Deadly Sweet Tooth by Kaye George

Good Day!  I hope everyone is doing well and staying safe.  It is a strange, new world we live in.  I was tickled to find toilet paper in my local store recently along with paper towels and a small supply of foaming hand soap.  I found a recipe in a book that tells me how to make my own foaming hand soap.  I cannot wait to try it out.  I obtained some essential oils with scents that I am not allergic to (hot chocolate, apple cinnamon, snickerdoodle, and candy cane are just a couple of them).  Has anyone tried to make their own soap?  Do you have any suggestions or tips?

Deadly Sweet Tooth by Kaye George has Tally Holt preparing a reception for her parents, Bob & Nancy Holt who have been performing around the world.  Tally is holding the party at her shop, Tally’s Olde Tyme Sweets in Fredericksburg, Texas.  She has hired three ladies to help at the event and hopes they will become permanent employees for her shop.  The event begins well, but then Fran Abraham confronts Nancy Holt causing a scene.  The meanspirited woman collapses soon thereafter and is rushed to the local hospital.  Early the next morning, Tally gets a phone call from Detective Jackson Rogers announcing Fran has died and foul play is suspected.  Unfortunately, the list of suspects includes Tally’s parents.  Tally works to unwrap the clues and assemble the pieces so she can present the guilty party to the police.  

Deadly Sweet Tooth is the 2^nd book in The Vintage Sweets Mysteries.  It can be read as a standalone.  I had mixed feelings about this cozy mystery.  It is a light story featuring Tally’s sweet shop and Yolanda’s shop, Bella’s Baskets.  The two are best friends with their shops next door to each other.  The point-of-view switches between both ladies which can be confusing.  They are so similar that it is hard to discern between them.  I wish the author had written it the story in the third person instead (or just picked one of the protagonists).  I found the characters lacking depth.  They need more fleshing out to give them life.  Tally and her shop are puzzling.  She calls it Tally’s Olde Tyme Sweets, but it seems to feature more baked items than candy (homemade twinkies, Mary Jane’s, whoopie pies, etc.).  She seems to lack experience with employees which becomes obvious with who she hires.  Tally does not even contact references.  I question this because we are told she sold a flourishing bakery to return to her hometown and open the sweet shop.  The mystery was straightforward.  I was able to identify the killer immediately (there might as well have been a giant neon arrow pointing at the person).  Tally reacts to something near the end in an unexpected way (I wish I could say more but it would be a spoiler).  My mother says that I am thinking about the situation too logically.  Readers will have no problem solving this whodunit.  The ending was abrupt.  We go from an individual in peril to a party in swing at the local winery.  There was no reveal scene that would wrap up the mystery.  Tally did little investigating which was disappointing because I enjoy following the amateur sleuths as they investigate the crime.  Deadly Sweet Tooth is lighthearted cozy mystery with lackadaisical laborers, toxic treats, a dead director, peripatetic parents, a determined detective, and a disquieted daughter.  

Deadly Sweet Tooth can be purchased at Amazon*.  The next The Vintage Sweet Mystery is Into the Sweet Hereafter (preview at the end of the book). Revenge is Sweet is the first novel in The Vintage Sweet Mysteries.  I appreciate you reading my review today. Please remember that I am expressing how I felt about the book.  The beauty of books is that we each view them differently.  Please obtain a sample to judge the book for yourself. A Gilded Lady by Elizabeth Camden is what I plan to feature tomorrow.  It is the 2nd book in the Hope and Glory series.  I do hope you have a sweet day.  Take care and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader

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