Crepe Expectations by Sarah Fox

Good Day!  Sweet Tea and Secrets by Joy Avon is the second novel in A Book Tea Shop Mystery series and will be out on June 11.  Amish Outsider by Marta Perry is the first book in the River Haven series.  It releases June 18 and I cannot wait to read it.  Is there a new release you are looking forward to this summer?

Crepe Expectations by Sarah Fox is the fifth A Pancake House Mystery.  Marley McKinney owns the Flip Side in Wildwood Cove where it has been so rainy there experienced flooding from overflowing rivers.  Thankfully the weather has cleared up for the Olympic Peninsula’s seventh annual amateur chef competition.  After signing up participants for the competition, Marley takes a snack to her boyfriend, Brett who is working on the landscaping for the Wildwood Inn which will soon be opening with a garden party.  Marley spots a little black kitten dashing into the woods and hustles after the little fellow.  Marley finds the kitten and a skull.  The recent flooding has exposed the buried remains of Demetra Kozani who went disappeared ten years ago shortly after her high school graduation.  Chloe Collins, Brett’s younger sister, was the target of Demetra’s torment growing up and had words with the victim before she vanished which puts her on Sheriff Ray Georgeson’s suspect list.  Marley dives into the past to see if she can dig up the killer, but she has a few other tasks that commanding her attention as well. One of the competition judges suddenly becomes ill which means Marley is judging some decadent desserts.  But when contestants start dropping out of the final round from sudden illness, Marley suspects foul play.  Can Marley whip up the killer or will she end up the next victim?

While Crepe Expectations is the fifth novel in A Pancake House Mystery series, it can be read alone.  Marley cannot believe that she is once again wrapped up in a cold case (neither can I).  She is loving her life in Wildwood Cove with running the Flip Side, her beautiful Victorian home on the beach, good friends, a friendly feline named Flapjack, and a handsome boyfriend.  If Marley could just avoid these pesky bodies that keep turning up.  Sarah Fox’s writing style is casual like friends chatting on the front porch.  The story proceeded as a relaxed pace with interesting characters, a charming tourist town, and adorable cats and a frisky dog.  The little kittens’ antics had me chuckling and Bentley, Brett’s dog, with his happy, welcoming demeanor had me smiling.   Marley is busier than a kitten with a ball of yarn in Crepe Expectations with the cold case, judging the competition, running the restaurant, worrying about Chloe, curious if someone from her past has risen from the dead and wondering if someone is sabotaging the contest.  I would have liked more complexity to the cold case so it would have been more challenging to solve, and I hope cold cases have run their course for this series (need something different).  Crepe Expectations has amiable cozy moments with girl’s movie night, the animal’s antics, shared meals, and romantic interludes.  Readers of the series will especially love the ending.  There are recipes for Boston cream crepes, marzipan pancakes, and banoffee crepes at the end.  Relax back in your lounge chair as you enjoy the lighthearted Crepe Expectations.

Thank you for reading my review today.  Tomorrow I am sharing my thoughts on Hairless Harassment by Molly Fitz which is the third Pet Whisperer PI book.  I hope you have a carefree day.  Take care and Happy Reading.

Kris

The Avid Reader