Mishaps and Murder: A Coffee Shop Cozy Mystery

by Constance Barker

Welcome to The Blue Spruce Coffee Shop Where the Java is Hot and the Murder is Cold BloodedThe Blue Spruce coffee shop in the heart of Myrtle Lake retirement village does a bang-up business all day long, keeping barista Charlie and owner/grandmother Carla on their toes. Local eccentrics like a former Broadway dancer, a famous landscape painter, a dotty psychic, and a mischievous sea captain pop in to share tall tales and ribald jokes, much to the delight of their over-caffeinated neighbors.

But this happy crew gets the shock of their lives when Fritz Caulfield, a lovely man and horrible sculptor, drowns in the village’s pristine pool and 24-year-old Charlie’s accused of his murder.

Carla rallies her troops, including studly retired NYPD detective Saylor Reeves, to clear her granddaughter’s name. The small-but-determined pack outpaces the local Sheriff to discover a parcel of suspects including a grouchy groomer, an angry art teacher, and an uppity upholsterer.

But no leads let Charlie off the hook. They need a breakthrough right now.

Just as the long arms of the law stretch toward the coffee shop, a bizarre clue sheds new light on the case. Could a pair of vintage toys spring Charlie from the hoosegow?

Meanwhile, the more fanciful villagers see phantom lights dancing in the woods east of Myrtle Lake, and a creeping sense of unease permeates the crisp autumn air.

Can Carla, Saylor, and their wacky senior sleuths save Charlie and protect the town from an invading ghost army?

All in a day’s work for these unshakeable elders. After decades on the planet, it will take more than murder, menace, and mystery to scare this gang away.

Genres: Cozy Mystery, Mystery, Fiction, Ebooks

Audible Audio

Published February 23, 2024

About the author

Constance Barker lives in the Midwest with her husband and two Akitas where she can look out from her screened porch onto a wooded area brimming with activity. Since she was a young girl she read mysteries, often given to her by her grandmother. She loved figuring out who the culprit was and sometimes she was right and other times startled at who the author picked as the assailant. Now she enjoys writing mysteries herself. When she isn't writing stories, she can be found in her favorite vacation spot, Las Vegas or shopping for bargains.

Reviews

[Heart DeCoupeville · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought long and hard about whether or not even to leave this review. In the end, I chose to go ahead, but I reserve the right to remove it, too. For reasons.

I also wasn't sure where to begin this review. There are so many things wrong with this book. Since most people don't like to read negative reviews, I'll hide the rest behind a spoiler tag. Just don't say you weren't warned.



Let's start with "where." There is no "where" there. I read to page 57 of this 182 page book, the 30% mark, before there was any mention of where this story takes place, and then the only comment is "the entire New England area." Though the story apparently takes place in the "Myrtle Lake Retirement Community," there's nothing in that name that gives any hint of where on the planet – or any other planet, for that matter – Myrtle Lake is. Finally, on page 57, we get this reference to New England.

Is it rural Maine? Suburban Connecticut? The mountains of Vermont? Or doesn't setting matter?

Page 57, in fact, turned out to be a good place to start, and not just with location. On the same page is a mention of the Piggly Wiggly supermarket. For those readers who may not be familiar, Piggly Wiggly is a real American grocery store chain. There are no Piggly Wiggly stores, however, in "the New England area." Corporate headquarters are in New Hampshire, but the company operates stores only in the Midwest and South. This is an objective fact easily researched; it took me maybe two minutes. That the author chose to use the name rather than just "supermarket" without researching strongly hints at carelessness. But to tell the truth, I got that impression long before page 57.

And yes, I can see the reference to New England in the Amazon description, but I don't have that with me when I'm reading on my Kindle, nor am I going to go back and find it.  It's not like the back cover copy on a paperback that one is holding in one's hand while reading. (And anyway, who in their right mind is diving into a swimming pool, pristine or otherwise, in the crisp New England autumn air?)

