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kimdavishb's review against another edition
5.0
ASSAULT AND PEPPER by Leslie Budewitz is a very enjoyable book. Leslie's protagonist, Pepper Reece, owns the Seattle Spice Shop located in Pike Place Market. Pepper has had a long year establishing her business and recovering from divorcing her cheating husband. As the one year anniversary of owning the shop approaches she begins to feel more positive about the changes in her life. That is until a homeless man is found murdered on her shop's doorstep with her shop's paper cup clasped in his hands. Leslie makes Seattle's Pike Place come deliciously alive with her descriptions along with tackling the issues of homelessness with sensitivity. I am definitely looking forward to reading more from Leslie Budewitz! She has also included some wonderful recipes in her book - the Salty Oat Cookies were a huge hit with my family!
kristirose's review against another edition
3.0
After her divorce, Pepper Reece purchases the Seattle Spice Shop with the hope of settling down to a quiet life as a small business owner. However her life is thrown into chaos when one of the street people is murdered on the shop's doorstep. When one of her employee's is accused, Pepper tries to find the true culprit and clear her friend's name.
I liked this book. The mystery was interesting. Personally, I had trouble connecting to the characters though. I am not sure why. I did enjoy the bits of herbal information included in the book. I enjoyed the author's references to the Cadfael. I thought that it was a nice touch since Cadfael worked with herbs and spices himself. I do plan to read the next book in the series to see what happens with the characters.
I liked this book. The mystery was interesting. Personally, I had trouble connecting to the characters though. I am not sure why. I did enjoy the bits of herbal information included in the book. I enjoyed the author's references to the Cadfael. I thought that it was a nice touch since Cadfael worked with herbs and spices himself. I do plan to read the next book in the series to see what happens with the characters.
camille_catterpillar's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.75
A cute and cosy mystery delivering everything the genre promises. I have never been to Seattle (or anywhere on the North American west coast, actually) but this book made me want to visit the Pike Place market. It's one of these stories with a strong sense of place and truly shows the author's love for the place.
I was surprised by such a large cast of characters for such a simple story, and I would say that trimming down the cast might would have been beneficial. Especially outside of the spice shop, I didn't feel that Pepper's friends Kristen and Laurel truly had much individuality or much to add to the story.
I was surprised by such a large cast of characters for such a simple story, and I would say that trimming down the cast might would have been beneficial. Especially outside of the spice shop, I didn't feel that Pepper's friends Kristen and Laurel truly had much individuality or much to add to the story.
nickystrickland's review against another edition
2.0
Giving the second in the series a go to see if this suffered from a mix of large print edition, not being in right frame of mind and the first book-in-series/setting too much up-itis resulting in a stop/start way of reading. Tried out a cozy without a paranormal/supernatural element and not set in the south of the US.
pinofomoh's review against another edition
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
git_r_read's review against another edition
5.0
I LOVED THIS BOOK! The characters, the premise, the location, the straight-up fab writing, I had a lot of fun reading it. I love cozies, especially in the winter, and had heard really good things about this author. She has two series, so far, to try, both foodie in nature. I really was glad to find this on the shelf when I was in that cozy frame of mind a week ago. It immediately became my purse book and it didn't take long to finish due to a quiet night and a superb story.
Perfect setting of Seattle, in Pike's Place in the Seattle Spice Shop owned by Pepper Reece, main character. She left the corporate world and a dissolved marriage and now lives the quiet life. Except her ex keeps popping up and someone is found dead in her shop's doorway. One of her employees is arrested and Pepper needs to investigate to get her employee cleared and get life and her shop back on its even keel.
This is a sort of pattern in the cozies I read, not sure if it's in all cozies, but it's one that works.
The author tamps in perfect bits about Seattle history, the people who live and work in the city and her immediate vicinity, and her main character loves Brother Cadfael, one of my favorite mystery characters. Hard to resist the main character when she likes to read as much as I do.
Lovely touches throughout makes me want to visit or move to Seattle, become friends with these people!
I can definitely recommend this book and author. I will be going to the bookstore very soon to get the next in the series and look for her other series, The Food Lovers' Village Mystery.
Perfect setting of Seattle, in Pike's Place in the Seattle Spice Shop owned by Pepper Reece, main character. She left the corporate world and a dissolved marriage and now lives the quiet life. Except her ex keeps popping up and someone is found dead in her shop's doorway. One of her employees is arrested and Pepper needs to investigate to get her employee cleared and get life and her shop back on its even keel.
This is a sort of pattern in the cozies I read, not sure if it's in all cozies, but it's one that works.
The author tamps in perfect bits about Seattle history, the people who live and work in the city and her immediate vicinity, and her main character loves Brother Cadfael, one of my favorite mystery characters. Hard to resist the main character when she likes to read as much as I do.
Lovely touches throughout makes me want to visit or move to Seattle, become friends with these people!
I can definitely recommend this book and author. I will be going to the bookstore very soon to get the next in the series and look for her other series, The Food Lovers' Village Mystery.
invisibleninjacat's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
It took me a while to get into this one - it got better (less bleak of a story) after learning more about Doc and his identity. The mystery played out well though.
momreaderh's review against another edition
4.0
Note I read books like this when I don’t want to have to use too much brainpower. Pretty good as far as this genre goes and pretty clean; some mild language.