Brand new cozy mystery series from the creator of Pelican CoveEnraged Baseball Star Murders College SweetheartThe past two years have been tough for Anna Butler. Widowed at fifty five and diagnosed with a dreaded illness soon after, she is struggling to keep it all together. Then the license for her dream café is rejected. Anna feels she can’t get a break.Cassie Butler dropped a glitzy Hollywood … dropped a glitzy Hollywood life and came home to nurse her mother. Penniless after being duped by her crooked manager, she isn’t striving too hard to rebuild her flagging career. Living with her estranged mother after twenty years is proving to be a challenge.
When a young college girl is found dead in the woods, her boyfriend becomes the top suspect.
Anna agrees to go sleuthing to help her friend’s son, a bright young kid she has watched grow up. As Anna uncovers one clue after another, her faith in the boy begins to waver. Is he really as innocent as he claims to be?
Raspberry Chocolate Murder is the first juicy mystery in a brand new cozy mystery series from international Amazon bestselling author Leena Clover. Set in the small seaside town of Dolphin Bay on the California coast, this is a fast pageturner with plenty of twists and turns and luscious food.
If you love strong heroines, small town life, friendships that endure and yummy food that makes your mouth water, you will love Dolphin Bay.
Grab this beach cozy today and start reading your favorite new series.
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Talk about a great murder mystery. I got sucked into the book so much that I felt like a member of the “Firecrackers”. I love how the author mingles the main character Anna into the lives of so many people, their issues and crimes. I like how Anna is sleuthing with her friends and indirectly weaves her relationship with her daughter into something that they both needed. And to leave me hanging at the end? Oooh now I need to read the next book. I love it! But first I need some pasta and wine…..
Anna Butler, owner of Bayside Books in Dolphin Bay, CA, has survived the mysterious death of her husband, Professor John Butler, and cancer. Her daughter, Cassandra, an Oscar winning Hollywood actress is back home with her mom after her manager stole all of her money. Anna wants to put a cafe in next to her bookstore but is up against a vindictive mayor, Lara Crawford, who is spreading rumors that Anna killed her husband. She is also doing all she can to prevent Anna from adding her cafe.
Now her friend, Vicki Bauer, is asking her to help her son Cody. Cody is suspected of killing his girlfriend, Breana Parks. With the help of her “Firecracker” friends, Julie Walsh and Mary Sullivan, they begin to investigate Breana’s murder. Mary has a renter, Rain, on her property who befriends Cassandra while Cassandra is looking at registering for classes at the local college. Rain tells Cassandra she recognized a picture of Breana that was in the newspaper as the person who hit her car. While talking with Breana’s friends, Cassandra discovers that Breana was working for Sherrie as an escort and on the night of her murder she was on a “date” with another man.
The characters are awesome. Did Anna kill her husband. Who is Rain really? The ending of this book is very exciting.
I received an advanced copy of this book. This is my honest review.
I enjoy a cozy mystery as much as the next person. This book was easy to read with relatable characters. Instead of closing the book with neat little bows, we are left with a nail biting ending. I am so excited to read the next book!
This is a great start to a new series and am looking forward to the next book. A friend’s son is accused of murder and Anna and the Firecrackers set out to find the real killer. The story is well written and the characters are well developed and interesting. I received this book free and chose to make a voluntary, unbiased review.
I enjoyed the story very much. Good start and looks to be heading to a very interesting series. I think the characters were realistic and likable. The plot was smooth and suitable for a cozy.
I really enjoyed reading this first book of the new series! It was fun and I really like the characters! I like the backstory it added a lot of depth to the storyline. I can’t wait to read the next book!!
Loved it!
The book was so good, I read it all in one sitting. Beautiful setting, great writing and fantastic characters. I can’t wait to see what happens next
A wonderful new cozy mystery series!
