“A well thought out mystery with suspense and characters you can’t help but root for” from the author of Grilled for Murder—includes recipes (A Cozy Experience).
Despite the bitter winter in South Lick, Indiana, business is still hot at Robbie Jordan’s restaurant. But when another murder rattles the small town, can Robbie defrost the motives of a cold-blooded killer? Before she started hosting … of a cold-blooded killer?
Before she started hosting dinners for Indiana University’s Sociology Department at Pans ’N Pancakes, Robbie never imagined scholarly meetings could be so hostile. It’s all due to Professor Charles Stilton, who seems to thrive on heated exchanges with his peers and underlings, and tensions flare one night after he disrespects Robbie’s friend, graduate student Lou. So when Robbie and Lou go snowshoeing the next morning and find the contentious academic frozen under ice, police suspect Lou might have killed him after their public tiff. To prove her friend’s innocence, Robbie is absorbing local gossip about Professor Stilton’s past and developing her own thesis on the homicide—even if that means stirring up terrible danger for herself along the way . . .
“It’s always a pleasure to return to this series and visit Robbie her restaurant and read about the yummy food she prepares.”—Lola’s Reviews
“This book made me hungry. Hungry for more from Maddie Day, and for the food mentioned in the book.”—Bibliophile.reviews
“I really like this narrator, she does a great job. She just has a great voice for cozies!”—Books, Movies, Reviews! Oh My!more
The long winter has set in and South Lick, Indiana is covered in cold and snow. Customers stay home in weather like this, so Robbie finds a way to supplement her income by hosting dinners for the Indiana University Sociology Department. The behavior she witnesses in the academics is appalling. The instigator appears to be a local, Professor Charles Stilton, and it appears he enjoys the angry reactions of his colleagues. Robbie is saddened to seem him disrespect her friend Lou.
The next day Robbie joins Lou snowshoeing around the lake and discovers the unimaginable, a body submerged in the lake in an ice fishing hole. Things go from bad to worse when Lou becomes a suspect in the dreadful crime. After Robbie receives a threatening note to mind her own business, she finds herself unofficially joining the search for the perpetrator of this murder.
I enjoyed this addition to the Country Store Mystery Series. The main characters in the series are well written and believable. I love the setting. I went to school at IU and the area is beautiful. It is easy for me to picture the fictional town. The plot moves along at a steady pace. I recommend this book and look forward to reading the next in the series.
The depth of the storyline surpassed my expectations. I never felt bored, and I was impressed with how the lead character subtly transitioned into amateur sleuth in a way that was believable. I didn’t have to suspend disbelief to accept the role she played in going about finding clues to solve the murder.
Good series
When the Grits Hit the Fan, is the third book in the Country Store Mysteries series; every book has been great. With greater complexity than most traditional cozy mysteries and characters that have depth, the books of the series stand head and shoulders above most of the traditional cozy mysteries that I have read. I love when I discover a series that leaves me anxious for the next book without relying on a cliffhanger!
Robbie’s life has taken quite a few turns in the last few years in romance, in her career, and in her new habit of finding dead bodies! Using the skills that her cabinetmaker mother taught her, Robbie has completed work on her new restaurant and is taking advantage of a slower winter work week to renovate her second floor to create bedrooms for a small bed and breakfast. The work apparently has someone spooked because at least one person has managed to sneak in leaving no clues as to how they got in or what they were seeking. It doesn’t seem reasonable that the death of a townsman can be related to what is happening in her building but Robbie can’t help feeling their might be a link.
I requested an advanced readers’ copy of this book via NetGalley. The review is completely voluntary; I always review books that I love.
It’s a satisfying cozy
Your typical cozy mystery but fairly well done and entertaining – plus it’s nice to see the main character be a self-sufficient woman throughout.
Robbie Jordan, the owner of the Pans N Pancakes restaurant, has agreed to hold the dinner meetings for the Indiana University’s Sociology department. She figured they would be peaceful dinners with discussions going on. Unfortunately this turned out not to be true. It seems one professor rubs people the wrong way and is disliked by many. When he is found murdered and one of Robbie’s friends is the main suspect, Robbie does her own investigating. i love all the characters in this book and the mystery is well written. As an added bonus there are some delicious recipes included. I definitely recommend this book and series.
While I mostly read romance novels, every once in a while I have to read something different. And my go-to is generally a cozy mystery. Most cozies are pretty light on the violence (nothing graphic) and then tend to have some romantic elements, which make me happy.
So on to When the Gits Hit the Fan . This is the third book in the series. It completely stands alone. While there are carry over characters, since the book is set in a small town, Ms Day does a good job of reintroducing people without that overwhelming recap feeling you get with some series books. This series revolves around Robbie, a native Californian, who has moved to small town Indiana to be close to her great aunt. She’s opened a country store that’s half cafe and half a store that sells kitchen items. Oh, and she lives in the building that houses her store.
