Source: Publisher
Description: Autumn is in full swing for the town of Shady Palms—the perfect time for warm drinks, cozy cardigans, and…dead bodies?
The annual Shady Palms Corn Festival is one of the town’s biggest moneymakers, drawing crowds from all over the Midwest looking to partake in delicious treats, local crafts, and of course, the second largest corn maze in Illinois. Lila Macapagal and her Brew-ha Cafe crew, Adeena Awan and Elena Torres, are all too happy to participate in the event and even make a little wager on who can make it through the corn maze the fastest—but their fun is suddenly cut short when a dead body is found in the middle of the maze…and an unconscious Adeena lies next to it, clutching a bloody knife.
The body is discovered to be a local politician’s wife, and all signs—murder weapon included—point to Adeena as the culprit. But Lila knows her best friend couldn’t have done this, so she and her crew put on their sleuthing caps yet again to find the killer who framed Adeena and show them what happens when they mess with a Brew-ha…
Genre: Mystery - Cozy
Why I Picked This Book: This series has been on my radar since the first book came out and this one looked good.
My Impression: I'm always a bit nervous starting a series this far in but I had absolutely no problem jumping in with this one and getting the who is who stuff all figured out. I enjoyed all the fall fun happening in during the corn festival and the murder was an intriguing one. The victim had some people who might have wanted to end her life and then there's her wife's position of mayor in the neighboring town to consider. All Lila knows is that it was not her best friend Adeena who ended the mayor's wife's life in the middle of a corn maze even if she was found clutching the bloody knife. The real question is who had the strong enough motive.
The investigation was interesting with small town politics and personal secrets to be dug through as well as a motive for murder to be found. I did struggle a bit with the writing style. I like a good food description but the description of everything felt a bit bulky and slowed the pace down. As well, I had a hard time warming up to Lila and Elena (especially Elena). Luckily, I liked Adeena, Jae and the Aunties enough to make up for it. This wasn't my favorite cozy I've read this year but overall, I did enjoy it and liked that it dealt with a cuisine I'm not that familiar with. This is a series I'll continue with though it may not be at the top of my list.
Would I Read More of this Series/Author? Definitely! While this wasn't perfect I did enjoy it and I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series.
Would I Recommend this Book? If you're a mystery fan this is a series worth trying - especially if you like lots of interesting and quirky characters with more than a few opinions!
* I received this book in exchange for an honest review. As always my opinions and impressions are completely my own. *
Would I Recommend this Book? If you're a mystery fan this is a series worth trying - especially if you like lots of interesting and quirky characters with more than a few opinions!
* I received this book in exchange for an honest review. As always my opinions and impressions are completely my own. *
It is nice that you were able to jump in to this series so far in and still enjoy it. :D
ReplyDeleteSo a middling read. When you read the next one it will probably firm up your decision to continue on with the series.
ReplyDeleteI read the first book and loved it. I just haven't had a chance to read the rest of the series, but I will.
ReplyDelete