Review and Giveaway: One Dead Cookie

One Dead Cookie (Cookie Cutter Shop Mystery - Book 4) by Virginia Lowell

Publication Date: July 2, 2013
Publisher: Penguin Group
Imprint: Berkley Prime Crime
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Pages: 304
ISBN-10: 0425260690
ISBN-13:  978-0425260692

(Received for an honest review from Berkley Prime Crime)

Purchase: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, IndieBound

Virginia Lowell on the WEB: Website, Blog, Goodreads

Books in the series:

Cookie Dough or Die (2011), A Cookie Before Dying (2011), When the Cookie Crumbles (2012), One Dead Cookie (2013)

Coverart: Click the image for a larger, clearer view of the covers in this series.

Excerpt from One Dead Cookie, courtesy of Amazon's Look Inside Feature.

Synopsis:

Olivia Greyson is the proud owner of The Gingerbread House—a quaint shop that specializes in all things cookie—and her best friend, Maddie, is her sidekick, baking up scrumptious treats for their cookie-themed parties. But a dead body on their front porch might put their bake shop in a truly sticky situation…

Olivia is busy baking up special cookies for Maddie’s upcoming engagement party when soap star Trevor Lane shows up unexpectedly in town. It soon becomes clear that Trevor, who grew up in the neighboring town of Twiterton, left behind a number of enemies with long memories. Even Trevor’s assistant and childhood friend, Dougie, seems to harbor a grudge against him.

Soon after his arrival, Trevor is found dead on The Gingerbread House porch, his handsome face branded with the image of a cookie cutter. When their friend Stacey is implicated in the murder, Olivia and Maddie rush to find the killer. Because it seems someone in Chatterley Heights has a sweet tooth for revenge... 

Thoughts:

Virginia Lowell once again thrills readers with the latest book in the Cookie Cutter Shop mystery series, One Dead Cookie. Culinary cozy fans will find that this new addition to the series, satisfies their cravings for cookies as well as mysteries. Amateur sleuth, Olivia Greyson, has an engagement party to pull off and a dead body on the porch, isn't on the menu! Full of interesting characters and hometown charm, One Dead Cookie is sure to be a success for Lowell.

I remember making cookies as a child. I always wanted the cookie cutter that was shaped like the Gingerbread Boy. Virginia Lowell's Cookie Cutter Shop mysteries always bring out that nostalgic feeling in me. Whether it's baking cookies with my mom when I was a little girl or baking with my own children, these books make me a little reminiscent. They also bring to mind, being cuddled up in my favorite spot by the fireplace and falling asleep with an Agatha Christie book in my hand.

Lowell's mysteries remind me of times past. The small town charm of Chatterley Heights is addictive. Once a reader starts to get to know this very active little town and all the relationships between the townspeople. It's a little hard to put down one of Lowell's books. Especially, when the mystery starts to heat up. You find yourself wondering how anyone from this idyllic little town could do something like this, but Lowell always figures out a way to bring it all together and One Dead Cookie is no exception.

One of the things that I really liked about this one was the continuation of the friendship between Olivia and Maddie. Throughout this series, these two have been the best of friends. They have a relationship that most women crave. Someone to pal around with, go to lunch or a movie, someone to tell your secrets to, a shoulder to cry on, someone who just gets you. I think that Lowell really portrays friendship in such a remarkable light. She shows readers what it is all about to have someone who always has your back, even when dead bodies tend to show up now and then. LOL.

I liked the soap star returns home angle that Lowell used for this mystery. It was kind of like, boy makes it in the big city but still has a lot of skeletons in the closet back home. I thought I had it figured out a dozen times and was wrong every time. I love it when that happens. Lowell picked some great motives for her suspects and there were enough red herrings to throw the reader off indefinitely. This was a great story and it really kept me guessing.

I have to mention the recipes in the back of this one. I'm always looking to try to see if I would like the recipes provided. Sometimes I even try a couple of them, just to see. There were two recipes in this one, Ellie's Lemon Chicken and Rose Wedding Cutout Cookies. The Rose Wedding Cutout Cookies look amazing. I'm always looking for recipes my daughter might like, as she is preparing to one day have her own bakery.

This is a great addition to the series. I loved the bonds of friendship between Olivia and Maddie and the mystery aspect of the book was very engaging and had a lot of possible endings. I didn't figure this one out ahead of time, which is always a good thing. I definitely recommend it.

One Dead Cookie is available NOW from your favorite bookseller.

I'm giving this one 5 out of 5 apples from my book bag!

Giveaway Details:

The publisher is sponsoring a giveaway for one copy of One Dead Cookie by Virginia Lowell.

~ You must be an email subscriber to participate.
~ US addresses only.
~ The deadline to enter this giveaway is Midnight EST, August 5th.

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