Author Deborah Garner’s books are known for memorable characters; some quirky, some fun, some mystical. I was intrigued when her very fun, very flamboyant character from CRANBERRY BLUFF, spun off into another series and I was charmed when I read A FLAIR FOR DRAMA! Sadie Kramer is an “older” sixty-plus woman, which is a refreshing change from the usual late twenties to thirty-something protagonists who populate most cozy mysteries (not that there’s anything wrong with that!). It’s my experience, and Sadie Kramer certainly exhibits this, is that by the time we get to a certain age we really don’t care what people think. As long as we do what pleases ourselves and what we know is the right thing to do, then all social peer pressure vanishes. It can be quite liberating! As a result, Sadie says and does things that entertains the reader, making us chuckle a bit, and admire her pluck. 

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Sadie’s sidekick, Coco, is an adorable Yorkie. This precocious, pampered pet literally and figuratively steals both the scenes and the show when she is on stage. Coco provides a nice supporting role to Sadie’s sleuthing trying to find out who killed the leading lady in her friend’s stage production. There are plenty of suspects and leads to keep the reader guessing, while the plot has several twists and turns to keep it entertaining. This coziest of cozies is a fun book to while the afternoon away curled up on the couch or enjoy as a beach read on vacation. 

Be prepared, though, to be thoroughly craving chocolate while you read this book! Sadie discovers Chocolate Lava Cakes while visiting her friend in Monterey Bay… and she eats them often. I was honored when Deborah Garner asked if I would create the recipe for Individual Chocolate Lava Cakes for the book! Decadent chocolate truffles create a delectable, gooey center for the rich chocolate cakes. Served with whipped cream and raspberries, these are an elegant dessert that will be having your family and guests oohing and ahhing! 

Amazon Synopsis

When a former schoolmate invites flamboyant senior sleuth Sadie Kramer to a theatre production, she jumps at the excuse to visit the Monterey Bay area for a weekend. With quaint Carmel shops a short drive away and luxurious linens in her hotel accommodations, the excursion promises to be both entertaining and relaxing.

Plenty of action is expected on stage, but when the show’s leading lady turns up dead, Sadie finds herself faced with more than one drama to follow. With both cast members and production crew as potential suspects, will Sadie and her sidekick Yorkie, Coco, be able to solve the case?

A huge thank you to Deborah Garner for providing a winner with the choice of either print or an e-book copy of A FLAIR FOR DRAMA! Contest ends Monday, June 19, 2017 at 11:59 pm PST and is limited to U.S. residents for a print copy. Please use the Rafflecopter box located below the recipe to enter. The winner will be announced on this page and on Cinnamon & Sugar’s Facebook page, as well as notified by email (so check your spam folder!)

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MULCH ADO ABOUT MURDER, the fifth book in Edith Maxwell’s Local Foods Mystery series, brings the reader back to Westbury, Massachusetts. We find organic farmer Cam Flaherty hard at work tending her fields and chickens, when her academic parents decide to come for a visit. Cam’s parents were more interested in their studies and researching abroad every year than spending time with her while she was growing up and as a result, they were never close. Cam has always felt insecure in their love for her and isn’t sure that she wants them there for too long of a visit, especially when her mother starts protesting against Nicole, a new hydroponics farmer in town. 

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I found the introduction of the controversy over hydroponics in organic farming very interesting. My husband grows flowering plants in hydroponics and semi-hydroponics and I’m intrigued at the possibility of growing food using that method. The town is divided over the issue and when Nicole is murdered, Cam’s visiting mother becomes a suspect. Cam knows her mother must be innocent but she appears to be hiding a dark secret and won’t confide in Cam or anyone else. The author weaves in the theme of looking for acceptance and finding yourself while making peace with the past. Cam’s mother may be hard to get to know but her father seems more amiable, kind of a forgetful, bumbling at times, professor who brings a sweetness to the story. The mystery of who killed the hydroponics farmer is satisfying with plenty of suspects to keep you guessing. The story is well paced with a suspenseful ending that had me up late, turning pages to find out how it ended!  

