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Cedar Bay #1
Kelly's Koffee Shop
Kelly pulled into the harbor parking lot next to the pier and noticed that Amber's car wasn’t in its usual place and there was no sign of her. She was usually standing at the door of Kelly's Koffee Shop, waiting for Kelly to open up. Wonder what that’s all about, she thought.
The local residents of Cedar Bay come to Kelly’s Koffee Shop for breakfast, lunch, and lots of gossip. Kelly serves it all up as she works to solve the murder of the high school Homecoming Queen. The townspeople can’t believe what has happened in their sleepy little Oregon seaside town. She identifies five prime suspects, but which one did it?
Follow Kelly, her boxer dog, Rebel, and her boyfriend, Mike, the county sheriff, as they try to determine who the killer is in a murder that’s shocked the town.
Kelly’s Coffee Shop is a mouth-watering cozy mystery with recipes!
The local residents of Cedar Bay come to Kelly’s Koffee Shop for breakfast, lunch, and lots of gossip. Kelly serves it all up as she works to solve the murder of the high school Homecoming Queen. The townspeople can’t believe what has happened in their sleepy little Oregon seaside town. She identifies five prime suspects, but which one did it?
Follow Kelly, her boxer dog, Rebel, and her boyfriend, Mike, the county sheriff, as they try to determine who the killer is in a murder that’s shocked the town.
Kelly’s Coffee Shop is a mouth-watering cozy mystery with recipes!
144 pages, ebook
First published November 7, 2014
1394 people are currently reading
1227 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 304 reviews
February 4, 2015
This cozy just didn't make it for me. First, no matter all the other problems I may find in a cozy, I usually end up liking the main character. Not so with this book. Kelly is compassionate and determined, I have that to say about her. And she has a boxer. But for a dog-lover why would she put her dog as well as herself at such great risk? Kelly comes across to me as a busybody trying to act like she is a private detective. Others have mentioned that fact that her boyfriend, the county sheriff, is extremely unrealistic in that he shares too much information regarding an ongoing investigation, as though she were a partner or his deputy. What really got to me was Kellly's stupidity in constantly going out on her own (with the dog) to question suspects in this murder mystery. More than once she puts her dog's life at risk. But after she is told by her boyfriend/county sheriff, not once, not twice, but more to not go talk to suspects she does it anyway. Knowing that she is stubborn and will go anyway why would he be stupid enough to throw temptation at her feet?
*spoiler*
As some other reviewers have pointed out, the guilty party is introduced at the end, which isn't really a good mystery, the reader needs to have someone to suspect. Once the character is introduced, he's identified as the murderer and that's pretty much it. There is no discussion with the boyfriend/Sheriff of why he "might" be guilty. It all was a hurried finish. Added to that, here is this woman he loves, risking her life, almost being a murder victim herself. If I were him I would be angry with her and yes, I'd get over it. But I sure as heck wouldn't want to propose to marry someone just after she pointedly ignored his advice and instructions (as the sheriff he has a right to give her instructions here.) Personally, I just can't see why the sheriff is that much in love with her. He mentions that she's good looking and that she cooks wonderful meals for him. Her cooking, being her livelihood, it's okay to mention it but he always says that's why he wants to be with her, to get a good home-cooked meal.
*spoiler*
As some other reviewers have pointed out, the guilty party is introduced at the end, which isn't really a good mystery, the reader needs to have someone to suspect. Once the character is introduced, he's identified as the murderer and that's pretty much it. There is no discussion with the boyfriend/Sheriff of why he "might" be guilty. It all was a hurried finish. Added to that, here is this woman he loves, risking her life, almost being a murder victim herself. If I were him I would be angry with her and yes, I'd get over it. But I sure as heck wouldn't want to propose to marry someone just after she pointedly ignored his advice and instructions (as the sheriff he has a right to give her instructions here.) Personally, I just can't see why the sheriff is that much in love with her. He mentions that she's good looking and that she cooks wonderful meals for him. Her cooking, being her livelihood, it's okay to mention it but he always says that's why he wants to be with her, to get a good home-cooked meal.
December 1, 2014
The plot was okay but the dialogue is very artificial and unrealistic. I find it hard to believe that any state health department allows dogs in restaurants, especially in the kitchen. Or that it's okay for owners to cook food at home and bring it in. And what happened to the suspect with the shady past and problems on his computer. Nothing.
June 13, 2022
Disappointing
I wish I could do better than three stars for this book but it just doesn't work for me. To me, the characters had no depth. The main character, a middle aged coffee shop owner, has some serious judgment problems when getting involved in an official police investigation. Just not believable.
I wish I could do better than three stars for this book but it just doesn't work for me. To me, the characters had no depth. The main character, a middle aged coffee shop owner, has some serious judgment problems when getting involved in an official police investigation. Just not believable.
February 1, 2015
This was just an okay cozy mystery. I liked the characters well enough but the dialog wasn't the best and there were a lot of loose ends that didn't seem to be resolved by the end of the book.
Also, the main character Kelly is in a relationship with the local sheriff and apparently this makes it okay for him to give her all the details of the ongoing investigation and sometimes he even follows Kelly's lead! Yes, it is fiction and a cozy mystery but there has to be a limit to what can be shared.
I probably won't be reading the 2nd installment of this series.
Also, the main character Kelly is in a relationship with the local sheriff and apparently this makes it okay for him to give her all the details of the ongoing investigation and sometimes he even follows Kelly's lead! Yes, it is fiction and a cozy mystery but there has to be a limit to what can be shared.
I probably won't be reading the 2nd installment of this series.
November 19, 2021
Fun cozy!
February 8, 2015
I could not finish this book. it's so awful. The dialogue is terrible. The main character is apparently an amateur detective who is dating the town sheriff. The sheriff reveals details of a murder investigation to the main character who goes off on ridiculous sleuthing expeditions on her own to solve the case against the sheriffs wishes. The story line is probably okay, but the writing is so juvenile it becomes boring. I simply didn't care to waste another minute reading this book. I also download the other two books in this series, because I liked the idea of a mystery series based in The Oregon coast and assumed I would love to read more. I plan to delete them along with this book. Don't waste time or money on this author!
May 16, 2015
This is one series I won't be continuing. The Coffee with a K should have tipped me off. If this book were a party guest, I'd be tempted to ask it to leave.
