Great Escapes Book Tours Book Review: Eggs On Ice

Eggs on Ice (A Cackleberry Club Mystery) by Laura Childs

About the Book

Eggs on Ice (A Cackleberry Club Mystery) 

Cozy Mystery 

8th in Series Berkley (December 4, 2018) 

Hardcover: 304 pages 

ISBN-10: 0425281728 

ISBN-13: 978-0425281727 

Kindle ASIN: B07BD23MV9

Some say that casting crusty attorney Allen Sharpe as Scrooge in the Kindred Players production of "A Christmas Carol" is just playing to type. He's not the most beloved man in town. In fact, you'd have a dickens of a time finding someone who liked him. Still it's a shock when the Ghost of Christmas Past stabs him during the first rehearsal. Suzanne, co-owner of the Cackleberry Club café, Kindred's favorite combination diner, craft store and bookshop, chases the murderer out of the building but loses him in the alley. As the days pass the list of suspects grows longer. Is it the disgruntled partner? The former secretary whom Sharpe sexually harrassed? Or is it fellow owner of the Cackleberry Club, Toni's almost ex-husband, Junior? The women of the Cackleberry Club are determined to find the killer before he can add another victim to his Christmas list.

Review:  I have been reading Laura Childs since I started reading cozy mysteries, which has been quite awhile. The Cackleberry Club is my favorite of her three series, and I think its the youngest. This is the 8th book in the series. It is also a holiday cozy so that makes me happy in so many ways. Oh and recipes! I have to admit I went straight for the back of the book to check those out. I'm all about making the jalapeno chicken sandwich Yum.

Toni and Suzanne witness the murder of attorney and cast member of the Kindred Players holiday play, and that starts Suzanne sleuthing, especially as the killer had a knife to her after she chased after him.

Allen Sharpe is the kind of guy that everyone wants to kill, so there are a lot of suspects, and Suzanne is getting herself into trouble trying to figure out whodunit. I really found it hard to figure out the killer in this one. There were too many suspects for me, and the one that I really thought did it, wasn't the one in the end. In fact, the outcome just really blew my mind, because I wasn't at the top of my list.

I love the friendships between the ladies of the Cackleberry Club. Toni and Suzanne are great bffs and Petra is wonderful as well. You don't have to read all the books to easily feel at home with these characters. Its hard to believe some of the things that Suzanne gets Toni into, and Toni is just crazy enough to go along with her.

I really enjoyed this one!

Rating: 5 flowers

About the Author

Laura Childs is the New York Times bestselling author of the Tea Shop Mysteries, Scrapbook Mysteries, and Cackleberry Club Mysteries. In her previous life she was CEO/Creative Director of her own marketing firm and authored several screenplays. She is married to a professor of Chinese art history, loves to travel, rides horses, enjoys fundraising for various non-profits, and has two Chinese Shar-Pei dogs.

Laura specializes in cozy mysteries that have the pace of a thriller (a thrillzy!) Her three series are:

The Tea Shop Mysteries - set in the historic district of Charleston and featuring Theodosia Browning, owner of the Indigo Tea Shop. Theodosia is a savvy entrepreneur, and pet mom to service dog Earl Grey. She’s also an intelligent, focused amateur sleuth who doesn’t rely on coincidences or inept police work to solve crimes. This charming series is highly atmospheric and rife with the history and mystery that is Charleston.

The Scrapbooking Mysteries – a slightly edgier series that take place in New Orleans. The main character, Carmela, owns Memory Mine scrapbooking shop in the French Quarter and is forever getting into trouble with her friend, Ava, who owns the Juju Voodoo shop. New Orleans’ spooky above-ground cemeteries, jazz clubs, bayous, and Mardi Gras madness make their presence known here!

The Cackleberry Club Mysteries - set in Kindred, a fictional town in the Midwest. In a rehabbed Spur station, Suzanne, Toni, and Petra, three semi-desperate, forty-plus women have launched the Cackleberry Club. Eggs are the morning specialty here and this cozy cafe even offers a book nook and yarn shop. Business is good but murder could lead to the cafe’s undoing! This series offers recipes, knitting, cake decorating, and a dash of spirituality.