Edith provides several delicious recipes at the end of the book and many are farm-fresh recipes that make me think of spring and summer. The recipe that caught my eye, Swedish Cheesecake, is one that is a light, not too sweet, dessert that provides a perfect ending to a summery dinner. Instead of relying on rich cream cheese, Swedish Cheesecake uses cottage cheese and almond meal making it lighter with a unique texture much different than American cheesecake. After trying a piece, I was reminded of a dessert from my childhood that was similar. I don’t have the recipe nor can I remember much about it, but it’s funny how certain tastes and textures bring back memories…good memories! I made this recipe and cut into bite-sized pieces for one of the desserts I provided for my granddaughter’s school’s Teacher Appreciation week. I must admit there were a few squares missing from the platter by the time it was delivered to the staff’s lounge 🙂 

Amazon Synopsis

It’s been a hot, dry spring in Westbury, Massachusetts. As organic farmer Cam Flaherty waits for much-needed rain, storm clouds of mystery begin to gather. Once again, it’s time to put away her sun hat and put on her sleuthing cap…

May has been anything but merry for Cam so far. Her parents have arrived unexpectedly and her crops are in danger of withering away. But all of that’s nothing compared to the grim fate that lies in store for one of her neighbors. Nicole Kingsbury is the proud owner of the town’s new hydroponic greenhouse. She claims the process will be 100% organic, but she uses chemicals to feed her crops. To Cam’s surprise, her mother embarrasses her by organizing a series of loud public protests against Nicole’s operation.

When Nicole is found dead in a vat of hydroponic slurry—clutching another set of rosary beads—Detective Pete Pappas has a new murder to solve. Showers may be scarce this spring, but there’s no shortage of suspects, including the dead woman’s embittered ex‑husband, the Other Man whose affair ruined their marriage, and Cam’s own mother. Lucky for Cam, her father turns out to have a knack for sleuthing—not to mention dealing with chickens. Will he and Cam be able to clear Mrs. Flaherty’s name before the killer strikes again?

A huge thank you to Edith Maxwell for providing a hardcover copy for one lucky winner! Contest ends Thursday, June 1, 2017 at 11:59 pm PST and is limited to U.S. residents. Please use the Rafflecopter box located below the recipe to enter. The winner will be announced on this page and on Cinnamon & Sugar’s Facebook page, as well as notified by email (so check your spam folder!)

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I was provided an advanced copy with the hopes I would review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I’m always excited when H.Y. Hanna releases a new book in her Oxford Tearoom Mystery series! You can count on a title with a clever pun, a good mystery, charming characters, and a delicious traditional British recipe. Her newest release, FOUR PUDDINGS AND A FUNERAL, the sixth book in the series, certainly does not disappoint! The protagonist, Gemma Rose, owns Little Stables Tearoom. Her fairly new business is taking off and she’s catering a funeral, the largest job she’s ever had. Mabel Cooke, one of the members of the “Old Biddies” group is overhead talking about how she would commit murder and not long afterwards, the widow drops dead at her husband’s funeral…just after eating some of the puddings Gemma’s tearoom provided. By the way, in England puddings refer to a variety of desserts and isn’t limited to the custards American’s call pudding. 

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The four “Old Biddies” bring lighthearted humor to the story with their unhealthy interest in solving murders, especially when one of their own becomes a suspect. I love how they drag Gemma into trouble when she’s only trying to keep them from being arrested. It makes for some very humorous situations. H.Y. Hanna has a wonderful cast of characters in each of her books, including her darling tabby, Muesli. In FOUR PUDDINGS AND A FUNERAL we are also introduced to an adorable hedgehog, Pricklebum, and as a result learn a bit about the need to protect these creatures due to loss of habitat and other issues. The plot is well developed along with the subplots, including Gemma’s relationship with Devlin O’Connor. There’s something fishy going on with him but Gemma is afraid to confront him or find out the truth. It adds to the tension in the book, wondering how it will be resolved. 

Of course running a tearoom means plenty of delectable treats! One of the desserts Gemma takes to the funeral is Sticky Toffee Pudding. I was honored when H.Y. Hanna asked me to provide the recipe for her book! When my husband and I visited England many years ago, we ate Sticky Toffee Pudding numerous times. Once we returned home, a friend of ours from England shared her recipe with us and now it’s the only cake my husband requests on his birthday each year. I’ve tweaked it to suit our needs and streamline the process, but it’s every bit as yummy as what we ate during our trip. I like the fact that it uses very little butter and instead, relies upon lots of dates to provide both moisture and sweetness. Of course what really makes the cake is the super simple toffee sauce. You’ll want to eat it on ice cream, apple pie, and just about any other desserts including Sticky Toffee Pudding!