I can't stand lazy writing, and I really can't stand lazy editing, whether it's done by the author or another party. On that same page 57 the repetitions of "stepped out" and "eyes," as well as smiling and grinning, are the kind of sloppiness that drive me up the wall. (". . .[S]he asked with a smile on her face." Where else would that smile be? Her elbow, maybe?)

The problem here is that this type of lazy, sloppy repetition doesn't begin on page 57. It's present from the very beginning of the book.

On Kindle page 1 – yes, page 1 – we're introduced, sort of, to the narrator's Grandma Carla. On Kindle page 2, we get "my grandma, Carla" and "my grandma" and "my grandma" again. On page 2 we also have "Ms. Cleo" three times in one paragraph.

These are very short Kindle pages.

By the end of page 2, we still don't know the narrator's name or age or anything else, though there is a hint that they are female: I was the spittin’ image of my grandma, not only in looks but also in her fiery, most of the time explosive, temperament.

We also know, from a comment made on page 1 and made more explicit on page 2, that this opening scene takes place in the Blue Spruce Coffee Shop in the Myrtle Lake Retirement Village. One might think that the names given to the coffee shop and the village would hint at the general location. Well, the blue spruce tree is native to the Rocky Mountain West in the United States. The common myrtle tree is native to the Mediterranean area; the crepe/crape myrtle is native to Asia but has "naturalized" itself to the southern U.S. Those "clues" therefore provide no help to determining the locale of the story.

The fact that the coffee shop is in a retirement community offers additional cause for bewilderment. Retirement communities often limit residency and/or property ownership to individuals over a certain age; in Arizona, for instance, where there are many such places both large and small, the age determination is commonly 55. At least one member of a household must meet the age requirement and they are not allowed to have younger family members living with them on a permanent or long-term basis, though in some communities, younger relatives over the age of 40 (or some other arbitrary number) may live in as care-givers.

It was difficult for me as a reader, therefore, to figure out how Grandma Carla's grandchild was living with her in Myrtle Lake. If a writer wants to do things like this, they should at least provide some explanation. Did Carla get special permission? Are the rules not strictly enforced? What's going on here?

Later, we learn that Carla has raised Charlie since she was an infant. Did they always live at Myrtle Lake? If so, how did Carla manage to raise a child in a retirement community where there may not even be schools? Or is Myrtle Lake just a small enclave within a larger, non-retirement town or city?

Too many questions like these keep me from plunging into the story as a kind of virtual reality. I would normally just toss aside a book this poorly written as not worth my time. Sadly, it is just one of so very many.

As a virtually lifelong reader, I'm truly saddened that there are books like this out there. Worse, that there are writers like this out there: Writers who don't seem to care about writing well. It wouldn't take much to give the reader some quick facts about where Myrtle Lake Retirement Village is or what it's like. It wouldn't take much to provide some background on Charlie, whose name we don't even get until page 5 (as I'm reading on my K4PC; officially page 8). We learn the names of several customers, the grandmother, the dog, and even the mynah bird before we learn the narrator's name!

"But," you say in protest, "what if I'm just reading for the mystery? I don't care about all this!"

Well, the mystery makes no sense either.

To start with, we don't know what time of day it is when the story opens. The regulars have come into the coffee shop; Robbie Nicols is on his fourth cup. The dog, Kurt, is paying a lot of attention to the door facing the swimming pool. (We never do find out why.)

Kurt let out another whine, his nose firmly planted on the glass of the door that looked out toward the fenced-in swimming pool next door. He’d been doing that all morning.

Barker, Constance. Mishaps and Murder (A Myrtle Lake Cozy Mystery Book 1) (p. 7). Kindle Edition.

We soon find out that there are people doing something at the pool and the people in the coffee shop are curious about the activity.

No one bothers to go to the door, open it, and find out what's going on.

Another customer, a woman named Glynnis, comes in and asks, “Do you think they’ve found the body in the pool yet?"

Instead of following up on such a loaded question, the customers already in the shop discuss Glynnis's history of weird predictions that come true in weird ways.  Glynnis just makes her announcement, collects her to-go order, and leaves.

