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Peach Cobbler Poison*
Perilous Pie a la (Murder) Mode
Izzy has escaped San Francisco and her shattered marriage to rebuild a new life as a pie shop owner in wine country where her grandmother lives. She has the great idea of opening a shop featuring pies with alcohol cooked in and paired with wines or coffee. On her first day in business, a customer is killed right in front of her store. Although it appears at first to be an accident, Izzy and the woman’s other friends become suspects.
Was the woman killed, and if so by whom? Are Izzy’s business and freedom at stake?
As we expect from cozy mysteries, this book is full of twists, turns, and madcap adventures as Izzy tries to figure out what precisely happened in front of her little pie shop that fateful day. The story is full of quirky characters who add much to the delight of reading the story. I felt there was perhaps a little too much emphasis on the zany plot machinations and not the characterization, but hopefully the author will work that out as she continues the series. Even in a mystery, character should not take the backseat to the plot.
I have one tiny quibble with the book. I grew up and spent most of my life in the San Francisco Bay Area. In the book, the author has Izzy state that the residents of the small fictional town of Sunshine Springs refer to that city as the “big city.” Actually, the residents of the greater Bay Area don’t refer to San Francisco as that; we simply call it “the city.”
If you enjoy cozy Mysteries with a culinary bent, you might enjoy this book.