Pancakes And Corpses by Agatha Frost

Title: Pancakes and Corpses
Author: Agatha Frost
Published: January 2017
Genre: Cozy Mystery
How I got the book: I downloaded it onto my Kindle

Summary:

Soon to be divorced Julia South never expected to be caught up in solving a murder, until she discovered the body of her cafe’s most awkward customer. With a new smug Detective Inspector in town who underestimates her every move, Julia makes it her mission to discover the real murderer, before her village friends are dragged into the frame, and more bodies are discovered.

My Review:

BookBub had emailed me saying that this book was free for the Kindle. I love mysteries and, since it was free, I figured I’d give it a shot.

Julia runs her own bakery in the small village of Peridale. She’s in the middle of divorce all the while trying to find someone to help work the bakery. She bakes to make herself feel better, to make the time pass. Overall, she’s doing pretty well for herself.

It’s not until her bakery receives a bad review from an anonymous person that her life turns upside down. She has an inkling of who the person is and when she goes to confront them, they’re dead.

As most of these stories go, the protagonist ends up solving the case with no criminal justice background whatsoever. Julia finds connection after connection until everything finally steps into place for her.

This book is the very definition of a cozy mystery. It’s riddled with cliches, but it’s still enjoyable.

The characters are really what makes a story for me. While I enjoyed all the characters written into this book, I didn’t get close to anyone. Not even Julia.

There were so many village people Julia talked to throughout her investigation and it turned into a big soap opera. It got hard to keep track after a little while.

Detective Inspector Barker Brown was an interesting character. He is, of course, the love interest. He just moved to the town and already has a big murder to solve. Despite this being “cozy,” I felt as though he was a bit unrealistic as a detective. Julia figured everything out before him (and reported to him) which made him a bit incompetent.

This book is a tad over 200 pages. It’s short and sweet but also goes by pretty fast. Julia was figuring things out that didn’t seem obvious leaving me no chance to figure out the mystery myself.

Still, the writing was well done. Other than being a bit rushed, it did flow well and everything made sense in the end.