A Suspicion of Strawberries

Scents of Murder Mysteries #1

by Lynette Sowell

When Charla Rae Thacker and her bridesmaids show up at Andi's soap shop in Greenburg, Tennessee, for a morning of pre-wedding pampering, Andi bends over backwards to make it a pleasant experience for them all. But then Charla keels over and dies from anaphylactic shock after she uses Andi's personally blended cherries jubilee facial scrub. Andi suspects sabotage and murder when she discovers strawberries - a lethal allergen for Charla - in the scrub. Now, Andi must save her business and her reputation.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction

250 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published February 29, 2008

About the author

Lynette Sowell is an award-winning author with New England roots, but she makes her home on the doorstep of the Texas Hill Country with her husband and a herd of five cats. When she’s not writing, she edits medical reports and chases down stories for the local newspaper.

Reviews

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a good little book! I enjoyed it so much! Fun characters and town. And I liked that it is a Christian cozy with "God talk". :) very cute! And satisfying ending. I'm glad I have book 2!

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have thoroughly enjoyed all the books that have read by Lynette Sowell. However, I did not know she had written a mystery series. My favorite genre. I was not disappointed.

Andi Clark opened her soap store in the small town where she has lived her life. Between store sales and internet sales, she has been able to stay a float. However, the up coming spa party could change that. When things go wrong. Andi must clear her reputation. Meanwhile, her longtime boyfriend has decided to make many changes. Will she be able to embrace all of them?

The characters were very believable. All main and secondary characters were well developed. I felt like I knew the town and its many quirky secrets. The ever twisting plot kept one guessing until the end. Great ending in all aspects. This is definitely a Cozy mystery to curl up and get cozy with.

[Kay (Brigidsmomma) Compton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I REALLY liked this book! A good mystery, good characters, and another faith-based Christian cozy series. Very well done. The protagonist has a sense that something is wrong even before the cops do, and isn't afraid to say so, even if it puts her as a target suspect - the murder happened in her store, with her product, to her less than socially tactful customer. But through it all, she has to keep in mind that God is in charge, and He will lead the way to answers to this mystery and all of the other stressors in her life, including if she should or shouldn't accept a marriage proposal from her boyfriend of several years... A really good read, and one I think many would enjoy.

[Leise Chadwick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading, A Suspicion of Strawberries, which was unlike other romantic mysteries in my Kindle library. The difference being it was a wholesome Christian MURDER mystery... wait, that's an oxymoron! Let me try again... the difference is that both Andromeda and Ben, who had faith in the power of prayer, loved each other unconditionally, were faithful to each other, and they did not engage in a physical love affair. They said 'I love you' often which is so important to tell people you love.

[Judy Ortiz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it, enough to recommend it to others. I liked the main character's believable thoughts and prayer life. She was somewhat impulsive but kept going back to the guiding force in her heart and mind.

[S · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was just okay. The idea for the murder was clever, but the story became less interesting from that early point in the book to the finish. The main character's discussions with God never influenced her actions, reflecting a shallow kind of belief and/or a poor testimony. And her interactions with key supporting characters were repetitive. There just wasn't much depth to the story.

[sharon peart · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Fun Who-Dun-It Read

A,quick fun read that was a good who-dun-it and more importantly "Why?". There is also a splash of romance and a Christian foundation to the book which is not preachy. I enjoyed the story.

[Joni · Rating 2 out of 5]

Readable

I didn't quit reading it, but it wasn't very good. Character development was poor so I had trouble following who was who. Also had way too much religion and praying.

[Mercy]

Simply loved it. It's a super interesting book

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a sweet little mystery that I enjoyed.

[April · Rating 5 out of 5]

very cute and fun mystery

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a pretty good book kind of hard to get into at times. Andi has a shop dealing in soaps, face scrubs and the like. She is hosting a bridal facial party when the bride to be has a reaction the to face scrub and doesn't have her epie pen with her. Before anything can be done she dies. Even though it is ruled an accidental death, Andi is sure it is murder and sets out to find out who did it. It was a little too descriptive at times, which to me made it hard to follow at times.

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes it is very nice to pick up a book that has no swearing and good Christian characters. This mystery unfolds in Greenburg, TN, where Andromeda Clark operates a small soap making business. I enjoyed her escapades as she attempted to help solve the mystery of a death she witnessed in her very own shop. Very often I thought she rather overdid her efforts but it still was a very fun read.

[Deborah aka Reading Mom · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars--cute cozy mystery

[Maria Claudia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a bad book, but totally previsible.

[Judy Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Judy

I thought it was very good even though it took me a month to read. I always had something else going on, but I never forgot what was happening. It was a very good who done it

[deb waldman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Trite and Formulaic

This reads like a Christian romance for young teens, not an adult mystery. Characters are stereotypical and 2 dimensional. Very disappointing.

[Amary Chapman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Christian cozy

Strongly Christian cozy mystery about Andi, a store owner determined to prove that her product was not responsible for the death of her customer Chandra.

[Marisa]

Amazon - 07/07/2016

[Margaret]

I like the title a lot - that's what attracted me to the book. This is the author's first cozy mystery and it shows. Unfortunately, I thought the plot was a little far-fetched, the main character seemed very insecure and I wasn't convinced about the killer's motive. The ending was a little too "tied up and wrapped with a bow" for me. This needed a little more development character and plot-wise and some suspense so that the reader is hooked.