For Whom the Bread Rolls: A Pancake House Mystery

Happy Hump Day!  We are halfway through the week.  We are still enjoying cooler weather in my area, and I am loving it.  All too soon it will be extremely hot and humid outside. You perspire (in the South a lady perspires instead of sweats) just going to get the mail (I am not joking).  

For Whom the Bread Rolls by Sarah Fox is the second book in A Pancake House Mystery series.  Marley McKinney is enjoying life in Wildwood Cove.  She is glad that she gave up the rat race in Seattle working as a legal assistant.  Marley arrives at work one morning to discover hateful words painted on the windows of The Flip Side, the pancake house she owns.  Ida Winkler has been at it again.  It is the second time within ten days that this has happened.  Marley knows Ida committed the act, but she has no proof.  Then the phone calls start (you know where someone is there but does not talk) and an antique lamp base that  Marley had just purchased is stolen off her front porch.  After a couple of days of hang-up calls, Marley decides to visit Ida (bad idea).  Marley knocks on the front door and receives no answer.  A kindly neighbor suggests she go around to the back door.  Upon arriving in the backyard, Marley notices that the door to the garden shed is standing open.  She looks inside and finds Ida on the ground.  Ida was hit on the head with Marley’s antique lamp base.  Marley contacts the police and notices a clue while awaiting their arrival.  Sheriff Georgeson quickly arrives and takes Marley’s statement.  Unfortunately, while the good sheriff knows Marley would not hurt a soul, this does not look good for her.  Marley, with her natural curiosity, starts nosing around looking for clues and questioning Ida’s neighbors.  But what happens when the killer finds Marley a little too close for comfort.

For Whom the Bread Rolls is easy to read, has a good pace, and can be finished in a few hours.  I found it, though, to be more cozy than mystery.  Marley spent much of her time enjoying the beach by herself and with her boyfriend, Brett (Sheriff Georgeson’s nephew). I wish there had been less romance and more time spent on the actual mystery.  I give For Whom the Bread Rolls 3 out of 5 stars.  The murder is not the only mystery in the book.  Someone is dumping illegally around town and then an abandoned meth lab is discovered near the woods.  There is also a blackmailer among the town’s citizens.  I did enjoy how the author tied these three storylines together.  Unfortunately, they are all easily solved.  I could tell you who would die and the identity of the killer before the murder occurred.  The other two cases are equally simple to crack.  I wish the author had spent more time on crafting the mystery.  I enjoy reading cozy mysteries because there is less gore and they usually revolve around a craft, hobby or pet.  The mysteries used to be more developed and harder to unravel.  I did like the addition of Flapjack, the cat, and Bentley, the dog, Marley and Brett discovered on the beach.  I felt bad for Bentley.  He was injured and quite thin (I cannot stand to see or read about injured animals).  While this is the second book in the series, For Whom the Bread Rolls can be read alone.  The author provides the necessary background information on Marley and how she came to be living in Wildwood Cove.  If you prefer books with more of the cozy element, than For Whom the Bread Rolls is the book for you. Crepes of Wrath is the first book in A Pancake House Mystery series. The third book in the series is Of Spice and Men and it releases November 7.

Thank you for visiting and reading my latest review.  I will be featuring Murder at the Fortune Teller's Table by Janet Finsilver tomorrow.  I am currently reading Dying on the Vine by Marla Cooper (and not enjoying it).  I hope each of you have a very special day.  Take care, be careful driving (if you are in a snow area) and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader