If Mashed Potatoes Could Dance

Gram’s Country Cooking School Mystery #2

by Paige Shelton

 At Gram’s Country Cooking School in Broken Rope, Missouri, Isabelle “Betts” Winston and her grandmother share the secrets of delicious home-style recipes. But there’s one secret they keep from their classes—their ability to talk to ghosts from the town’s colorful past… Betts and Gram agree to help their friend Jake at Broken Rope’s Historical Society by accommodating some foodie tourists for the night and occupying them with cooking lessons. It couldn’t be worse timing when the pair encounter the ax-wielding ghost of Sally Swarthmore, one of Broken Rope’s legendary murderers, who pleads with Betts to help find her diary--a diary that could prove that Sally was really a victim, not a villain. But they soon have a modern-day murder on their hands when one of the tourists turns up dead with a noose around his neck and two other tourists are nowhere to be found. Now Betts needs to put the cooking classes on the back burner to untangle two knotty mysteries and rope in a cold-blooded killer.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Cozy, Fiction, Paranormal, Ghosts, Culinary

304 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published October 2, 2012

Reviews

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m really enjoying this series and meeting the ghosts of Broken Rope. I like Betts and Miz and how they wind up helping the ghosts that visit them, this time Sally Swarthmore. These books seem to combine a current day case with a case from the ghosts past which is probably why I like it so much since I’m a sucker for a cold case. My guess about who was behind it all was only partially right because they were involved but was not the mastermind behind it. Looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

[Emily Dubovsky · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75 Quite fast paced, I enjoyed the supernatural elements with the ghosts and Sally swarthmore’s past the most. The actual murder mystery with the foodie group wasn’t as good- the killer reveal was rushed and not exciting. I didn’t care about the foodie group at all

[Avid Series Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

If Mashed Potatoes Could Dance by Paige Shelton is the second book of the Country Cooking School cozy mystery series set in Broken Rope, Missouri. Elizabeth "Betts" and her grandmother Missouri Anna "Miz" are deep cleaning at Gram's Country Cooking School when they get a call from town historian Jake (Betts' best friend). A foodie tour bus is coming to town today; due to a booking mix-up, no rooms are available in the local hotel until tomorrow; will Miz and Betts teach a cooking class and provide an overnight stay? Gram's overnight cooking class is on everything potatoes: "Mash Away, But Respect Me in the Morning".

The ghost of Sally Swarthmore (Broken Rope's infamous ax murderess) appears, for the first time visible/audible to Betts. After Betts' infatuation with Jerome Cowbender's ghost last year, Gram has warned Betts not to get attached to the ghosts. But Betts grows fond of Sally nevertheless, over the course of solving the latest crime spree (three of the foodies disappear, then one turns up dead).

Sally has returned to Broken Rope to find her childhood diary. It will reveal who really killed her parents. First, she begs Betts to exhume her body, in case the diary was buried with her. Next, Sally remembers she hid it in a favorite hiding spot - in the Munroe house. Betts is too scared to go in the abandoned house, remembering a scary night as a teen.

Kooky sentences abound - chuckle or cringe!
Betts: "His [Leroy's] hair was a darker black than the color of the bus and it shone like the finish, as though he waxed both the bus and his hair at the same time."

Betts: "Cece had evidently been assembled following the model of a Barbie doll. Her figure was ideal; her clothes were smooth, her shirt dotted with little bits of glitter here and there (just like on one of my old dolls); her long blond hair was pulled back into a ponytail and didn't show one flyaway."

Betts: "It was as if someone was standing on a corner somewhere handing out dark circles to put under eyes."

Betts: "She [Bunny]was a woman of few words and fewer opinions. Everyone was a potential customer. She was good at being Switzerland neutral."

Betts: "learning about her [Sally's] life via Edgar O'Brien's notes was fascinating. It was like having my own live version of the History Channel, which was about the only way I found history intriguing enough to pay attention." And yet...Betts spends most of her free time learning about Broken Rope's past from Jake's archives, including facts of Sally Swarthmore's life. "it was beginning to at least sound like her [Sally's] trial had been more of a circus than a valid legal battle."

