Cooking the Books

Sloane Templeton Mysteries #1

by Bonnie S. Calhoun

After her mother dies from a heart attack, Sloane Templeton goes from Cyber Crimes Unit to bookstore owner before she can blink. She also "inherits" a half-batty store manager; a strange bunch of little old people from the neighborhood who meet at the store once a week, but never read books, called the Granny Oakleys Book Club; and Aunt Verline, who fancies herself an Iron Chef when in reality you need a cast iron stomach to partake of her culinary disasters. And with a group like this you should never ask, “What else can go wrong?”
A lot! Sloane begins to receive cyber threats. While Sloane uses her computer forensic skills to uncover the source of the threats, it is discovered someone is out to kill her. Can her life get more crazy?

Genres: Mystery, Christian Fiction, Christian, Suspense, Fiction, Ebooks, Mystery Thriller

312 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2012

About the author

I love action adventure but it doesn't make me happy unless there are...body count, blood, and blowing things up. I play with mad skills at coding HTML and website design and live in a log cabin in the woods with fifteen acres, an old apple orchard, and a pond full of bass though I'd rather buy fish at the grocery store. I share my domain with a husband, and two cats who think I'm the waitstaff!

Reviews

[Glenn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well I'm glad this is over - one of the worst books ever... Cannot express in words how bad this book was. Other reviewers and I must have been reading different books...

[Florence Witt]

The Good:
It's completely clean. The narrator is very lively, and she made me giggle a few times...

The Not So Good:
I am 1/3 into it and nothing much has happened yet...the plot is really confusing with too many irions in the fire so to speak. The pace is also quite slow. Therefore, I have shelving it and moving on.

[Carly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read somewhere that being a published author was a dream for Bonnie Calhoun. I was delighted to see that her dream has been realized and I could not wait to read Cooking the Books. Bonnie has mentored countless Christian authors and all of the mentoring has paid off in a huge way. This book was such an enjoyable read. I like to read mysteries, but I prefer mysteries that are not too heavy. I like some humor so I can relax while reading, but I also want enough suspense and mystery to make the book hard to put down. Bonnie achieved this beautifully. Cooking the Books had everything I was hoping for: a great story, memorable characters and just enough laugh out loud humor to make for the perfect “escape” book.

For a long time, I have preferred to read debut novels and Bonnie’s Cooking the Books is simply solidifies that. I can tell that this book meant a lot to Bonnie and that she really wanted her readers to be entertained, challenged and amused. I had high hopes coming into this book because I knew how much it meant for Bonnie Calhoun to be published and I am thrilled to say that I absolutely adored this book and I can’t wait to read more about Sloane Templeton. I very highly recommend this book and not just because I think Bonnie is fabulous, but also because this is a fabulous book!

[Patricia Kirk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sloane runs the bookstore, Beckham’s Books & Brews, specializing in antique books, left to her by her mother. Fifi, business manager, and her pistol-packin’ group, the Granny Oakleys, ably assist her. Two men want one book in particular. Each is angry that the other knows about it. Meanwhile, Trey, well-muscled example of Sloane’s bad taste in men, terrorizes her. Though she said goodbye, he still considers her his woman. But she has Andreas. She doesn’t understand why her mother didn’t like him. Fifi also dislikes him.

Aunt Verlene, worst chef in history, constantly commandeers Sloane for food tests. One day, while Sloane tries not to eat Verlene’s latest culinary delight, they find a cookbook by a famous chef with a wealth-building recipe formerly believed lost. Verlene, sworn to silence, only tells her beauty shop early in the morning. Working girls use it then. Would they mention it to their boyfriends?

Meanwhile the manager of the real-estate company Rob Landry works for instructs him to play dirty to get Sloane to sell the bookstore.

Cooking the Books delivers constant suspense well mixed with eccentric characters and humor. I enjoyed it.

I received this book from NetGalley. It is an honest review.

[Melissa W · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was intrigued by the title of the book and found that I enjoyed it a great deal. It is well written and the characters and situations that they find themselves in are more "real" then some that I have read. This book actually had the feel that it might be happening right now some where in the country.

