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A review by dollycas
Pineapple Upside Down Murder by Jodi Rath
4.0
Dollycas’s Thoughts
When Jolie Tucker finds out her Grandma Opal is the top suspect in the death of her friend and owner of Chocolate Capers, Ellie Siler Jolie jumps from the cast iron frying pan into the fire to prove her innocence. What she learns could bring her very short-lived dream as co-owner of the Cast Iron Creations Restaurant to an end. She could also be the killer’s next victim . . .
A dead body, stolen recipes, and family secrets highlight this delightful cozy novella.
Jolie Tucker and her best friend Ava own Cast Iron Creations that features old family recipes made in cast iron skillets. Something her grandma Opal always wanted to do but was never able to do so. Jolie handles the kitchen because she is a real introvert and readers get a little bit of the backstory as to why. Joining Jolie is this story is a big cast. Her best friend Ava, other friends Lydia, Bradley, and Keith, Ava’s girlfriend Delilah, Grandma Opal and her daughter’s, along with Roxi who works at the restaurant and her brother Rex. We also have Detective Meiser, the investigator in charge of the case. At first, I felt like I needed a scorecard to keep everyone straight. It also felt like too many characters for a story of this length. But the author did a good job of making each unique and soon I had a handle on all the players.
This mystery was really twisted up. I did want to reach into the pages and slap the detective a few times. Jolie had a long list of suspects, essentially anyone that wasn’t her grandmother. She has a lot of good theories but the visiting detective in charge wasn’t interested in anything except maybe Jolie herself. The killer reveal was a surprise for me and a nice twist.
I really enjoyed the cast iron skillet theme and I am looking forward to getting to know these characters better and in more depth in the next book, Jalapeño Cheddar Cornbread Murder, out June 21.
When Jolie Tucker finds out her Grandma Opal is the top suspect in the death of her friend and owner of Chocolate Capers, Ellie Siler Jolie jumps from the cast iron frying pan into the fire to prove her innocence. What she learns could bring her very short-lived dream as co-owner of the Cast Iron Creations Restaurant to an end. She could also be the killer’s next victim . . .
A dead body, stolen recipes, and family secrets highlight this delightful cozy novella.
Jolie Tucker and her best friend Ava own Cast Iron Creations that features old family recipes made in cast iron skillets. Something her grandma Opal always wanted to do but was never able to do so. Jolie handles the kitchen because she is a real introvert and readers get a little bit of the backstory as to why. Joining Jolie is this story is a big cast. Her best friend Ava, other friends Lydia, Bradley, and Keith, Ava’s girlfriend Delilah, Grandma Opal and her daughter’s, along with Roxi who works at the restaurant and her brother Rex. We also have Detective Meiser, the investigator in charge of the case. At first, I felt like I needed a scorecard to keep everyone straight. It also felt like too many characters for a story of this length. But the author did a good job of making each unique and soon I had a handle on all the players.
This mystery was really twisted up. I did want to reach into the pages and slap the detective a few times. Jolie had a long list of suspects, essentially anyone that wasn’t her grandmother. She has a lot of good theories but the visiting detective in charge wasn’t interested in anything except maybe Jolie herself. The killer reveal was a surprise for me and a nice twist.
I really enjoyed the cast iron skillet theme and I am looking forward to getting to know these characters better and in more depth in the next book, Jalapeño Cheddar Cornbread Murder, out June 21.