When the Cookie Crumbles
Series: A Cookie Cutter Shop Mystery Book #3
Author: Virginia Lowell
Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime
Page Count: 294
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 parties. But the real-life version of their magnificent gingerbread house is about to crumble to pieces…
Tensions are running high as Chatterley Heights’ 250th birthday celebration approaches, and Olivia and Maddie are working feverishly to finish a gingerbread house modeled after the famous Chatterley Mansion. When Paine Chatterley, presumed to be dead, shows up to claim his father’s house, the town gossips are driven into a tizzy. And when he refuses to allow visitors to tour the mansion during the celebration, all the preparations seem for naught.
Then Paine is found lifeless in the bathtub, his wife hysterical and their precious heirlooms destroyed. The hidden lives of the prestigious Chatterley family members begin to surface, and Olivia must unravel their dark past. As it turns out, the town’s history isn’t all that sweet…
More Facts for Readers about our Sleuth:
Main Sleuth: Olivia Greyson (age 31)
Business: Cookie Shop owner
Pet: Spunky, a yorkie dog
Best-Friend: Maddie (age 31)
Love Interest: Del, a male cop (age 34?)
Family: Mother, Step-Father, younger brother
My Review
I just finished the third book of the Cookie Cutter Shop Mystery Series by Virginia Lowell! Our two main sleuths Olivia and Maddie are preparing for a big Chatterley Heights town birthday festival and trying to steer clear of the slightly neurotic town mayor as the festival approaches. Everything is going smoothly until the previously presumed dead last member of the Chatterley family (and rightful owner of the Chatterley Mansion, central to the festival) turns up after decades – and then actually dies! Intrigued? You should be! There is all KINDS OF TEA being spilled in this Austen-esque installment of the series. It’s a who’s who of social entanglements, mystery, and of course – suspense!
Author Virginia Lowell creates a web-like new cast of characters in this third book revolving around a party planning committee of vastly different personalities. Having an alcoholic curmudgeon from yesteryear and his dotty wife getting thrown into the mix is just the type of shenanigans that we needed to shake things up. And sure, people may be murdering or getting murdered, but that doesn’t stop our sleuths from also hunting for a literal hidden treasure trove of cookie cutters in the Chatterley Mansion at the same time. Jump in and keep reading!