The dialogue was stiff. The murderer wasn't introduced until he was caught. By accident. The victim had a secret life that nobody except for the murderer knew about. Slut shaming, pot-is-a-terribly-dangerous-gateway-drug, abortion doctors, child porn, and an untrained dog who just happens to know how to detect drugs and attack on command. Oh, and the marijuana farm posing as a cattle ranch. It was all too much to be even slightly believable.
Our fair hero is a mix of Goldy Bear and Stephanie Plum. The sheriff/love interest is so patronizing. I'm glad it ended when it didn't, because I couldn't have taken much more!
Not recommended. There are too many other good mysteries out there to spend time on this one.
Oh! And on my eBooks version there is a self-help book following the mystery book, introduced by the author. Weird and awkward.
The dialogue was stiff. The murderer wasn't introduced until he was caught. By accident. The victim had a secret life that nobody except for the murderer knew about. Slut shaming, pot-is-a-terribly-dangerous-gateway-drug, abortion doctors, child porn, and an untrained dog who just happens to know how to detect drugs and attack on command. Oh, and the marijuana farm posing as a cattle ranch. It was all too much to be even slightly believable.
Our fair hero is a mix of Goldy Bear and Stephanie Plum. The sheriff/love interest is so patronizing. I'm glad it ended when it didn't, because I couldn't have taken much more!
Not recommended. There are too many other good mysteries out there to spend time on this one.
Oh! And on my eBooks version there is a self-help book following the mystery book, introduced by the author. Weird and awkward.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 8, 2017
This book was painful. The characters were unbelievable and written to fit a specific 'part' of the mystery (which was not a mystery). There were five suspects in the murder of the town's most loved high school senior? And the murder was being investigated unlawfully by the diner owner. And her dog. Alrighty. If the plot wasn't bad enough, the dialogue was ridiculous. How many times are you speaking to one other person face to face and use each other's names to start every sentence? Hello?!
The ending was ridiculous, and one HUGE issue with one of the suspects just gets brushed off and ignored. Literally child porn issues. Ignored. Isn't that cozy?
The ending was ridiculous, and one HUGE issue with one of the suspects just gets brushed off and ignored. Literally child porn issues. Ignored. Isn't that cozy?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 2, 2015
Really hard to read, great that there was an introduction of each character but there was just no flow and no 'setting the scene' whilst reading the book. I got a bit lost at one stage. The basic storyline was good but the editing needs work.
August 16, 2021
Published 2014; obtained free Kindle edition 8/13/21.
Dull as my grandmother's butter knife. Needed a couple of ruthless beta readers not afraid to say, "This is really bad, kiddo."
DNF two pages into Ch. 2. I tried. I really did. But life's too short.
Dull as my grandmother's butter knife. Needed a couple of ruthless beta readers not afraid to say, "This is really bad, kiddo."
DNF two pages into Ch. 2. I tried. I really did. But life's too short.
June 2, 2017
A typical chic Lit mystery where the heroine ends up resolving the murder of her goddaughter, Amber. There were multiple suspects to choose from but only two stood out to me. Truly enjoyable book.
June 29, 2020
Loved this book!
August 29, 2017
World's Longest Food Blog
Holy crap this was tough to get through. The dialogue is poorly written and the plot, while straightforward, is dull and anticlimactic. None of the characters are more than a few tropes and stereotypes mixed with a dash of small town gossip. It's clear the author did absolutely no research into the Oregon coast and the people who live there. I've lived in the Pacific Northwest my entire life and I feel more mad about this than I did Twilight.
If you are someone who can pick up editorial, copy editing, and proof reading mistakes, do not read this book; you might go crazy.
The book ends with several recipes and all I can think of is the joke about food bloggers telling really long and uninteresting stories before actually getting to a recipe. And that's all this book is.
Holy crap this was tough to get through. The dialogue is poorly written and the plot, while straightforward, is dull and anticlimactic. None of the characters are more than a few tropes and stereotypes mixed with a dash of small town gossip. It's clear the author did absolutely no research into the Oregon coast and the people who live there. I've lived in the Pacific Northwest my entire life and I feel more mad about this than I did Twilight.
If you are someone who can pick up editorial, copy editing, and proof reading mistakes, do not read this book; you might go crazy.
The book ends with several recipes and all I can think of is the joke about food bloggers telling really long and uninteresting stories before actually getting to a recipe. And that's all this book is.
February 6, 2022
Published in 2014. Kelly owns a coffee shop in Oregon and dates the sheriff. When one of her waitresses doesn’t show up, and is found murdered, Kelly is on the case. She will assist her boyfriend in finding out whodunnit. But, if she’s not careful, she will be next on the killer’s list.
I really liked this fast-paced and suspenseful mystery with a great set of characters and a beautiful setting. But there were some problems I had with the plot. For instance, what amateur sleuth would go to a suspect’s house and confess that he’s a suspect? And what sheriff would take civilians to a potentially dangerous apprehension of someone instead of calling in for backup? These problems interrupted the flow of the story. I’m interested about what happens next. I will read the next one in this series.
I really liked this fast-paced and suspenseful mystery with a great set of characters and a beautiful setting. But there were some problems I had with the plot. For instance, what amateur sleuth would go to a suspect’s house and confess that he’s a suspect? And what sheriff would take civilians to a potentially dangerous apprehension of someone instead of calling in for backup? These problems interrupted the flow of the story. I’m interested about what happens next. I will read the next one in this series.
November 16, 2023
Kelly's Koffee Shop is a cosy mystery book by Dianne Harman. It has 24 chapters, as well as some recipes, and there are a 153 pages, according to the information on the storepage. The book focuses on Kelly, who owns “Kelly’s Koffee Shop”, which is located in Cedar Bay. The book begins with Kelly opening up her shop and we get to go through a bit of the history about the town, the shop and introductions of a few different characters. However, as the morning progresses, there’s a bit of worry setting in; Amber has not come in, and she didn’t turn up at class, either. It later turns out that Amber had been murdered that morning. Kelly and her partner, the local sheriff, investigate the death.
Before going into the review, I’ll mention some content warnings. There’s a lot of the plot central to drugs and drug dealing; marijuana in particular. There’s stuff in the book about abortion and references to child abuse/ molestation. If you are sensitive to topics like this, I recommend avoiding the book because, the stuff about the abortion is definitely a prominent section of the book. There’s a lot of religious aspects (Catholicism), and it has strong themes throughout the book; so if that’s something you want to avoid, I recommend skipping the book.
