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theavidreaderandbibliophile's review
4.0
Candy Slain Murder by Maddie Day is the 8th A Country Store Mystery. It can be read as a standalone for those who are new to the series. I thought Candy Slain Murder was easy to read thanks to the author’s conversational writing style and steady pacing. The story has developed characters and a charming small-town setting. There is a cast of quirky characters that add humor to the story. It is time for the holidays in South Lick, Indiana. The shops are decked with lights, snow is falling, and it is almost time for the town’s tree lighting ceremony. Robbie Jordan has been run off her feet at the restaurant which is good for her bottom line. We get to see what it takes to run her small restaurant. Her interactions with customers and her employees as well as coming up with the daily specials. Robbie decorates her Christmas tree with help from Abe and Sean. I enjoyed this sweet scene. The romance between Robbie and Abe is progressing nicely. Robbie can imagine spending the rest of her life with Abe and his son, Sean. Danna Beedle is stunned when a man comes into the restaurant and introduces himself as her half-brother. She is looking forward to getting to know him, but Robbie wonders if the man is on the up and up. There are two mysteries to solve this time around. A current one and one from a decade ago. Robbie questions multiple suspects gathering information that she passes along to Lt. Buck Bird and Detective Octavia Slade. I would have preferred a more unique solution. The case wraps up nicely with some suspenseful drama. The book has a very special ending that fans of the series will love. There are recipes at the end for those items that had our mouthwatering while reading this heartwarming tale. Candy Slain Murder is a sweet story with buttery biscuits, a skeletal sibling, handmade hats, a toxic twin, a chilly climate, plus festive fun with family and friends.
madsmcw_reads's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
kimdavishb's review
5.0
CANDY SLAIN MURDER, the eighth book in the Country Store Mystery series by Maddie Day, finds South Lick, Indiana in the midst of holiday cheer. While not overdone to distract from the mystery, the author still conveys the sights, sounds, and tastes the season has to offer. The protagonist, Robbie Jordan, is keeping busy at her restaurant and B & B, Pans’ N Pancakes, and spending time with her boyfriend, Abe, and his teenaged son. I enjoyed seeing their relationship develop in this newest book since Abe hasn’t been featured much in past installments. I also like how Robbie juggles her more than full-time job, her relationships, and trying to solve a murder without shirking her responsibilities. It makes the characters feel more authentic. The reader also learns a lot more about Danna, Robbie’s employee, along with Danna’s mother, the town’s mayor. Interwoven into the mystery is the appearance of Danna’s half-brother, someone she had no idea existed. I have always admired Ms. Day interjecting social issues into her stories, and this book is no exception. Adoption, single parenting, racism, and intolerance are addressed and woven into the fabric of the plot without slowing down the pace. I appreciate her ability to balance entertainment with social conscience.
When a woman’s body is discovered after being missing for a decade and when a new murder occurs, Robbie gets involved asking questions and listening to the folk who visit her café. Are the two murders related, even though there are ten years between the deaths? I enjoy Robbie’s methodical mind and musings over the evidence as it unfolds. It helps the reader link the clues together, and while I had a very strong suspicion (and was correct), I was intrigued to find out why. The well-plotted mystery and the engaging characters kept my attention until the very last page!
Running a popular breakfast and lunch café, Robbie is always cooking up mouthwatering dishes. As with previous books in the series, Ms. Day provides several recipes at the back of the book which all sound fantastic!
I was provided with an advance copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
When a woman’s body is discovered after being missing for a decade and when a new murder occurs, Robbie gets involved asking questions and listening to the folk who visit her café. Are the two murders related, even though there are ten years between the deaths? I enjoy Robbie’s methodical mind and musings over the evidence as it unfolds. It helps the reader link the clues together, and while I had a very strong suspicion (and was correct), I was intrigued to find out why. The well-plotted mystery and the engaging characters kept my attention until the very last page!
Running a popular breakfast and lunch café, Robbie is always cooking up mouthwatering dishes. As with previous books in the series, Ms. Day provides several recipes at the back of the book which all sound fantastic!
I was provided with an advance copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
mintlovesbooks's review
4.0
Candy Slain Murder is sometimes cute and sometimes serious cozy mystery that would make for a great winter read.
The book is set around Christmas, and definitely has a Christmas vibe to it. However, the Christmas theming is not over the top, which I really enjoyed!
Though there is a large cast list, many of the characters were fairly well-developed. There's also a lot going on with this mystery - the skeleton found in the local anesthesiologist's attic, the emergence of a possible half-brother for one of her employees, the bustle of Robbie's business - yet I didn't feel that any of the stories were half-baked.
If anything, the book could have been condensed in some places to prevent too much drag. For example, there are a lot of scenes of Robbie cooking in her restaurant and it can be repetitive at times.
It was interesting that the author wrote out the drawl of her Midwestern characters as it added character to the story, but I didn't always understand some of the metaphors or local vocabulary used. I can't speak to how accurate it was though as I'm not from that part of the world.
All in all, this was an enjoyable read, and I'd be excited to read more books in this series and from this author in the future.
___
CW: There are several instances where characters experience religious discrimination - specifically, Islamophobia. There is also another character in the book who is a known white supremacist and KKK member. Other characters in the book make their opinions known on both issues and stand up for their friends.
I don't think that this made the book 'woke' or 'preachy' or 'PC', as some other reviewers have commented. Rather, I would say the treatment of these social issues wasn't as deeply executed or nuanced as they could have been.
However, I would advise people who do not like cozies with social issues to avoid this book because these issues do come up multiple times.
