Eggs on Ice (A Cackleberry Club Mystery)
by Laura Childs
About the Book
Cozy Mystery
8th in Series
Berkley (December 4, 2018)
Hardcover: 304 pages
ISBN-10: 0425281728
ISBN-13: 978-0425281727
Kindle ASIN: B07BD23MV9
Some say that casting crusty attorney Allen Sharpe as Scrooge in the Kindred Players production of "A Christmas Carol" is just playing to type. He's not the most beloved man in town. In fact, you'd have a dickens of a time finding someone who liked him. Still it's a shock when the Ghost of Christmas Past stabs him during the first rehearsal. Suzanne, co-owner of the Cackleberry Club café, Kindred's favorite combination diner, craft store and bookshop, chases the murderer out of the building but loses him in the alley.
As the days pass the list of suspects grows longer. Is it the disgruntled partner? The former secretary whom Sharpe sexually harassed? Or is it fellow owner of the Cackleberry Club, Toni's almost ex-husband, Junior? The women of the Cackleberry Club are determined to find the killer before he can add another victim to his Christmas list.
About the Author
Laura Childs is the New York Times bestselling author of the Tea Shop Mysteries
, Scrapbook Mysteries
, and Cackleberry Club Mysteries
. In her previous life she was CEO/Creative Director of her own marketing firm and authored several screenplays. She is married to a professor of Chinese art history, loves to travel, rides horses, enjoys fundraising for various non-profits, and has two Chinese Shar-Pei dogs.
Laura specializes in cozy mysteries that have the pace of a thriller (a thrillzy!) Her three series are:
The Tea Shop Mysteries 
- set in the historic district of Charleston and featuring Theodosia Browning, owner of the Indigo Tea Shop. Theodosia is a savvy entrepreneur, and pet mom to service dog Earl Grey. She’s also an intelligent, focused amateur sleuth who doesn’t rely on coincidences or inept police work to solve crimes. This charming series is highly atmospheric and rife with the history and mystery that is Charleston.
- set in the historic district of Charleston and featuring Theodosia Browning, owner of the Indigo Tea Shop. Theodosia is a savvy entrepreneur, and pet mom to service dog Earl Grey. She’s also an intelligent, focused amateur sleuth who doesn’t rely on coincidences or inept police work to solve crimes. This charming series is highly atmospheric and rife with the history and mystery that is Charleston.
The Scrapbooking Mysteries
– a slightly edgier series that take place in New Orleans. The main character, Carmela, owns Memory Mine scrapbooking shop in the French Quarter and is forever getting into trouble with her friend, Ava, who owns the Juju Voodoo shop. New Orleans’ spooky above-ground cemeteries, jazz clubs, bayous, and Mardi Gras madness make their presence known here!
– a slightly edgier series that take place in New Orleans. The main character, Carmela, owns Memory Mine scrapbooking shop in the French Quarter and is forever getting into trouble with her friend, Ava, who owns the Juju Voodoo shop. New Orleans’ spooky above-ground cemeteries, jazz clubs, bayous, and Mardi Gras madness make their presence known here!
The Cackleberry Club Mysteries
- set in Kindred, a fictional town in the Midwest. In a rehabbed Spur station, Suzanne, Toni, and Petra, three semi-desperate, forty-plus women have launched the Cackleberry Club. Eggs are the morning specialty here and this cozy cafe even offers a book nook and yarn shop. Business is good but murder could lead to the cafe’s undoing! This series offers recipes, knitting, cake decorating, and a dash of spirituality.
- set in Kindred, a fictional town in the Midwest. In a rehabbed Spur station, Suzanne, Toni, and Petra, three semi-desperate, forty-plus women have launched the Cackleberry Club. Eggs are the morning specialty here and this cozy cafe even offers a book nook and yarn shop. Business is good but murder could lead to the cafe’s undoing! This series offers recipes, knitting, cake decorating, and a dash of spirituality.Laura’s Links:
Webpage - http://www.laurachilds.com/
My Thoughts
Eggs on Ice by Laura Childs is the eighth A Cackleberry Club Mystery. Suzanne Dietz along with her partners, Toni and Petra own The Cackleberry Club in Kindred. It is a combination café, bookstore and craft corner. Suzanne and Toni have volunteered to work backstage at the Oakhurst Theatre where the Kindred Players is putting on a production of A Christmas Carol. Allan Sharpe, the town curmudgeon and a local lawyer, was cast perfectly as Scrooge. Suzanne and Toni are learning how to operate the curtains and lighting board while watching the scene between Scrooge and the Ghost of Christmas Past. Both actors play their parts beautifully, but Scrooge fails to get up when the act finishes. Suzanne approaches Allan and discovers he was stabbed. She gives chase to the ghost until he threatens her with his knife. The next day Amber Payson comes into the café to speak with Suzanne. Amber is the police’s prime suspect and she needs Suzanne’s help in clearing her name. As the days go by, the evidence mounts against Amber, but there are many people who disliked Allan including the play’s director. Then someone sets fire to Junior’s trailer and he needs a new place to live (oh, dear). Is the fire connected to the murder? Suzanne and Toni are searching for clues and find another victim. The Cackleberry Club ladies needs to find the murderer before he strikes again. Can they find the nefarious killer or will one of them end of a Ghost of Christmas Present?