After the discussion of her predictions, another customer enters, Saylor Reeves, and he announces there's a body in the pool. “I found him at 7 am this morning when I went for my morning swim.” (p. 14). Saylor provides the information that the pool opens at 7:00 a.m. and closes at 9:00 p.m. as though this would be news to the people who live there. (Note, too, the repetition in one sentence of "7 am," "this morning," and "morning swim." I guess we really need to know it was, erm, morning.)

One presumes, then, that this Saylor Reeves contacted law enforcement, and they're the ones who showed up and were engaged in all the activity the others noticed. Or, if there were other residents of Myrtle Lake Retirement Village who also came for a morning swim, that they were the ones around the pool. How much time passed between Saylor's discovery at 7:00 a.m. and his announcement to the denizens of the Blue Spruce Coffee Shop is unknown. Wouldn't that be like important?

The thing about cozy mysteries is that officialdom is lax. It's always up to the amateurs to solve the crime. But you can't have lax officialdom if you have no officialdom at all.

“The Sheriff is here and wants to talk to everyone about that,” Saylor said to everyone in the room. (p. 15).

The sheriff shows up, and she is a piece of work. She's a military veteran who insults everyone, yet supposedly was elected to the top office in the county. (No board of supervisors or other officials that she reports to?) And she has only three deputies! They're all busy with a traffic incident on the interstate! No staff? How big is this "county" that it's policed by a sheriff and three deputies?  Well, eventually a medical examiner does show up.

The sheriff interviews the people in the coffee shop, but there's no mention of whether or not she interviews anyone else. Hello? What about all those people around the pool before the sheriff arrived?  Who are they? We know they're not sheriff's department folks, because all of them are out at the interstate.

Then there's Saylor, who happens to be a retired NYPD detective. The sheriff deputizes him immediately, without even asking if he agrees/consents. Hello? Deputizing people against their will? Is that now a thing in cozy mysteries?  (Later, Saylor announces that he "undid" the deputizing. )

Before lunch, it's determined that the victim drowned around midnight, and Charlie is the prime suspect because her purple bandana is found in the victim's mouth. Oh, I'm sorry. She's not a suspect; she's just a person of interest. And with that, Charlie, Carla, and Cleo set out to solve the mystery.

The following day, they begin interviewing other residents of Myrtle Lake and they learn the victim had a girl-friend apparently no one knew about. They also learn he had an interest in dolls. Later, Saylor and Carla investigate the pool where the victim's body was found, a pool that apparently hasn't been taped off as a crime scene and hasn't been thoroughly examined by the abrasive sheriff and her department. Grandma Carla dives to the bottom of the pool and retrieves two "old" G.I. Joe dolls.

The assumption is immediately made that these dolls belonged to the victim.

But here's the thing: "Old" is a relative term. G.I. Joe dolls were originally roughly the same size as Barbie dolls; when introduced in 1963/64, the G.I. Joe figures were 12 inches tall, to Barbie's 11.5 inches. Over the years, a variety of sizes were introduced, from 8 inch, to 6 inch, all the way down to 3 3/4 inch action figures.  I know enough of these details to do five minutes of research to get accurate information.

Author Constance Barker might not know all of those details, but her retiree characters probably would. Or at least some of them would. Certainly the victim would.  And Barker could have done the same five minutes research I did and fleshed out her story and not made me think she's a lazy, incompetent writer.

I continued reading to page 67, but the poor quality of the writing was really annoying me. Here's another example:



The speech tags are one thing. Scoffed, confirmed, spat. That sort of thing runs through the whole book, except when the same tags are repeated over and over and over. But Barker insists on starting new paragraphs when she doesn't need to, and it causes confusion as to who's speaking. So the "she" in this conversation – her name is Sappy and she's the victim's ex-girlfriend – spits that no one knew anything about him, but the new paragraph suggests that someone else makes the comment beginning "Of course." Instead, this is a continuation of Sappy's dialogue.