As this is the third book in the series and Robbie is our heroine, we know that she has two mysteries under her belt. And while on a snowshoeing expedition with one of her friends, she stumbles upon a body and starts sticking her nose into this new mystery. She fumbles around, ticks off a lot of people, frustrates the police, and kinda falls into solving the murder. And therein lies my biggest problem with this installment of the series. Robbie really doesn’t solve the mystery from any sort of deduction, but rather finds the answer while working on a remodeling project.
On the plus side, I liked the characters and the setting. I’ll probably come back to this series when the next installment releases with the hopes that Robbie will do more sleuthing and deduction rather than just having the answer fall into her lap.
Fans of cozy mysteries may want to check out this series. And as a bonus, a couple recipes are included at the end of the book.
My review originally posted at Romancing the Book.
Intense and a bit scary. I had no idea that one small town could have so many secrets or so many killers. (What’s up with that? Is there something I’m the water?)
Robbie owns a pancake place and when a nasty teacher, no one likes, is found dead under the ice she starts to ask questions. She finds someone broke into her barn and she finds a secret passage to her house. The police won’t let her in on any of the facts of the case even though the killer is coming after her. This is a mystery with good characters.
To help make money in the cold February winter, Robbie Jordan has opened up her restaurant for dinner two Friday’s a month to the Sociology department of a nearby college. Any thoughts she had about this being a calm exchange of ideas goes out the window when one of the professors, Charles, picks fights with two different people. The next afternoon, Robbie is out with her friend Lou when they find Charles under the ice in the nearby lake. Since Lou had fought with Charles the night before, the police are looking at her as a suspect. But with Charles as universally hated as he was, surely Robbie can find a better suspect, right?
Charles’s habit of making enemies serves us plenty of suspects. The lack of clues to point the finger at any single person makes for lots of fun. I was never bored watching the plot unfold. A couple of the series regulars weren’t around for this book, but those who were around were certainly delightful. The suspects were all strong and viable, and the climax was creative and page turning. Can I just say how much I would love to visit Robbie’s restaurant? Seriously, it sounds delightful. (Well, when a murder isn’t taking place, of course.)
Really enjoy this series of books. It’s cute and fun. I have read 2 so far and will read the next
Maddie Day does not disappoint! Her characters are we rounded and it is fun to see them develop from one nook to the next. There is always a little unexpected twist in her mystery solving and I love her Midwest style.
An entertaining story – crime solving breakfast owner – Nancy Drew like sleuth. It was a fast fun read.
I really liked this book. It’s easy to read and the story line keeps you interested in what is yet to come. I’m going to look for other books in this series and I hope they are offered as e-books like this one was.
I loved this book! It was interesting from the first page. It is very well written, and a wonderful story! I definitely recommend it.
Really enjoyed, will definitely get next in series
Welcome back to South Lick, Indiana. Robbie’s country store and restaurant, Pans ‘N Pancakes is quite popular, albeit slow right now in the middle of winter. She’s begun hosting dinners for a department from a local college in the restaurant to help bring in more revenue. Unfortunately, the latest dinner becomes heated at the hands of Charles Stilton, a universally disliked college professor, and two separate arguments break out during the time they are all together. One involves Lou, a college student and Robbie’s friend, and the other involves Zen, the department chair. When he’s found dead the next day frozen beneath an ice fishing hole, South Lick gets embroiled in another murder mystery. Robbie’s discovery during an early morning snowshoe expedition puts the police’s sites on the entire town but specifically on Lou and Zen. In order to clear the names of both Lou and Zen, Robbie takes it upon herself to “help” the police figure out how Charles Stilton ended up swimming with the fishes.
When Grits Hit the Fan is a fantastic 3rd book in the Country Story Mystery series. Robbie’s relationship with Abe is progressing at a nice pace. Her renovation of the upper level of the building is moving along and as she’s tearing out walls, she’s discovering treasures from the past. Pan ‘N Pancakes is very popular, even in the winter, but when news of the murder breaks, everyone lines up to eat at Robbie’s establishment in order to catch all of the latest gossip about the death of a man that was disliked by pretty much everyone in South Lick.
The character development continues as we learn more about the main and secondary characters and are introduced to new ones. Robbie is a great main character. She’s realistically written as a kind, generous person who had a dream and worked hard to make it a reality. She treats people with respect and dignity, the perfect person to work in a retail/food establishment. The secondary characters all have their perfect places within the pages of the novel.
I enjoy the continued world building in South Lick, Indiana. The County Store Mystery series doesn’t just focus on who was killed and who did it; there are parallel stories involving Robbie and other townsfolk. The interwoven storylines keep the story exciting and engaging. The conclusion to the murder investigation draws on the past and the author does a great job of building up to the reveal without rushing. I really If you are looking for a cozy mystery that is fast paced (never a dull moment) and will keep you on the edge of your seat, I suggest you give When Grits Hits the Fan a try!
I read every day and usually several books concurrently. This one kept my interest and I finished it wanting to read the next in the series.
Another fun book in this ligh-hearted series. I enjoy the main character and her crew of friends.