The Christmas season at the Cackleberry Club café is marred by murder in the latest book in the New York Times bestselling series, now in paperback.Some say that casting crusty attorney Allan Sharp as Scrooge in the Kindred Players production of A Christmas Carol is just playing to type. He’s not the most beloved man in town. In fact, you’d have a dickens of a time finding someone who liked him. … finding someone who liked him. Still, it’s a shock when the Ghost of Christmas Past stabs him during the first rehearsal. Suzanne, co-owner of the Cackleberry Club café, Kindred’s favorite combination diner, craft store, and bookshop, chases the murderer out of the building but loses him in the alley.
As the days pass, the list of suspects grows longer. Is it the disgruntled law partner? The former secretary, whom Sharpe sexually harrassed? Or is it fellow owner of the Cackleberry Club Toni’s almost ex-husband, Junior? The women of the Cackleberry Club are determined to find the killer before he can add another victim to his Christmas list.
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Eggs on Ice by Laura Childs is the eighth A Cackleberry Club Mystery. Suzanne Dietz along with her partners, Toni and Petra own The Cackleberry Club in Kindred. It is a combination café, bookstore and craft corner. Suzanne and Toni have volunteered to work backstage at the Oakhurst Theatre where the Kindred Players it is putting on a production of A Christmas Carol. Allan Sharpe, the town curmudgeon and a local lawyer, was cast perfectly as Scrooge. Suzanne and Toni are learning how to operate the curtains and lighting board while watching the scene between Scrooge and the Ghost of Christmas Past. Both actors play their parts beautifully, but Scrooge fails to get up when the act finishes. Suzanne approaches Allan and discovers he was stabbed. She gives chase to the ghost until he threatens her with his knife. The next day Amber Payson comes into the café to speak with Suzanne. Amber is the police’s prime suspect and she needs Suzanne’s help in clearing her name. As the days go by, the evidence mounts against Amber, but there are many people who disliked Allan including the play’s director. Then someone sets fire to Junior’s trailer and he needs a new place to live (oh, dear). Is the fire connected to the murder? Suzanne and Toni are searching for clues and find another victim. The Cackleberry Club ladies needs to find the murderer before he strikes again. Can they find the nefarious killer or will one of them end of a Ghost of Christmas Present?
Eggs on Ice contains good writing along with gentle pacing. Eggs on Ice is a cozy mystery that is best not read as a standalone. Details that readers need are not included in the eighth A Cackleberry Club Mystery (some information is imparted as the book progresses). I recommend beginning with Eggs in Purgatory. The Cackleberry Club is a unique restaurant with a Book Nook and the Knitting Nest. It sounds like my type of café. We get wonderful descriptions of the unique yarns they carry. I have never heard of the some of the yard blends Petra works with and has ordered for the shop (though, I am eager to find and create objects with them). The main characters are likeable and relatable. The three women are best friends despite their diverse personalities. Suzanne is the main voice of the story. She is engaged to Dr. Sam Hazelet and they have a warm, loving relationship. Toni is unique with her beliefs and her husband. There are a variety of off-beat characters in the story with Junior Garrett, Toni’s wacky sort-of husband, being the quirkiest. He constantly finds himself in trouble thanks to his bad choices and lack of intelligence. The murder occurs in the first chapter of the book. We then follow Suzanne as she goes about her daily activities (working, spending time with friends and her fiancé) and questions interested parties she encounters. Suzanne along with Toni do break into one interested parties’ home to look for clues. There is little action in the book until the end. I like Suzanne’s style of questioning. She is not intrusive or demanding which I appreciate. I kept hoping Suzanne would put together the clues and identify the killer (whom I identified before the body left the theater). It was interesting how Suzanne subdued the killer, but it seemed unrealistic (the item has a safety feature that prevents it from being used in that manner). The ending was abrupt and felt incomplete. It needed another chapter to wrap up the whodunit satisfactorily (answer questions about the crime and the killer’s reasoning) and give readers a happy ending (see them celebrating Christmas would have been nice). I did not feel that Eggs on Ice is on the same level as the authors other works (A Tea Shop Mystery series and A Scrapbooking Mystery series). There are details missing from the story such as the main characters last names (Toni and Petra) and I am curious what state Kindred is in. There are recipes at the end for the items served in The Cackleberry Club. I wish there had been instruction for how to make the quilted tote mentioned in the book by Petra. Eggs on Ice is a cute and humorous cozy mystery set is a charming small town filled with off-beat individuals.