Sloane Templeton is an unhappy bookstore owner when you first meet her. She does not want to spend her time running her late mother's bookstore. She is also getting over a bad marriage to an abusive husband and a breakup that involved an abusive boyfriend. While she is in a new relationship and thinks that she has met "The One", her family, including her late mother, and her friends feel that he is wrong for her and keep trying to set her up. While she is trying to get her life on track, she also has to deal with her aunt and her mother's best friend as well as people trying to kill her.

It was fun to watch her juggle the current boyfriend and the potential boyfriend as well as watching her aunt's culinary attempts.

I look forward to reading more Sloane Templeton books.

FTC Notice: I obtained an electronic copy of this book via NetGalley.

[Patriciaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fabulous debut. What's not to like about a mystery set in Brooklyn with a smart, sassy, older than the Sony Walkman heroine? Sloane wants to run the bookstore left to her by her deceased mother...except she really doesn't. Until she figures out the right path, she must deal with an abusive ex-boyfriend, a new hottie, mysterious emails, and a vintage book with multiple, disagreeable interested parties. An unexpected twist brings it all together and makes for a satisfying ending, not to mention leaving a few breadcrumbs for the next Sloane Templeton mystery.

[Ane Mulligan · Rating 5 out of 5]

How can you bite your nails and laugh out loud at the same time?

Bonnie S. Calhoun is a master weaver of snarky humor and suspense. Cooking the Books is fast paced, laugh out loud funny with enough suspense to make you shiver. Sloane is an oxymoron: tough as nails on crime and injustice, yet her Aunt Verline and Fifi, her nutty store manager, manipulate her. Novel Rocket and I give it a high recommendation. It's a must read.

[Linda Yezak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quirky characters and witty quips made this cozy mystery a fun read. Looking forward to more from Bonnie Calhoun!

[Joanne Sher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Snarky, suspenseful, fun, and surprising. A good read for sure.

[Mary Jo Krause · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book store mayhem

It was an okay story, suspenseful, but not my favorite for the main character. She was likable but also confusing.

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second book I've read in this series and, for some reason, the characters don't ring true to me.

I think the author tries too hard to be Christian and not be "too" Christian all at the same time.

Even though this is fiction, it stretches the imagination to the breaking point, that one person could have three people with different motives trying to kill her all at the same time.

The fact that almost everyone in the story has a gun makes a good case for gun control.

[Val · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first book in the Sloane Templeton series. Sloane inherits a bookstore from her late mother. She starts receiving cyber threats and has to use her forensic skills on unearth the sender. Meanwhile she’s surrounded by a host of batty characters, from her Aunt, to the bookshop manager (also inherited) and a regular group who meet at the shop - but never read! It’s quirky and a bit of a hotchpotch of ideas but readable nonetheless.

[Kim Pinegar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellently written!

Great read! Nice to read a mystery without all the filth! I would recommend this book to anyone. Great story!

[Bette · Rating 2 out of 5]

After reading more than 100 pages, I was still waiting to get to a plot. Gave up and did not finish.

[Marlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bonnie Calhoun cooks up one of the most hilarious, nail-biting mysteries in her recipe for a “Gotta Read It” book in Cooking the Books. Measure out one bunch of wacky characters, a heaping cup of mystery and mayhem, and a generous portion of twists and turns. Combine with one well-whipped Sloane Templeton, four tablespoons of zest from humor, and bring to a rolling boil over inner turmoil. When mixture begins to thicken, gently fold in a pint of compassion and sprinkle with faith. Garnish with witty and skillful storytelling, and serve while warm and aromatic.
Sloane, a former cybercrimes forensic investigator, charts a new and unwanted career course when her mom’s death brings her home to operate Beckham’s Books & Brew. Sounds like a pretty mundane operation, considering her former occupation, but Sloane’s life is anything but mundane. Still grieving, she puts off facing the inevitable by keeping the apartment undisturbed and refusing to read the will. Had she been more attentive to her mother’s wishes and wisdom, she could have saved herself and her angels a whole heap of trouble. Aunt Verlene’s penchant for cooking just might be lethal, but brings a host of fine, eligible fire fighters and policemen into Sloane’s life. Fifi, the store manager, wanna’ be owner, introduces her to the Granny Oakleys Book Club, a not-so-innocent alliance of her aging neighbors. So, who would want to hurt Sloane? The real question is “who wouldn’t?” Arming herself with killer keys and packing heat, the “warrior princess” must fend off a realty giant, book dealers of questionable character, cyber threats on her own life, her extremely bad taste in men, and a life storm of incredible proportions.
In her first Sloane Templeton novel, Calhoun skillfully develops a main character who grows to meet fear and challenges while honestly questioning the onslaught of circumstances, her faith, and the appropriateness of her responses and ability to stand up for herself. As trouble stalks her and she finds that even Brinks might not be enough to keep her safe, will she be victim or find new resolve to become conqueror? Calhoun’s remarkable storytelling skill becomes obvious when she weaves humor and hilarious antics into the very peak of suspense. Ending twists and turns, though hinted at throughout, still unfold in complete surprise.
This can’t-put-it-down book kept me simultaneously riveted and rolling with laughter. I loved her unmistakable but almost dry sense of humor and the wonderful word play that made it all work. Implausible events made real-life tensions more palatable. It was nothing but delight to read and provide my honest review in exchange for this free book from Abingdon Press and NetGalley!

[Shelleyrae at Book'd Out · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cooking the Books is the first of Bonnie S Calhoun's debut series that combines humour and mystery. Once a cyber crimes specialist, Sloane Templeton has inherited Beckham's Brew and Books after the sudden death of her mother. As a reluctant owner/manager, Sloane is happy for her mothers best friend, FiFi to have her head, she has too much else to worry about including her Aunt Verlene's culinary adventures, her abusive ex boyfriends threats, a curious detective and a gun toting seniors book club.

Cooking the Books is the type of mystery I enjoy when I am craving a laugh or two. Sloane is an amateur sleuth with a snarky sense of humor, surrounded by quirky characters, who stumbles awkwardly into an array of criminal conspiracies.
In this instance Sloane is caught up in the middle of several situations both personal and professional. In amongst grieving after the sudden death of her mother, her ex-husband is suing her for more money, her abusive ex boyfriend won't leave her alone and her new relationship is starting to show fine cracks. Meanwhile a local realtor is hounding her to sell the building that houses the bookstore, strange messages keep appearing on the store computer system, her aunt is targeted by thieves and a rare book sparks a bidding war. The development of the various story threads are somewhat uneven, the plot is busy, perhaps a touch too crowded, though some threads are left open ended to be, I assume, picked up in the next installment. The pace is pretty frantic mainly because of the snappy dialogue in the first half and then the action of the second half.
Cooking the Books is equally as busy with an interesting cast of supporting characters including the feisty FiFi, flaky Aunt Verlene and frightening ex. There is also the Mick Jagger lookalike hairdresser, a group of gun toting seniors, a disturbed middle age bookstore patron, a cute detective and more. As a Christian novelist, Calhoun does include is the odd mention of God and prayer but it doesn't intrude on the story.
The writing is good, the dialogue believable and witty. There were a few small errors I imagine would have been taken care of for publication. I do think that the story could have been scaled back a little, sometimes less is more, but that seems like a silly complaint.

Calhoun barely allows you to draw breath during this fast paced farce, you are either laughing too hard at exploding eggs or holding your breath as Sloane brandishes a gun in defense of her life. Cooking the Books is a light and entertaining read for cosy mystery fans and I will be interested in seeing where Calhoun takes the series.

[Iola · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sloane Templeton has it all - a successful business, a handsome Greek boyfriend and a solid relationship with God. Well, she owns a bookshop but really wants to work in computer forensics. No one except her likes her Greek boyfriend (significant other?), and God seems to be out to lunch some days. Not only has she inherited Beckhams Books & Brews and its offbeat manager from her mother, but she has also acquired a rare book that could be worth a lot of money – if she lives to see it. She is receiving cyber-threats but initially dismisses them as pranks, until the FedEx pack with the dead rat arrives. Then it becomes apparent that someone means to harm her if she doesn't obey - but obey what?

