I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the Author. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Battered
by G. P. Gottlieb
Series: Whipped and Sipped Mysteries #1
Series Rating:
Published by D. X. Varos, Ltd. on August 6, 2019
Genres: Mystery
Pages: 294
Format: Paperback, Kindle, Audible Audiobook
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Alene Baron is the proud owner of Whipped and Sipped, a café that offers healthful, delectable food and drinks. Her life consists of dreaming up new recipes, raising her three children, and arguing with her ex-husband--until her neighbor and close friend is murdered. She imagines nearly everyone she knows as a possible suspect. After a second attack, Alene is determined to find the true killer ... before she, or her family, become targets.
Battered by G. P. Gottlieb is a good mystery with lots of talk about food and how our sleuth deals with what life throws at her.
Will Alene figure out who killed Gary, or will she be next on the killer’s list?
Alene
Alene is a mother, the owner of the Whipped and Sipped Cafe, and our sleuth. Alene is different from our normal sleuth in that she didn’t go looking for clues; she just couldn’t quit talking about it to everyone she knew. The killer seems to be targeting people possibly involved in an old embezzling scheme from an electronics company. Alene knew all of the parties involved, so between working at the cafe and taking care of her kids, she is talking about what happened. She has put most of the people on her list of suspects, especially her ex-husband.
Alene is a likable character, as she tries to do good in her community. For the most part, I like her, but honestly, she drove me crazy with her constant judgment of everyone. Then there were her incessant comments about vegan this and that. Honestly, I agreed with her brother in law when he told her she should treat all of her guests equal. Seriously, she needs to get some therapy to let go of the past and move on to the future.
Mystery
Ok, now I liked the mystery which combined an old embezzlement case, a missing person with the recent murder of Gary, and attacks on some other people. The way the author brought about the past pieces of the puzzle was wonderfully written and seemed cohesive. I like the police detective Frank. Oh, Gary’s murderer caught me off guard I totally didn’t catch that tie in until the explanation. Good job, Ms. Gottlieb.
Three Stars
While I enjoyed the mystery aspect of Battered by G. P. Gottlieb, the politics and attitude of the main character kept me from feeling a connection. Therefore, I am rating this story at three stars. However, I am not everyone, and I am sure there are a lot of people who will love Alene and her quirkiness. Also, there are some recipes at the back of the book; I actually plan to make the Orange Poppy Seed Muffins and maybe one of the dips.
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Battered by G. P. Gottlieb.
Until the next time,
This Guest Review is for Baroness’ Book Trove.
About G. P. Gottlieb
G.P. Gottlieb holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in piano and voice. During her career as a cantor, a high school music teacher, and the administrator of a law center, she wrote stories, songs, and several unwieldy manuscripts. She also developed healthful recipes for her family and friends. After recovering from breast cancer, she turned to writing in earnest, melding her two loves, nourishment for mind and body and recipe-laced murder mysteries. And, after receiving an untoward number of agent rejections, she submitted her manuscript to an online contest, and won a publishing contract from D.X. Varos Ltd. GP Gottlieb is now working on a Whipped and Sipped sequel, Smothered. You can hear her interview novelists and short-story writers on New Books in Literature, a podcast of the New Books Network, which gets nearly 60,000 downloads each day. Also, she is a graduate of the French Pastry School’s Bread Boot Camp and Chocolate Boot Camp.
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