I thought the introductory chapter work was pretty okay. I appreciated that the author took some time to talk about the history of the town, and how the “Kelly’s Koffee Shop” began. I think it’s a positive thing the author has done because it creates a little bit of atmosphere for the story, and gives us an impression of what the town is like, and presents it almost as if it is its own character. I wasn’t necessarily a fan of the way the author was describing the characters; it didn’t feel like it flowed as well as it could have. And I’ll admit that sometimes a lot of the description work felt like she was just listing facts about the characters, rather than working these things into the story.
And some of the descriptions felt really awkward, if I’m honest. Such as the description of the sheriff’s ex-wife. It just felt like the author was trying to be degrading about skinny women; “He had never been a fan of skinny women. His ex-wife had been thin and hungry, hungry for the things a county sheriff could never give a woman.” It felt really creepy. It was also very stereotypical. It’s as if the author was trying to make us think more highly of Kelly while being degrading towards the ex-wife. Especially considering that we never get to hear the ex-wife’s side of the story. And it wasn’t just this ex-wife thing. The author made extra sure to mock financial affairs of Ginger and Bob a multitude of times, in a similar way. Making sure we know that Kelly is doing really well financially, but making sure we know how poor that Ginger and Bob are.
And, as we move on to learning more about the boyfriend of Amber, Brandon, we learn more about his parents. The author is pretty nasty about describing them as well; “Everyone in the small town knew that Marcy Black liked to spend money and some said that her husband, Jeff, was pompous and thought he was far better than the other citizens…” But firstly, if Marcy wants to spend a bit of cash, that’s fine. If they have the money to spend, nothing wrong with that, because it would keep a bunch of shops in town in business. And as for the pompousness of Jeff? I personally did not see that from his character. If anything, Kelly is definitely pompous thought; the thoughts she has about all sorts of characters are very mean spirited. She mocks people for their financial situations, their appearances and just because they’re “mysterious” and don’t share details of their lives with her. She’s not a very nice character. Even as she’s informing people of the death, she makes a mental note that she needs to hire someone to replace Amber. Yikes. That just felt nasty and callous; she only just found out a few hours ago that the girl died, and she’s already very eager to find a replacement.
Similarly, Kelly mentions Madison, who is apparently Amber’s “nemesis”. And I felt like Kelly was somewhat of an unreliable narrator about it all. Because, again, she builds up Amber to be this person that can do no wrong, and is degrading about Madison, informing us that Madison is Amber’s enemy. A little while later, Kelly hires her as Amber’s replacement at the store, and Kelly remarks to her waitress, Roxie, “I guess she and Amber weren’t the best of friends, but the way it looks, her life’s already at a dead end. I feel sorry for her.” It just feels like Kelly is a nasty person. Madison had been wanting to start cosmetology school, and is wanting to work at the shop for the money for it. So it honestly sounds like Madison has some high hopes for herself, and has a goal in life. Yet Kelly is degrading about it. And later on, one of Amber’s friends comes along with negative remarks about Madison as well. But a lot of that is just hearsay and assumptions. Stuff happens to Amber, but she and Amber assumed a lot of it was Madison, rather than having proof. Not to mention, the stuff she was saying about Madison was downright creepy; implying that Madison had sex with the entirety of the football team? It seemed like hearsay, and gossip; Amber’s friend just wanting to degrade someone else.
Honestly, I don’t think the characters are as bad as the author is making them out to be. It kind of feels like Kelly and her judgemental nature are the problem. And there’s also Roxie who is a pretty negative character, and it felt like she was racist as well. So we meet “Chief Many Trees”, who comes into the shop, and is a very stereotyped Native American man. However, Roxie doesn’t like having to hear about the Chief and the tribal land. So she gets Kelly to deliver him his food instead. It all felt really racist, in my opinion.
I felt like some of the characters could have been introduced a little better. Such as Amber, Ginger and Bob. For a lot of the early bits, they were all mentioned, but I wasn’t sure of who any of them were, and it wasn’t obvious to me. All I knew about Amber was a student that was meant to be at the shop. It wasn’t until later that I found out she was Kelly’s goddaughter. And, similarly, Ginger and Bob were mentioned several times when they were checking up on Amber, but it wasn’t clear that they were her parents. And I was multiple chapters into the book when I reread the Amazon store page description for it and found out that Amber is Kelly’s goddaughter. It was not clear from reading the actual book; until chapter 21, which is more than a hundred pages into the book.
Mike, the sheriff is Kelly’s partner. He checks in with a few people, after Kelly informs him that Amber didn’t show up for work. He is over at her place later that day, when he gets a phone call, informing him that Amber’s body had been found. The weird thing is that he then tells Kelly that she needs to go and inform the parents… But… What? That’s something that would be his, or another police officer’s, official duty. Why would an official task like that be given to Kelly? Even if she knows the people, it would not be appropriate for her to be given this task. Especially considering that there are things officers generally need to do in that situation, such as asking questions about the death, letting the parents ask questions of the officers, etc. This was a huge red flag for me that the author didn’t really do their research about police procedure. And similarly, after visiting the parents, Kelly begins calling all sorts of other people about the death, giving multiple other people the information. But… What if the information needed to be kept confidential? What if the police needed to keep details out of the public eye? I felt it was highly inappropriate for her to do this, especially considering the early nature of the information she did have. She oughtn’t have been spreading any of it to the newspaper; which was one of her primary calls. And then she goes and informs the boyfriend, Brandon, and his parents, of the death. But, again, this is something the police should have been doing; not some random civilian, regardless of how well she knew the victim or not.