Laura’s Links: Webpage - http://www.laurachilds.com/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/laura.childs.31 Purchase Links Amazon    B&N    Kobo   Google Play   IndieBound  a Rafflecopter giveaway

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

December 3 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW

December 3 – StoreyBook Reviews – GUEST POST

December 3 – The Power of Words – REVIEW

December 4 – Valerie's Musings – REVIEW

December 4 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW

December 5 – Carla Loves To Read – REVIEW

December 5 – Mallory Heart's Cozies – REVIEW

December 6 – A Wytch's Book Review Blog – REVIEW

December 6 – Devilishly Delicious Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

December 7 – Cinnamon, Sugar and a Little Bit of Murder – REVIEW

December 7 – MJB Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

December 8 – The Pulp and Mystery Shelf - SPOTLIGHT

December 8 – The Avid Reader – REVIEW

December 9 – Babs Book Bistro – SPOTLIGHT

December 10 – Community Bookstop – REVIEW*

December 10 – My Journey Back – REVIEW

December 11 – Socrates' Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

December 11 – A Holland Reads – REVIEW*

December 12 – The Cozy Pages – REVIEW

December 12 – Brooke Blogs – GUEST POST

December 13 – Ruff Drafts – SPOTLIGHT

December 13 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW*

December 14 – Celticlady's Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

December 14 – A Chick Who Reads – REVIEW*

December 15 – Paranormal and Romantic Suspense Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

December 15 – Laura's Interests – REVIEW

December 16 – Melina's Book Blog – REVIEW  

Book Review: Eggs In Purgatory

Author: Laura Childs
Title: Eggs In Purgatory
Publisher: Berkeley
Publisher: Dec 2, 2008
Buy: Amazon
Book Blurb: 

Introducing the Cackleberry Club Mysteries...

Suzanne, Toni, and Petra lose their husbands but find independence when they open the Cackleberry Club. Then their cozy cafe becomes the scene of a crime when a lawyer dies with a secret on his lips and egg on his face. What this all has to do with a religious cult and Suzanne?s past could put her own life on the line.

Review:  I love Laura's Tea Shop Mysteries. I read those when I can find them. I have wanted to give the Cackleberry Club series for awhile, and I finally got to start a series with book 1.

This book took a little longer than I would have liked to finish. The mystery was slow and the premise for me felt like it was an amalgamation of her other series. They have teas, they have knitting and there is a restaurant and book store. I want to know where there are places like this in the actual world, because I would so want to go there, but I can't imagine a shop like that surviving in a real town.

Suzanne, Toni and Petra are all looking for new beginnings, but when Suzanne's lawyer ends up murdered outside and he seems to have secrets that involve Suzanne's late husband things get really complicated

I enjoyed the story, but it got bogged down with a lot of filler. There was so much going on in the ladies lives, as well as the mystery and I think that's what made this book a little harder for me to get into.

I had to remind myself that this is a first book in a series, so you have to have a certain amount of time spent getting to know the characters.

I really didn't figure out the killer.

I'm hoping this series gets better, because I have a few books on my TBR pile

Rating: 4 flowers

Great Escapes Book Tours Book Review: Crepe Factor

Crepe Factor by Laura Childs with Terry Farley Moran

Crepe Factor (A Scrapbooking Mystery) 

Cozy Mystery 14th in Series Berkley (October 3, 2017) 

Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages 

ISBN-13: 978-0425266717 

E-Book ASIN: B01AHKY37I

Synopsis

The Winter Market in the French Quarter is in full swing, but murder isn’t taking a holiday in the latest from the New York Times bestselling author of Parchment and Old Lace...

The holidays are a busy time for scrapbook shop owner Carmela Bertrand—but not so hectic that she doesn’t have time to enjoy browsing the booths at the Winter Market with her best friend Ava. The last thing the ladies expect to see is a lurching man stabbed by a serving fork, dying in front of them.

The victim is loathed restaurant critic Martin Lash, who posted his scathing reviews on the Glutton for Punishment website. And the prime suspect is New Orleans restauranteur Quigg Brevard—who was seen giving the critic a tongue-lashing minutes before someone stuck a fork in him. An old flame of Carmela, Quigg asks for her help, which does not please her current beau, Detective Edgar Babcock, to say the least.

Before her relationship is the next victim, Carmela needs to find a murderer who had no reservations about punishing the culinary curmudgeon...

Scrapbooking tips and recipes included!

Review:  Laura Childs is an author that I usually read when I find her books. I usually get them at the library, so I've seldom read any of them in order. I've read book 1 and 3 in this particular series, and I have to say, I 'm a huge fan of Carmela and Ava. Carmela is more conservative in dress, whereas I see Ava as being a southern version of Fran Drescher's Nanny.

These two women are the type of people you'd want to have as friends. They are always going out and eating at fabulous restaurants and drinking loads of wine or "refreshing beverages". I don't know how they aren't hungover most of the time!

As always, Laura brings NOLA to life. The reader really feels like they are in New Orleans, seeing the sights and smelling all the good food that seems to be everywhere in this story. I also really longed to be crafty when I read these books, because all the fabulous things that get made at Carmela's Memory Mine Scrapbook Shop seem so beautiful and fabulous.

I love the foodie aspect of this story and the characters are super quirky and fun. The murder happened at a winter carnival and the victim was a food critic/environmentalist, who was hated by one and all. The prime suspect, is an ex of Carmela's, Quigg. Even though she's dating Babcock, she gets roped into investigating the murder, and things heat up with Quigg.

