Book Review: Sugar and Vice by Eve Calder

Lately, Kate has a lot on her dessert plate. She’s launching a cookie-of-the-day challenge in the heart of Coral Cay, providing sweet treats for the reception of the town’s handsome new veterinarian—not to mention dealing with tourists in town for a pirate festival and the surprise arrival of her former fiancé, Evan, who seems determined to win her back.

And if that’s not enough, a skeleton has been found—in the backyard behind her best friend Maxi’s floral shop. Kate knows Maxi could never hurt a fly. Maybe the remains belong to Sir George Bly, a long-dead pirate whose name has become urban legend—until now? It’s time for Kate to use every trick in the recipe book to prove Maxi’s innocence, and find the truth about the skeleton, before the last of the cookies crumble…[summary via Amazon]

For lovers of culinary cozy mysteries there is a relatively new series on the horizon, the Cookie House Mysteries. If my experience with the second book in the series, Sugar and Vice, is anything to go by, we're going to be raving about this series for years to come!

Kate is settling into her new life in sunny Coral Cay. She's busy baking up a storm as part-owner in The Cookie House, and getting ready for the Pirate Festival. However all plans go awry when her friend and neighbour, Maxi, uncovers a skeleton in her yard. Could it be the 400 year old bones of notorious pirate, Gentlemen George Bly, or something more recent and sinister?

I leapt right into Sugar and Vice without reading the first book in the series. Quite often I do this, and sometimes I feel a little lost and sometimes I land right on my "reading" feet. In this case it was the latter. Within a chapter I was feeling right at home in Coral Cay, and cursing myself for not picking up this series sooner!! Coral Cay is the perfect picturesque, sunny, island. The townsfolk are friendly, and they live off the tourist trade. There is a little shop for everything, and as I read, I was wishing I could visit this town, and step into The Cookie House, and all the other shops in the centre of town. Eve Calder has a way of describing the town and occupants so well, that you just want to dive right into the book!!

I love the uniqueness of the mystery. The skeleton, who Maxi nicknames "Alvin", when her husband calls it "Exhibit A", is a complete unknown. The police, nor Maxi or Kate, are all grasping at clues trying to figure out who it was. The whodunnit is cleverly plotted and it kept me guessing right up until the end! Combine it with the mystery of pirate George Bly and you've got a very fascinating and unique cozy mystery, and one readers won't forget in a hurry!

I highly recommend Sugar and Vice be on your Winter/Spring reading list! This is a delightful series for lovers of culinary cozy mysteries, and those that are looking to read a first class whodunit. The delightful locals, and not to mention Oliver, the adorable puppy that wanders the island and lives with Kate, will have you coming back for more.

Book Review: And Then There Were Crumbs by Eve Calder

Kate McGuire’s life was sweet in Manhattan before she lost her restaurant job and fiancé both. But sometimes that’s just the way the cookie crumbles, and soon she finds herself starting from scratch in the island town of Coral Cay, Florida. It has everything she’s looking for: sunny beaches, friendly locals, and a Help Wanted sign in the bakery shop window. Once she convinces the shop’s crusty owner Sam Hepplewhite to hire her, Kate can’t tie on her apron fast enough. Little does she know that trouble, like warm dough, is on the rise. . .

Stewart Lord is a real estate developer with a taste for a different type of dough: the green kind. He knows that he could make a killing by purchasing the Cookie House from Sam, who flat-out refuses to sell. But when Stewart turns up the heat on Sam—then turns up dead after eating a fresh batch of Sam’s cinnamon rolls—all eyes focus on the town’s beloved bakery. When the police arrest Sam for murder, Kate must somehow prove that her curmudgeonly boss is innocent. Enlisting the help of a team of lovable locals, Kate sets out to catch the real culprit with his hand in the cookie jar…before someone else gets burned.[summary via Amazon]

I recently read Sugar and Vice, the second Cookie House Mystery, and I loved it so much that I wanted to go back and read the first book, and find out how the story started. Let me preface this by saying, I always say I will do this and never do. Why not? Because my pile of books is usually so high and I always get side-tracked by another cozy mystery. However, in this case Sugar and Vice charmed me so much that I made sure I bought And Then There Were Crumbs at my next bookstore visit, so that I would do just that! Did I mention how much Sugar and Vice charmed me?

So here is the first book in the delightful Cookie House Mysteries... We see Kate McGuire arriving in Coral Cay, and it is almost like destiny when she ends up on the doorstep of the Cookie House. However, what first starts as helping curmudgeonly baker, Sam Hepplewhite, out in his bakery soon turns to detective when he is accused of murdering Stewart Lord.

From reading Sugar and Vice I knew that Sam doesn't get convicted of murder, but not who the actual murderer was. I love this about cozy mysteries. The reader knows that there is past mysteries but not exactly who did the actual killing. It's one of my favourite things about cozies - it means you can pick up a book mid-series and still go back and enjoy the earlier stories.

I was already smitten with Kate, her adorable pup, Oliver, and Coral Cay. And Then There Were Crumbs absolutely deepened this love. I love how she makes that transition from tourist to local, and her relationships with the locals, especially florist, Maxi. They are definitely a duo partners-in-crime that spur each other on, into mischief and adventure!!

The mystery itself was really fascinating. It twisted around with a well-planned plot, and I love the final denouement. It definitely is one of a kind, and one that I didn't see coming!

I can't recommend this series enough!! It is #1 in my favourite culinary cozy mysteries right now, and I hope I've encouraged more readers to try it. Pick up And Then There Were Crumbs today and enjoy a first-class debut. Oh, and hey, while you're at the store, why not pre-order Sugar and Vice too. You won't be disappointed!