Synopsis

Alene Baron is dealing with frustrated employees, closed schools, and a homeless man who harasses customers outside the door of her café.

Then, two dead bodies turn up in the burned remains of buildings owned by the husband of Alene’s best friend and pastry chef, Ruthie. Both bodies are wearing jackets that once belonged to Ruthie and crumbled in the pockets are the café’s distinctive wrappers. At the same time, Alene’s uncle, a convicted felon, has resurfaced after disappearing for 22 years. It’s all too much for the owner of the Whipped and Sipped Café.

Amazon * DX Varos Publishing

Barnes&Noble * IndieBound * BookShop.org

Praise

“Readers looking for mysteries well steeped in both culinary traditions and realistic conflicts between career and family will relish this multifaceted investigative piece, which draws readers in from the start with its realistic balance of intrigue and life challenges.-D. Donovan, Midwest Book Review

“If you are looking for a slightly different take on a culinary cozy mystery, this is the debut to read.”-Carstairs Considered

“Warm and cool, sassy and savvy, GP Gottlieb has written a murder mystery that is as interesting as the family dynamic itself — exploring its alliances, intrigues, and the possibility of how people can protect, surprise, and, quite literally — kill each other. A fun, delicious read!”- Marcy Heisler, theatrical lyricist

‘Gottlieb sets the stage beautifully for readers, and with providing the list of characters in the beginning, you have your own little cheat sheet of sorts.  And with all the twists and turns in Smothered, you will be grateful to have the list so that you can keep track of everyone and check off those you believe are innocent.  However, when the real killer is revealed, I’m sure you will be as shocked as I was because I’m certain they weren’t even on your radar.”- Cozy Mystery Book Reviews

‘Smothered’ won the silver medal in the mystery category from the CIPA Evvy Awards.

Review

I always enjoy going back to Chicago and the Whipped and Sipped Cafe. While not a vegan, I can appreciate all of the dishes that are created here by the talented pastry chef Ruth, who is also Alene’s best friend.

The book is set at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, so I’m sure you can imagine what that has done for Alene’s business and the mindset of everyone. The cafe is not bustling with customers. It is takeout only from online orders. Alene’s children are restless, and Blanca, who watches the children and takes care of Cal, caught Covid and was in the hospital for a short time. The book brings back the memory of what it was like and the regulations from the cities and government.

The mystery to be solved is who is burning buildings under construction. To top it off, a body was found in the rubble. Who is this person, and why were they there? Frank, Alene’s boyfriend, is helping to investigate with his partner Lee. Lee doesn’t seem to know how to communicate with people and turns a lot of them off with his brusque manner. He may be smart and notice small details, but you have to know how to talk to witnesses to get the results and information that you need to solve a case.

There is also the introduction of Alene’s Uncle, Finn. He disappeared many years ago and sporadically kept in touch with his brother Cal, Alene’s father. There are mixed emotions about a reunion based on events of the past from Cal’s perspective. I can’t blame him if he feels like Finn took the wrong path and didn’t honor his commitments over the years. But that is their issue to resolve.

A fun feature of the book is the discovery of a hidden basement in the cafe. Since the building was built in the 20s, it was most likely used as a speakeasy during prohibition. I loved watching that revelation unfold.

We can’t forget the relationship between Frank and Alene. There are hints of marriage down the road since, with young children, that is the only way they can live together in Alene’s eyes. One roadblock is Frank’s daughter, Rhona. She sounds like a handful at 21 and more than what Frank wants to deal with, but there aren’t really any other options other than kicking her out since her mother doesn’t want anything to do with her daughter either. But he is a caring father and doesn’t want to see anything happen to her.

While you don’t have to read the first two books in this series to understand the relationship of all of the characters, it might be beneficial to truly understand all of the nuances of the main characters.

This is a solid story in this series, and we give it 4 paws up.

About the Author

G.P. Gottlieb has been a musician, a teacher, and an administrator, but she’s happiest when she’s writing recipe-laced murder mysteries. GP Gottlieb has always experimented in the kitchen and created her own delicious vegan cookies and cakes. She is also an interviewer for the New Books in Literature podcast channel.

Gottlieb is the mother of three grown children and lives with her husband in Chicago.

Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram