Robbie Jordan is temporarily leaving Pans ’N Pancakes, her country store in South Lick, Indiana, to visit Santa Barbara, California—where wildfire smoke tinges the air, but a more immediate danger may lie in wait . . . While looking forward to her high school reunion back in California, Robbie’s anticipation is complicated by memories of her mother’s untimely death. At first, she has fun hanging … untimely death. At first, she has fun hanging out with her old classmates and reuniting with the local flavors—avocados, citrus, fish, and spicy Cali-Mex dishes. But then she gets wind of rumors that her mother, an environmental activist, may not have died of natural causes. With the help of friends, Robbie starts clearing the smoke surrounding the mystery—but what she finds could make it hard to get back to Indiana alive . . .
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Robbie Jordan is taking a well-deserved vacation and heading back to Santa Barbara for her high school reunion. This is the first time she’s been back since her mother died, and it is definitely a struggle for her even before she hears a rumor that her mother might not have died from natural causes. When someone else dies under similar circumstances, Robbie can’t help but investigate. Will she learn the truth before she has to return home?
Vacation books can be tricky to pull off while satisfying fans. Unfortunately, this one didn’t quite work. I enjoyed seeing a different side of Robbie as she interacted with her old friends, and I did like the new characters. However, I missed the series regulars. The plot wasn’t as strong as it could have been, although things were wrapped up by the time we reached the end. I enjoyed spotting the parallels between where Robbie stayed and her own place back in Indiana. Instead of my normal breakfast food cravings while reading this book, I was left craving Mexican food, which I didn’t mind in the least. The recipes at the end will help everyone with that. As a fan of Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Millhone mysteries, I enjoyed the references to that series in this book. If you are a fan of the Country Store Mysteries, you’ll still want to pick up this book. But if you are new to the series, back up and read the earlier entries in the series.
For a change of pace, Robbie Jordan has taken leave of her home of South Lick, Indiana to travel to Santa Barbara, California and her tenth year high school reunion. That in itself can add some stress to her life but she has grown since high school and her relationships with various former classmates have grown, too. Along with the reunion, questions present themselves concerning the death of her mother two years ago. Was it natural causes or was it murder? When another death occurs, Robbie can’t help trying to connect the two cases.
I enjoyed the way Maddie Day handled Robbie’s solo investigating with only the help of her friends Alana and Jordan. Not like her previous investigating back home in South Lick. The setting of Santa Barbara was spot on and the homage to Sue Grafton was very special.Add to that a very well crafted mystery and I was a very happy reader. I can’t wait to start reading the next in the series, Candy slain Murder, due out September 29, 2020.
My thanks to the publisher, Kensington and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.
Nacho Average Murder by Maddie Day is book seven in the A Country Store Mystery series. This is a fantastic series especially if you like a culinary theme. It can be read as a stand alone.
This time we leave Indiana for Santa Barbara, California for Robbie’s high school reunion which brings up memories of her late mother and the lingering questions about her death. Was it a medical condition or was she murdered. Robbie starts digging up things and then another death that has all the signs it was just like her mothers and her mother and the victim knew each other. Robbie goes into high gear knowing she only has a week to get the answers.
This easy to read, well written cozy has you guessing until the end. As with all in this series, the characters are likeable as is the setting. Day will have you craving Cali-Mex food and she has provided recipes.
I was given an ARC by NetGalley and Kensington for an honest review.
Nacho Average Murder is the seventh book in the Country Store Mystery series.
Robbie Jordan is headed for Santa Barbara to attend her high school ten-year reunion, and while she is there she wants to learn more about her mother’s death. It was reported that she died from an aneurysm, but Robbie has never seen the results of an autopsy.
Robbie is excited when she meets up with her BFF Alana. Alana works as a biochemist and has recently become engaged. They also met up with their friend, Jason Chang, who works for the SBPD as a Cybercrime investigator. She also meets her nemesis from high school, Katherine Russom.
The next morning Robbie is enjoying the aroma coming from the kitchen at Nacho Average Cafe, she’s planning on taking some recipes back to her Pan’s and Pancakes diner. Robbie is happy when Liz, her mother’s best friend, shows up. Robbie is enjoying talking with Liz and soon Liz tells her to get in touch with Paul Ebxeberria, an environmentalist that Robbie’s mother was working with before she died. Robbie sets up a meeting with Paul. He tells her of the work they had been doing and that her mother probably died from an aneurysm, which he thinks was caused by fertilizer produced by Agrosafe, which is owned by Katherine Russom’s father. It seems that several farmers have been losing their crops and some have had to relocate their farms to save their animals. Before too long, Robbie learns of Paul’s death, also from an aneurysm.
Robbie will dig into the history of Agrosafe to see if the environmentalist work has caused financial difficulties for the company, enough so that they will silence the environmentalist. Robbie and Alana also decide to visit with Katherine Russom pretending to engage her to plan Alana’s upcoming marriage, hoping that Katherine will divulge information about her father’s company. Robbie also asks Jason if he can get her in contact with the coroner. She is hopeful that she will be able to convince the coroner to look for traces of chemicals that could cause an aneurysm. She’s hoping they will find the answer before any more people lose their lives.
Another wonderful and well-written book from Maddie Day. The characters are well developed and believable, but I did miss the residents from South Lick. The book will leave one desiring for Cal-Mex food that is described throughout the book.
I’m looking forward to the next book, Candy Slain Murder due out on September 29th of this year.