And it just felt weird how much information Mike was giving Kelly. Considering that Kelly did know, and was boss to, the deceased, surely she ought to be considered a suspect. So why is Mike calling her up and informing Kelly of how the body was found, cause of death, what type of bag was used to kill her, etc? Again, this feels like the author has no real understanding of the logic of police procedure. Oh and it gets even more ridiculous. So Mike has suspicions that the ranch run by Jeff (Brandon’s dad) is being used to grow marijuana; though it’s just assumption on his part, and there’s no real evidence early on. However, Kelly’s dog used to work for a drug officer. So they come up with a plan to use the dog, Rebel, to try and find drugs on the ranch. To test whether the dog can find marijuana, Mike decides to go to the police station, get marijuana from the evidence locker, which he is “holding it as evidence in a pending case”, and the bring it back to Kelly’s home. What? No. Just no. That is all kinds of inappropriate. Firstly, if it’s being held as evidence in a pending case, it should not be removed from the station, especially so it can be taken home by the sheriff. If I were a defense attorney on that case, and found out about this, I would definitely make sure that gets chucked out of court for being inadmissible as evidence now that it has been tampered with. Also, after he gets the autopsy report, Mike informs Kelly about details of it. But he then says “This is a criminal investigation and I’ve sealed the autopsy report until the case is solved.” If it’s meant to be so secretive, why the heck is he telling Kelly about it? She is a civilian. And, honestly, in any real life investigation, she’d likely be considered a suspect, considering she knew and had close access to the victim. Then later, when she finds the victim’s missing journal, does she take it immediately to the police and turn it in as evidence? No. She takes it home, despite the fact that it could theoretically have evidence of people (apart from the victim) touching it, etc. And, also, considering the private nature of the information, she should not be reading it. And then she carries it around with her in her purse… Despite it being an important part of evidence? And later on, she has figured out who the killer is, and then illegally searches someone’s boat at the dock. Something which is criminal. Even if she were in law enforcement, it wouldn’t be legal for her to do that. And, sure she found evidence. But the thing is, that likely wouldn’t stand up in court because the defense attorney could simply argue that she had placed it there, and the fact that it was an illegal search in the first place. And then, of course, we get a confession from the person who did it, even though it doesn’t make any sense the way they explain it. And the confession recording would be pretty suspicious in court, as well; considering she’s giving him the details at certain points during the conversation, rather than him saying them. It makes her seem more suspicious, in my opinion.
Oh, and it got pretty gross. At one point, it turns out that a certain person has been found with highly inappropriate child material on their computer. And the sheriff decides NOT to arrest him. What? But this person is around the young folk of town pretty often. So the sheriff doesn’t want to protect the children? What if this person were to do something awful? And after discussing this stuff with Kelly, she pays a visit to this person. The very next morning, the very first thing, she decides to take this person some strawberry tart as a present, and they have a joyful conversation. Is she rewarding them or something? What the heck? I know the author is trying to make it out as if Kelly is just snooping for evidence, but she clearly has a lot of respect for them and seems really happy to spend time with them, which is just gross. And the weird thing is that this person never even gets arrested or charged with it? What? By the last time we see this person in the book, both the sheriff and Kelly are on pretty good terms with them. Did they forget what this person had done?
The romance aspect is something I wanted to like about the book. But it just felt inappropriate at times because of the way they were using each other for information about the death. And it felt creepy because it kind of seemed like they were taking enjoyment from the death, and excited about it. Neither of them felt sad about it; they both seemed really eager to talk about it to each other. And that’s what made the relationship feel really gross. Even if I ignore that, the way Mike treats her and speaks to her feels really off, in my opinion. It feels like he’s just using her for information and because he wants to get fed.
There are several recipes at the back of the book; more than half a dozen. I felt that they could have been written better. The author leaves out important details; the size of the eggs, the type of flour to use, etc. And I think they needed better formatting. For multiple lots of steps in the directions, it was clumped together as really large paragraphs. I definitely wouldn’t like to eat these recipes. Maybe you might, though.
I originally chose to read this book because I’m looking for mystery books and wanting to find a series to enjoy. But this failed miserably, in my opinion. The book started off being okay, but then it got worse and worse. The author did really badly with writing characters, and it made look Kelly look like an absolute jerk; she kept trying to imply that so many people are bad, yet it was really mostly her being judgemental, rather than other characters being at fault of something. The mystery didn’t have any suspense to it, in my opinion. It felt like it was a really generic type murder mystery, and it wasn’t very well thought through by the author. One of my main problems is that the author clearly knows nothing about police procedure, such as the chain of evidence, admissibility of evidence or the need of privacy for the details relating to the case. And, honestly, a lot of the evidence they do end up with probably wouldn’t be admissible in court. A bunch of it is just hearsay and gossip, rather than evidence directly pointing towards someone. Even the confession Kelly obtained at the end probably would not be accepted in court, because of the way she was manipulating the conversation. Overall, it was a pretty bad book. There weren’t any characters I liked, and there wasn’t much creativity to them anyway. A lot of them were just stereotypes, rather than original characters. I got it back in 2019, when it was free during a promotional period. I’m so glad I didn’t pay money for it.
Before going into the review, I’ll mention some content warnings. There’s a lot of the plot central to drugs and drug dealing; marijuana in particular. There’s stuff in the book about abortion and references to child abuse/ molestation. If you are sensitive to topics like this, I recommend avoiding the book because, the stuff about the abortion is definitely a prominent section of the book. There’s a lot of religious aspects (Catholicism), and it has strong themes throughout the book; so if that’s something you want to avoid, I recommend skipping the book.
I thought the introductory chapter work was pretty okay. I appreciated that the author took some time to talk about the history of the town, and how the “Kelly’s Koffee Shop” began. I think it’s a positive thing the author has done because it creates a little bit of atmosphere for the story, and gives us an impression of what the town is like, and presents it almost as if it is its own character. I wasn’t necessarily a fan of the way the author was describing the characters; it didn’t feel like it flowed as well as it could have. And I’ll admit that sometimes a lot of the description work felt like she was just listing facts about the characters, rather than working these things into the story.
And some of the descriptions felt really awkward, if I’m honest. Such as the description of the sheriff’s ex-wife. It just felt like the author was trying to be degrading about skinny women; “He had never been a fan of skinny women. His ex-wife had been thin and hungry, hungry for the things a county sheriff could never give a woman.” It felt really creepy. It was also very stereotypical. It’s as if the author was trying to make us think more highly of Kelly while being degrading towards the ex-wife. Especially considering that we never get to hear the ex-wife’s side of the story. And it wasn’t just this ex-wife thing. The author made extra sure to mock financial affairs of Ginger and Bob a multitude of times, in a similar way. Making sure we know that Kelly is doing really well financially, but making sure we know how poor that Ginger and Bob are.