After Carla expresses her curiosity about Sappy not knowing anything about Fritz, Sappy "begins" again. Yeah, I'm rolling my eyes at "begins," since she began, er, spat, that information earlier on the page.

Here's the other thing Barker does that sets my eyes into motion: She throws someone else's actions into the speaker's paragraph, which shifts the focus so the reader is confused when the speaker resumes in a new paragraph.

Good writers and/or good editors handle this almost with their eyes closed. It comes from learning the "rules" of English grammar and from reading, reading, reading, reading. When I see books this poorly written, with the "rules" this often ignored, I fall back on two quotes.

The first is from Josh Olson's 2009 essay in The Village Voice titled "I Will Not Read Your F*cking Script."

It rarely takes more than a page to recognize that you’re in the presence of someone who can write, but it only takes a sentence to know you’re dealing with someone who can’t.

(By the way, here’s a simple way to find out if you’re a writer. If you disagree with that statement, you’re not a writer. Because, you see, writers are also readers.)

When I see books that don't follow established format, I believe these writers are not readers. And I don't believe non-readers can be good writers. But Josh Olson and I aren't the only ones.

If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There’s no way around these two things that I’m aware of, no shortcut.

King, Stephen. On Writing: A Memoir Of The Craft. (p. 145). Scribner. Kindle Edition.

I am probably one of a dwindling breed: I like well-written books. I want to be totally absorbed into the atmosphere of the story, smell the chlorine from the pool or the freshly brewed coffee or the sunblock old ladies smear on their wrinkled arms to keep them from getting wrinkled. I want to see the clouds roll in from the mountains to presage a thunderstorm on the wind. I want to feel the sting of the snow, the shock of the dog's cold nose on the back of my knee, the reassuring warmth of a lover's hand on mine, the scarred surface of the old wooden table. I want the characters to come alive, with distinct voices I can hear in my head as clearly as if they were in the room with me. I want to care about those people, to like the good ones, and hate the bad ones, to cheer for them and love them and mourn them.

I don't care about any of the characters in Mishaps & Murder. Author Barker hasn't told me enough about them, or allowed them to show me enough about themselves, to care about them.  They haven't come alive for me.  I just don't care.

I want the pages, whether print or digital, to disappear. A writer who can't make this happen for me is a bad writer. A book that remains a visible book while I'm reading it is a bad book.

It's easy to write a paragraph or two about how wonderful a book is, how engaging the characters, how exciting the plot. No one demands the gushing reviewers justify their opinion. No one questions their motives. (Maybe someone should?) The reviewer who dares to leave a negative review, a one-star rating, who puts a book on a DNF shelf, is attacked and called a hater, a jealous competitor, a liar. “Go write your own book and see how hard it is!” they/we are told.

I know how hard it is. I also know how easy it is to do it better.



And there you have it.

[Emily Pennington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Geriatric Detectives !! . . .

Now it’s time for the older generation to shine in this cozy mystery, giving us some really interesting characters with a wide variety of skillsets.

The Blue Spruce coffee shop is in the capable hands of barista Charlie and owner/grandmother Carla. They get visits from all kinds of fascinating friends, such as a former Broadway dancer, a famous landscape painter, a psychic, and a sea captain who pop in to tell their stories and entertain the other customers. But when Fritz Caulfield, a sweet man but a horrible sculptor, drowns in the village pool, the fun is over! And they accuse 24-year-old Charlie of his murder!

Carla calls in her regulars to begin the investigation that will clear Charlie’s name. With retired NYPD detective Saylor Reeves, her team is way ahead of the local Sheriff questioning witnesses. Almost out of time, a pair of vintage G.I. Joe toys might be the clue they need. One of Fritz’s bedrooms was full of vintage action figures, boxed, with accessories, and worth quite a lot of money. Yet there were no blank spaces where the two figures they found at the scene would fit. Also, these in the collection were pristine, unlike the other two found in the bottom of the pool. They also found some letters from someone named Russell Briggs begging Fritz to stop trashing his classes via online reviews. The letters eventually became threatening. They needed to question Briggs.

