Cookies and Scream
Series: A Cookie Cutter Shop Mystery Book #5
Author: Virginia Lowell
Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime
Page Count: 304
My Rating:
Book Summary
Olivia Greyson is the proud owner of The Gingerbread House—a quaint shop that specializes in all things cookie—and her best friend, Maddie, is her sidekick, baking up scrumptious treats for their cookie-themed parties. But when a stunning antique cookie cutter collection leads to murder, things get a bit too hot to handle…
More Facts for Readers about our Sleuth:
Main Sleuth: Olivia Greyson (age 31)
Business: Cookie Shop owner (The Gingerbread House)
Pet: Spunky, a yorkie dog
Best-Friend: Maddie (age 31)
Love Interest: Del, a male cop (age 34?)
Family: Mother, Step-Father, younger brother
Location: Maryland
Time of year: August
Diversity? Not so much. Most, if not all characters are white Caucasian. There was however some well traveled Americans in this edition to the series. Meaning, there are American characters who lived for a time abroad and who are fluent in multiple languages, such as German and French, so there’s a little more outside culture introduced which is always a plus in my opinion.
My Review
Had an interesting time reading ‘Cookies and Scream’, book 5 in the Cookie Cutter Shop Mystery Series by Virginia Lowell. The mysterious Greta Oskarson returns to town after decades of living abroad in Europe. She has a reputation as a suspected black widow, and her return is stirring up bad memories for some. When main sleuth Olivia receives a call late at night from Greta taking her last breath – is it murder? Or an untimely natural death? We’re not sure, but we’re going to find out.
Well book 5 was certainly an interesting addition to the series. For starters, the death didn’t take place until about halfway through the book and then we really truly didn’t know if we had a murder on our hands. What’s great is that we’re re-introduced to Clarisse Chamberlain (who was murdered in book 1), and learn more about events in her past. I really liked her character so it was good that we revisited her character. This mystery was puzzling and it’s a testament to the fact that we can still make a case and pursue a case even with scant evidence. And once again, it was fun to follow the antics of Olivia and Maddie and learn more about cookie cutters. It’s true, that a lot of reviewers give low ratings to this series simply because they don’t believe the cookie cutter premise – but if we’re not part of that collector’s world, then who are we to judge? People geek out and shell out money for all sorts of obscure collections, so I’m going with it!