And, as we move on to learning more about the boyfriend of Amber, Brandon, we learn more about his parents. The author is pretty nasty about describing them as well; “Everyone in the small town knew that Marcy Black liked to spend money and some said that her husband, Jeff, was pompous and thought he was far better than the other citizens…” But firstly, if Marcy wants to spend a bit of cash, that’s fine. If they have the money to spend, nothing wrong with that, because it would keep a bunch of shops in town in business. And as for the pompousness of Jeff? I personally did not see that from his character. If anything, Kelly is definitely pompous thought; the thoughts she has about all sorts of characters are very mean spirited. She mocks people for their financial situations, their appearances and just because they’re “mysterious” and don’t share details of their lives with her. She’s not a very nice character. Even as she’s informing people of the death, she makes a mental note that she needs to hire someone to replace Amber. Yikes. That just felt nasty and callous; she only just found out a few hours ago that the girl died, and she’s already very eager to find a replacement.
Similarly, Kelly mentions Madison, who is apparently Amber’s “nemesis”. And I felt like Kelly was somewhat of an unreliable narrator about it all. Because, again, she builds up Amber to be this person that can do no wrong, and is degrading about Madison, informing us that Madison is Amber’s enemy. A little while later, Kelly hires her as Amber’s replacement at the store, and Kelly remarks to her waitress, Roxie, “I guess she and Amber weren’t the best of friends, but the way it looks, her life’s already at a dead end. I feel sorry for her.” It just feels like Kelly is a nasty person. Madison had been wanting to start cosmetology school, and is wanting to work at the shop for the money for it. So it honestly sounds like Madison has some high hopes for herself, and has a goal in life. Yet Kelly is degrading about it. And later on, one of Amber’s friends comes along with negative remarks about Madison as well. But a lot of that is just hearsay and assumptions. Stuff happens to Amber, but she and Amber assumed a lot of it was Madison, rather than having proof. Not to mention, the stuff she was saying about Madison was downright creepy; implying that Madison had sex with the entirety of the football team? It seemed like hearsay, and gossip; Amber’s friend just wanting to degrade someone else.
Honestly, I don’t think the characters are as bad as the author is making them out to be. It kind of feels like Kelly and her judgemental nature are the problem. And there’s also Roxie who is a pretty negative character, and it felt like she was racist as well. So we meet “Chief Many Trees”, who comes into the shop, and is a very stereotyped Native American man. However, Roxie doesn’t like having to hear about the Chief and the tribal land. So she gets Kelly to deliver him his food instead. It all felt really racist, in my opinion.
I felt like some of the characters could have been introduced a little better. Such as Amber, Ginger and Bob. For a lot of the early bits, they were all mentioned, but I wasn’t sure of who any of them were, and it wasn’t obvious to me. All I knew about Amber was a student that was meant to be at the shop. It wasn’t until later that I found out she was Kelly’s goddaughter. And, similarly, Ginger and Bob were mentioned several times when they were checking up on Amber, but it wasn’t clear that they were her parents. And I was multiple chapters into the book when I reread the Amazon store page description for it and found out that Amber is Kelly’s goddaughter. It was not clear from reading the actual book; until chapter 21, which is more than a hundred pages into the book.
Mike, the sheriff is Kelly’s partner. He checks in with a few people, after Kelly informs him that Amber didn’t show up for work. He is over at her place later that day, when he gets a phone call, informing him that Amber’s body had been found. The weird thing is that he then tells Kelly that she needs to go and inform the parents… But… What? That’s something that would be his, or another police officer’s, official duty. Why would an official task like that be given to Kelly? Even if she knows the people, it would not be appropriate for her to be given this task. Especially considering that there are things officers generally need to do in that situation, such as asking questions about the death, letting the parents ask questions of the officers, etc. This was a huge red flag for me that the author didn’t really do their research about police procedure. And similarly, after visiting the parents, Kelly begins calling all sorts of other people about the death, giving multiple other people the information. But… What if the information needed to be kept confidential? What if the police needed to keep details out of the public eye? I felt it was highly inappropriate for her to do this, especially considering the early nature of the information she did have. She oughtn’t have been spreading any of it to the newspaper; which was one of her primary calls. And then she goes and informs the boyfriend, Brandon, and his parents, of the death. But, again, this is something the police should have been doing; not some random civilian, regardless of how well she knew the victim or not.
And it just felt weird how much information Mike was giving Kelly. Considering that Kelly did know, and was boss to, the deceased, surely she ought to be considered a suspect. So why is Mike calling her up and informing Kelly of how the body was found, cause of death, what type of bag was used to kill her, etc? Again, this feels like the author has no real understanding of the logic of police procedure. Oh and it gets even more ridiculous. So Mike has suspicions that the ranch run by Jeff (Brandon’s dad) is being used to grow marijuana; though it’s just assumption on his part, and there’s no real evidence early on. However, Kelly’s dog used to work for a drug officer. So they come up with a plan to use the dog, Rebel, to try and find drugs on the ranch. To test whether the dog can find marijuana, Mike decides to go to the police station, get marijuana from the evidence locker, which he is “holding it as evidence in a pending case”, and the bring it back to Kelly’s home. What? No. Just no. That is all kinds of inappropriate. Firstly, if it’s being held as evidence in a pending case, it should not be removed from the station, especially so it can be taken home by the sheriff. If I were a defense attorney on that case, and found out about this, I would definitely make sure that gets chucked out of court for being inadmissible as evidence now that it has been tampered with. Also, after he gets the autopsy report, Mike informs Kelly about details of it. But he then says “This is a criminal investigation and I’ve sealed the autopsy report until the case is solved.” If it’s meant to be so secretive, why the heck is he telling Kelly about it? She is a civilian. And, honestly, in any real life investigation, she’d likely be considered a suspect, considering she knew and had close access to the victim. Then later, when she finds the victim’s missing journal, does she take it immediately to the police and turn it in as evidence? No. She takes it home, despite the fact that it could theoretically have evidence of people (apart from the victim) touching it, etc. And, also, considering the private nature of the information, she should not be reading it. And then she carries it around with her in her purse… Despite it being an important part of evidence? And later on, she has figured out who the killer is, and then illegally searches someone’s boat at the dock. Something which is criminal. Even if she were in law enforcement, it wouldn’t be legal for her to do that. And, sure she found evidence. But the thing is, that likely wouldn’t stand up in court because the defense attorney could simply argue that she had placed it there, and the fact that it was an illegal search in the first place. And then, of course, we get a confession from the person who did it, even though it doesn’t make any sense the way they explain it. And the confession recording would be pretty suspicious in court, as well; considering she’s giving him the details at certain points during the conversation, rather than him saying them. It makes her seem more suspicious, in my opinion.
