A Grave Roast
by A.N. SageSeries: Orchard Hollow #1
Series Rating:
Published by Cauldron Press on January 23, 2023
Genres: Cozy Culinary Paranormal Mystery
Pages: 384
Format: Kindle
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Get Your Copy at: Amazon, Books-A-Million
Also in this series: Cafe au Slay, Killing Grinds
One month from forty, Piper Addison thinks she finally has life figured out. Sure, her bank account could be fuller and the cafe she opened with the last of her savings could use some help, but what’s a few kinks for an Orchard Hollow witch? Too bad Piper can’t witch to save her life, which is exactly what she might need to do when a dead body is discovered in the alley behind her cafe. To make matters worse, all the evidence points to Piper and the local sheriff is not too keen on the town’s paranormal inhabitants. When a mysterious envelope lands on Piper’s doorstep, she has a decision to make: go behind the sheriff’s back and try to clear her name, or spend her fortieth birthday in a prison cell. A Grave Roast is a paranormal cozy mystery complete with an unlucky witch, a ghost familiar, and a feisty raccoon with a talent for getting into sticky situations.
A Grave Roast by A.N. Sage sees Piper Addison traversing Orchard Hollow without her grandma, that was helping her get her magic.
Can Piper solve the mystery without getting into trouble?
Piper Addison
Piper Addison is turning forty, lost her grandma recently, and started a new business venture. Did I also mention that she’s a witch? Yeah, she’s that too, but unlike the other witches and paranormal creatures in Orchard Hollow, Piper has quite a hard time getting her magic to cooperate. Oh, and instead of having a regular familiar, she has a ghost. The ghost is also the only one that she can see, sadly. Piper gets told by an acquaintance to meet her at her new coffee shop, which is closed due to one malfunctioning expresso maker, and is found dead in her back alley. The police think Piper might have something to do with it, and so Piper is on the case to figure out what happened to him.
Piper is quite the character in how she presents herself to the rest of the community and tries to let the other witches know that she isn’t concerned about her lack of magic in public when in reality, she does. I think Piper is a fascinating character, and I can’t wait to see what she gets into in the next book.
The Mystery
Piper finds a dead body in her back alley, and it isn’t good in the eyes of the police. So, to keep herself out of jail, Piper has decided to solve this case for the police, especially after the sheriff decides it was an accidental overdose after seeing the coroner’s report. Piper soon learns that the dead guy’s death could be connected to another case that was ruled as a natural cause of death. Are they connected, or is Piper just making things up? I have to say that I pegged many things but not the killer or their motive. Now that motive was a plot twist that I never saw coming.
Four Stars
My rating for A Grave Roast by A.N. Sage is four stars. I’m also recommending it to anyone that wants to read a new take on a cozy culinary paranormal mystery. Ms. Sage has created an interesting lore for this series, and I can’t wait to read more about Orchard Hollow and Piper. Who knows, maybe Piper will see many things differently and learn more about her magic.
There is a recipe in the back for a drink called Mocha a la Joe.
Orchard Hollow Series
Coming in September
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of A Grave Roast by A.N. Sage.
Until the next time,
Happy Reading!
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2023 Beachcombers Mystery RC
- 2023 Cloak and Dagger
- 2023 CMRC Prompts
- 2023 Craving the Cozies
- 2023 Cruisin' thru the Cozies
- 2023 Goodreads RC
- 2023 Medical Examiner RC
- 2023 Six Shooter
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