Eggs on Ice

July 1, 2018

In this latest entry in the New York Times best-selling author's Cackleberry Club mysteries, set during Christmas and again starring café owners Suzanne, Toni, and Petra, bristly lawyer Allen Sharpe makes the perfect Scrooge in the Kindred Players production of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol. But why should the Ghost of Christmas Past stab him to death during the first rehearsal?

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2018
Hoping to bring back Christmas cheer, the Cackleberry Club takes on yet another murder case.Suzanne, Toni, and Petra all contribute their varied talents to the Cackleberry Club, the Midwestern eatery they own together. At the first dress rehearsal of A Christmas Carol, a Kindred Players production at which Suzanne and Toni are helping backstage, Allan Sharp, the vastly unpopular lawyer who plays Scrooge, is murdered by a ghostly figure before the eyes of the cast and crew. The ghost, chased by Suzanne, threatens her with a knife before vanishing into the snowy night. Despite stern warnings from her fiance, Dr. Sam Hazelet, and Sheriff Roy Doogie, Suzanne can't help getting involved when Amber Payson, who was sexually harassed by Sharp when she worked at his law firm, becomes the No. 1 suspect. Everyone from the mayor to Toni's lowlife soon-to-be-ex husband, Junior, are also suspected, but Doogie seems to have his eyes set on Amber. In spite of their busy schedules, Suzanne and Toni go into sleuthing mode and step things up when someone burns down Junior's trailer and soft-hearted Toni lets him sleep on her couch. The killer, meanwhile, has taken due note of Suzanne's activities; if she doesn't come up with some solid clues quickly, she may be the next to die.Oodles of red herrings and small-town charm just don't move the story along quickly enough to raise it to level of Childs' more interesting entries (Egg Drop Dead, 2016, etc.).

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October 29, 2018
At the start of bestseller Childs’s enjoyable eighth Cackleberry Club mystery (after 2016’s Egg Drop Dead), Scrooge-like lawyer Allan Sharp is playing Ebenezer Scrooge in a dress rehearsal of A Christmas Carol, held at a theater in the Midwestern town of Kindred, when someone in the costume of the ghost of Christmas Past embraces him as he sits at a desk on stage. When Allan remains slumped over the desk, those watching the performance, including Suzanne Dietz, owner of egg-themed diner the Cackleberry Club Café, realize something’s wrong. In fact, Allan has been stabbed to death. Suzanne chases the ghost backstage, but the culprit escapes. Suzanne later learns that many people had cause to wish Sharp dead, from the play’s director to the town’s mayor. Amateur sleuth Suzanne can’t resist assisting Sheriff Doogie in the hunt for the killer. The plot unfolds along predictable lines, but cozy fans will find plenty to savor, such as recipes from the Cackleberry Club, in this seasonal outing. Agent: Sam Pinkus, Veritas Media.

October 15, 2018
During a dress rehearsal for the Kindred Players' production of A Christmas Carol, the universally disliked, curmudgeonly Allan Sharpe, who is playing Scrooge, is murdered onstage by the Ghost of Christmas Past. Volunteer stagehand Suzanne Dietz chases the ghost, its identity hidden by the costume's cowl, but he or she escapes. Later, Suzanne agrees to help Amber Payson, the sheriff's chief suspect in Sharpe's murder, clear her name. With the aid of her business partner, Toni of the Cackleberry Club, their breakfast and lunch caf�, the two interview suspects, find another murder victim, and almost lose their lives when they seemingly get too close to discovering the killer's identity. Details of small-town life during the Christmas season frame the story, along with lots of particulars about running the Cackleberry Club, which comprises a cafe, a book nook, and a knitting and sewing room. Childs' setting is perfect for appealing to some of the favorite pastimes of cozy readers: cooking, knitting, quilting, and reading, all under one roof. The warm hometown atmosphere and sympathetic characters don't hurt, either. Recipes are included.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)