Amazon Synopsis

Business is going well at Gemma Rose’s quaint English teashop and she’s delighted about her first big catering job at a local village funeral… until the day ends with a second body and one of the Old Biddies accused of murder! Now the resourceful tearoom sleuth must find out which delicious pudding contained the deadly arsenic—and who might have wanted the wealthy widow dead… But Gemma has other troubles to contend with, from her naughty cat, Muesli, running loose in her tearoom to an unexpected hedgehog guest in her home—and that’s before the all-important “meet the parents” dinner with her handsome detective boyfriend turns into a total disaster! With so many things on her plate, can Gemma solve the mystery in time to catch the murderer or will she come to a sticky end?

A huge thank you to H.Y. Hanna for providing winner’s choice of print or an e-book copy of FOUR PUDDINGS AND A FUNERAL to one winner.  Contest ends Monday, April 24, 2017 at 11:59 pm PST. Please use the Rafflecopter box located below the recipe to enter. Winner will be announced on this page and on Cinnamon & Sugar’s Facebook page, as well as notified by email (so check your spam folder!)

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I finally had the opportunity to meet the lovely author, Marla Cooper, in Honolulu at Left Coast Crime last month. I had a very fun time listening to her play the ukulele for a group of us and chatting over drinks one evening. Smart, talented and humorous, Marla brings all of those qualities to her newest release, DYING ON THE VINE, the second book in her Kelsey McKenna Destination Wedding Mystery series! 

Kelsey McKenna is a destination wedding planner. Like her creator, Kelsey is also intelligent, artistic and funny, using those qualities while working with brides, wedding vendors and obnoxious wedding planners who feel like she’s the competition. When she finds the murdered body of one of her competitors, Kelsey suddenly discovers herself in the unwanted center of attention of the police. Worried that she will lose business she can ill-afford, Kelsey must solve the murder and clear her name. She readily admits that she really doesn’t know how to solve crimes and proves to everyone that it’s definitely not as easy as they make it seem on CSI reruns! This sets the stage for several laugh out moments along with the zingy little one liners Kelsey likes to throw in.

I adored the setting of Napa Valley for this destination mystery series! Having lived in Napa for a while in my early twenties, Marla perfectly captures the sights, sounds, and flavors of the valley. She also provides a little information on wineries and wine caves, which I found fascinating. Kelsey has a wonderful friendship with Brody, a wedding photographer, and her assistant, Laurel. They complement each other and the author has set up great dialog and repartee between the characters. The plot moved at a fast pace with plenty of suspects to keep the reader guessing and concludes with an exciting, suspenseful scene which wraps the story up nicely.

While there aren’t any recipes included with the book, there is plenty of yummy food mentioned. After discussing with Marla, I decided to create a recipe for White Cake with White Chocolate Ganache Frosting, based on a scene in DYING ON THE VINE. Kelsey is given a 6-inch sample cake from a bakery wanting some of her wedding business, but I made it an 8-inch cake so there is plenty to go around for family and friends. My taste testers oohed over the rich moistness of the cake and the unbelievably creamy frosting. The white chocolate adds just the right amount of flavor that compliments the vanilla cake. While my homemade White Cake recipe is deliciously yummy, the star is truly the White Chocolate Ganache Frosting! I’ve included a look at how to make a fondant ribbon flower at the end of the video tutorial below. It’s a quick and easy way to dress up any cake for any occasion! 

Amazon Synopsis

When wedding planner Kelsey McKenna goes to the Wine Country Wedding Faire, the last thing she expects to do is take on new clients. After all, she’s just there to help out her friend Brody and maybe score some free cupcakes. But when a young couple in a pinch asks for her help, she just can’t say no.

There’s only one problem: they’d been working with Babs Norton, the self-proclaimed Queen of Wine Country Weddings―and things did not end well. Kelsey wants to make sure there are no hard feelings, but unfortunately she never gets the chance. When she goes to Babs’ office, she finds the wedding planner dead on the floor.

Babs’ high-strung assistant Stefan knows exactly who killed Babs: Kelsey. At least, that’s what he very publicly accuses her of at Babs’ funeral. When Kelsey decides to do a little sleuthing to clear her name, she uncovers a myriad of secrets and lies. And when a second wedding planner is attacked, Kelsey begins to wonder if she might be next.

