This is the third in the series of mysteries featuring iced tea shop/bakery owner Everly Swan. She's returned from a curdled career at a Kentucky culinary school after having her heart broken by a cowboy. Not to worry. She's met the newly arrived widower sheriff in town, Grady Hays, with his adorable young son. She's gotten better acquainted with him on the two previous murder cases he's had to solve since arriving in Charm. On the night of the holiday Open House Everly is hosting at Sun, Sand and Tea, the widely disliked Mayor of Charm is offed just outside her shop. Even worse, her beloved Aunt Fran (and mayoral candidate) is discovered standing over Mayor Dunfree's body with the murder weapon in hand - a garden gnome painted by Aunt Clara which had stood jauntily on Everly's porch. (Shades of NCIS!)
Despite warnings from the sexy Sheriff Hays to stay away from the investigation, Everly is determined to prove that Aunt Fran is not the murderer. Aunt Clara's army of painted gnomes are being used in increasingly more threatening and dangerous ways to intimidate Everly, but a Swan never gives up!
One big mystery for me was Everly's hangup with cowboys. After having her heart trashed by a cowboy, she falls for Grady Hays hook, line and Stetson. The Outer Banks isn't exactly the Wild West despite the wild horses...
It's a cute beach read, or since this is a Christmas-themed novel with an unusual snowstorm on the Outer Banks, it might be more appropriate to read it by a blazing fire. You'll probably figure out who the real murderer is before the end, but that's okay. It won't tax your deductive powers. The only real disappointment in this book was the recipes included. After the mouth-watering descriptions of the beverages and magical baked goods in this book, I thought the recipes should have been better. These weren't even worth a second look.
No comments:
Post a Comment