In towns across America, small and large, a holiday production of A Christmas Carol or versions thereof are an annual tradition. The week leading up to any performance is an exciting yet tense time. In Kindred, Minnesota, as the temperatures fall, the curtain is readying to go up.
Gathered together in the front row to watch a dress rehearsal, the cast is spooked when an actual ghost seems to float across the stage. The ladies working as stage hands are even closer to the action and can’t believe how real it seems. But what happens is not in the script!
Suzanne and Toni make for an exciting and interesting pair of investigators. Add in a fire that complicates life for them and a schedule that is already packed to overflowing and there is never a moment to catch your breathe. Although Sheriff Doogie does find time to indulge in some bargain pancakes.
I liked the diverse suspects and how all the parts were skillfully woven together. We got to know the residents of Kindred a bit better and I am looking forward to visiting again.
I always enjoy a visit to Kindred and the Cackleberry Club. In this one a local lawyer is stabbed during a rehearsal of The Christmas Carol by someone dressed as a ghost. Suzanne gives chase but loses him. Since she witnesses the murder she sets out to solve it. I thought the murder was very clever and original but the rest of the mystery was very weak and did not make sense. There were a lot of holes and the solution was rushed at the end. The characters and the restaurant are still a lot of fun. So pull up a stool and enjoy the food. This series does not have to be read in order.
Dollycas’s Thoughts
I am always excited when I get to visit the ladies at the Cackleberry Club Café. It’s Christmastime and in addition to the café being all decked out they are planning a Christmas Tea and helping the Kindred Players behind the scenes for their upcoming production of A Christmas Carol. Sadly they have to add a funeral luncheon to their busy schedule when the Ghost Of Christmas Past kills Scrooge during rehearsal – and they weren’t acting.
Scrooge, aka Attorney Allen Sharpe, is dead, stabbed while onstage with people watching. All they saw was a ghost, nothing to help police identify the person, but Suzanne gave chase, was threatened with a knife and the killer got away. Solving the crime isn’t going to be easy, the victim had wronged a lot of people. No matter how hard they try or how many times they are warned off Suzanne, Petra, and Toni find themselves egg-xactly where they shouldn’t be. Right in the middle of another murder investigation and skating on thin ice.
What I love most about this series is that the characters are genuine. You could easily walk into a café in Minnesota and find friends like Suzanne, Toni, and Petra bustling around, serving up delicious food, shelving new titles in the book nook or teaching a class in the craft area. They take part in community events. The watch out for each other and the people important in their lives. Unlike normal people, they do occasionally get wrapped up in a murder, but their hearts are always in the right place.
This time I was totally gobsmacked when the killer was revealed. Not on my radar, not in my wildest dreams. Twists galore sent me in a whole different direction. I did have to skip a few pages due to a trigger situation, so maybe I missed something there, but I had really zeroed in on one person. With plenty of cozy-ish action and suspense, it was fun to trail along as the characters and I both learned who the killer was at the exact same time.
Kindred, Minnesota is a happening place and I have enjoyed every visit. The entire series is egg-cellent. There are big future plans in the works so I am really excited about returning again next year!!
Read 4.12.2021
NOT my favorite of the series – there was just too much going on and too much subterfuge and not enough real clues. I will say that I was surprised at the killer, but who wouldn’t be as they were only in the book in a couple time and very briefly at that. Hmph.
It’s Christmastime at the Cackleberry Club! Suzanne stumbles upon a murder during a rehearsal for A Christmas Carol. Can Suzanne find the killer before she gets iced?
I have enjoyed getting caught up on this series just in time for the release of book 9, Egg Shooters, on January 26, 2021.
I can’t say this is a favorite series but it is good and keeps me coming back for more. Book 8 did not seem to have the punch and pizazz as the other books did but it was still a 4 star read for me.
When a local is killed during the rehearsals for A Christmas Carol no one is really surprised. The dead man, Allen Sharpe, wasn’t a well liked man and everyone believed his part as Scrooge was a perfect fit. The Ghost of Christmas Past killed him although the man who was playing the part got sidetracked and someone took his place, taking the opportunity to murder. Suzanne saw it happen and chased the killer but once he threatened her she backed away. Suzanne knows that she must investigate to find out who the killer is and who it was that threatened her. The problem the man had plenty of enemies to choose from. Could it have been his business partner, or was it Toni’s ex-husband, or maybe a person that he sexually harassed while working for him. The list is long but that doesn’t stop Suzanne, with help from the other Cackleberry Club, from looking into things. Will she be able to find a killer or will she be the next victim. Follow along and find out!!! This is a well written series that always has a great mystery to solve. I hope that I’m as fun as these ladies are when I get to be their age. I can’t wait to see what they get into next.