Miz: "I'm as healthy as a southern Missouri mosquito in the middle of sweltering wet summer."

Betts: "I swatted away a fly big enough to need a saddle."

Betts' least favorite of Gram's sayings: "I'll be picked and blistered."

Miz reacting to an unexpected scream: "Oh, fiddley-foo".

Predictably, Jake and Betts uncover Sally's innocence. Betts solves the present-day mysteries: finds the missing foodies and at great peril, confronts the killer. In the process she meets more ghosts and has a few almost-dates with Cliff, her beau back in high school, now a policeman. Overall, a fun light read.

Gram's recipes: Mashed Potatoes, Funeral Potatoes, Skillet Potatoes, Sweet Potato Pie with Marshmallow Meringue.

[Eva Müller · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am somewhat conflicted about this book. I really enjoyed the characters. Betts, the main-characters was lovely and I also really liked that she was not infallable and always right about everything and everybody (she really disliked Ophelia and behaved incredibly childish towards her but unlike so many other cozies I did not have the impression that the reader was supposed to agree with her actions and see them as anything but childish and at the end there was no big 'I had been right about her all along'-reveal). The othe inhabitants of Broken Rope (best town name ever) were also really likeable but the bus-tourists stayed all a bit flat.

I also had some issues with the mystery or rather mysteries. There's the modern one about the murdered tourist and the historic one about the question if Sally really killed her parents and in both I found Betts a bit too passive. She did almost no real investigation in the modern one but rather stumbled into it while looking into Sally's case.
That is actually an interesting variation to the 'amateur sleuth thinks she's better than the police'-type of books but I found it involved a bit too many lucky coincidences and Betts seemed also a bit too reluctant to investigate Sally's case and sometimes it felt like she had almost be forced at gunpoint to help Sally:
Sally thought that a clue to her case could be in her diary and thinks Betts should search for it. Sally's first idea is that her diary might have been burried with her and it is quite understandable that Betts is reluctant to dig up 100 year old corpses but then Sally gets off that idea and consideres other possibilities where the diary might be that would be much easier to investigate but Betts always finds reasons why she defenitely cannot look there and everytime Sally brings it up she basically screams them at the reader.
I ended up feeling a bit annoyed by that. Not that her reasons were completely riddiculous but it felt a bit like everytime Sally mentioned her diary Betts stopped her ears and yelled 'LALA NOT LISTENING' instead of thinking of possible ways to get around her problems.

Still not completely averse to trying out other books in this series. I enjoyed the mixture of cozy crime and paranormal fantasy and the times Betts wasn't being stupid she was really likeable. (Plus: the reciepes in the back sound yummie)

[❂ Murder by Death · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a little hesitant to start this book, something about the axe-wielding ghost just didn't immediately appeal to me, but once I picked it up I was hard pressed to put it back down again. A lot of fun! A great murder mystery I had no idea of the ending to, as well as a great ghost mystery as well (although I had the result of that investigation pegged early on). I really liked Sally-the-ghost. All the characters are likeable and I got a big kick out of seeing a cameo appearance by Sam Brion, the Sheriff from Ms. Shelton's other mystery series. I'm hoping for more sparks between Betts and Cliff in future books though... I like them together but they are, at the moment, a bit lukewarm.

[Joni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second book in the Country Cooking School Mystery series does not disappoint. Old rivalries, a mystery involving a new ghost, and the wonderful cast of characters of Broken Rope, Missouri keep the reader entertained throughout the entire story. Recipes for several types of potatoes are included in the back of the book.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

More ghosts...new ghosts...NEW RECIPES! And these really are country cooking recipes. I could almost feel my grandmother reading over my shoulder as my mouth watered! The mystery portion of this book is very good, the characters are all fun...even the dead ones...and I could not be happier!

[Allison Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed this book so much better than the first. Less Miz, no Jerome, Sally was awesome, Jake is also awesome, Betts seems to be dating a human, all the good things.

