Happy Friday book lovers! I usually don’t do independent book reviews because I do a mini review on my Wednesday Reads posts but of the books I’ve read that week. But this second book in Beacon Bakeshop cozy mystery series by Darci Hannah deserves its own review. I was introduced to this author last year and I added her first book Murder at the Beacon Bakeshop to my TBR but I didn’t read it until this month because as I’m sure you all understand the TBR list never shrinks and takes on a life of its own. Once I read the first book which I enjoyed so much (clink on link below for that review) that I immediately ordered the second book in this series.
Wednesday Reads
Happy Wednesday book lovers! We’re half way through the week and getting ready for the weekend! Since last week I’ve…
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As I’ve stated before I am not a fan of Christmas in July because I like to celebrated each holiday in its season and I can only do one holiday at time and Christmas is a lot! But I knew I was going to break that rule this year because I just couldn’t wait until Christmas to read Murder at the Christmas Cookie Bake-off. Darci Hannah is such an amazing author and she doesn’t disappoint in this second book in the series (yes I have book 3). So as soon as I read my book club picks for July I immediately dived into Christmas cookie bake-off.
It’s Christmas in Beacon Harbor, MI and Lindsey Bakewell has visions of sugarplums and the perfect Christmas a la Hallmark dancing in her head. The bakeshop is doing great, her romance with Rory Campbell is going great, she has more staff to help her out, and the holiday orders are rolling in! The only problem is Lindsay has been through 3 baking assistants and when the self proclaimed Christmas expert Felicity Stewart owner of the towns year round Christmas Shoppe springs a Christmas cookie bake-off competition a week before the Christmas festival titled (kid you not) The Great Beacon Harbor Christmas Cookie Bake-off in which every one must introduce a signature cookie and the top 4 will be in a live baking competition at the Christmas festival that will be judged by the famous Chicago food critic Chevy Chambers of the show Windy City Eats well Lindsay is ready to throw in the towel! How is she going to do this on top of all the baking and filling orders without a baking assistant she needs a Christmas miracle!
Chevy Chambers turns out to be a truly loathsome person creating chaos and making enemies. He is hitting on the women in the competition and making promises to each one in exchange for “favors” but Lindsey sees through the slimy Mr. Chambers and doesn’t take him up on any offers
Then during the actual live competition Chevy is murdered and everything points to Felicity will Lindsay along with Rory, her best friend Kennedy, her parents who have flown in for Christmas and the resident lighthouse ghost Captain Willy be able to find the real killer or will Lindsay’s perfect Hallmark Christmas get cancelled permanently?
I loved this book! You can see the growth in every character and from the first sentence I was hooked and just couldn’t put the book down. There were plenty of red herrings but the one thing I appreciate about the author is she never introduces anyone or anything that doesn’t move the plot along. Also there are never like a hundred suspects or a lot of subplots that can take away from the actual mystery. I was fully engaged in the plot and again the killer was not the person I thought it was but there is one scene in the story that had me dying with laughter that involves Lindsey, Kennedy and her mother Ellie. I also loved her temporary baking assistant Mrs. Nichols who is Lindsey’s Christmas miracle.
It is hard for me to find anything I didn’t like about Murder at the Christmas Cookie Bake-off but if I have too:
- I was not a fan of the whole cookie napping thing because the only person who could identify them was Mrs. Nichols it worked on some level but I could have done without it
- I was well into the book before the murder actually happened but this is a matter of personal preference for me. I tend to like for the murder to happen at the beginning of the book again nit picking.
- The Great Beacon Harbor Christmas Cookie Bake-off I know it was a play on The Great British Bake-off but oh my goodness what a long title and I know I’m being super nit picky but I felt this title was just too much.
Until next time book lovers!
Regina the Southernista 