As if enough is not happening, villagers are seeing phantom lights in the woods. Can Carla, Saylor, and the senior investigating team save Charlie and protect the town from an invading ghost army? One thing is certain – these folks won’t give up or be scared away!

I love all the characters we meet. The story line is exciting and they crew is making progress. But will they be in time? Grab your copy and follow the clues!

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book! Great characters and a good plot. Loved the very funny mynah bird and its pithy comments and quotes. Several other laugh-out-loud moments too. Starting the next one right away!

Amazon synopsis:
The Blue Spruce coffee shop in the heart of Myrtle Lake retirement village does a bang-up business all day long, keeping barista Charlie and owner/grandmother Carla on their toes. Local eccentrics like a former Broadway dancer, a famous landscape painter, a dotty psychic, and a mischievous sea captain pop in to share tall tales and ribald jokes, much to the delight of their over-caffeinated neighbors.

But this happy crew gets the shock of their lives when Fritz Caulfield, a lovely man but a horrible sculptor, drowns in the village’s pristine pool. 24-year-old Charlie’s accused of his murder.

Carla rallies her troops, including studly retired NYPD detective Saylor Reeves, to clear her granddaughter’s name. The small-but-determined pack outpaces the local Sheriff to discover a parcel of suspects including a grouchy groomer, an angry art teacher, and an uppity upholsterer.

But no leads let Charlie off the hook. They need a breakthrough right now. Just as the long arms of the law stretch toward the coffee shop, a bizarre clue sheds new light on the case. Could a pair of vintage toys spring Charlie from the hoosegow?

Meanwhile, the more fanciful villagers see phantom lights dancing in the woods east of Myrtle Lake, and a creeping sense of unease permeates the crisp autumn air.

Can Carla, Saylor, and their wacky senior sleuths save Charlie and protect the town from an invading ghost army?

All in a day’s work for these unshakeable elders. After decades on the planet, it will take more than murder, menace, and mystery to scare this gang away.

[Barbara Kelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gotta Love That Pequod!

by Barbara Kelley
This guy
This is the first book in the Myrtle Lake Mystery series. The characters were memorable, and some of them were absolutely marvelous, such as Glynnis (a mystic, seer, clairvoyant), Pequod (a mynah bird), and Kurt (a Bernese Mountain dog). Charlie, probably short for Charlotte or Charlene, is the main character, and the story is told in the first person narrative through her. When there are scenes where she is not in them, the story is in third person dialogue and narrative. This first episode was about the murder of a man who Charlie, her grandmother, and her friends thought was a nice old guy; however, after a few chapters, Charlie's group finds out that more than one person wanted the old guy dead. This was a great storyline and I gave it 5 stars. With that said, there were a few grammatical errors typographical errors. Charlie "sunk" into a sofa or chair should have been "sank" because it was in the present tense, not past tense. One if the chapters, I think it was Chapter 29, had several typographical errors, such as "SImon", instead of "Simon"; however, it was not distracting, so I didn't take away any stars.I also liked that there was not foul language or graphic sex scenes, just a good clean mystery.

[Tari · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this first book in the author's newest series! The retirement village is a fun setting, and sometimes I got more of a Florida vibe and forgot it was taking place in New England. Probably because of the pool and it being summer in Myrtle Lake. My favorite two characters were Grandma Carla and retired detective Saylor. They're so stinking cute together that I wish Saylor finally would realize she's got it bad for him, lol.

It wasn't too difficult to figure out whodunit, but it was lots of fun to follow Saylor, Captain jarvis, Charlie and Carla along to see what they'd turn up for the case. I thought it was cool that the sheriff wanted Saylor to help with the case since he's a retired detective, and she even took his friends' tips somewhat seriously. For a while, the sheriff was one scary lady to Charlie since she suspected her of killing the guy they found in the pool. But Charlie and her retiree friends proved that was wrong by setting up the killer in a very tempting way.