[LORI CASWELL · Rating 5 out of 5]

Broken Rope, Missouri is home to Gram's Country Cooking School and a few very special ghostly guests. Isabelle "Betts" Winston and her grandmother "Miz" seem to have the unique ability to see and communicate with the deceased residents of the town but keep that under your hat. It's supposed to be a secret.

In this installment Gram and Betts receive an unusual request. Some foodie tourist's local reservations have been messed up and to help out they agree to put them up overnight at the cooking school and keep them busy with a few cooking lessons. At the same time ghost Sally Swarthmore, one of Broken Rope's legendary murderers, shows up wielding her ax and begging Betts to help her find her diary. She thinks it may prove she was not the one responsible for those ghastly murders.

It isn't long before one of the tourists ends up dead and two others are missing. Cooking takes a back burner as Betts tries to solve not just one mystery but two and rope a cold blooded killer.

Dollycas's Thoughts

Fun! Fun! Fun! Two Mysteries In ONE!!

A mystery from the past, a mystery in the present, a blonde, top heavy ghost swinging an ax, an eclectic group of tourists, a couple of residents who can talk to dead people in a town dedicated to reliving the wild past for tourists on a daily basis. What a great place to visit!!

I immediately got a picture in my head of Sally. Dolly Parton brandishing an ax! I am not sure if that is how Opie portrays her or her exact ghostly image but that is the picture in my head. I fell for her in an instant. I knew right away there was so much more to her story and this author didn't disappoint. She was definitely my favorite character in this book.

But the main and supporting characters are growing and evolving too. We are learning more and more and they are quickly becoming friends we will want to visit again and again. Betts works both mysteries with a little help from her friends. Sometimes those ghosts really do come in handy.

If Mashed Potatoes Could Dance definitely had me chair dancing so bring on the potatoes. Twice Baked sounds good to me! This story and the bonus recipes are a delectable delight!

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two for one!! Just like the last book, you get two mysteries for the price of one. 
This book started off slow. I'm still trying to warm up to Betts and Gram. They both seem so, so, yeah okay, nice to meet you but I'm going for another drink.
The addition of Sally and what happened to her diary was fun. Sally was a cute character but she was kind of pushy. Betts didn't help matters much because she kept putting Sally off. Then Betts made a point with her internal dialog to remind us that she keeps her promises and doesn't like to let people down. Um, Betts? Sally is practically handing you a solution to her diary problem. I think you need to pay attention.
Which then leads to the other mystery of the tourists, the murder and then the missing tourists. I figured out one part of that mystery as soon as it happened, but when the explanation of the murder and the why of it were explained, I was left with a "huh"?
 
SAM BRION! Nice cameo!!! 

[Sallee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first of THE COUNTRY COOKING SCHOOL MYSTERY series I have read. I enjoyed it. The premise is this: A grandmother and her granddaughter own a cooking school in Broken Rope, Miss. This is a tourist town with the western idea being promoted. Betts, the granddaughter, also had the ability to see some of the ghosts of the past just like her grandmother. There are two tales being told here. A Tour bus comes to town and one of the tourists from the bus is murdered. The ghost of Sally shows up and wants them to find her diary. She was convicted of killing her parents (ala Lizzie Borden) but died in jail before she could be hanged. Betts gets pulled into both mysteries, the real and the paranormal. The book was fast paced with a hint of romance tossed into it in the form of Cliff, Betts' high school boyfriend, now a police officer for the town. There are some interesting characters added to the mix. A fun read that kept my interest.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was a nice story but very frustrating as everything could have been solved much quicker if only Betts stopped being an idiot for a moment :)