Nacho Average Murder by Maddie Day is the seventh in the Country Store Mystery series. Robbie Jordan is not in Indiana anymore. Rather she is in California for her class reunion. She had not returned since her mother’s funeral, which had been a thankfully short trip. She was enjoying seeing her friends and enjoying the fact that she didn’t normally see some of these other folks. She was staying at a wonderful B&B, which was not only comfortable but served the BEST food. Plus, it had a catching name: Nacho Average Cafe. Carmen, the owner, and her mother, Luisa, made everything and it showed. She also met her mother’s best friend, Liz, who imparted a frightening piece of information. She and a few others believed that Robbie’s mother did not die of natural causes. Liz was not full of details but arranged for Robbie to meet Paul, a friend of her mother’s whom she met as part of her activism about the environment. After getting Paul’s details, she had her suspicions. Then, Paul ended up dead and the diagnosis was the same as her mom’s.
This is a fabulous cozy mystery series and the first time Robbie has adventured away from her current home in Indiana. Robbie is a good character: one who is divorced but currently in love with a much better man. She has her friends and her aunt to support her (and help her solve crimes). She is finally in a healthy relationship and happy with her life and her job. She is a foodie and always enjoys eating new and wonderful recipes, many of which are to be found in the back of the book. This series is not only a fun mystery, but also a gastronomical delight. Robbie makes friends and has friends and is always able to call upon their skills to solve a murder. Terrific character. Terrific series. Terrific book. I recommend it.
I was invited to read an ARC of Nacho Average Murder by Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions and interpretations contained herein are solely my own. #netgalley #nachoaveragemurder
I love the title and think it’s very fitting for this story. Loved the story line and the new and old friends that Robbie hangs with during her visit to California. I think you’ll be able to relate to some of them and may even know people like them. It was fun hanging out with Robbie on her vacation. These characters were great and I hope some come to visit in Indiana so we can hang out again. If you like to cook, you’ll find some yummy recipes in the back of the book. I received this book from NetGalley, but my opinion is my own.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley and voluntarily reviewed it.
Nacho Average Murder is a fitting title for this book as it is indeed quite different than the previous ones. In this book Robbie travels to California to attend her class reunion and go for a short vacation. Ofcourse she stumbles upon another mystery to solve while she’s there. I really like this series and happily dove into this latest book.
I both liked and disliked the change of scenery. For some reason in many cozies I feel the change of scenery just doesn’t work as well. I think the author handled it pretty good in this book, but I still missed the usual setting and side characters. The book had a whole different feel due to the change in scenery as a lot of the familiar and usual elements and characters of previous books where missing. It was fun to meet new side characters and discover this new place and even find out a bit more about where Robbie grew up. The different foods and new foods she tries where fun too. So the change in scenery was both good and had me missing the familiar at the same time.
The mystery for some reason didn’t fully grip me. I usually really enjoy the mysteries in this series, but this one just didn’t fully work for me. The few possible suspects where obvious from the start and even the means and motive was clear. It just wasn’t as mysterious. It was clear why someone had wanted the dead man death and how they did it and I even had a good idea who had done it. I wasn’t really surprised at the reveal and the reveal scene felt a bit anticlimactic, especially after a few suspenseful scenes earlier on when Robbie is in danger. I also felt that Robbie was a bit less cautious than in most books.
One of my favorite parts of this book was seeing Robbie interact with some old friends like Allana, Jason and Liz as well as make new friends in Hector, Carmen and Carmen’s mother as well as a few other characters she meets. I also liked seeing her taste new foods and as she was away from her restaurant her days where filled with sleuthing and lots of mentions of food. As Robbie eats so many different new things the food theme came across in a different way and I liked reading about all the new things she ate and the clear foodie focus this book had.
To summarize: This is a great cozy mystery series and this was another fun book in this series. While I didn’t enjoy this one as much as many of the earlier books it was still a great read. The mystery didn’t grip me as much. The means and motive where pretty clear from the start and there are a few possible suspects that are present form the start as well. I wasn’t surprised at who the murderer was, although there were a few unexpected twists along the way. This book is set in a different place than the rest of the series as Robbie takes a short vacation, this was fun, but it also made me miss some of the familiar elements of previous books. There are some nice new side characters that Robbie meets in this book and I liked seeing her try new foods and eating some great local dishes. While this was a fun change of scenery I look forward to Robbie being back in South Lick in the next book again.
Book 7 of the country store mystery really good story Robbie Jordan goes to California for a visit to meet up with old friends after the death of her mother. While there she gets a suspicion that her mothers death might not have been natural. As she digs into the matter things get a little bit hairy. Loved reading this story. Kept my interest, great characters smoothly written. Looking forward to the next.
In this 7th book of the series, Robbie Jordan leaves Indiana for a trip back to her hometown in California. She is there for a class reunion and meets up with some of her old friends. Of course, a death is involved, and it happens to be the death of Robbie’s mother years earlier. She finds out that her mother’s death is possibly murder.
I loved this book. All of the books in this series are wonderful and it was really nice to see Robbie in a different setting. All of the new characters that were introduced were interesting and the setting was very descriptive. Maddie Day’s writing always makes me feel good. She has a way of telling her stories that keep me interested and entertained. I highly recommend this book!
Another great book in this series!! This book was a little different since the storyline is set in Santa Barbara where Robbie is attending her high school reunion. While there, Robbie is told by some of her mother’s friends that they don’t believe her mother’s death was natural causes. Robbie is trying to figure things out and then one of the guys in the environmentalist group her mom was a part of also dies in the same manner. Now Robbie is certain something is not right. While spending time with two of her best friends from high school, she tries to uncover the truth. Truly interesting story. I enjoyed the setting of Santa Barbara, though I did miss the characters of South Lick. One of my favorite parts was the farmers market. I think it would be so much fun to go to one like the one Robbie visited. Looking forward to the next book in this series and seeing what’s next for Robbie and Abe as well as the rest of the gang!!