Biscuits and Slashed Browns

Maddie Day

Jan 2018 · A Country Store Mystery Book 4 · Kensington Cozies

About this ebook

“With twists and turns and various forks in the road . . . takes readers on a wild journey”—from the author of Nacho Average Murder. Includes recipes! (Read Your Writes Book Reviews)

For country-store owner Robbie Jordan, the National Maple Syrup Festival is a sweet escape from late-winter in South Lick, Indiana—until murder saps the life out of the celebration . . .
 
As Robbie arranges a breakfast-themed cookoff at Pans ’N Pancakes, visitors pour into Brown County for the annual maple extravaganza. Unfortunately, that includes Professor Connolly, a know-it-all academic from Boston who makes enemies everywhere he goes—and this time, bad manners prove deadly. Soon after clashing with several scientists at a maple tree panel, the professor is found dead outside a sugar shack, stabbed to death by a local restaurateur’s knife. When an innocent woman gets dragged into the investigation and a biologist mysteriously disappears, Robbie drops her winning maple biscuits to search for answers. But can she help police crack the case before another victim is caught in a sticky situation with a killer?

“A fast-paced tale, with a well-plotted mystery that left me hanging onto my seat through all of the twists and turns.”—Lisa Ks Book Reviews

“Maddie Day goes above and beyond with her Country Store Mystery series with each book drawing you deeper and deeper into South Lick, Indiana and Robbie Jordan’s life.”—Cozy Mystery Book Reviews

Ratings and reviews

Biscuits and Slashed Browns by Maddie Day is the fourth book in A Country Store Mystery series. Robbie Jordan owns Pans ‘N Pancakes in South Lick, Tennessee. It is March and time for the Fifth Annual Brown County Maple Festival. Robbie has arranged for a breakfast cook off to be held at her restaurant and Robbie will be making her maple biscuits. Professor Warren Connolly is one of the judges for the contest, but several people are not happy with him. Robbie witnesses him having a disagreement with Professor Sonia Genest and Dr. Sajit Rao. The next morning Warren is found dead by the sugar shack on the Rao’s maple farm. The murder weapon turns out to be one of Christina James’ Tojiro knives. Christina is Robbie’s best friend and she has an excellent motive for wishing harm to come to Warren. Robbie knows that her friend did not kill Warren and sets out to find the culprit. The suspect list is quite long since Warren seemed to make enemies wherever he ventured. Then Robbie’s prime suspect, Sajit goes missing. While searching for Sajit, Robbie stumbles upon an illegal venture. Will Robbie find the killer, or will she end up the next victim? Biscuits and Slashed Browns is well-written and entertaining. The book was easy to read and had a good pace. The characters are well-developed, colorful and relatable (they will remind you of your family and friends). I appreciate that the author includes characters of various ages and nationalities. I enjoy the great small-town locale. While Biscuits and Slashed Browns is the fourth book in the series, it can be read alone. The author provides readers with Robbie’s history and touches on past storylines. There is a dash of romance which plays out softly in the background. I like that Abe supports Robbie in her sleuthing (though he does worry about her). The mystery was nicely woven into the story, there are several suspects and the author provided good clues to aid readers. I love the vintage implements featured in the story. The cozy elements include family, friends, the making of maple syrup, cooking, Southern colloquialisms, humor, romance and a smidgen of jealousy. There are recipes included at the end of the book. Biscuits and Slashed Browns is my favorite book in A Country Store Mystery series.

Springtime in the Midwest is a beautiful place, with those little “big” things that make the season unique and brought to life by Maddie Day. Fourth in A Country Store series, Biscuits and Slashed Browns can be read as a standalone or within the series. The descriptions, such as the crocus growing, the (mostly) delightful characters, and a plot with just enough suspects for Robbie Jordan to ask a few questions around town to get her best friend Christina off the suspect list. Robbie owns Pans ‘N Pancakes, one of the most popular places for coffee, breakfast, or lunch in South Lick, Indiana. She is remodeling the second floor for a bed and breakfast. At 27, she is a hard-working entrepreneur, happy with her life and enjoying the people in the town where her mother had grown up. March brings the Brown County Maple Festival, with tourists and activities centered around the liquid gold from sugar maple trees. Also occurring is an academic conference on maple tree science. The first event is at Robbie’s restaurant, the Breakfast Cook-Off. Entries have been brought for tasting by the judges, who will decide the best maple-flavored breakfast item. Judges include Christina James, local top chef and Robbie’s best friend, Nick Mendes, chef at the Nashville Inn, and Warren Connolly, a professor from Boston College. When he tries Robbie’s breakfast item, he shoves half of the maple-flavored biscuit in his mouth and chokes. Were it not for the fast action of Abe, Robbie’s boyfriend and a former Army medic, he might have died before help could arrive. Connolly was nobody’s favorite professor. Sonia Genest, local professor, and Sajit Rao, a research biochemist whose son, Turner, works part time for Robbie, have words with him in the restaurant because of his “fake” research and pooh-poohing the effects of climate change. It should come as no surprise to anyone when Connolly is found dead. The surprise is where…at the Rao’s farm, behind the “sugar shack”, readied to start demos of the process that day. When discovered that Sajit Rao is missing, the bad guy/ gal could be anyone’s guess. Except for Christina, whose very expensive chef’s knife is the murder weapon. The characters are unique, an eclectic mix. All who need to be are very well defined. I like Robbie best, then Adele – who wouldn’t want this beautiful woman as an aunt? The author has carefully designed strong characters, especially the women. Robbie is a Jill of many trades, hard-working yet able to appreciate simple joys. I like how the characters speak the colloquialisms of the area, especially Buck. The plot kept me intrigued from the start. The lead-in to the crime prepares the reader with the circumstances. There are plot twists and turns that spin who the bad guy/ gal might be. I was a little disappointed to have figured out the culprit, but not the motive, early in the story, yet enjoyed watching how each of the suspects were vetted for veracity and wondered at times if I had been wrong. Overall, this is a great fourth in series, and I highly recommend it to those who enjoy “foodie” cozy mysteries that are well-written with a solid female sleuth and a down-home flair. From a grateful heart: I received a copy of this ARC from the publisher and was under no obligation to provide a review, positive or otherwise.

About the author

Agatha and Macavity finalist author Maddie Day is a talented amateur chef who knows both Indiana and Cape Cod intimately. She is a member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America and blogs with the Wicked Authors and at Killer Characters. Day lives with her beau north of Boston, where she gardens, cooks, and devises new murderous plots. She hopes you’ll find her at maddiedayauthor.com.