Oh, and it got pretty gross. At one point, it turns out that a certain person has been found with highly inappropriate child material on their computer. And the sheriff decides NOT to arrest him. What? But this person is around the young folk of town pretty often. So the sheriff doesn’t want to protect the children? What if this person were to do something awful? And after discussing this stuff with Kelly, she pays a visit to this person. The very next morning, the very first thing, she decides to take this person some strawberry tart as a present, and they have a joyful conversation. Is she rewarding them or something? What the heck? I know the author is trying to make it out as if Kelly is just snooping for evidence, but she clearly has a lot of respect for them and seems really happy to spend time with them, which is just gross. And the weird thing is that this person never even gets arrested or charged with it? What? By the last time we see this person in the book, both the sheriff and Kelly are on pretty good terms with them. Did they forget what this person had done?
The romance aspect is something I wanted to like about the book. But it just felt inappropriate at times because of the way they were using each other for information about the death. And it felt creepy because it kind of seemed like they were taking enjoyment from the death, and excited about it. Neither of them felt sad about it; they both seemed really eager to talk about it to each other. And that’s what made the relationship feel really gross. Even if I ignore that, the way Mike treats her and speaks to her feels really off, in my opinion. It feels like he’s just using her for information and because he wants to get fed.
There are several recipes at the back of the book; more than half a dozen. I felt that they could have been written better. The author leaves out important details; the size of the eggs, the type of flour to use, etc. And I think they needed better formatting. For multiple lots of steps in the directions, it was clumped together as really large paragraphs. I definitely wouldn’t like to eat these recipes. Maybe you might, though.
I originally chose to read this book because I’m looking for mystery books and wanting to find a series to enjoy. But this failed miserably, in my opinion. The book started off being okay, but then it got worse and worse. The author did really badly with writing characters, and it made look Kelly look like an absolute jerk; she kept trying to imply that so many people are bad, yet it was really mostly her being judgemental, rather than other characters being at fault of something. The mystery didn’t have any suspense to it, in my opinion. It felt like it was a really generic type murder mystery, and it wasn’t very well thought through by the author. One of my main problems is that the author clearly knows nothing about police procedure, such as the chain of evidence, admissibility of evidence or the need of privacy for the details relating to the case. And, honestly, a lot of the evidence they do end up with probably wouldn’t be admissible in court. A bunch of it is just hearsay and gossip, rather than evidence directly pointing towards someone. Even the confession Kelly obtained at the end probably would not be accepted in court, because of the way she was manipulating the conversation. Overall, it was a pretty bad book. There weren’t any characters I liked, and there wasn’t much creativity to them anyway. A lot of them were just stereotypes, rather than original characters. I got it back in 2019, when it was free during a promotional period. I’m so glad I didn’t pay money for it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 7, 2022
I could have written this book and the only experience I have is English class book reports. At least it fit a challenge, read a book starting with K.
August 20, 2020
Kelly’s coffee shop
Fun read with adventure, mystery, romance and all around who done it. Enjoyed and am looking forward to the next book in her series.
Fun read with adventure, mystery, romance and all around who done it. Enjoyed and am looking forward to the next book in her series.
December 1, 2014
"A Warm and Cozy Murder Mystery"
This is a very well written story, the dialogue moves right along, with no tirades or bad words. It's a good book to curl up with on a wintry night. Kelly Conner, in her early 50's, has been a widow for a long time, and raised her two children by herself who no longer live with her. She is the owner of Kelly's Koffee Shop which was started by her grandparents, then her parents ran it with the new name of their one and only child, Kelly. They now enjoy life in a senior community miles away. Kelly lives in the small town of Cedar Bay on the Oregon coast. Her one companion wherever she goes is Rebel, a boxer dog that used to be used in drug investigations. As she and Rebel arrive early at the shop, Amber Cook usually is there waiting to go to work. But not this morning ... she doesn't arrive, she didn't arrive at school, and no one knows of her whereabouts until that evening when Kelly and Sheriff Mike are ready to sit down to dinner. Mike is 54 years old, divorced for a long time, and the two have a close, mostly friendly, relationship. His cell phone rings and he is told that Amber has been found ... found dead by a fisherman, tied to a burlap bag containing weights. There are many interesting characters in this story, of which five may have the motive to cause Amber's death. Kelly has lived all her life in this town and can't help herself, she seems to want to be an investigator herself, only angering Mike because she always seems to put herself in harm's way. This is a comfy, cozy story, with a little romance, good smelling meals prepared at the shop, which will make you hungry! Rest assured, this author wants to please her readers with more than a compelling story. She has included some recipes at the end of the story which are mentioned in this book. Yes, the story and menu items are savory! Enjoy it!
This is a very well written story, the dialogue moves right along, with no tirades or bad words. It's a good book to curl up with on a wintry night. Kelly Conner, in her early 50's, has been a widow for a long time, and raised her two children by herself who no longer live with her. She is the owner of Kelly's Koffee Shop which was started by her grandparents, then her parents ran it with the new name of their one and only child, Kelly. They now enjoy life in a senior community miles away. Kelly lives in the small town of Cedar Bay on the Oregon coast. Her one companion wherever she goes is Rebel, a boxer dog that used to be used in drug investigations. As she and Rebel arrive early at the shop, Amber Cook usually is there waiting to go to work. But not this morning ... she doesn't arrive, she didn't arrive at school, and no one knows of her whereabouts until that evening when Kelly and Sheriff Mike are ready to sit down to dinner. Mike is 54 years old, divorced for a long time, and the two have a close, mostly friendly, relationship. His cell phone rings and he is told that Amber has been found ... found dead by a fisherman, tied to a burlap bag containing weights. There are many interesting characters in this story, of which five may have the motive to cause Amber's death. Kelly has lived all her life in this town and can't help herself, she seems to want to be an investigator herself, only angering Mike because she always seems to put herself in harm's way. This is a comfy, cozy story, with a little romance, good smelling meals prepared at the shop, which will make you hungry! Rest assured, this author wants to please her readers with more than a compelling story. She has included some recipes at the end of the story which are mentioned in this book. Yes, the story and menu items are savory! Enjoy it!