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Isabelle Winston, Betts to everyone who knows her, works with her grandmother at Gram’s Country Cooking School. They live in the Old West town of Broken Rope, Missouri. A town filled with a colorful history. Both Betts and her Gram have the ability to see and talk to ghosts.
When Betts’ friend Jake is contacted to find overnight accommodations for a group of tourists he contacts Betts in hopes that the cooking school could be used. The tourists are foodies and cooking lessons added in would be terrific. They agree and enlist Teddy, Betts’ brother, to help them find cots and blankets.
Unfortunately the ghost of a local legend, ax-murderer Sally Swarthmore, shows up and adds to the chaos. Sally believes she was wrongly convicted and wants Betts to help her find the truth. If Sally’s diary can be located she is sure it will hold all of the answers. Before this investigation can get very far three of the foodies disappear. When one is found murdered Betts begins find herself pulled between two murders, past and present.
This is the second in the Gram’s Country Cooking School Mystery series. I am not typically someone who will seek out the paranormal, but I loved the first book and couldn’t wait for the time to read the second book. The characters in the book are very well developed. They are easy to relate to and once you beginning to read you feel as though you know them. The descriptions in the book are well written. It is easy to picture Broken Rope in your mind as you read. The action in the story moves at a steady pace. You want to keep reading and I found real life was getting in the way of finishing the book. I look forward to reading the next book in the series. I recommend this book. It can stand alone, but I suggest starting with book one.

[Vickie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's October, my month to read mostly ghost-y, Halloween, paranormal, etc. type books and this one fits the bill.
This is a fun series. I've read several of Paige Shelton's series and I'm a big fan, especially how diverse her writing is. Some authors rest on their laurels and write the same thing over and over again because they know their fans will read it no matter what. No laurel resting for Paige Shelton. She has a lot of stories inside her and she wants her readers to have something different and excellent with each one.
This series has a cool premise of being set in an Old West town in Missouri and Gram has a cooking school with her granddaughter, Betts, helping out. They can both see ghosts that meander in the town. And they try to help them. Along with investigating suspicious occurrences in the town of Broken Rope.
I like the characters, the setting, the premise and the amateur sleuths getting involved in the investigation feels natural.
There's not as much cooking in this book as there's a lot of ghost activity and suspicious death and disappearances to get into. But there are recipes in the back of the book. YAY!
I can definitely recommend this book, series and author.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so fun and engaging. Shelton deftly merged multiple crimes/mysteries--a murder and kidnapping along with a centuries-old murder. She kept you wondering throughout the book if they were related or not. And once again, I loved the introduction of the ghosts that only Gram and Betts can see or hear. Betts is still missing Jerome, the ghost she met in the first book of the series, when she meets the ghost of Sally Swarthmore--a gregarious and outgoing ghost who is not afraid to speak her mind or ask (or manipulate) people into helping her when she needs it. Betts is trying to help Sally, but current crimes keep interrupting her plans! I like that she helps the police without overstepping or undermining the police. She's not trying to do their job, she just shares info when she finds it. That doesn't mean she doesn't inadvertently put herself in danger though. And through all of this, Shelton continues to build the relationships Betts has with those around her--Jake, Clint, her brother Teddy, and even her Gram. I really look forward to continuing this series.

[EmmyT · Rating 3 out of 5]

First let me say how much I love the idea of this series and basically have enjoyed the actual stories. (I also love the author's Scottish Booksellers series. That's what led me to this series.)
I really do not like Betts. She is self-centered. She doesn't treat her friends, ghosts, or family like anyone she cares about. Thankfully she doesn't have an animal to care for.Her general reaction to her failures to consider anyone else is, "Oh well, I'll apologize".
How many times is she going to tell us she's a law school dropout? She has no concept of preserving history, evidence, and general concept of handle with care.
How do you teach a law school dropout to think about someone other than themself?

[Karen-Leigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Betts and Gram agree to help their friend Jake at Broken Rope’s Historical Society by accommodating some foodie tourists for the night and occupying them with cooking lessons. It couldn’t be worse timing when the pair encounter the ax-wielding ghost of Sally Swarthmore, one of Broken Rope’s legendary murderers, who pleads with Betts to help find her diary--a diary that could prove that Sally was really a victim, not a villain. But they soon have a modern-day murder on their hands when one of the tourists turns up dead with a noose around his neck and two other tourists are nowhere to be found. Now Betts needs to put the cooking classes on the back burner to untangle two knotty mysteries and rope in a cold-blooded killer.