EGGS ON ICE by Laura Childs
The Eighth Cackleberry Club Mystery
Winter has arrived in the Midwest and Suzanne Dietz and her pal, Toni, are trying to figure out the ropes as stagehands for the local production of A Christmas Carol. Allan Sharp is giving a great performance as Scrooge, which shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise as the man is hated by most of the town. Suzanne and Toni are suitably spooked by the Ghost of Christmas Past who gives a terrifying performance…even more so when the man playing the ghost approaches them to say he missed his cue, and Allan is not moving. Who was the ghost on stage? Between cooking up and serving great meals at the Cackleberry Cafe with Toni and Petra, Suzanne will delve into the murder investigation despite her fiance’s request to stay out of it for once. But will looking into another murder result in her own goose getting cooked?
Fans of the Cackleberry Club will be delighted with this newest mystery. While I found the story entertaining, it did emphasize some issues I’ve had with this series. Toni acts more like a twelve year old than a woman in her forties and Petra’s religiosity can be a little off-putting. While Suzanne is the reliable person in the group, even her behavior was irksome at times, fretting about her relationship with Sam yet doing what she knows will upset him. Still, Toni’s antics can be entertaining and no one can doubt the good nature of the trio.
The methods of the murders was ingenious. I particularly liked the first one committed on stage. Laura Childs deftly draws readers to two suspects in particular and engineers some fantastic ambushes of both characters and readers who weren’t paying close enough attention. Known for her chase scenes, Childs does not disappoint in this latest mystery.
EGGS ON ICE is a fast paced winter themed mystery. The delectable recipes included make me want to visit the Cackleberry Club despite my issues with it.
FTC Disclosure – The publisher sent me a copy of this book in the hopes I would review it.
The local town production of the Christmas Carol
is in rehearsal in Kindred, Minnesota.
Suzanne, co-owner of the Cackleberry Club café
and her cohort, Toni are part of the stage crew.
Suzanne realizes that the huge Ghost from
Christmas Past is not the scripted ghost. She then
realizes that the man playing Scrooge, attorney
Allan Sharp has been murdered during the scene.
The story has intrigue, mystery, suspense. There
is quite a tangled web of clues, plenty of secrets
revealed with lies uncovered. The mystery has
been uniquely blended with a cast of complex,
well defined, some quirky and all very interesting
characters.
An enjoyable Christmas mystery.
This is book # 8 in the Cackleberry Club Mystery
series. It can be read as a stand alone as the
author weaves the past and present together
effortlessly.
Recipes Included.
I volunteered to read Eggs on Ice. Thanks to the
Penguin’s First-to-Read Program for the opportunity.
My opinion is my own.
I just finished this and found it excellent, just like all books by Laura Childs. The storyline is interesting and the characters are wonderful.
I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. This is part of the Cackleberry Club series, but you could read it as a stand-alone and not be lost while reading it (I did). This is the story of two murders in a small town, and Suzanne and her friends and the town Sheriff, Doogie, who this time seems to be in over his head with the two murders. This one has plenty of twists and turns and lots of fun and snow. I highly enjoyed this one and will be reading more from this author and this series!
The type of mystery I would read more of the series of.
I just happened to catch book #7 at the library and once I saw that I could get this book at First to read I made sure that I got a guaranteed copy because I wanted to read this one as well. I like the writing style and the shenanigans the ladies at the Cackleberry club get into. Although if I was to pick this one up without having read the other one I think I would have been able to keep up and not be lost.
Allen Sharpe is a lawyer in town and he is not well liked by anyone even the sleazy mayor and they used to be very close. During the play practice of the “Christmas Carol” Allen dressed as Scrooge is murdered by the ghost. Suzanne (co-owner of the Cackleberry club) chases down the ghost through the theater and gets threatened with a knife herself. Suzanne known for her curiosity and tendency to get herself involved with murders and events is approached by one of the main suspects Amber to help her get out of trouble. Sam Suzanne’s fiance and one of the town’s doctors trys to convince her not to get involved. She does not listen and ends up getting into life threatening danger more than once. There are several mysteries to solve in this story.
Looking forward to the next book.
I received this book to read for free from First to read in exchange for an honest review. The opinions in this review are 100% my own.