Can Sugar Rise to the Occasion and Find Another Killer?
It’s been years since we had any new books in the Sugar and Spice Mysteries. With the original imprint that published the series shutting down, I assumed that was all we were going to get. But a new publisher stepped in to resurrect the series, and I quickly added Night of the Living Bread, the fourth, to my to be read pile.
This series is set in the town of St. Ignatius in Iowa. Our main characters are Sugar Calloway and Dixie Spicer, best friends who had joined together to create Sugar & Spice Community Cookbooks. Their company focuses on creating cook books that various community groups can use as fundraisers. Of course, they seem to find themselves in various mysteries along the way.
As this book opens, Sugar and Dixie are working on a new project for the Jameson County Historical Society. It’s a cook book focused on various breads. It may sound a little narrow, but they already have several ideas for subcategories, and the pair are excited about it. Their contact for the project is Marla Mercer. But Sugar’s appointment one morning never happens since she finds Marla dead on the office floor, a bread knife in her back. Everyone seems shocked by the murder, insisting that Marla was well loved. So who would want to kill her?
It may have been a few years since I last visited these characters, but I slipped back into their world easily. There was enough context to remind me of the characters and their relationships. And it was great to be back in their world again. The main cast and their relationships are charming, and I enjoyed getting to revisit them. The new characters were just as charming – at least on the surface.
The mystery started strongly. I was intrigued to see what motives Sugar would uncover for this murder. While I didn’t have all the pieces together before I reached the end, I had figured several pieces out. And, when I did reach the end, everything made perfect sense.
There are a couple of subplots as well that helped keep my attention as I was reading.
And what kind of culinary cozy would this be if it didn’t include recipes? Yes, there are bread recipes, 3 of them in fact. But we also get recipes for a couple of different, and delicious sounding, desserts.
It’s always nice to see a series I enjoyed find a new home and make a comeback. Fans of this series will be happy to pick up Night of the Living Bread.
Be sure to check out the rest of the Sugar and Spice Mysteries.
NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.
I’m also reviewing it as part of a blog tour. Check out the rest of the stops and enter the
tour wide giveaway below.
I haven't read any in this series, but it sounds like a good setup and a little different from other food cozies.
ReplyDeleteIt's great when you can just slide back into a series even after a period of time!
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