I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from Great Escapes Book Tours. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Quiche of Death
by Mary Lee Ashford
Series: Sugar & Spice Mystery #3
Published by Lyrical Press on July 21, 2020
Genres: Cozy Culinary Mystery
Pages: 254
Format: Kindle
Source: Great Escapes Book Tours
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When editor Sugar Calloway and baker Dixie Spicer went into business creating cookbooks, they found a sideline as amateur sleuths. Now a bitter family grudge could leave a fatal aftertaste…
At Sugar & Spice Community Cookbooks, the friends and business partners have secured a tasty new commission: producing a cookbook for the Arbor family. The Arbors have made their fortune in quiches, and Sugar and Spice have been invited to a weekend gathering where all the siblings, along with crusty matriarch Marta, will be in attendance. But it’s soon clear that this trip will come with a hefty slice of drama.
Theo, the only grandson, arrives with his flaky fiancée, Collette, who quickly stirs up trouble . . . and is found dead the next day. As the investigation unfolds, secrets—and recipes—are shared, and Sugar and Spice realize just how messy and murderous the situation may be. As another family member falls ill, can they solve the case without getting egg on their faces . . .and a target on their backs?
* Includes delicious recipes! *
Quiche of Death by Mary Lee Ashford is a fascinating mystery that revolves around a wealthy family, their past secrets, and keeping those secrets buried.
Will Sugar and Dixie figure out what is going on with the Arbor family before the mess follows them home?
Sugar and Spice
Sugar and Dixie are working on a cookbook for the Arbor family. They are visiting the farm over the weekend to gather the recipes and to get bits of history to include in the book. However, Sugar finds the body of Colette out on the archery range. Sugar needs to quit finding bodies, or people are going to start talking.
I love the dynamics of Sugar and Dixie; not only are they partners and friends, but you could say that they are also like family. Sugar has the business head, and Dixie supplies the fabulous food created by the recipes for the cookbook pictures. Dixie also feeds the neighborhood with her trial runs.
The Arbor Family
This family consists of the matriarch, two sons and a daughter, their spouses, and a grandson. They are all spending time at the family farm that John and his wife Gwen have restored. The farm is currently a lovely bed and breakfast. The setting is gorgeous, with lots of nature and quiet time—the perfect place to recharge.
However, the Arbor family are all very different and don’t truly mesh well as one unit. They bicker with each other and fight over petty things. You know as a family does. I enjoyed getting to know each of them, and yet I found my favorites to be the spouses, Gwen and Lucinda. The other members didn’t really stand out.
The Mystery
The mystery that Sugar can’t stop thinking about is the death of Colette and whether it was an accident or murder. Then there are the attacks on the other family members and the break-in at the inn. Sugar doesn’t do much investigating, but she is still there when the culprit is caught.
Four Stars
The dynamics of the characters and the mystery are entertaining. I also like learning about the process of putting a cookbook together. Therefore, my rating is four stars. I recommend this mystery and the series.
These are the included recipes:
- The Arbor Family’s Famous Quiche Lorraine
- Hilda’s No-Fail Banana Bread
- Greer Gooder’s Chicken Salad
Other Books in the Series
Giveaway
Prize: (1) Prize Package including a set of the three books in the series (winners choice digital or paperback) (Print U.S. ONLY)
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Until the next time,
This Guest Review is for Baroness’ Book Trove.
About Mary Lee Ashford
Mary Lee Ashford is a lifelong bibliophile, and avid reader, and supporter of public libraries. In addition to writing the Sugar & Spice mystery series for Kensington Books, she also writes as half of the writing team of Sparkle Abbey, author of the national bestselling Pampered Pets mystery series from Bell Bridge Books.
Prior to publishing Mary Lee won first place in the Daphne du Maurier contest, sponsored by the Kiss of Death chapter of RWA, and was a finalist in Murder in the Grove’s mystery contest, as well as Killer Nashville’s Claymore Dagger contest.
She is the founding president of Sisters in Crime – Iowa and a current board member of the Mystery Writers of America Midwest chapter, as well as a member of Novelists, Inc., Romance Writers of America, Kiss of Death the RWA Mystery Suspense chapter, Sisters in Crime, and the SinC internet group Guppies.
Mary Lee has a passionate interest in creativity and teaches a university level course in Creative Management to MPA candidates, as well as presenting workshops and blogging about creativity. She loves encouraging other writers and is a frequent presenter on a variety of topics at workshops, conferences, and writers’ groups.
In her day job, Mary Lee is a Deputy Chief Information Officer. She currently resides in the Midwest with her husband, Tim, and Sparkle, the rescue cat namesake of the Sparkle Abbey pseudonym. Her delights are reading and enjoying her family and especially her six grandchildren.
Thank-you so much for highlighting my book, Jen! And for taking the time to review it. I’m so happy you enjoyed it.
I love this series!
Sounds like a great series. Would really like to read.
Fantastic cover
Fun read, nice share.
This looks like a fun and yummy series