So begins a merry chase featuring two mysterious and valuable books, two violent exes, a bookclub called the Granny Oakleys who don’t seem to read any books, and a real estate agent who may or may not be working on the right side of the law. While most of the story is told by Sloane, there are scenes in the third person providing some background information and suspense. Sloane has a distinctive and engaging voice Sloane has a wicked sense of humour, which was one of the best aspects of Cooking the Books. She comments that her ex-husband tried to divorce her by way of the cemetery, her aunt is from the shallow end of the gene pool and when her uncle died of food poisoning, the coroner was careful to point out that the food poisoning was not the result of her aunt's cooking (which is apparently legendary, and not in a good way).

While Sloane is spunky, funny and generally likeable, she has poor taste in men and a tendency to try and do things herself rather than asking for help. This is not always wise and is occasionally annoying - independence is not a positive trait when being stalked by a violent ex. Call 911, for goodness sake!

As with many current books there are a series of discussion questions at the end. The fact that Sloane is a flawed character who has made a lot of mistakes means that these are more thought provoking than most. If you are looking for a light-hearted mystery with a cast of slightly suspicious characters (and a handful who are more for comic relief), then you will enjoy Cooking the Books.

Thanks to Abingdon Press and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

This review also appears on my blog, www.christianreads.blogspot.com.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sloane Templeton wants to be a computer forensics specialist, but instead she finds herself in the role of bookseller when she inherits her mother’s bookstore, “Beckham’s Books and Brew.” Although Sloane doesn’t love books the way her mom did, she doesn’t want to sell the building, even though she’s getting more and more pressure to do just that from Coltraine Realty. In addition to Sloane coping with her mother’s death and learning to run the bookstore, there are at least two buyers haggling over a rare book purchased by Sloane’s mother before she passed away. Sloane must also deal with her friend and store manager Fifi, who would have loved to have inherited the store, along with more man trouble than anyone should have to deal with.

“Cooking the Books” is an amusing, fast-paced read. It is categorized as Christian fiction and while Sloane does pray and talks about God and her faith, her beliefs are woven into the story naturally, and the author doesn’t preach to the reader.

Sloane is unique character and the series has a lot of promise. Where the book is lacking is its focus. There are so many characters introduced in this book (almost 15 in just the first six chapters) and many transitions between several different characters’ point of view that I was often confused. There were too many people introduced at once, especially since it’s a new series, and you can’t tell who is going to play an important role in the book. On top of that, there are so many different things going on, it took me a while to zero in on the main plot and the major characters. All of the various sub-plots didn’t seem to converge into one coherent primary storyline, so it became frustrating to keep everything straight.

The book does have many funny lines which helps make up for some of the flaws. While the humor is light-hearted, the book does deal very realistically with a serious subject. The author shows, somewhat graphically, the ugliness of domestic violence, and that part of the book is very well-done.

I like that the book ends on a promising note, with Sloane coming to terms with her mother’s death, and showing a new confidence and satisfaction with her life. With some paring down of characters and focus on fewer sub-plots, this could be an even more enjoyable series.

I received this book from NetGalley, through the courtesy of Abingdon Press. The book was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.

[Joy · Rating 5 out of 5]

MY THOUGHTS ON THIS BOOK

Sloane Templeton didn’t ask for all that was happening to her, but she had no choice but the accept it! Taking over Beckham’s Books and Brew after her moms death brought on some strange people in Sloane’s life. The store manager and the Granny Oakleys Book Club group was enough to deal with without having to eat Aunt Verline’s cooking, if that’s what you can call what she presented as food!

In the first part of “Cooking the Books we also get to meet Sloane’s ex-boyfriend Trey, and there are reasons he is an ex. Also her new friend and attraction, the Greek boy Andreas Comino, which Trey is not happy about at all. And throughout the book we get to meet even more interesting and colorful character that were so well created by the author.

