Here’s my standard disclaimer. I saw the title listed on a website for mystery & thriller books and decided to check it out. This title was available through Kindle Unlimited and I have a KU subscription. So, I downloaded it that way from Amazon on my own accord. The Author did not send me a copy to review, and did not request me to review this book. A rating will follow this review on Goodreads and Amazon.
I review books based on the story itself. I’m not an editor and I’m not reading these books to proof them for Authors. I’ve read classics or best sellers with mistakes in them. The only time I will let mistakes effect my review is if the mistakes made reading the book cumbersome. At that point, I will just give it a lower number rating while reviewing the actual story itself.
I don’t like reading a review that is basically the back cover blurb, or something that gives away too much of the story. Personally, I like suspense. I like to discover the details of the story as I read them. So, please enjoy this spoiler free book review!
I’m happy to announce that the seventh book I’m reviewing on my blog is a book called CREAM PUFF MURDER by Sandi Scott.
CREAM PUFF MURDER is a Women Sleuths, Culinary, cozy mystery. Now to preface this review… The reason why I downloaded it is because my wife is a great”at home” pastry chef . It’s just something she does at home, especially during special occasions. So, I get to enjoy a good cream puff every now and then! I think I was a little bit hungry too…
First of all, the tone of the story wasn’t what I expected for a mystery. As in, I was expecting a darker story for a mystery. I actually realized that I didn’t know what a cozy mystery was. I know, shame on me. So, I looked up the “cozy mystery” genre and read what cozy mystery’s are. Now, the story made perfect sense. Cozy downplays the dark aspects of the mystery literary genre. It’s usually an intuitive woman sleuth in a small town setting who has close contacts with the police and conducts investigations on their own. With that in mind, it’s a perfect example of the genre down to a T!
What can I say about the story? I really got into it. Why? I live in a small coastal town in the Southern Outer Banks area in North Carolina. Where I live on the NC Crystal Coast is just like the setting of the book. I don’t want to post any spoilers, but the opposition group that’s opposed to change in the book? We have one in my town as well. They oppose anything and everything when it comes to new development. The sleepiness of the town, and the small town gossip in the book? Yep, I see that everyday over here too. I had to show my wife some parts of the book and she laughed with me at how similar our situation was to the story. The whole story was interesting for me. Who had motives, who had alibis? Who had the most to gain? What was really going on? Even though someone was cleared, it didn’t make the resolution any more predictable.
As for the resolution and murderer? I made guesses throughout the story as to who did it. I was way off. There were several twists and you suspected everyone during the story. Finding out who was the murderer and how they did it at the end was a pleasant surprise!
I found it refreshing that I related to many aspects of this story. The small coastal town, the opposition group, the pastry chef part (my wife even know what the pastry terms were!), and even the IT part. I worked IT in the past, and dealt with the IT aspects showcased in the book. It wasn’t a boring read, and it kept me entertained until the very end.
The best way I can explain my following rating is that it was a good story. The characters like Ashley and Ryan were developed and the cover looked great. The bloody cream puff script was a nice touch, and really fit the story. I recommend this book to others. I rate this book 5 out of 5!
-PRP3 The Author Media. December 22, 2016
Paul Russell Parker III 