
The regional expressions were a bonus pleasure.
If you don’t like this book, “I’ll eat my hat and swallow the feather whole.”
“A river dirt cheap” for now.