Cruel Candy (Cozy Corgi Mysteries)
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Independently published (December 5, 2017)
Paperback: 280 pages

Synopsis

Estes Park, Colorado: picturesque mountains, charming shops, delightful bakeries, a cozy bookstore… and murder.

Winifred Page and her corgi, Watson, move to Estes Park to hit the Reset button on life. Fred is about to open her dream bookshop, and the only challenges she anticipates are adjusting to small-town life, tourists, and living close to her loveable mother, Phyllis, and hippy stepfather, Barry.

When Fred steps into her soon-to-be-bookshop for the first time, she expects dust bunnies and spiders… not the dead body in the upstairs kitchen. The local police have an easy suspect—Barry.
Determined to prove quirky Barry innocent of murder, Fred puts on her detective hat, and with Watson by her side, she explores her new town and gets acquainted with her fellow shopkeepers. Could one of her friendly neighbors be the real culprit? And what would be the motive for killing the owner of the Sinful Bites candy store? The secrets Fred discover put her at odds with the local police sergeant and threaten her cozy future in Estes.

With snow falling outside, all Fred wants to do is curl up by the fire with a good book and Watson snuggled at her feet. But before she can begin her new life and put her plans for her bookshop into action, Fred and Watson have a mystery to solve…

(This culinary cozy mystery includes a recipe for delectable lemon bars.)

Full Series

Cruel Candy (Cozy Corgi Mysteries)

Traitorous Toys (Cozy Corgi Mysteries)

Bickering Birds (Cozy Corgi Mysteries)

Savage Sourdough (Cozy Corgi Mysteries)

Scornful Scones (Cozy Corgi Mysteries)

Chaotic Corgis (Cozy Corgi Mysteries)

Quarrelsome Quartz (Cozy Corgi Mysteries)

Wicked Wildlife (Cozy Corgi Mysteries)

Malevolent Magic (Cozy Corgi Mysteries)

Killer Keys (Cozy Corgi Mysteries)

Perilous Pottery (Cozy Corgi Mysteries)

Ghastly Gadgets (Cozy Corgi Mysteries)

Meddlesome Money (Cozy Corgi Mysteries)

Precarious Pasta (Cozy Corgi Mysteries)

Evil Elves (Cozy Corgi Mysteries)

Review

Colorado is where it is happening with new beginnings, Edibles, and murder.

This is the first in this series and it won’t be the last that I read.  This book was chock full of interesting characters, curious scenarios, dogs, and a mystery.  Fred (Winifred) is moving back to Estes Park after a divorce (6 years ago so not recent) and a falling out with her business partner in a publishing house.  Her first day in town she manages to make an enemy from the sweets shop next door all because of who she is related to and who also happens to own the building.  Fred is off to a shaky start but thankfully not everyone feels the same way about her moving to town and planning to open a bookstore in what was a taxidermy shop.  When Opal, owner of the sweets shop, ends up dead in Fred’s new shop and her stepfather Barry is suspected, all bets are off and Fred is on the case.

This book was engaging and the gears in my brain were turning trying to uncover who was the killer.  While I suspected the one character it wasn’t very strong and until facts were revealed at the end did I truly understand the motivation of the killer.  Because Fred’s father was a police detective, I believe she felt that she had to jump in and help solve the case.  Sure her stepfather was being held as a suspect which seemed pretty unlikely considering Barry is a hippie and it was highly unlikely that he would kill anyone, much less Opal.  The first police officer to question Fred is an Officer Green and it is very evident that she has it in for Fred without giving her the benefit of the doubt.  Thankfully there is a detective, Branson Wexler that is a bit more open-minded.  Could it be because he also finds Fred attractive and might want to date her?  As the killer is being revealed you have to wonder why Fred would find herself with the killer especially if she suspected this character?

I love dogs, so the addition of Watson, Fred’s Corgi, made for a well rounded book.  The conversations between Fred and Watson, well really just Fred talking to Watson since he cannot reply, were amusing and her devotion to her dog was admirable.  Watson could be persnickety in who he appeared to like and it didn’t always make sense, but that is a dog for you.

There are many minor characters that I imagine will play bigger roles as this series continues and I look forward to learning more about them in future books.  And the book ends with a delicious lemon bar recipe, so make sure to take notes.

Overall we enjoyed this book and give it 4 paws up.

About the Author

Reading the Cozy Corgi series is pretty much all you need to know about Mildred. In real life, she’s obsessed with everything she writes about: Corgis, Books, Cozy Mountain Towns, and Baked Goods. She’s not obsessed with murder, however. At least not at her own hands (nor paid for… no contract killing here). But since childhood, starting with Nancy Drew, trying to figure out who-dun-it has played a formative role in her personality. Having Fred and Watson stroll into her mind was a touch of kismet.

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Giveaway

The author is graciously giving 1 winner a copy of any of the ebooks in her series.  Please see the list above or start with Cruel Candy which is the first in the series.

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Visit these other blogs for more chances to win a book!

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