A special thank you to Marla Cooper for providing a hardcover copy of DYING ON THE VINE for one lucky winner! Please use the Rafflecopter box located below the recipe to enter. Contest ends Monday, April 10, 2017 at 11:59 pm PST. Print limited to U.S. residents only. Winners will be announced on this page and on Cinnamon & Sugar’s Facebook page, as well as notified by email (so check your spam folder!)

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Marla Cooper is an accomplished ukulele player and serenaded us on the beach in Hawaii! 

I received a copy in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I’m very happy to welcome Paige Shelton back to my blog to celebrate her new release, OF BOOKS AND BAGPIPES. She is also sharing her amazing recipe for Best Butterscotch Mistake Cake Ever! along with a chance to win a signed hardcover copy of her new book. Thank you, Paige, for your generosity! You can see my review and the synopsis at the bottom of the page below the Rafflecopter link.

The contest ends Monday, April 3, 2017 at 11:59 pm PST and is limited to U.S. residents only. Please use the Rafflecopter box located below the recipes to enter. The winner will be announced on this page and on Cinnamon & Sugar’s Facebook page, as well as notified by email (so check your spam folder!) 

Welcome back to Cinnamon & Sugar, Paige!

Don’t you love it when a plan comes together? Don’t you love it even more when things come together without any plan in the first place? Me too. It’s rare that one of my throw-together, or leftover ingredient recipes actually taste good, but I got lucky on this one.

In celebration of the publication of my upcoming book OF BOOKS AND BAGPIPES, I’m sharing the recipe. This might not necessarily be a Scottish recipe, but we can pretend and somehow correlate the ButterSCOTCH with scotch whisky, though there’s no whisky involved. Okay, a stretch, I know, but you’ll thank me later.

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Thank you to my sister, Kathy, for making this cake yesterday (4/2) and instigating another happy mistake which corrected the issue of the cake sticking to a bundt pan. She forgot to add the butterscotch chips before adding the batter to the bundt pan. Once she realized it, she sprinkled the chips over the top of the batter and barely pushed them down until a small amount of batter covered them. The chips sink as it is baked and turned out perfectly! Here are her pics.

Photo cred: Kathy Keith

Photo Cred: Kathy Keith

My Review

When Paige Shelton released the first book in her Scottish Bookshop Mystery series last year, I was smitten and couldn’t wait for the next installment. Books and treasures, the warmth and charm of the characters, and a strong mystery to keep me guessing combine to create another home run with her newest release, OF BOOKS AND BAGPIPES!

The author has created a memorable protagonist with her character, Delaney Nichols from Kansas in America. Delaney has relocated herself to Scotland to work for elderly Edwin MacAlister, owner of the bookshop The Cracked Spine. The setting of the bookshop is magical with its books, hidden treasures, and delightful employees including the darling terrier, Hector. Delaney comes to love her boss and the others at the bookshop like family and her care and concern shine through the situations she finds herself in. Paige Shelton has also created a lovely relationship between Delaney and her landlords, Elias and Aggie, who treat the American transplant like a daughter. Cab-driving Elias becomes a ready sidekick to Delaney’s exploration and investigations, providing balance to the scenes while portraying the charm of the Scottish people and their delightful language.

I loved how the author weaves bits and pieces of Scottish history into the story in such a creative way that I didn’t even realize I was “learning” while turning page after page to find out what happens next. And turn the pages I did… as the intertwined murder mystery and half-century old secrets unfolded, unexpected twists and turns caught me by surprise and took me in an entirely different direction than I thought the author was going. It provides an edge-of-your-seat read that I couldn’t put down until I finished the last page!

Now my comment about the Best Butterscotch Mistake Cake Ever! I had a lot of family coming into town to stay with me for several days. When Paige sent me the recipe I knew it was one I needed to make for my company. Once the plates were passed around three things happened: 1) Everyone wanted the recipe right then and there; 2) Numerous people went back for seconds; 3) I knew I was going to have to make a second cake right away…and I did! This is an amazingly easy cake to make but the results are anything but ordinary!

Amazon Synopsis

Delaney Nichols has settled so comfortably into her new life in Edinburgh that she truly feels it’s become more home than her once beloved Kansas. Her job at the Cracked Spine, a bookshop that specializes in rare manuscripts as well as other sundry valuable historical objects, is everything she had dreamed, with her new boss, Edwin MacAlister, entrusting her more and more with bigger jobs. Her latest task includes a trip to Castle Doune, a castle not far out of Edinburgh, to retrieve a hard-to-find edition of an old Scottish comic, an “Oor Wullie,” in a cloak and dagger transaction that Edwin has orchestrated.