Carmela's investigation gets her into trouble with the Detective and she manages to find another dead body. (As if seeing Martin Lash with a fork in his neck wasn't enough!)

There was a point in the story where I knew who was involved in the killing, but it wasn't completely obvious.

I had such fun reading this one, there were plenty of laugh out loud moments and the ending will definitely get you excited for the next book.


Rating: 5 flowers

About The Authors

Laura Childs is the New York Times bestselling author of the Tea Shop Mysteries, Scrapbook Mysteries, and Cackleberry Club Mysteries. In her previous life she was CEO/Creative Director of her own marketing firm and authored several screenplays. She is married to a professor of Chinese art history, loves to travel, rides horses, enjoys fund raising for various non-profits, and has two Chinese Shar-Pei dogs.

Laura specializes in cozy mysteries that have the pace of a thriller (a thrillzy!) Her three series are:

The Tea Shop Mysteries - set in the historic district of Charleston and featuring Theodosia Browning, owner of the Indigo Tea Shop. Theodosia is a savvy entrepreneur, and pet mom to service dog Earl Grey. She’s also an intelligent, focused amateur sleuth who doesn’t rely on coincidences or inept police work to solve crimes. This charming series is highly atmospheric and rife with the history and mystery that is Charleston.

The Scrapbooking Mysteries – a slightly edgier series that take place in New Orleans. The main character, Carmela, owns Memory Mine scrapbooking shop in the French Quarter and is forever getting into trouble with her friend, Ava, who owns the Juju Voodoo shop. New Orleans’ spooky above-ground cemeteries, jazz clubs, bayous, and Mardi Gras madness make their presence known here!

The Cackleberry Club Mysteries - set in Kindred, a fictional town in the Midwest. In a rehabbed Spur station, Suzanne, Toni, and Petra, three semi-desperate, forty-plus women have launched the Cackleberry Club. Eggs are the morning specialty here and this cozy cafe even offers a book nook and yarn shop. Business is good but murder could lead to the cafe’s undoing! This series offers recipes, knitting, cake decorating, and a dash of spirituality.

Laura’s Links: Webpage - http://www.laurachilds.com/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/laura.childs.31

Short-listed twice for The Best American Mystery Stories, Terrie Farley Moran is delighted to introduce mystery fans to the Read ’Em and Eat café and bookstore, which debuted with Well Read, Then Dead. followed by Caught Read-Handed and Read to Death released in July of this year.  The only thing Terrie enjoys more than wrangling mystery plots into submission is playing games and reading stories with any or all of her grandchildren.

Terrie’s Links: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/terrie.moran.9 Blog:  www.womenofmystery.net Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/23186092-terrie-moran  

Purchase Links:

      Amazon    B&N    Goggle Books    IndieBound a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Review: Bound For Murder

Author: Laura Childs
Title: Bound For Murder
Publisher: Berekley
Publish Date: Nov 2, 2004
Buy: Amazon

Book Blurb: 

New Orleans scrapbooking shop owner Carmela Bertrand's pre-wedding party is overshadowed when a friend's intended groom is murdered. Asked by the heartbroken bride to look into the case, Carmela must help her friend pick up the pieces while wrapping up a murder that has more than one lethal loose end.

Review: I've read books from two of Laura Childs' mystery series, and I have to say I enjoy  the scrapbooking mysteries better. There are a lot of similarities between the series but this one is more fun.

In this book Carmela is helping her friend Wren uncover who murdered her soon to be groom. Jamie Redmond was killed on the night of their wedding dinner.

I enjoyed this book but there were a lot of things that drove me batty about it too. Wren and Carmela found photos from the 80s that were black and white? Huh? My family could never be called wealthy but all photos of my first 5 years were all color and I was born in 1974.

Carmela and Shamus need to sort their relationship out because it is getting really annoying and I've only read one other book in this series. And while we're at it when it comes to Shamus, his sister is a witch, or that word with a capital b. I can't understand why Carmela got booted  out of the family home when Shamus left her.

But back to this story, Jamie seems to have a lot of secrets that he kept from his fiancee that really make you wonder about his character and whether or not he was living a double life. Almost from the moment of his death, Wren is bothered by people wanted to take her home and Jamie's bookstore, not to mention taking all the money from the software program he was developing.

I liked how Carmela and her friends rallied around Wren to help her get on her feet, as well as looking into Jamie's past. I really couldn't understand why there wasn't more of a police presence in this book. Most cozy mysteries have at least one officer telling the sleuth to leave the investigation to the police.

I love the southern setting, which Laura Childs really brings to life in all of her books.  I only wish the resolution to the mystery weren't so easy, though I didn't guess the killer at all.