September 23, 2020
Downloaded this free kindle because the book’s setting is on the Oregon Coast. Joke’s on me. The story might just as easily been any town with water and a dock. The author apparently couldn’t be bothered to do any research on the area beyond mentioning cedar trees. I took it as proof the author had likely never stepped foot in Oregon when she wrote Kelly used a subscription to the San Francisco Chronicle to kept up on books, movies, and domestic & international news. It would have been much more true to form to say she subscribed to the Oregonian out of Portland.
An unforgivable sin among cozies is to write the main character as too dumb to be alive. Kelly achieves that status over and over again by repeatedly going to investigate potential murderers on her own.
I read some 5 star reviews to find out what those people read that I missed.
- One says “Great twist at the end” An author who uses that example of lazy writing only serves to insult and cheat readers.
- Another says the characters are alive and well …that’s setting the bar pretty low if that’s all you expect.
- Good chance a couple of reviewers didn’t actually read the book. One says Kelly reminds him of I love Lucy, finding clues and giving laughs . . .because what’s not funny about a murdered teenager, abortions gone bad and that always hilarious subject of child pornography. Another mentions “Kelly and her husband” but an ongoing plotline throughout the book is Mike and Kelly are not married.
At 135 pages, this is more a novella than a book. I don't feel bad about giving it 1 star.
An unforgivable sin among cozies is to write the main character as too dumb to be alive. Kelly achieves that status over and over again by repeatedly going to investigate potential murderers on her own.
I read some 5 star reviews to find out what those people read that I missed.
- One says “Great twist at the end” An author who uses that example of lazy writing only serves to insult and cheat readers.
- Another says the characters are alive and well …that’s setting the bar pretty low if that’s all you expect.
- Good chance a couple of reviewers didn’t actually read the book. One says Kelly reminds him of I love Lucy, finding clues and giving laughs . . .because what’s not funny about a murdered teenager, abortions gone bad and that always hilarious subject of child pornography. Another mentions “Kelly and her husband” but an ongoing plotline throughout the book is Mike and Kelly are not married.
At 135 pages, this is more a novella than a book. I don't feel bad about giving it 1 star.
November 14, 2014
Kelly's Koffee Shop (A Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery Book 1) by Author Dianne Harman
Kelly Conner is a widow who lost her husband to cancer at a very young age. She manages to raise her two young children by making a life for herself and her family at Kelly's Koffee Shop. Although Cedar Bay is a tourist town, even in the off season, Kelly's business prospers. The local people in this quaint little town frequent her establishment on a regular basis for good home cooking and the exchange of local news.
On one particular morning, Amber, a local high school student and reliable employee of Kelly's, does not show up for work. Amber is daughter to Kelly's best friend Ginger and her husband Bob. Kelly is also Amber's godmother, therefore, the mysterious absence of Amber hits her especially hard. It doesn't take long to discover that she has been murdered and the residents of this little seaside town are in a state of shock. Before you know it, Kelly is caught up in trying to solve the murder of this young Homecoming Queen. She manages to identify five prime suspects and along with the county Sheriff and her boxer dog, Rebel, she sets out to solve this mystery.
Kelly's Koffee Shop is a well-written murder mystery that is sure to appeal to a wide reading audience. It is a captivating, enjoyable, and similar to a present day Nancy Drew mystery novel. Good clean reading...can't wait to read Book 2 in this series!
Inspirational Author & Book Reviewer ~ Dolores Ayotte
http://www.amazon.com/Up-The-Down-Lad...
Kelly Conner is a widow who lost her husband to cancer at a very young age. She manages to raise her two young children by making a life for herself and her family at Kelly's Koffee Shop. Although Cedar Bay is a tourist town, even in the off season, Kelly's business prospers. The local people in this quaint little town frequent her establishment on a regular basis for good home cooking and the exchange of local news.
On one particular morning, Amber, a local high school student and reliable employee of Kelly's, does not show up for work. Amber is daughter to Kelly's best friend Ginger and her husband Bob. Kelly is also Amber's godmother, therefore, the mysterious absence of Amber hits her especially hard. It doesn't take long to discover that she has been murdered and the residents of this little seaside town are in a state of shock. Before you know it, Kelly is caught up in trying to solve the murder of this young Homecoming Queen. She manages to identify five prime suspects and along with the county Sheriff and her boxer dog, Rebel, she sets out to solve this mystery.
Kelly's Koffee Shop is a well-written murder mystery that is sure to appeal to a wide reading audience. It is a captivating, enjoyable, and similar to a present day Nancy Drew mystery novel. Good clean reading...can't wait to read Book 2 in this series!
Inspirational Author & Book Reviewer ~ Dolores Ayotte
http://www.amazon.com/Up-The-Down-Lad...
January 31, 2015
Dollycas’s Thoughts
Kelly’s Koffee Shop sounds like quite a gathering spot. Cedar Bay seems beautiful and like a place I would love to visit.
I like Kelly, she seems about my age with grown children and she has a wonderful canine companion too. She has a very close relationship with a certain law officer who willingly shares way too much information with her. They make a good team, but that would get him in trouble in a bigger town. They seem to work together with some assistance from Kelly’s pooch to solve the case.
This is a very quick read but I think the conclusion was a bit forced and rushed. I think I am used to reading cozies that are twice as long that include a little more investigating and chasing suspects and clues. There were plenty of suspects and I would have liked a bit more information and detail about them. Part of the fun is the following the clues and eliminating the suspects.
I did enjoy the story and look forward to reading more about Kelly and the folks of Cedar Bay. Murder at Jade Cove is already downloaded to my Kindle and White Cloud Retreat has just been released.
August 9, 2015
I've seen this book and others in the series posted on Facebook. I decided to try it yesterday and it was a pretty good read. For me, a first in a new series is difficult, there is a lot of information that needs to be given.
Kelly is the owner of the small town cafe and is a very likeable character. She has two adult children who live elsewhere and her husband has passed away. She has a relationship with the local sheriff and she seems happy with her life. She has a dog who she seems to love.
This story revolves around a missing teen who seems to be well liked. She is Kelly's godchild and works in Kelly's cafe. When Amber doesn't show up for a morning shift, everyone is concerned. When her body is found in the water by a local fisherman, the whole town is shocked and saddened.