[Alison (Lady Coffin) S · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another fun cooking related cozy mystery series. In this one, I have been enjoying the dynamics of the MC her Grandmother, her brother, her straight male best friend, and the ghostly visitors. I think having the series set in an old west Missouri town with lots of historical "characters" is brilliant. It gives the author a lot of different stories as well as personalities to pull from without the location needing to change much. I look forward to where the story will go and who we will meet next

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this fun cozy mystery. There's the usual Nancy Drew type of amateur sleuth named Betts. This time her sort of boyfriend is on the police force and she runs a cooking school with her grandmother in a small town in Missouri. The twist that makes this such a fun book is that she and her grandmother can see and talk to a few ghosts that live in their town. Sally, one of the ghosts, has asked for their help. It sounds odd but it's quite entertaining. I'm looking for the rest of the books in the series right now.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 2 of The Country Cooking School Mysteries: this one was just as good as the first one. Not so much about the cooking school after the very beginning, when a tour bus shows up to spend the night there, since everything else is booked up. Some thievery, 2 people going missing and one murder have Betts and her friend Jake busy. And a new ghost shows up, who wants them to find out if she really killed her parents. The 2 mysteries run together sometimes, and almost end with more murders, but plans are thwarted and mysteries solved. Hope my library has more of this series.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm enjoying this series, in fact, I'm currently reading the third book in the series. I enjoy a bit of fantasy in this genre, as well as several other genres I read. The foodie part is because they take place within the context of a cooking school in a town that has weird history and main characters that see and engage with ghosts.
If you want to jump in to the series, I'd strongly recommend starting at the beginning (even if you're not OCD about this like me). The story lines definitely build on each other.
That's all you'll get from me.

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

More quirky stuff and it was a GREAT read. I loved what the author brought to the book and made it her own. She has a great imagination and these books (ANY of her books) I can't stop reading.

I started this book today and came home and finished it just now. I loved it and I am starting to get that feeling again towards the characters. That they are dear friends and I can't wait to see what trouble they get into.

Highly suggest reading anything by Paige Shelton. You won't be disappointed....

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok, so this book isn't Shakespeare, but it's fun and light and that's exactly what I was craving right now. This series is perfect for me - I love the history that's slowly being built up about Broken Rope with each novel and how the ghosts of the town's old West legends play a part in each story. I adored Sally in all her Lizzie Borden-esque glory. It was hard to put down... so I didn't! I read it all in one marathon reading session.

[Lady Galaxy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second book in this series was even better than the first, though I did notice that Betts missed a few major clues that her readers surely caught before she did. Of course, I know the author does that on purpose to help us feel as if we're just a wee bit smarter than the protagonist. I really liked the new ghost who appeared this time. Now I have to wait for the next book in the series to drop in price a bit before I can continue the series.

[Katy Springer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Without a doubt it was of course a fantastic read, but I was a tad disappointed. It seemed as if I was re-reading book one for a few chapters with differently named people. The ending was a good outcome. It just didn't hold the shock and awe for me since it felt like I was riding along just shooting the breeze. I am a tad curious to pick up the third book though!

[Miranda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't remember much from the first book, but that did make this a fresh 'series' so to speak.

I really liked Sally's character, it really gave the entire story some 'pep'.
I like that the pacing is rather slow, and consistent, leaving more than enough 'space' for the mystery to unfold and connections to be made. I can appreciate that now.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting paranormal cozy that was the author’s take on Lizzie Borden. This tale presented a plausible explanation of what could have happened in the real life situation of the Borden family’s tragedy.

[Bri Davis · Rating 1 out of 5]

Got to page 10 and couldn’t finish it. The writing was drab, the background explanation abhorrent, and I couldn’t bring myself to care about the characters or their plight. Might just not be the book for me.

[Val · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sally drove me batty! (Sorry had to get that out😉.) Another Fantastic story! It feels like I got another chance to visit with old friends again. I was sad 😞 that Jerome didn't get to visit again but maybe in a future book. Love this author.

[Sterre · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved, loved, loved it!
While I am sick at home, this book offered a great escape from feeling crappy. It is a beautiful crafted follow up to the first Country Cooking School Mystery. In this one, the main character encounters a new ghostly persona, the ax-wielding murderess, Sally Swarthmore….