Rating: 4 flowers

Book Review: Keepsake Crimes

Author: Laura Childs
Title: Keepsake Crimes
Publisher: Berekley
Publish Date: May 6, 2003
Buy: Amazon
Book Blurb: 

New Orleans scrapbooking shop owner Carmela Bertrand delights her customers with the sophisticated looks she achieves with their scrapbooks. But among her client's keepsakes she finds a tip of her own-about a murder...

Review: Keepsake Crimes is the first in the Scrapbooking Mystery series by Laura Childs. I've read several of her Tea Shop Mysteries, and I've enjoyed them, but I think I liked this book best.

Carmela Bertrand owns a scrapbook shop in New Orleans and during Marti Gras and at one parade, she sees one of the local businessmen die.  Somehow her estranged husband Shamus has his hands in it, and is considered a prime suspect.

Lisa Childs really good at bringing her settings to life and in Keepsake Crimes I felt I was in NOLA during Marti Gras and more than that, I wanted to be there.

The mystery was light. I felt like this was a bit more of a novel about friends then the typical cozy mystery,  but this is the first book in the series, so you really are reading to get to know the cast of characters that you will be spending your time with for however long the series lasts.

I enjoyed Carmella and her friends especially Jekyll and Ava that were really eclectic lot.

I would have liked a meatier mystery, but this is the first book in a series, so that's not usually what you get when you start out a series.

This was light enjoyable reading. I look forward to what happens to Carmela next, and really I look forward to finding out what happens to her husband.


Rating: 4 flowers

Book Review: Death By Darjeeling

Author: Laura Childs
Title: Death By Darjeeling
Publisher: Berkley
Publish Date: May 1, 2001
Buy: Amazon
Book Blurb: When a man is poisoned by tea, Theo is the prime suspect. Now she has to prove her innocence and track down the real killer-before someone else takes their last sip. Just the right blend of cozy fun and clever plotting.

Review: Death By Darjeeling is the first book in the Tea Shop Mysteries series by Laura Childs. I read one of the later books first and kind of liked it. I wanted to go back and read the first book to see how I really felt about the characters in this cozy series.

I've decided that I like them but I'm not sure if cozy really applies to this series, because even though this is a tea shop and there's a cute dog, called Earl Grey, the vibe of this series isn't very cozy.

The characters, with the exception of Haley are more than a bit snooty. But then again, Theodosia does run a tea shop so what can you expect.

Here are some of the things I like about this series:

1. The descriptions of the teas. I really learned quite a bit about tea reading this book, you know the kind of tea that isn't in little bags with strings attached.

2. It is hard to resist a dog named Earl Grey

3. There's no relationship craziness going on.

4. The descriptions of Charleston, South Carolina are beautiful. It really makes you feel like you are there.

It can be easy to nitpick cozy series, because like romance novels they have a formula. The secret to a good cozy is to have just enough quirky characters to justify a civilian diving into a crime scene and solving the case. With this series, you can believe it. Theo is a pretty smart lady, and since murders seem to follow her, why not solve them?

Laura does a good job at keeping you guessing about the killer too. I like that. I hate knowing who the killer is halfway into the story!

I only wish there were some humor in these books. I'll probably work my way through all of them, because I'm fascinated with the Indigo Tea Room, but I'll take my time doing it.

Rating:  4 flowers

Book Review: Blood Orange Brewing

Author:Laura Childs
Title: Blood Orange Brewing
Publisher: Berkley
Publish Date: March 6, 2007
Buy:Amazon
Book Blurb: When social darling Delaine Dish throws a lavish benefit for the restoration of a run-down Victorian home, Theodosia Browning donates tea and treats from her Indigo Tea Shop. But the grand unveiling of Theo's spread proves a gruesome scene when a beloved local politico falls dead with a jagged piece of metal in his neck. Anyone at the event could be the culprit, but the police have few leads-and no suspects. Try as she might, Theodosia can't help but wonder who the murderer is. But her investigation will lead her into places darker than the blackest tea ...

Review: This is book 7 in the tea shop mysteries series. It was cute but it was a little slow for my tastes. I don't like my cozy mysteries to drag, and this one felt that way to me. It was almost like the mystery took a back burner to the descriptions of food and tea. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Most of the time Theo is having a hard time finding clues and by the time she thinks she knows who might have done it, well, the book is nearly finished. Then there was the matter of another body turning up and Earl Grey disappearing. Earl Grey is Theo's dog, for those not familiar with the series.

Everything ties together well, though I have to say, if they were going to kill off a second character in this book I wish it would have been Delaine. God is she obnoxious!

I've heard a lot of good things about this series, so I'm going to give the series another chance, Theo, Drayton and Haley were fun characters, and I loved reading about the teas and food, though I have to say, I'd never use any of the recipes in this series. (I'm a simple girl when it comes to food. I leave the gourmet stuff up to chefs!)

Rating: 3 flowers