Kelly seems to be eager to conduct an investigation and seems to put herself in harm's way. I haven't decided if I like such an aggressive protagonist, but I will definitely read the next in the series.
The story was solid and it was an enjoyable book to read.
Kelly is the owner of the small town cafe and is a very likeable character. She has two adult children who live elsewhere and her husband has passed away. She has a relationship with the local sheriff and she seems happy with her life. She has a dog who she seems to love.
This story revolves around a missing teen who seems to be well liked. She is Kelly's godchild and works in Kelly's cafe. When Amber doesn't show up for a morning shift, everyone is concerned. When her body is found in the water by a local fisherman, the whole town is shocked and saddened.
Kelly seems to be eager to conduct an investigation and seems to put herself in harm's way. I haven't decided if I like such an aggressive protagonist, but I will definitely read the next in the series.
The story was solid and it was an enjoyable book to read.
Read
January 2, 2015Kelly pulled into the harbor parking lot next to the pier and noticed that Amber’s car wasn’t in its usual place and there was no sign of her. She was usually standing at the door of Kelly’s Koffee Shop, waiting for Kelly to open up. Wonder what that’s all about, she thought.
The local residents of Cedar Bay come to Kelly’s Koffee Shop for breakfast, lunch, and lots of gossip. Kelly serves it all up as she works to solve the murder of the high school Homecoming Queen. The townspeople can’t believe what has happened in their sleepy little Oregon seaside town. She identifies five prime suspects, but which one did it?
Follow Kelly, her boxer dog, Rebel, and her boyfriend, Mike, the county sheriff, as they try to determine who the killer is in a murder that’s shocked the town.
Kelly’s Coffee Shop is a mouth-watering cozy mystery with recipes!
Amber was murdered by a guy with whom she was having an affair who lived on a boat.
TERRIBLY WRITTEN BOOK.
The local residents of Cedar Bay come to Kelly’s Koffee Shop for breakfast, lunch, and lots of gossip. Kelly serves it all up as she works to solve the murder of the high school Homecoming Queen. The townspeople can’t believe what has happened in their sleepy little Oregon seaside town. She identifies five prime suspects, but which one did it?
Follow Kelly, her boxer dog, Rebel, and her boyfriend, Mike, the county sheriff, as they try to determine who the killer is in a murder that’s shocked the town.
Kelly’s Coffee Shop is a mouth-watering cozy mystery with recipes!
Amber was murdered by a guy with whom she was having an affair who lived on a boat.
TERRIBLY WRITTEN BOOK.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 31, 2020
Great twist at the end.
I loved discovering the small town of Cedar Bay and its characters. I am looking forward to reading more about them soon! As a school teacher who loves to read, I cannot tell you how much I appreciate your willingness to share your talents during this pandemic crisis so that people may find a way to relax and enjoy themselves. THANK YOU!
I loved discovering the small town of Cedar Bay and its characters. I am looking forward to reading more about them soon! As a school teacher who loves to read, I cannot tell you how much I appreciate your willingness to share your talents during this pandemic crisis so that people may find a way to relax and enjoy themselves. THANK YOU!
January 11, 2015
A quick read and a fun cozy mystery. This first Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery gets the series off to a great start. Murder, mayhem, a lovely small town setting, good food, and a loyal pooch--what more could you ask for in this lighthearted genre? The main character, and amateur sleuth, Kelly,is a likable, resourceful woman sure to keep readers coming back for more episodes. Since she owns the local coffee shop she's at the center of all the action that goes on in the community. When Kelly's goddaughter, the town's Homecoming Queen, goes missing the scene is set. The story unfolds, taking a few twists and turns, at a fast pace that keeps you on the case, until Kelly discovers who killed Amber? An engaging read, recommended to cozy mystery fans everywhere.
July 8, 2016
This is a short cozy that I listened on audio. I enjoyed the mystery very much, I liked the characters, cozy Cedar Bay location, and how the mystery was wrapped up. And that boxer dog, Rebel. What a hero he is! The only beef I had was the narrator Erin deWard. I felt as though everything was in slow motion with the narration. The narrator is very s-l-o-w and methodical. I switched over to using the Audible app where I could speed up the narration. By doing so, I was able to complete this almost 5-hour audio in one day! I am planning to read book #2 but I think I will read the ebook rather than listening to the audio.
I am also interested in trying Harman's Liz Lucas cozy series.
I am also interested in trying Harman's Liz Lucas cozy series.
December 1, 2014
Kelly's Koffee Shop by Dianne Harman
I can't lie I am a big fan of this authors work. Once again her descriptions of places make you want to book the trip and when she describes food my mouth waters. She made a small town that feels so real and characters come to life like old friends. Then she adds murder, mystery, secrets, love, and a great dog to make a cozy mystery that I will read again and again.
Dab10
I can't lie I am a big fan of this authors work. Once again her descriptions of places make you want to book the trip and when she describes food my mouth waters. She made a small town that feels so real and characters come to life like old friends. Then she adds murder, mystery, secrets, love, and a great dog to make a cozy mystery that I will read again and again.
Dab10
February 3, 2017
Hilariously bad. I wanted to like this, I'm always up for a good cozy, but - the plot was weak, the characters were flat or just irritating (I'm looking at you, Kelly). And the dialogue- it wasn't at all conversational, more like a monologue followed by someone else's monologue. It made everyone sound robotic. Maybe I'll try out one of the recipes.
*Spoiler Alert* The murderer wasn't introduced until the end of the book! What?!? You can't do that...
*Spoiler Alert* The murderer wasn't introduced until the end of the book! What?!? You can't do that...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 6, 2018
I thought the characters were interesting, but I have a problem with Kelly being the best friends to the victims parents and we never heard from the parents in the story. I also had an issue that if a teacher or coach or other adult had their computer searched and it was found to have pornographic websites for children that the sheriff wouldn’t of immediately arrested him or at least taking him in for questioning.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 17, 2020
I like Dianne Harman's stories because they give a mind vacation in different parts of the country. This showed the life of Kelly running at place called "Kelly's Koffee Shop" at a little seaside town in Oregon and serves breakfast, lunch and gossip. Kelly notices that her god daughter, Amber's car wasn't in the usual place and starts looking for her. There is also a dog called Rebel and I love dogs and at the end of her books are recipes.
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