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Doughnuts & Deadly Schemes by Janel Gradowski

June 16, 2015 by

Source: Author Janel Gradowski
eBook, 210 pgs
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Doughnuts & Deadly Schemes (Culinary Competition Mysteries #3) by Janel Gradowski is just what you expect from a cozy mystery — an amateur detective helping out her police friend, baking up some savory dishes, and enjoying the ride. These are the kinds of books that are perfect for summer because they are full of adventure, laughs, and fun. Carla and Amy are best friends, and you can tell that they genuinely love one another and act like sisters. While one is a planner, the other is more spontaneous; when it comes to having the wedding of her friend’s dreams, though, Amy is doesn’t take no for an answer.

“‘You are a brave woman to put together a wedding that quickly.  Heroically brave to spring this on the Over-Planning Queen.'”

“‘Believe me.  We thought of that, but I’m pretty sure you would kill us if we snuck away like that.  So, as my compromise, instead of leaving you completely out of the wedding by eloping … I’m giving you over two weeks to pull one out of thin air.'”

Challenge accepted!  Amy has a tough task on her hands planning her best friend’s wedding in less than a month, but she’s never one to shy away from a challenge — including those culinary contests.  Not only is she baking up culinary confections for local contests in Kellerton, but she’s also slinking around trying to uncover who the extortionist hacker and murderer plaguing local businesses might be.  She’s not on the police force, but Carla’s fiance, Bruce Shepler, is quick to accept her outrageous theories for new perspective on a perplexing case that has business owners’ mouths taped shut.

Doughnuts & Deadly Schemes (Culinary Competition Mysteries #3) by Janel Gradowski is a fun ride, and I loved every minute spent with these ladies.  They are quirky and fun, and the confections in these pages will make readers drool.  Don’t forget, Janel always includes some recipes in the back of the book, which you’ll want to try — I’m already dreaming about that Peach Pie Iced Tea!  But I digress.  If you haven’t read these cozy mysteries, what are you waiting for?!

About the Author:

Janel Gradowski lives in a land that looks like a cold weather fashion accessory, the mitten­-shaped state of Michigan. She is a wife and mom to two kids and one Golden Retriever. Her journey to becoming an author is littered with odd jobs like renting apartments to college students and programming commercials for an AM radio station. Somewhere along the way she also became a beadwork designer and teacher. She enjoys cooking recipes found in her formidable cookbook and culinary fiction collection. Searching for unique treasures at art fairs, flea markets and thrift stores is also a favorite pastime. Coffee is an essential part of her life. She writes the Culinary Competition Mystery Series, along with The Bartonville Series (women’s fiction) and the 6:1 Series (flash fiction). She has also had many short stories published in both online and print publications. Check her Website, on Facebook, and on Twitter.

Other books by this author, reviewed here:

Filed Under: ARC, fiction, Read in 2015, reviews Tagged With: , , ,

Mailbox Monday #324

May 24, 2015 by

Mailbox Monday, created by Marcia at To Be Continued, formerly The Printed Page, has a permanent home at its own blog.

To check out what everyone has received over the last week, visit the blog and check out the links.  Leave yours too.

Also, each week, Leslie, Vicki, and I will share the Books that Caught Our Eye from everyone’s weekly links.

Here’s what I received:

1.  Bleedovers by William Todd Rose from NetGalley for a TLC Book Tour in August.

There’s only one thing standing between humanity and the dark forces of the supernatural: the secret agency known as The Institute. The organization depends on regular guys like Chuck, a Level I Recon and Enforcement Technician who guides tormented spirits into the next life.

From an office deep underground, Chuck projects his spirit into Crossfades, monstrous realms where the souls of the dead, unable to move on due to fear or anger, devise macabre tortures for themselves and one another. He’s always been able to leave his work behind at the end of the day . . . until now.

First in dreams, then in waking nightmares, Crossfades are bleeding into the physical world. And now it’s up to Chuck—along with his partner, a woman named Control—to put a stop to it. Because there’s no telling what might come over from the other side.

2.  Doughnuts & Deadly Schemes by Janel Gradowski for a tour in June.

Amy Ridley’s best friend, Carla, is getting married, and Amy is delighted to be recruited as the head wedding planner—even if Carla’s demands are less than conventional. Case in point: Carla insists on a tower of doughnuts in place of a wedding cake. But navigating the world of nuptials becomes the least of Amy’s problems when the owner of a menswear shop is found dead, and Carla’s fiancée is assigned to the case. With the honeymoon in jeopardy, Amy and Carla vow to help track down the killer…but they soon discover there are even more sinister happenings affecting the businesses in downtown Kellerton, Michigan. If Amy doesn’t figure out who is behind the deadly schemes, the nearly newlywed detective may just be solving another murder—hers!

What did you receive?

Filed Under: mailbox monday, meme Tagged With: , , ,