I discovered this series after reading THE PELICAN BAY COZY MYSTERY SERIES by Leena Clover. I got so caught up in reading the series that I finished all five books before I started to write the reviews. I love the amazing friendship that the Firecrackers share. Anna and her BFFs, Julie and Mary, refer to themselves as the Firecrackers. Each book of the series can be read as a stand-alone, although I prefer reading in order. The backstory of Anna, the main character, and her daughter, Cassie, are revealed in bits and pieces throughout the series. The backstory itself is quite intriguing and with more revealed in each book, it is something I look forward to in each book.
I don’t like reviews with spoilers so I will only share my general opinion of this story. The story is a great whodunit filled with plenty of red herrings that kept me guessing the identity of the killer until the end. There is also a bit of romance mixed in the story that adds a special little something. Most of the town’s characters are interesting and likeable; however, the mayor is just a pain-in-the-patootie. Hopefully, she will be put in her place in upcoming books.
If you enjoy reading a great cozy mystery, then you don’t want to miss this one.
Wonderful read! This is the first in a series and I cannot wait to read more! Interesting and complex characters and situations. Love the 2 Firecrackers!
If you love a good cozy with a sleuth to root for and a villain to loathe, check this one out. Anna runs a bookshop in a coastal town in California, and she’s hoping to open a cafe, too. Her daughter Cassie is home from Hollywood, and there is some tension there. Julie and Mary, Anna’s two best friends round out the main characters. And all the women are hoping to solve a murder of a local girl.
It’s a very quick read, maybe too quick because I would have preferred a little more development around the solution to the murder . . . but the characters still make the book quite fun. . . and I look forward to the rest of the series.
RASPBERRY CHOCOLATE MURDER is the first book in the Dolphin Bay Cozy Mystery series. I believe they’ll each stand on their own.
First I’ll mention the “ugly” – why I gave it three crowns instead of four or five. Though this is the first in the series, there is a lot of back story that implies it may be a spin-off to one of the other series. I don’t know, since this is the first book I am reading from Leena Clover. Also, there are a lot of different storylines going on. These, no doubt, are setting us up for future books in the series, but the information overload was just that! Lastly, I couldn’t get a read on the dynamic between Anna and her daughter, Cassie. That being said, I didn’t like Cassie. Though it’s not easy to return home, Cassie is thirty years old going on thirteen. She is a spoiled brat with a Napoleon complex!
Now for the good. Anna and her friends are fantastic together. They are the kind of friends everyone should be so blessed to have in their lives. The cozy-mystery was nicely twisted and brought the opportunities to meet other characters we will need in future books.
I already have the next two books in the series and will be reading them soon!
Note: While I received this book as a gifted ARC, my opinions are my own and are given freely.
Title: RASPBERRY CHOCOLATE MURDER
Series: Dolphin Bay Cozy Mystery #1
Category /Genre: Cozy Mystery
Recommended for: 18+ due to vocabulary
Grammar/editing: received as an unedited ARC / errors excused
Received from: Leena Clover
Cute cozy with a lot of underlying twists and turns going on in a little town. Anna, a widow, owns a bookstore and wants to open a café. However, the mayor and others are making it very difficult for her to get the proper permit. As you can imagine in a mystery, someone gets murdered and Anna is asked to help find the murderer. As in most cozies she is helped by a group of friends and her daughter.
This is the beginning of a new series and there are quite a few characters to become familiar with. I think Clover makes the main characters have individual memorable personalities and most of her side characters are defined. Sometimes when you have a lot of characters it can be confusing and yet I think the author has done a good job of keeping things clear here. The plot even has a sub-plot and yet as a reader there was never any confusion. A quick fun read.
i am reviewing this book for the author, this is my honest review.
I liked Anne alot. She is a cancer survivor and kick butt too. She sets out to help a friend who’s son is arrested for murdering his girlfriend, even though her dream of opening a cafe is ripped away from her. Her lazy, selfish, drama queen daughter is staying with her and not being much of a help (except for eating every thing and holding the pool chair down). But with her good friends by her side she solves the case! Now what to do about the mayor saying she killed her husband? Guess we will have to see next time we go to Dolphin Bay.