Even though this is a debut novel, you will think Bonnie Calhoun has been writing books for a long time. Along with her wonderful and fun loving characters, well most of them, there is so much happening in this story and there are so many twists and turns you never know what is coming next.

What makes this book so enjoyable for me is the way Bonnie inter-twines; the taking over a new business, grieving over a mom, inheriting quirky characters, a jerk ex-husband and an even bigger jerk ex-boyfriend, someone trying to kill you, and adds in a little romance, mystery, a feisty FiFi and, an aunt that can’t cook, and writes a story that will make you laugh, sometimes cry, and fall in love with Sloane as if she is your own daughter. It takes a good writer to have so much going on in a book and pull it all together and make it enjoyable.

I highly recommend this book for you to read and enjoy. Run out and grab a copy, get a cup of Java and sit down for a nice, enjoyable, relaxing read with Sloane Templeton and “Cooking the Books”

I want to thank Abingdon Press and Bonnie Calhoun for providing me a copy of this book. I have heard that Bonnie’s dream is to be an author, and I am so happy that she has fulfilled that dream. I look forward to many more books from Bonnie in the future. As much as Bonnie does with Christian Fiction Blog Alliance, Christian Fiction Online Magazine and all of the other things she does for the authors, readers and world of Christian fiction, it is an honor to be one of the reviewers for her debut novel.

[Victor Gentile · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bonnie S. Calhoun in her new book, “Cooking the Books” Book One in The Sloane Templeton Series published by Abingdon Press brings us into the life of Sloane Templeton.

From the back cover: It’s not easy being Sloane Templeton.

After her mother dies from a heart attack, Sloane Templeton goes from Cyber Crimes Unit to bookstore owner before she can blink. She also “inherits” a half-batty store manager; a strange bunch of little old people from the neighborhood who meet at the store once a week, but never read books, called the Granny Oakleys Book Club; and Aunt Verline, who fancies herself an Iron Chef when in reality you need a cast iron stomach to partake of her culinary disasters. And with a group like this you should never ask, “What else can go wrong?”

A lot! Sloane begins to receive cyber threats. While Sloane uses her computer forensic skills to uncover the source of the threats, it is discovered someone is out to kill her. Can her life get more crazy?

I like a good mystery and “Cooking the Books” certainly delivered the goods. Sloane Templeton is one of the most innovative characters that I have come across in a very long time. She worked in Cyber Crimes but never carried a gun and when she does she almost shoots her leg off. Now she runs a bookstore and her life is being threatened because of a priceless book and it gets more intense from there. Ms. Calhoun has created an impressive cast of characters that populate Sloane’s life and all of them are interesting in their own way, good and bad. “Cooking the Books” delivers suspense, some romance, mystery and a lot of fun. I liked this book very much. I look forward to the next book in the series.

If you would like to listen to interviews with other authors and professionals please go to www.kingdomhighlights.org where they are available On Demand.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Glass Road Public Relations. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

[Kathleen (Kat) Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's truly a honor and a delight when you are asked to review an author's debut novel as I was in the case of Cooking The Books by Bonnie Calhoun. I've had the pleasure of working with her through Christian Fiction Blog Alliance of which she is the Owner and Director of a 200+ blog members that host twice weekly blog tours for Christian fiction. She is also the Owner/Publisher of Christian Fiction Online Magazine (CFOM), a three-year-old, 50+ page Ezine with columns and articles by the best and brightest authors in Christian fiction. So she truly does an amazing job at knowing what readers and fellow authors look for when choosing a wonderful book.

In Cooking The Books, we are introduced to some quirky characters of which my favorite is Aunt Verlene, whose passion is cooking even though most of her dishes turn out to be less than favorable, but she truly does possess a love for what she does and often times bribes Sloane Templeton, her niece to a taste test.