I got this book and the second one on sale, but I'm definitely going to keep reading this series using KU. It's a winner!

[Barbara Hackel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brand new series with a great crew of characters! It may be set in a retirement living, but there isn't any laidback living going on! Instead, when a friend in the community is murdered, everyone takes an active role in solving the mystery. That includes several of the older generation, two of the younger family members, 1 parrot, and 1 dog! The character's personalities are varied as well as their interests and jobs, making it realistic and interesting. I loved the way they worked together openly in front of the intimidating sheriff.
A mystery that wasn't apparent to me included some interesting details about the murdered man's hobbies and collections. I loved the surprises revealed and details about something else going on in the area that doesn't seem to relate to the murder. A terrific start to the series, and I am looking forward to future episodes!

[Wannee · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Great Start to a New Fun Enjoyable Cozy Mystery in Myrtle Lake Retirement Village!!!

Mishaps and Murder is the first book in a Myrtle Lake Cozy Mystery Series.

I really love this book, I had a great fun reading it and enjoying it tremendously, it's a quick fast paced cozy mystery full of suspense, action, humor and wonderful quirky characters. It is a real page turner and very entertaining, the story keep me glue to the seat trying to figure out the murder and mystery while laughing out loud. With all the colorful fascinating delightful fearless group of these wacky senior sleuths, I can see many more mysteries for them to solve in the future. I highly recommend this book to any cozy mystery fans and I am looking forward to the next book in the series.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Douglas Williamson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Murder and mayhem keep things interesting for our elderly crew. Just the sort of thing to get the blow pumping (that and a good dose of caffeine).

This is book one of the series so a good place to start.

This is a cozy mystery set in a retirement village and there are no witches involved here. The story is well written and easy to read with a fun cast of characters as they are very eclectic and provide plenty of humor. Our characters may be a bit more mature than most, but with age comes wisdom and a healthy dose of stubbornness that can come in handy. This mystery has the usual twists and turns and definitely keeps the reader engaged. Overall, a good start to a series and I look forward to visiting again soon.

Highly recommended.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout for review purposes.

[Judy Gittleson Hendrickson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charlie and her grandmother Carla run the coffee shop surrounded by the retirement village. When one of them is murdered and Charlie is a suspect, all retirees are called to come forth and assist in the investigation. The characters are quirky, have wonderful backstories and past jobs, including a detective. The killer is not easy to figure out and the flow of the story is well done. The more clues they find, the more suspects they find to add to their list. A secondary mystery is starting to also take shape and should continue through the series. Love this group of entertaining folks and would love to have them on my side if something went wrong. Great ending.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Angela Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a great book, filled with awesome characters! It is so much fun, I really loved it! There’s more than one mystery to solve, and the story just flows along, I couldn’t stop reading! The sheriff is a grump, so the gang has to work around him. Carla and her friends are a hoot, Charlie is lucky to have them on her side. Of course we have a bird and a dog to entertain us too. I usually like magic in my books, so we have some ghosts to figure out. A fabulous read! I can’t wait for the next book!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Bev · Rating 4 out of 5]

When one of the residents of the Myrtle Lake Retirment community is murdered the evidence points to Charlie Purcell. Why would she kill him? He was always nice to her when he came to The Blue Spruce Cafe and tipped her with a silver dollar. Carla Purcell, Charlie's grandmother and Saylor Reeves, a retired NYPD detective are out to prove Sheriff Bree Decker wrong on the murderer. But can they get it done? There are many likeable characters in this story and the storyline is well written. Looking forward to the next installment. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

[Shelby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun cozy with a dog AND a parrot

Charlie and the grandmother who raised her own the village coffee shop. A neighbor is found floating in the community pool. Charlie finds herself the prime suspect in the murder. Can the gang of villagers get Charlie off the hook and unmask the real killer? Was the the most intriguing mystery I've read? No. Did I have a good idea of who amongst the myriad of suspect was guilty? Yeah. Did I care? Nope. The characters were fun. And unlike some cozies, I didn't need a scorecard to remember who was who. Fast read. Quite enjoyable.