For more of my reviews, please visit:
The book is set around Christmas, and definitely has a Christmas vibe to it. However, the Christmas theming is not over the top, which I really enjoyed!
Though there is a large cast list, many of the characters were fairly well-developed. There's also a lot going on with this mystery - the skeleton found in the local anesthesiologist's attic, the emergence of a possible half-brother for one of her employees, the bustle of Robbie's business - yet I didn't feel that any of the stories were half-baked.
If anything, the book could have been condensed in some places to prevent too much drag. For example, there are a lot of scenes of Robbie cooking in her restaurant and it can be repetitive at times.
It was interesting that the author wrote out the drawl of her Midwestern characters as it added character to the story, but I didn't always understand some of the metaphors or local vocabulary used. I can't speak to how accurate it was though as I'm not from that part of the world.
All in all, this was an enjoyable read, and I'd be excited to read more books in this series and from this author in the future.
___
CW: There are several instances where characters experience religious discrimination - specifically, Islamophobia. There is also another character in the book who is a known white supremacist and KKK member. Other characters in the book make their opinions known on both issues and stand up for their friends.
I don't think that this made the book 'woke' or 'preachy' or 'PC', as some other reviewers have commented. Rather, I would say the treatment of these social issues wasn't as deeply executed or nuanced as they could have been.
However, I would advise people who do not like cozies with social issues to avoid this book because these issues do come up multiple times.
For more of my reviews, please visit:
booklovingmom_'s review against another edition
2.0
2.5/5 stars
I received an ARC copy of Candy Slain Murder through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Candy Slain Murder is the eighth book in the Country Store Mystery series. In Candy Slain Murder, Robbie goes about solving the mystery of a murder, a fire and a skeleton in the attic.
This is the first book in the series that I have read and I have to say it didn’t really catch my interest. It was well written, planned out and I did like the Christmas theme, but it fell a bit flat for me. I especially couldn’t get into the characters and the way most of them talked, they sounded very uneducated, even the ones who had gone to law school. The catching of the killer also came off as very anticlimactic to me, but that could have been because I couldn’t get into the story and characters.
I really wanted to like this cozy mystery, but it wasn’t for me. Maybe one day I’ll go back and try the other books in the series to see if reading them in order makes me like them any more.
I received an ARC copy of Candy Slain Murder through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Candy Slain Murder is the eighth book in the Country Store Mystery series. In Candy Slain Murder, Robbie goes about solving the mystery of a murder, a fire and a skeleton in the attic.
This is the first book in the series that I have read and I have to say it didn’t really catch my interest. It was well written, planned out and I did like the Christmas theme, but it fell a bit flat for me. I especially couldn’t get into the characters and the way most of them talked, they sounded very uneducated, even the ones who had gone to law school. The catching of the killer also came off as very anticlimactic to me, but that could have been because I couldn’t get into the story and characters.
I really wanted to like this cozy mystery, but it wasn’t for me. Maybe one day I’ll go back and try the other books in the series to see if reading them in order makes me like them any more.
melanietalksbooks's review against another edition
2.0
I usually really like these books but it really bothered me the way that the MC expected someone being verbally abused to behave. Then she kept saying that the character had anger issues again, due to his response to islamophobia from a known white supremacist. She even considers the character able to do a mass attack like in schools because the character was defending himself. I couldn’t enjoy the book due to this being brought up so many times due to one single incident.
rebeccasreadingrambles's review
3.0
This was an enjoyable and easy to read mystery in the series. I love Robbie and her friends and seeing her run the restaurant flawlessly while helping snoop. However, I felt like the killer was completely obvious from the start and it was kind of frustrating that it took so long (and took danger) for anyone to close the case. Yes the police had to look into everyone, but the clues were very from the start and it seemed unrealistic that no action was taken for the entire book. I also was hoping for a bit more holiday vibes just based on the cover.
bookhussy's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
thisandthatwithkaren's review against another edition
5.0
"Candy Slain Murder” the 8th book in the Country Store Mystery series by Maddie Day. I just love this series,
This is the fourth book I have read in the series and I was able to follow along easily so it can be read as a stand alone. I really enjoyed it and practically read in one sitting.
I love the setting of South Lick, Indiana and I love Robbie and her staff at Pans N Pancakes they are like a big family. There were some nasty characters this time with touches on racism, and just plain old meanness. But through it all you still felt the good in most of South Lick. We learned more about Corrine and Danna this go around too which was nice.
There were enough twists to keep me intrigued and wanting to know how it ends. The plot and story were good and seemed to flow at a good pace. I did suspect the killer but I liked the surprise ending.
I highly recommend to anyone who enjoys a cozy filled with down home characters and a small town atmosphere.
I requested and received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from Kensington and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my OWN.
This is the fourth book I have read in the series and I was able to follow along easily so it can be read as a stand alone. I really enjoyed it and practically read in one sitting.
I love the setting of South Lick, Indiana and I love Robbie and her staff at Pans N Pancakes they are like a big family. There were some nasty characters this time with touches on racism, and just plain old meanness. But through it all you still felt the good in most of South Lick. We learned more about Corrine and Danna this go around too which was nice.
There were enough twists to keep me intrigued and wanting to know how it ends. The plot and story were good and seemed to flow at a good pace. I did suspect the killer but I liked the surprise ending.
I highly recommend to anyone who enjoys a cozy filled with down home characters and a small town atmosphere.
I requested and received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from Kensington and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my OWN.
anjelica's review
dark
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5