Reviews

. The town’s annual cookie-baking contest is right around the corner and they are hoping that putting Mika in charge of the entry will cure her baby blues. Her husband Sam has some blues of his own. His employee Billy Breyer found one of their client’s dead body when he arrived for work and sadly all the evidence points to him as the killer. The victim was not a nice man and had made his share of enemies. So with a long suspect list, Jake and Ellie agree to do their best to get Billy out of jail and the real guilty party there in his place.

Wildfires, wild wills, and wild rides! Sarah Graves takes us readers on a wild trip to find out who killed cranky old Alvin Carter and why.

Jake and Ellie are great characters with their fingers in everything that happens in Eastport, Maine. They are smart and creative but have a real tendency to leap into action without thinking through all the consequences that can occur as they try to get to the truth and a killer.

I really enjoyed that Sam and Mika had a bigger part in this story. So many women deal with baby blues, postpartum depression, baby brain, etc. following the birth of a baby. I appreciated the way Ellie and Jake helped her see her way through a tough time.

Jake’s stepmother is also having issues and the whole family knows it but it is hard to get through to a woman as independent as Bella. The author did an excellent job with this situation.

I also like meeting Billy’s sisters, Anna and Helen. These are young women with hopes and dreams with plans to make them come true. Their Aunt Prunia, such an appropriate name, has totally different ideas for their future. The girls and their brother Billy have had tragedy in their lives and I was thrilled to see such positive attitudes from all of them.

Pinning down a killer this time was really tough especially with grass fires popping up everywhere. Ellie and Jake took some crazy risks. I wanted to jump into the book and reel them in but that being impossible I scooched up to the edge of my seat a few times as the pages flew. I was 82% into the book when a bird hit a window and from there I was sitting up straight and everything in the room around me disappeared. I was caught spellbound by what was happening on the pages. Things settled down by 93% and things were explained and cookie-baking winners were revealed but it took me a couple of minutes to catch my breath.

Death by Chocolate Snickerdoodle was a blast to read. I think Ms. Graves hit it out of the park with this story. I loved it!

aspygirlsmom_1995's review

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adventurous challenging lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

caitz's review

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lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

princess1989's review

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4.0

I loved this book!! Great story!! I guessed the killer wrong!! Read a few books by this author will read more of her books!!

bowlergirl81's review

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4.0

This is the first book I've read by Sarah Graves. It is part of a series, but this can be read as a standalone. The mystery itself of trying to find out who murdered the curmudgeonly Alvin Carter was good, I was unable to figure it out before they did.

I had trouble with other parts of the book that took me out of the story at times. (Mainly issues with how their bakery was run). For example, towards the beginning of the story they talked about getting a special order for 12 dozen cookies and how can they possibly get that done? I think I personally would have enjoyed this more if them owning a bakery was not part of the story it didn't really add anything *for me*.

I'll definitely read another book in the series because I do love this type of mystery.

milesofpages's review against another edition

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3.0

This book starts off fast and wild and I thought to myself, “oh, we’re just diving in okay!” Needed to buckle up, I didn’t know! I really loved that kind of transition from a normal cozy to just go to town and really start with a murder and a hatchet and a very suspicious person.

Jake (Jacobia) and Ellie were so wonderful. They truly are the Lucy & Ethel friends of friends. This is the 4th book in the series (A Death Bh Chocolate Mystery) are tasked to run their bakery and prove Billy’s innocence. There was great character development and hilariously witty banter that kept me laughing and turning pages to know whodunit til the very end.

Overall, loved it! This was such a pleasant surprise of wonderful storytelling with enjoyable characters. This is my first Sarah Graves book, but will not be the last! Thank you NetGalley & Kensington for the gifted copy! Death by Chocolate Snickerdoodle is out 02/23/2021, so go get yourself a cookie and figure out what really happened! And that’s the way the cozy crumbles!

annarella's review

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5.0

This is the second book I read in this series and I loved it.
It's an entertaining and engrossing story that kept me hooked.
The characters are fleshed out and likable, the mystery is full of twists and turns. It kept me guessing.
I look forward to the next installment.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

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