An Axe to Rind

by Ally Roberts

Something smells rotten in the Cheddar Haus.

Colby Jackson is supposed to be a reporter, not the manager of a cheese shop. But after losing her job and moving halfway across the country to live with her wealthy half-sister, she finds herself running a cheese shop in a small town on the coast of Maine while she figures out just how to get her career back on track.

However, that plan is immediately derailed when she finds a dead body inside the shop. Especially because people in town are quick to pin Colby as a suspect.

There are plenty of others in the tiny town of Bayfield who might be capable of an ex-wife, a mysterious cheese buyer, and even Colby's own half-sister. Colby might not know the first thing about selling cheese, but she knows how to sniff out a story, and she’s determined to use her reporting skills to figure out who the real killer is.

Because someone definitely had an ax to grind.

And that same someone just might strike again.

Genres: Cozy, Cozy Mystery, Mystery, Contemporary, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Food

205 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2020

Reviews

[Linda Langford · Rating 4 out of 5]

A light cozy mystery. The characters are interesting, and the half-sister’s ditsy, and there’s a lot of humorous scenes throughout the book! If you’re a cheese aficionado, this is a cozy you should enjoy. I didn’t think the culprit was very hard to identify; however, there are plenty of ‘why’s’ to keep the story flowing and one’s interest peaked.

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Delightful Read

Colby Jackson lost her job as a reporter for a Minnesota paper. So off she goes to Maine and work in her sister's cheese shop. After all, if you can't count on family who can you depend on.
While working in a job and with someone she doesn't like the cheese shop manager is murdered and being new in town she feels like she will be blamed. So Colby uses her talents as a reporter to find the truth.

I found this to be a pleasant read. Even though I found the inept police officers a bit much. I enjoyed the story and characters and will be reading more of Ally Roberts' book series.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun read

This book kept my highly entertained. The main character is zany and quite amusing. The plot was simple but I just didn't want to put it down, looking forward to reading more cheese shop stories

[Ryan Hoffman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this cozy mystery. Colby Jackson ends up in Maine to work at a chesse shop. Her half sister works at. She doesn't like chesse and has no interest in working there. But since she has no career prospects shes stuck there. The manager of the chesse shop, Eli Gunderson is murdered. Its a good read.

[Genevieve · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first I thought this was not going to be the series for me. I love Ally Roberts Woof Pack series so I thought I would try this new one. The start was slow and as a cheese lover I couldn't understand how anyone could not like cheese. I stuck with it and I am glad about the time I was ready to give it up the book grabbed me though I guessed who the murderer was early on the story line was fun with some good characters. I like Colby Jackson even if she doesn't like cheese and her half sister though annoying does seem to have some good qualities. Her love interest I am waiting to see his character expand we didn't get a chance to get to know him much. There is also a quirky policeman who wants to be a professional baseball player. All in all though slow to start I think this will be a good series.

[Robyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who killed Eli

Colby lost her job at the newspaper and her rich half sister offered her a place to live and a job at her cheese store. Colby finds Eli dead in the refrigerator when Lloyd delivers her cheese order. Eli's mother and ex-wife both accuse Colby of killing Eli. There is something going on and Colby is determined to discover what and who killed Eli. Good story and characters with information about cheese, the varieties and the prices. Some can be very expensive.

[Tess Ailshire · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title goes a bit far for a pun -- there are no axes in the story, and not all cheese have rind, but hey, it's a title.

I didn't find anything remarkable about this story at all. I felt no pull between Colby and Phoebe, though Colby frequently notes the half-sister relationship. I found no character development in any of the characters, in fact.

So, it was a fun afternoon read. No worse than most cozy mysteries, but with no great recommendation points either.

[Karin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just because you are the new kid in town doesn’t mean that you did it, does it??? If the local police won’t she can use her two biggest traits: nosiness and stubbornness which served her well as a reporter. I enjoyed the story and recommend the book.

[SANDYE · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting, Suspenseful

A cozy !mystery set in a little cheese shop in Maine. Nice character development. Twists that keep the story interesting. Looking forward to reading the others in the series!

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very fun read. I really enjoyed some tropes for a change and the best part they were distracting enough that I ended up looking in the wrong places. I'm looking forward to where some of the characters are going to go. I will continue this series.

[R Grisham-Whitehouse · Rating 3 out of 5]

a lot of angst and internal talk

This is a mystery without a lot of action. The main character stumbles onto the killer after lots and lots of suspicion and self talk. The characters are overall enjoyable but I think the background is implausible

[Shawna Shaheen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about a cheese shop.

[Bonnie Pace · Rating 2 out of 5]

Light, easy read.

[Caro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mystery, Maine, Arts gala