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Pancakes & Pandemonium by Janel Gradowski

Source: purchased
eBook, 199 pgs.
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Pancakes & Pandemonium (book 6) by Janel Gradowski not only has Amy right in the middle of another mystery, but also a personal puzzle she needs to uncover when her alcoholic mother comes to town for a visit. Her husband Alex’s heart is in the right place when he extends the invitation to her mother to visit, hoping that his wife can repair her relationship with her mother, but Amy is none too pleased, though she forgive him easily.

“‘That’s a good way to put it … on hold. Please stay on the line and be patient as Kellerton puts itself back together again.'”

Gradowski’s series of cozy culinary mysteries are always filled with delightful characters, relationship tension, and murder. Amy is plucky, inventive, and creative in the kitchen and with theories about who the murderer may be. But she can even recognize her own wild theories for what they are. As a close member of the tight-knit Kellerton community, she’s able to get to the bottom of people’s motives and help those who need it along the way.

Not only is this mystery ripe with familial tension, it also demonstrates how one small town can come together despite the devastation of a freak storm that leaves them without gas and electricity for nearly a week. Amy and her friends put their culinary skills to the test to feed the town and wiggle information out of them to solve a murder.

Pancakes & Pandemonium (book 6) by Janel Gradowski is another delightful installment, with some rockin’ recipes that you’ve just got to sample.  Pick up this read with a favorite cappuccino or herbal tea.

RATING: Quatrain

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.

Other Reviews:

Mailbox Monday #462

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, Martha, and I will share the Books that Caught Our Eye from everyone’s weekly links.

Here’s what we received:

Louisiana Catch by Sweta Srivastava Vikram, which the publisher set for review. Pre-order this one at Barnes & Noble.

A grieving daughter and abuse survivor must summon the courage to run a feminist conference, trust a man she meets over the internet, and escape a catfishing stalker to find her power.

 

Pancakes & Pandemonium: a Humorous Culinary Cozy Mystery (Culinary Competition Mysteries Book 6) by Janel Gradowski, which I purchased.

Culinary whiz turned reluctant amateur sleuth Amy Ridley is excited to enter a cooking competition featuring her favorite breakfast treat—pancakes! But while she’s up to her elbows in batter, she’s hit with one unexpected twist after another. First her estranged mother shows up and then just as quickly vanishes again after barely saying hello. Then a vicious storm zeroes in on her small town of Kellerton, Michigan. There is damage everywhere, and one person is killed…but not by the storm.

Amy and her mother have had a strained relationship, but when Mom is tagged as the prime suspect in the murder of her former high school rival, Amy can’t help but get involved. Yes, her mother can be annoying, but she’s not a ruthless killer… is she? Aided by her charismatic husband, Amy sets out to find the truth. In a town without power and still recovering from the storm, she suddenly finds herself in a cat and mouse game where not everyone may make it out alive!

Hourglass Museum by Kelli Russell Agodon, which was a Kindle freebie.

Hourglass Museum offers a dazzling selection of poems inspired by artwork and artists that explores personal relationships and the struggle (emotionally, financially, and spiritually) of living a creative life. Agodon understands the importance of how art influences our lives and how we balance delicately realizing that we only have so much time to live and create. Hourglass Museum is a meditation in beauty, tenderness, and knowledge reaching far beyond most poetry that’s being written today.

What did you receive?