Sloane herself is a former employee at the Cyber Crimes Unit and is now a beloved bookstore owner whose own passion is not selling her bookstore even though Coltrane Realty has made an enticing offer of three times the buildings worth. To Sloane, Coltrane just wants to buy all the buildings on the block to level it and build a new high rise. However what Sloane doesn't understand is that Rob Landry isn't about to report back to his company that she isn't willing to sell. Coltrane Realty will stop at nothing to ensure that they acquire all the buildings even if it means resorting to less than honest means to do it.

I received Cooking the Books by Bonnie Calhoun compliments of Christian Fiction Blog Alliance for my honest review and have to say I LOVED it! Bonnie creates such wonderful and likeable characters you feel like you know them personally. From the book club of aging seniors that meets at her bookstore that never reads the books to Sloane herself that will intervene in a crisis situation just because it's the right thing to do. I rate this book a 5 out of 5 stars and for those of you that love a good mystery with a twist alongside an interesting cast of characters, then this one is for you.

[Rhonda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would read more Sloane Templeton mystery books. I enjoyed Cooking the Books. Felt her taste in men was not great.
Sloan was working in a bookstore but not happy to be there. Her mom had owned the bookstore, but 3 months ago she died. In fact Sloan owns the whole building all 4 floors of it. thier are inside stairs and outside stairs. Sloan apartment is 3 and 4 floors. Her mom is on the second floor and bookstore on the ground floor.
Sloan exhusband abused her so she left and got a divorce and now he sueing her for part of what she inherted. Her next boyfriend Trey beat her and runs the neighbord gang. Now she dating dr. Andreas. Trey does not like Sloan is dating someone else especially a white guy. Trey wants Sloan back. Sloan tries to keep Andreas and Trey away from each other. She hides that Trey is bothering her or that he beat her up again.
Sloan is being pestered to sale the building without her building the major rebuild project won't go through. They won't take no from her. Sends Robbie over again and again and finally with someone else over.
Someone is threatening her over the internet. Sloan aunt Verlene is threatening her with her cooking. Verlene keeps on starting fires and then gets robbed at gunpoint. Verlene new boyfriend is a cop who fixes all her tickets. We here a lot about him but don't meet him, just his partner Justice. Who investigates the robbery of antique book worth a lot of money. Also the death threats and the dead rat with knife in it.
the group of senior citizens meeting at bookstore is not about books. The senior citizens all are carrying guns and go to target practice once a week. Trey does not like her dating Andreas.
Their is a lot going on in the book and not everything was answered so leads to another book hopefully. Good clean fun mystery book. I was given this ebook in exchange for honest review.

04/02/2012 PUB 304 PAGES ABINGDOM PRESS
ISBN: 9781426733888

[Tracy Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Warped psychiatrists, persistent real-estate agents, gun-toting seniors, and unwilling book-store owners create this mystery called "Cooking The Books."

This debut novel follows Sloane Templeton as she inherits her dear mother's bookstore after her death of only three months ago and has to give up her computing IT dreams along with it. Fighting to keep it out of local realtors hands, she encounters many mishaps along the way. From abusive ex's to an aunt who excels in the incompetency of any cookery, Sloane keeps trudging through day after day on black cherry flavored water and the love of red velvet cake. Mysterious cryptic email messages, demanding Drs., and million dollar books all bind together making her life more and more complicated. Come along with her as events go from bad to alot worse before they get better. Could her mother have been murdered?? Does this rare book have anything to do with it?? Are her friends really her friends??

The answers to these questions and a whole lot more blend to make this a wonderfully quirky mystery that I thoroughly enjoyed. Bonnie Calhoun really hit home with the dialogue that Sloane would hear from her mom, in that I can hear my own mom say the same things. That definitely made the story even more genuine to me. I enjoyed getting to know all the other characters in the story too. Each definitely played off each other in very important roles, and her descriptions were very vivid, making the story move very smoothly and quickly.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading quirky, contemporary mysteries that contain alot of twists and turns from beginning to end.

This book was kindly provided to me through Netgalley by Abingdon Press for my honest review.

