Ladle To The Grave ~ Serving up a cozy mystery review and giveaway!

Posted: February 23, 2015 in Blog Tour, Cozy Mystery, giveaways, reviews
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Ladle to the Grave
by Connie Archer

The mystery is such fun and with old and new characters and an ending that will leave you hungry (pun intended) for the next book!
~A Chick Who Reads

Even though I knew there was going to be murder involved, Ladle to the Grave was simply a cozy (pun intended) comfort read from beginning to end.
~Read Your Writes

This was a cup of tea kind of mystery. This is an interesting story, great pacing, nice characters and soup. What more can you want!
~I Wish I Lived In a Library

I adored the characters Lucky and Sophie are a hoot. This book is indeed cozy from the first page. I wanted the pages to keep going and not end.
~Bab’s Book Bistro

LADLE TO THE GRAVE was just as wonderful as the first three books in this series. No, wait. Scratch that. LADLE TO THE GRAVE was even MORE wonderful than the first three titles.
~Lisa K’s Book Reviews

Ladle to the Grave
(A Soup Lover’s Mystery)

4th in Series
Cozy Mystery
Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Berkley (March 3, 2015)
ISBN-13: 978-0425273111
E-Book ASIN: B00LMGLY7E

22668776

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 My Review

I sure do enjoy cozy mysteries and I have a new one to share today.

When I first started reading this, mention of a pagan ritual had me going back to the cover on my Kindle to be sure I was reading the right book. Several local women have formed a coven and are performing the ritual of spring, the Beltaine, when one of their members dies after drinking a potion.

This is where Lucky, owner of By The Spoonful, a popular soup cafe, enters the story, as her grandfather, Jack, was the one who gathered the herbs and spices for the brew. She begins her own investigation to clear his name after he comes under suspicion of foul play.

As if that’s not enough, her best friend, Sophie, and her fiance, Sage, an employee at the soup shop, are planning their wedding and when the two women are visiting the site of Sophie’s future home, they stumble upon a man drowned in the stream that runs through the property.

As the bodies pile up and light of suspicion is cast upon family and loved ones, Sophie places herself in the middle of the investigation and paints a dangerous target on herself. It’s only a matter of time before things start boiling over.

There’s more than one plot to follow in this story, but the author kept it flowing smoothly. I don’t usually get caught by surprise in a cozy, but there were two big ones for me in this book. One made me cry. And one set me back as I realized I hadn’t solved this mystery. This kept me on my toes and emotionally engaged.

One part that had me chuckling was the wedding. Sophie and Sage are planning a small, private one. But the town folk are bombarding Lucky about what to buy the couple and when their invitations will arrive.  I was anticipating a big pickle about this and wasn’t disappointed.

I enjoyed all of the colorful characters and a few became near and dear to me. A few others felt familiar, as I’m from a small town, much like Snowflake, where everybody knows everybody, and there are those few people that seem to be everywhere at once and know everything.

Even though this is the fourth book in the series. I easily got familiar with the characters and references to previous events had me curious to go back and read the series from the beginning. It’s always fun to begin at the beginning and find out how and why the characters ended up where they are.

A fun cozy and a series I”ll be following. I hope you give it a try.

4 Stars

***

Synopsis

By the Spoonful is Snowflake, Vermont’s most popular soup shop, but owner Lucky Jamieson doesn’t have any time to enjoy her success—she’s too busy trying to keep a lid on false accusations against her loved ones…

It’s almost May, and some of the local ladies have organized a pagan celebration in the woods to welcome spring. But the evening goes terribly wrong when one of the attendees winds up dead, apparently poisoned by an herbal concoction prepared by Lucky’s grandfather, Jack.

Lucky’s sure her grandfather could not have made such a tragic mistake. But before she can clear him of suspicion, her best friend, Sophie, is diverted from planning her wedding to By the Spoonful chef Sage DuBois when she finds a dead man floating in the creek on her property. Now it’s up to Lucky to get both Sophie and Jack out of hot water before a killer stirs up more trouble…

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Connie.Archer.XX

About This Author

Connie Archer is the national bestselling author of the Soup Lover’s Mystery series from Berkley Prime Crime.

A Spoonful of Murder, [http://amzn.to/1pRKL9TA]

A Broth of Betrayal [http://amzn.to/1ofLs86] and

A Roux of Revenge [http://amzn.to/1ofLCMD]

are set in the imaginary village of Snowflake, Vermont.

The fourth book in the series,

Ladle to the Grave, [http://amzn.to/Zs1GGg] will be released on March 3, 2015.

 

Links:

Website:  www.conniearchermysteries.com

Facebook:  www.Facebook.com/ConnieArcherMysteries

Twitter:  @SnowflakeVT

Goodreads:  http://bit.ly/1y1CYeM

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

To see all of my giveaways click on the lucky horseshoe below!

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Comments
  1. I see what you mean about the cover and the coven. LOL You never know who people really are. 🙂
    sherry @ fundinmental

  2. Patricia says:

    I enjoyed your review and am looking forward to reading “Ladle to the Grave”.

  3. sallycootie says:

    Great review. I love Connie’s books because, as you say, they are cozies but not really standard cozies, and sometime I am so engrossed with the people and the setting that I momentarily forget there are murder(s). Looking forward to reading this one.

  4. Sandy Hemsher says:

    I LOVE LOVE LOVE this series!!!!!!

  5. Rebecca Prazak says:

    I love this series and look foward to reading this book

  6. peggy clayton says:

    I really look forward to reading this book. It’s sounds so good and also wow a soup place that is why we all flock to paneras is for the soup but a soup restaurant would be just wonderful. I am disabled and soup always sounds good easy to eat and so good for you.

  7. love the blurb and the cover..
    thx u for the giveaway 🙂

  8. noraadrienne says:

    I’m a big fan of this series and own a few of the books. I’ve read them all and loved them. I’d also be thrilled to win a copy for my home library.

  9. Sandyg265 says:

    I’ve enjoyed the earlier books in this series.

  10. I love cozies an this one sounds great!

  11. servedogmom says:

    The reviews really leave me wanting to read this book! servedogmom@yahoo.com

  12. elainee246 says:

    I love your cover photo on Facebook! I miss snow days.

  13. Marilyn Watson says:

    Fun…I love new Cozies to me…let me get a up of Tea.
    Marilyn Watson ewatvess@yahoo.com

  14. Jen says:

    I enjoy reading cozy mysteries, and I am looking forward to reading the Soup Lover’s Mystery series. Thank you for the giveaway. 🙂

  15. Betty says:

    This sounds like a great mystery~I love the cover and the title! Thank you for a terrific contest!

  16. Sandy Hemsher says:

    GREAT review and giveaway!!!!

  17. Barbara Hawk says:

    I love cozies and this sounds great! Thanks for the opportunity!

  18. SHELLEY S says:

    GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR NEW BOOK AND THANKS FOR THE GIVEAWAY!

  19. 2readbook says:

    Thank you for the giveaway but most of all I can’t wait to read it. Love the cover and the synopsis. How did you come up with the title? Clever

  20. 2readbook says:

    Thank you for the giveaway but most of all I can’t wait to read it. Love the cover and the synopsis. How did you come up with the title? Clever

  21. Betty W says:

    Great review! I love the cover and the setting although I’ve seen too many snowflakes this winter. Thank you for the contest!

  22. holdenj says:

    What a great review, I am looking forward to this book! Thanks!

  23. Betty says:

    Definitely want to read this book! Thank you for a great contest!

  24. I’m so glad – looks like you enjoyed this one as much as I did! 🙂

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