The Crepes of Wrath

Welcome to my blog!  I hope everyone is having a great morning! I wanted to let you know that Spare Change by Bette Lee Crosby is free on Amazon (and some other sites) for a limited time.  It is the first book in her Wyattsville series.  Bette Lee Crosby writes such lovely, heartwarming novels with a Christian theme.

The Crepes of Wrath by Sarah Fox is the first book in A Pancake House Mystery series.  Marley McKinney has agreed to The Flip Side Pancake House in Wildwood Cove, Washington while her cousin, Jimmy Coulson, is ill (double pneumonia).  She has taken a leave of absence from the law firm where she works as a legal assistant.  Jimmy finally gets released from the hospital and is at home resting.  But then Jimmy is found dead on the rocks by Leigh Hunter (a waitress at the restaurant) of a cliff near his home.  Did he accidentally fall down the cliff while walking?  What was he doing out alone?  Then there is the guy lurking around her cousin’s workshop and the stolen paintings inside the workshop.  Did Jimmy steal them?  Marley does not want Jimmy’s good name tainted and, reluctantly, starts asking questions.  Will Marley be able to pull out the pieces together to figure out the puzzle?

I found The Crepes of Wrath to be easy to read, but it was a lifeless book.  The characters were not fleshed out and given life.  This is especially true for Ivan, the chef.  The pace is too slow and some information is repeated frequently (it was annoying).  The mystery was not prominent in the book (at least not in the beginning).  I was 35% of the way through the book and there was still no investigation.  The mystery was interesting (there were even some little twists), but the reader can solve it.  I give The Crepes of Wrath 2 out of 5 stars.  It was okay for a first book, but some things were just off.  Like where were the police?  Why was Marley removing evidence from a crime scene?  Marley notices a clue that no one else found.  These are just two examples.  Not everything added up in the end.  The book reminded me of a rough draft, not a finished novel. The next book in A Pancake House Mystery series is For Whom the Bread Rolls and it will be out in March 2017.

Thank you for your visit.  I will be back later to review From This Day Forward by Lauraine Snelling.  Take care and Happy Reading!

Kris 
The Avid Reader