Review and Giveaway: Eggs in a Casket

Eggs in a Casket (Cackleberry Club Mystery - Book 5)

Publication Date: 01/07/2014
Publisher: Penguin Group
Imprint: Berkley Prime Crime
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Pages: 336
ISBN-10: 0425255581
ISBN-13: 978-042525582

(Received for an honest review from the author)

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

Laura Childs on the WEB: Website, facebook, goodreads

Books in the series: 

Eggs in Purgatory (2008), Eggs Benedict Arnold (2009), Bedeviled Eggs (2010), Stake & Eggs (2012), Eggs in a Casket (2014)

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

Synopsis:

The ladies of the Cackleberry Club are always ready to serve—whether they’re cooking up breakfast or sniffing out a bad egg.
 
While Petra handles the breakfast rush at the Cackleberry Club, the café’s other two owners, Suzanne and Toni, head to Memorial Cemetery to help prepare for its 150th anniversary celebration. But as they search the winding paths for the historical society tent, they discover something else out of place: the body of ex-prison warden Lester Drummond lying facedown in someone else’s freshly dug grave.
 
In the small town of Kindred, everyone knows everyone, and Lester was no exception. Suzanne knew him as the creepy guy who made unwanted advances on her friend Missy Langston. But now it appears the man was hiding a few secrets…and at least one of them was worth killing for.
 
As the case cracks open, there are plenty of suspects to consider—from recent parolees to Missy herself, who Suzanne and Toni saw speeding away just before they found the body. Now, with a cemetery celebration in the offing, and the local authorities in over their heads, it’s up to the Cackleberry Club to unscramble the clues and clear their friend’s name.

Thoughts:

Laura Childs brings readers the fifth book in her Cackleberry Club mystery series, Eggs in a Casket. When three friends, who are at loose ends, decide to open a cafe that specializes in eggs, nobody realized that an amateur sleuthing team was in the offing. Readers will be drawn to Childs' three amazing protagonists in this series and to the small town setting of Kindred. Childs has a remarkable eye for detail and even the smallest of things becomes important. With bodies turning up in odd places and a Cemetery Celebration in the works, this is one you won't want to miss.

What I liked:

Laura Childs is easily my favorite cozy writer out there. She has a knack for knowing just the right details to add to each of her series' and to each book to get the reader interested and invested in what happens to these characters. Her attention to detail is astounding. I enjoy all of the tidbits of local happenings. In Eggs in a Casket we see a lot of our favorites and some new members of the community we haven't met before. It's always nice to visit with characters that seem like old friends. Childs draws the reader in quickly with a well drawn small town setting that is just automatically appealing. Kindred is my kind of place.

I liked the whole idea of this series from the beginning. A cafe specializing in eggs was a interesting idea, but the part of the Cackleberry Club that is so endearing is that it becomes the local meeting place, where local denizens come to hear the news and eat good food. It's all about community in this series. In Eggs in a Casket we find that the former prison warden Lester Drummond, was not exactly a model citizen himself. When he turns up murdered on the eve of the 150th anniversary of the local cemetery, it seems only fitting that he be found in a borrowed grave.

You don't hear too many towns celebrating a cemetery. I thought that was a nice touch and added some flavor to the story. I enjoyed the fact that though this is a murder mystery, Childs still shows a great sense of irony and a lot of humor. There are some moments in this book that will have you laughing in spite of the fact that murder is afoot. 

Toni, Petra and Suzanne always seem to get mixed up in police business and this time is no different. I liked the fact that the sheriff is kind of out of commission and it's up to the ladies to help him out of a jam with this case. He always seems to be trying to get them to stay out of his business until he can't seem to get it figured out and this time, he really needs help. It's a great relationship between them and it adds some comic relief as well. 

What I didn't like:

As usual with a Laura Childs book, there wasn't anything to report in this section. Every book I read for her is so well written and fun. It's hard to give a low rating when there isn't anything to criticize.

Bottom Line:

If you haven't read any of Laura Childs books you are really missing out. The Cackleberry Club series has a down home feel with great characters and a town you will wish was your own. Eggs in a Casket is one of my favorites in the series so far. Don't miss it!

Eggs in A Casket is available NOW from your favorite bookseller.

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

About the Author:

Laura Childs is the New York Times bestselling author of the Tea Shop Mysteries, the Scrapbooking Mysteries, and the Cackleberry Club Mysteries. She is a consummate tea drinker, scrapbooker, and dog lover, and travels frequently to China and Japan with Dr. Bob, her professor husband. In her past life she was a Clio Award–winning advertising writer and CEO of her own marketing firm.

Giveaway Details:

The author is sponsoring a giveaway of two copies of her book, Eggs in a Casket. 

~ You must be an email subscriber to participate.
~ U.S. Addresses only.
~ The deadline to enter this giveaway is Midnight EST, January 23rd.

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