[Tanya · Rating 5 out of 5]

They are running a great coffee shop inside a retirement village and they do a roaring trade. One of the gentleman is found drown in the pond and she will get accused of murder. They will need to try and find who is the real murderer. What clues will they find? Can they find the clues? Will the murderer get to them, to stop them finding the killer? See just what will happen next

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Marietta · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book and all the character in the story. It was fun to hear how everyone try to solve the murder and protect one of their own. I look forward to read some more able this group of people and their love life and everything else that happens in small town. I would recommend this to anyone who like to read cozy mysteries. Enjoy. The Author is very good about how she can make you want to keep reading the book to see who did it.

[Sandra Kelso · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute & Cozy!

Perfect example of a cozy mystery. You have to drastically suspend any belief that any police officials would condone the amount of "help" given by the public but, otherwise, this was very entertaining. The story is quickly paced ad has quite a bit of humor.

Do not read if you are a stickler for protocol as there seems to be very little. Read for the fun of the story and the well written characters.

[Kristi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Welcome to The Blue Spruce Coffee Shop Where the Java is Hot and the Murder is Cold Blooded.

A fun, entertaining, and enjoyable cozy mystery. Strong, well developed characters are easy to get to know and are just as entertaining as the story line.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Eve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great book by Barker! I'm liking this series — anything by Barker really. Always well-written, well-paced, likeable and complex characters, plus a great mystery. Every time I think it can’t get better, Barker proves us wrong. Can’t wait for the next book!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Joy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable!

Fantastic characters populate a small town and endeavor to solve a homicide when some of them are suspected of being the killer. The victim turns out not to be whom they believed he was. This causes some to doubt their ability to decern the evil in others. A rather intimidating chief of police adds to the flavor of this delightful berg.

[Willow Webster · Rating 5 out of 5]

Carla is the main suspect in a murder. Its up to hertoprove her innocence and find the murderer! I really enjoyed it! I like all her books I've read so far!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Phthon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intriguing new series full of humor, great characters, and an interesting mystery! Grandma Clara seems to be quite a hoot as do all the regulars at the cafe. I am looking forward to finding out where this all goes! And the last few lines of the book! BWAHAHAHA!

[Therese · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun and Fast paced

Charlie is a murder suspect because her bandana is found at the scene. Her Grandma and their friends work together to identify the real killer.
This was an enjoyable read. I look forward to Book 2.

[Carl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad but one glaring fault

If someone has no bank account, no checks or credit cards, and only deal in cash, how are they buying items off of eBay? Otherwise it’s a decent read and not to hard to figure out the killer.

[Bonnie Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who is the killer

I really enjoyed this cozy mystery by Constance Barker. It was just long enough to read on a Saturday afternoon plus the plot keep you wanting to find who the killer really was.

[Deanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not bad, a few fun characters, but the continuity errors were annoying and I had to keep going back in the book to re read to make sure I wasn’t missing something. Characters show up with no intro, assuming we knew who they were.

This author is just not for me.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quirky and fun

I admit it took a couple of chapters for me to get into this book, but the characters were so quirky and fun that I ended up really enjoying the comradiry of their coffee house group. Looking forward to reading the next book now.

[Marianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderfully clever cozy mystery! I liked it! It is great and fun to read, with super characters..

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Karin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who killed Fritz Caulfield and why??? Who knew that appraising toys would be so interesting!!! I enjoyed the story and recommend the book.

[holly gonzalez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book

I enjoyed this book. The mystery was well written. The characters were a hoot and very likeable as well. Constance is one of my favorite authors.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

entertaining

I enjoyed this story. I found the characters interesting and funny. I’m looking forward to rest of series and will look for more books by this author

[JANE VAN HORN · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

This is the beginning of what looks to be a very interesting series by Constance Barker. I can't wait to read the next book.