[Katelyn Bolds · Rating 2 out of 5]

Readers are thrown headfirst into an imaginative mystery when they open the pages of Bonnie S. Calhoun’s debut novel, Cooking the Books. Her main character, Sloane Templeton, used to work in a Cyber Crimes Unit investigating computer forensics. She decided to give up that life when she inherited her mother’s bookstore. Now she works hard to juggle looking after her eccentric aunt and her zany customers. But the real mystery starts when Sloane starts getting cyber threats.
Things keep getting worse for Sloane as the story progresses. The threatening emails and messages on her work computers are easy to ignore. Her abusive ex-boyfriend, Trey, is not. Sloane wonders if it’s safe for her to continue dating the stunningly handsome Andreas. Aunt Verline and the bookstore manager, Fifi, contribute a lot to the story while attempting to keep Sloan out of trouble. The real uniting feature among the female characters is their lack of respect from the men in their lives. Verbal and physical abuse unites them. Sloane and her lady companions grow as the novel progresses, and they learn to look at themselves as “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139: 14).
This novel, however, is not so perfectly made. The flow at times is broken by confusing switches in character, and there are other bits that seem to make no sense, such as Sloane forgetting that she is carrying a gun (page 10). Whereas the storyline is ingenious and the characters are authentic, this reader had to stop and question lines a few times.
For a first novel, Bonnie S. Calhoun has woven an admirable tale...

See the rest of the review... http://www.christianbookpreviews.com/...

[Christy Trever · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cooking the Books by Bonnie Calhoun is the first book in the Sloane Templeton series about a thirty-something divorcee with far too much on her plate. Sloane is still recovering from the unexpected death of her mother, Camille, who ran Beckam's Brew & Books, a bookstore known for its great coffee and even better selection of books. Unfortunately, Sloane's heart isn't in selling books; she misses her time working with a cyber-crime unit at NYU that she had to give up after her nasty divorce from a man who shall remain unnamed. In the midst of her new romance with hottie Andreas, comes cyber-threats on the shop's computers, word that her mother's last big purchase may be worth a million dollars, and a realty group is playing dirty trying to get Sloane to sell the building. Calhoun's Sloane is nothing like the usual detective. She is not calm, cool, or collected; nor is she glamorous and thin. Sloane loves her Red Velvet cake so much that she abandoned her jeans months ago and is known to lose her cool on a nearly minute to minute basis. So much so, that it's a bit frightening to know that she's packing heat! Sloane is the perfect heroine for the rest of us, who would be terrified of pointing a gun at another person, wouldn't know the first thing about solving a mystery, and whose taste in men isn't exactly noteworthy. Sloane's antics made me laugh, gasp with fear, and by the end, feel like this was a good friend I was sad to leave. I love how Calhoun has layered a long-arcing story over the other smaller stories in this first volume, and I pray (please God!) that she gets to tell the rest of the tale!

[Ronna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sloane Templeton leaves her high powered Cyber Crimes computer job to take over her Mother's book store after she suddenly dies. The store is located in a lovely, but 'safety challanged' old neighborhood, and is soon in 'demand' to be purchased by some shady characters.  Sloan has some interesting characters of her own that she seems to have inherited with the book store. These include her store manager, who was her Mom's best friend and a feisty gun toasting 'book group' leader.  Plus an aunt who sees herself as the next Top Chef, but she can't seem to keep her mind and her actions moving together----a multi client for the fire department.  Add in a  quirky group of old book lovers, or maybe they are more like the store's lookout possie for deterring trouble.  And trouble Sloan does have!!

Sloane choice of boyfriends/husbands is less than great.  There are cyber terrorists threatening her, and a developer who wants her to 'get out of the building-NOW'.  Even her business has thrown a hook in her new life, as the store apparently has a terribly expensive book available that a couple of men 'must have now'!

So how does Sloan get herself out of all these dangerous and often hilarious situations?  You will laugh, panic, pray, and most of all read faster and faster to see how she survives through it all.   This first book by Bonnie Calhoun is bound to be the first of many in this new series.  If you like laughter , danger, and mysteries with just the right touch of Christianity, you'll love this book as much as I loved it!!