While taking in the sights of the distant Highlands from the castle’s ramparts, Delaney is startled when she spots a sandal-clad foot at the other end of the roof. Unfortunately, the foot’s owner is very much dead and, based on the William Wallace costume he’s wearing, perfectly matches the description of the man who was supposed to bring the Oor Wullie. As Delaney rushes to call off some approaching tourists and find the police, she comes across the Oor Wullie, its pages torn and fluttering around a side wall of the castle. Instinct tells her to take the pages and hide them under her jacket. It’s not until she returns to the Cracked Spine that she realizes just how complicated this story is and endeavors to untangle the tricky plot of why someone wanted this man dead, all before getting herself booked for murder.

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I’ll admit I was never a fan of bagpipes until I visited Scotland and saw an elderly man, dressed in a kilt, playing his bagpipe at the ruins of an ancient castle. The haunting sound that captured the moment has stayed with me for years!

I received a copy in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Southern Girl Secret #060: “There are only two reasons someone new comes into your life: They’re either gonna be a blessin’ or a lesson.”  WAR AND PEACH, the newest release in the Georgia Peach Mystery series by Susan Furlong, is chock-full of fun tidbits like this at the beginning of each chapter. Each “secret” while cute, also has a ring of truth to it that I so enjoyed! Susan has created a tight-knit Georgia peach farming family for the feisty protagonist, Nola Mae Harper. No matter what troubles they find themselves in, they know they have the full support of each other. In WAR AND PEACH, Nola’s daddy, Raymond, finds himself in the cross-hairs of the vengeful Sheriff Maudy Payne when she suspects him in the murder of his rival, Clem Rogers. Nola Mae has never understood the antagonistic nature between the two men but as she starts digging into the past to clear her daddy’s name, she uncovers secrets that both her parents have tried hard to keep buried. Despite the circumstantial evidence that is found, she has trust that she will find the truth and her daddy will be exonerated.

Susan Furlong also deftly explores the prejudices Southerners and Northerners have for each other… or any “newcomer”. Apropos for the current events going on in our world today and will hopefully make a reader give pause to consider while at the same time being entertained. The story has a strong plot with several subplots intertwined which connect at the shocking reveal…I just didn’t see it coming! With plenty of suspects to keep the reader guessing I had a very difficult time pausing to take notes for this review and it was nearly impossible to put down to attend to other commitments.

Nola Mae has also just opened her peach shop, Peachy Keen. I adored the clever and humorous names she created for her gift baskets and I want to order some of them! Thankfully, the author includes a few recipes at the back of the book so some of her treats can be recreated at home. Susan has graciously allowed me to share her own mother’s recipe for Ginny Wiggins’s Perfect Peach Cake. Using a boxed cake mix as the base, a few simple pantry and dairy ingredients are added, resulting in a delicious, beautiful dessert! I love knowing that this is an old family recipe and I always like having recipes that riff on boxed cake mixes on hand. Thanks to my granddaughter, Emory, for making this cake for our family! 

Amazon Synopsis

Nola Mae Harper is too busy restocking the jars of preserves and chutney flying off the shelves of her shop, Peachy Keen, to keep up with all the gossip about the upcoming mayoral election, but she does know the debate is sure to be a real barn burner.
 
Local farmer Clem Rogers claims he has a bombshell that could take small business owner Margie Price out of the running. But before Clem can reveal his juicy secret at the debate, his actual barn goes up in flames—with him inside of it. The town casts its vote against Margie, but Nola isn’t convinced the hardworking woman is capable of murder. Now to clear Margie’s name Nola will have to work fast under pressure, before Margie gets taken in by the fuzz…

A huge thank you to Susan Furlong for providing the choice of any book from her Georgia Peach Mystery series: WAR AND PEACH; REST IN PEACH; or PEACHES AND SCREAM for one lucky winner! Contest ends Monday, February 13, 2017 at 11:59 pm PST. Please use the Rafflecopter box located below the recipe to enter. The winner will be announced on this page and on Cinnamon & Sugar’s Facebook page, as well as notified by email (so check your spam folder!)

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** If you read the recipe then watched the video you will notice Emory and I didn’t follow the directions exactly. Somehow we both missed the part where you beat everything together EXCEPT the cake mix, then add the mix in…lol! No worries though, it turned out super yummy anyway! 

I received a copy in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.