Recipe for Deception

Creative Woman Mysteries #3

by Rachael O. Phillips

A poisoned cupcake delivered by her daughter leads Shannon McClain into a tangled web of murder and mayhem.

Now that their college semester is over, Shannon McClain’s twins travel from Scotland to Apple Grove, Oregon, to join her in her new life, arriving just in time for the grand opening of Espresso Yourself. Shannon’s plans for a fun summer quickly spoil when her daughter takes a part-time job working for Joyce Buchanan at the Pink Sprinkles Bakery and a customer dies after eating a cupcake delivered by Lara.

Rumors about the deadly cupcake spread like wildfire through the small town, and Joyce's business begins to suffer. As more unsavory events unfold, all seemingly connected to Joyce, it becomes clear to Shannon and the other women of the Purls of Hope knitting circle that someone is trying to set her up. They decide to find out who's really behind all the trouble before Joyce is arrested for a crime she didn't commit. Time is ticking for Shannon to whip up a crime-solving recipe in time to catch the killer before another deadly dish is served.

This clever whodunit from Annie’s Creative Woman Mysteries series is a must-read for fans of cozy mysteries, crafting, light romance, and female friendships.

Genres: Cozy Mystery, Mystery

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Rachael Phillips, a church music director, began her unplanned writing career when the church secretary demanded newsletter articles, or else. She has written more than 400 articles, newspaper columns, devotions, and stories along with several books. Rachael enjoys speaking at women’s meetings and conducts writing workshops. She and Steve, her high school sweetheart and husband of thirty-eight years, live in Upland, Indiana. They have three grown children and five grandchildren.

Reviews

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shannon McLain's business is going well, and with her twin offspring coming back for summer, she hopes for fun and bonding. Of course, there's a murder, and her daughter falls for the local bad boy.

Shannon starts to investigate, and all of her summer plans go up in smoke. Pretty decent.

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun little mystery in this series.

[ANNETTE · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my 2nd book by this author. I always enjoy a good mystery. WELL DONE !

[Charlene · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this mystery , mostly because the author is local. She was a guest speaker at our local library.

[Bobbi Jo]

I have gotten used to the Cozy Muder mysteries now and I find them a very fun way to decompress after a few long reads, and this was wonderful for this purpose. There are some hate mongers in this small town, that have grudges and a few mysterious murders are happening to good people. The problem is finding out who is responsible for these crimes and why. In the meantime, everybody is suspect and are in fear of being the next victim. Fingers are pointing and things are being said to put the blame on innocent people and they have to prove that they are not the guilty parties. And the least suspected person is yelling the loudest about who they think is the one that has killed and will kill again. It is a puzzle that just keeps getting more tangled and you can't be sure the good and best known and trusted neighbor isn't innocent after all. Now to find volume #2.

[Debora Wilder · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great cozy mystery!

I love the regular characters in this series. It is wonderful to see how they interact with and support each other through all of the difficulties that they face. It was wonderful to see how Shannon and her kids butted heads over a number of things. They are such realistic characters.

The mystery is well developed. I did manage to guess who the murderer was before the end of the book. I was completely confused about the motive though. That definitely kept my interest and reading to the very end.

[Jennifer Robb · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought several books from this series at the local Half Price Books--unfortunately, the ones they had did not include book 2 of the series.

I did like this book better than book 1 of the series, and I do like that this author, Rachel Phillips, seems to include more clues for readers to try to use to figure out whodunit than some of the other Annie's Fiction authors do--or at least it felt like it to me.

I still did not guess the perpetrator before it was revealed--but that is my norm so your experience may vary. I did pick up on a couple clues though, so that is something.

[Allyson Anthony · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this fun cozy mystery read, Shannon believes her summer will be fun bonding with her twin college age kids. Then a murder destroys her summer plans, and she starts sleuthing. The mystery was well-written with family conflict and tension as Shannon's daughter falls for the local bad boy. Wonderful mystery.

[Terri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shannon McClain is a local craft business owner and amateur sleuth. When her friend who owns the bakery is accused of murder and her daughter is being implicated, Shannon gets involved. The book feels a little like the TV series "Murder She Wrote". It's fun and not too predictable.

[Amy Hockenberry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable read.

[Jean Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed this book a lot and am looking for the first one in the series.

[Cindy Warner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an edge of the seater. A lot of emotion, a lot of action and a whodunit that I couldn't guess on the first few pages, which is rare for me. I will read more by this author when I find them.

[Barbara Cunningham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love these Annie's Fiction books... another cozy mystery.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

[PottWab Regional Library]

O

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow-as much as I liked book #1 and #9 this series is dwindling fast!

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

#3 in the Creative Woman Mysteries by the same publisher as Annie's Attic Mysteries. Shannon's twins Alec and Lara have joined her in Apple Grove, Oregon. They are helping in the Craft store and Lara is helping deliver baked goods for Valerie's Pink Sprinkles Bakery. She delivers Just Because Cupcakes free to someone who needs cheering up. Lara gives one to Chaz- the town's bad boy and then she starts hanging around with him. She also delivers one to Mr. Percy and he dies!! A new mystery for Shannon to solve with Michael Stone's help.

[J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this continuing Creative Woman mystery, Shannon must find out who poisoned the cupcakes and why. This tale of greed and envy provides an excellent background for the main character to use her detective skills.

[Joyce Buehrle · Rating 4 out of 5]

very good mystery story don't know till end who did it very Recipe for Deception by Rachael Philips