Eggs on Ice contains good writing along with gentle pacing. Eggs on Ice is a cozy mystery that is best not read as a standalone. Details that readers need are not included in the eighth A Cackleberry Club Mystery (some information is imparted as the book progresses). I recommend beginning with Eggs in Purgatory. The Cackleberry Club is a unique restaurant with a Book Nook and the Knitting Nest. It sounds like my type of café. We get wonderful descriptions of the unique yarns they carry. I have never heard of the some of the yard blends Petra works with and has ordered for the shop (though, I am eager to find and create objects with them). The main characters are likeable and relatable. The three women are best friends despite their diverse personalities. Suzanne is the main voice of the story. She is engaged to Dr. Sam Hazelet and they have a warm, loving relationship. Toni is unique with her beliefs and her husband. There are a variety of off-beat characters in the story with Junior Garrett, Toni’s wacky sort-of husband, being the quirkiest. He constantly finds himself in trouble thanks to his bad choices and lack of intelligence. The murder occurs in the first chapter of the book. We then follow Suzanne as she goes about her daily activities (working, spending time with friends and her fiancé) and works in questioning interested parties she encounters. Suzanne along with Toni do break into one interested parties’ home to look for clues. There is little action in the book until the end. I like Suzanne’s style of questioning. She is not intrusive or demanding which I appreciate. I kept hoping Suzanne would put together the clues and identify the killer (whom I identified before the body left the theater). It was interesting how Suzanne subdued the killer, but it seemed unrealistic (the item has a safety feature that prevents it from being used in that manner). The ending was abrupt and felt incomplete. It needed another chapter to wrap up the whodunit satisfactorily (answer questions about the crime and the killer’s reasoning) and give readers a happy ending (see them celebrating Christmas would have been nice). There are recipes at the end for the items served in The Cackleberry Club. I wish there had been instruction for how to make the quilted tote mentioned in the book by Petra. Eggs on Ice is a cute and humorous cozy mystery set is a charming small town filled with off-beat individuals.
Eggs on Ice can be purchased at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Google Play, and IndieBound . In honor of the tour, there is a giveaway. You can click here to enter or use the Rafflecopter form below. Good luck! Please take the time to visit the other stops on the tour (schedule below). You can check out their thoughts on Eggs on Ice and read the guest pots. Thank you for joining me today. I will return on December 9 to share my thoughts on Beauchamp Hall by Danielle Steel. I hope you have a relaxing day. Take care and Happy Reading!
Kris
The Avid Reader
Kris
The Avid Reader
TOUR PARTICIPANTS
December 3 – StoreyBook Reviews – GUEST POST
December 3 – The Power of Words – REVIEW
December 4 – Valerie's Musings – REVIEW
December 4 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW
December 5 – Carla Loves To Read – REVIEW
December 5 – Mallory Heart's Cozies – REVIEW
December 6 – A Wytch's Book Review Blog – REVIEW
December 6 – Devilishly Delicious Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
December 7 – Cinnamon, Sugar and a Little Bit of Murder – REVIEW
December 7 – MJB Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
December 8 – The Pulp and Mystery Shelf - SPOTLIGHT
December 8 – The Avid Reader – REVIEW
December 9 – Babs Book Bistro – SPOTLIGHT
December 10 – Community Bookstop – REVIEW*
December 10 – My Journey Back – REVIEW
December 11 – Socrates' Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
December 11 – A Holland Reads – REVIEW*
December 12 – The Cozy Pages – REVIEW
December 12 – Brooke Blogs – GUEST POST
December 13 – Ruff Drafts – SPOTLIGHT
December 13 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW*
December 14 – Celticlady's Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
December 14 – A Chick Who Reads – REVIEW*
December 15 – Paranormal and Romantic Suspense Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
December 15 – Laura's Interests – REVIEW
December 16 – Melina's Book Blog – REVIEW
Thank you for your wonderful review on "Eggs on Ice" by Laura Childs and for being part of the book tour.
ReplyDeleteI had this book on my TBR list since I first read about it coming out. Can't wait for the opportunity to read it. Fabulous cover!
2clowns at arkansas dot net
Thank you for your review of EGGS ON ICE. Laura Childs
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