[Connie N. · Rating 2 out of 5]

In a word...disappointing. This is a situation where the author planned on using humor to lighten up a murder mystery. Our main character is brash, she's independent, she's smart, but she's soooo sarcastic that her comments often made me wince. Everyone was the recipient of her harsh mouth, but everyone else seemed to be oblivious. Her Aunt Verlene, meant to be a comical screw-up, simply came off as being a little pathetic and a big target for Sloane's "humor." No one was safe--not the elderly book club members at her bookstore, not Fifi her store manager, not the people at the hairdresser, no one, oh except for Andreas, her boyfriend who could do no wrong. And then, Sloane would ask for God's help in a situation, usually using the Christian comments to say that she was NOT following the rules and she would have to ask for forgiveness, so more of a negative message than a positive one. About 3/4 of the way through the book, though, things settled down (or maybe I got used to the style) and the story caught my interest, enough so I might try another book in this series just to see if it continues to improve. Although I'm still trying to figure out what the prologue had to do with anything. I think it was supposed to set up the mystery, but even knowing the ending now, I still don't get it. Hmmm...

[Voni Harris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cooking the Books by Bonnie Calhoun was a nice read about Sloane Templeton, who is having trouble finding men who don’t abuse her, at the same time she is facing the death of her mother and a threatening mystery about an antique book owned by her mother’s bookshop, AND cyber-threats. She also must keep track of her quirky older relatives, which struck me as quirky and charming, not as cheap laughs. The unique thing is how the author weaves all of these things together in the plot. So many other authors add in elements that are interesting, but don’t actually weave in with the plot. She does a phenomenal job.

Calhoun's writing was taut and spine-tingling in parts, humorous in others, though I would’ve liked more about the Granny Oakley club. They could’ve been good for more laughs; they were great. You gotta read to understand! My favorite part was the scene in which she is confronted by the bad guy (no spoilers here). My least favorite part was the dialogue, which at parts devolved into lingo; I feel unfortunate saying this because I truly think the author was trying to use dialogue to create setting and draw the reader in. It was fine. It was just not my favorite part of the book; I still recommend it.

Blessings,
Voni

[Maureen Timerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once I picked up this captivating book, I could not put it down! It grabs you and compels you to keep reading.
Sloane Templeton has lost her Mom, and now has taken over running her Bookstore, along with Fifi her Mom's partner [another Colorful Character]. She has also begun a new relationship with a Greek Doctor..Andreas, having left a bad relationship with Trey [who doesn't seem to understand it is over!]
This story has it all, death threats and threatening messages, along with in person threats by people wanting her Mom's property. Also we meet delightful Aunt Verlene...the local Chef...who can't cook, and has regular visits from the fire department! There are also the Senior Group...at the gun range no less.
Add a very valuable antique book, and a couple of archaeological desperately wanting it!
I so enjoyed the subtle humor and the catchy phrases like "Fifi Andretti" or "Play Deputy Dawg", and "Red Velvet Hips".....are great and give you some chuckles. Also the nail biting end will keep you riveted! Enjoy!!

I received this book from Netgalley and the Publisher Abingdon Press. and was not required to give a positive review.

[Pattyrflg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a free ebook download. This was packed with all kinds of quirky characters from Fifi to Aunt Verlene and a few bad guys that make Sloane Templeton's life very interesting. After Sloane's mother dies unexpectedly, she leaves her beloved career of computer forensics to run her mother's bookstore. She has to deal with her poor choices in boyfriends and husband, a real estate company pushing her to sell them the bookstore, cyber threats, and Aunt Verlene who thinks she is the next great chef. Sloane is trying to unravel all these issues in her life, while still mourning the death of her mom.

Sloane admits she puts her faith and trust in Jesus Christ, but throughout the book she doesn't always demonstrate it. She admits she has recently returned to her faith and the author shows her as a flawed believer, just as we all are. If Bonnie Calhoun continues this series, I will be interested to see if the character of Sloane grows in Christian maturity. I enjoyed this book for the different characters and the funny quips from Sloane. I hope there will be more to come from this author.