The ‘Sweet Fiction Bookshop’ mystery series began with DIGGING UP TROUBLE and I joined at the second book, but had no problem settling in to town. The neighbors are friendly, the town of Confection is – even too sweet, by the naming theme which has all the shops and streets called after taffy and so on. But among all the overt goodness hides malice.
A POISONOUS PAGE plays for the best of both worlds, as a book-club mystery channels one of the serial killer topics the folks discuss. Our guide is the new manager of the Sweet Fiction bookstore, Lexi Jones. She arrived from editing in Seattle, and her family are interested in having her buy the store, but she’s not ready for such responsibility. Next door is Abe Cloutier, a new neighbor who makes original lemonades and smoothies. Lexi’s collie – pit bull mix Cookie, accompanies her owner around the small town in Oregon, enjoying the warm weather. Then word spreads that a lady has died in her office, aged only mid-thirties. Detective Chad Berg is on the case. Marilyn Freeman, realtor, and President of the Chamber of Commerce, was unmarried and hard-working, and liked to associate with men, married or otherwise. She’s not mourned by everyone, particularly some wives. Could there be a motive? The book club chat turns to speculation. Some digging produces the possibility of land deals by Sunsweet Realty being behind the early death.
Other characters include Dash Hagen, a cheerful young man who had a brief relationship with Marilyn – but he’s single, so it takes another crime before the detective turns an eagle eye on this hapless man. There are smart women in town, there are staid older folks who surprise us, and plenty of others going about normal jobs. Confection, despite the sugary name, comes across as pleasantly diverse, and well-realized by author Kitt Crowe. By contrast with some other entertaining series, there are no ghosts, no chapters filled with crafting, no egotistical writers or historical research. Just a crime, a hunt for motives and opportunities. Pick your poison, and if the straightforward small-town cozy is your choice, A POISONOUS PAGE indicates that the Sweet Fiction Bookshop could be your new go-to series.
It’s summer festival time in Confection, Oregon, and that means a barrage of tourists making cash registers ring at Sweet Fiction Bookshop. But what should be bookseller Lexi’s most lucrative time of year turns disturbing when a member of the chamber of commerce suddenly dies of a heart attack. Not entirely unexpected—considering her family history—but it’s a different story when another chamber member dies just one week later…also, presumably, of natural causes.
Something about this doesn’t read right to Lexi. And it gets more unfathomable when her friend Dash—who dated both women—stands accused of murder! With Cookie, her lovable border collie mix, at her side and countless volumes of inspiration on her shelves, Lexi opens the book on another perplexing case. Who could have murdered two prominent townspeople without leaving even a hint of evidence on the scene? And why is an irksome-but-intriguing detective always seeming to catch her and Cookie working the case?
Lexi’s Confection Rose-colored glasses come off when she learns of thorny discussions among the council members, involving a string of secretive real estate transactions. Enlisting her faithful fellow members of the Macaroon Book Club, Lexi sets out to bind the clues together and clear Dash’s name. But if she can’t devise a clever trap for the real killer, she may soon end up with a very unhappily ever after of her own.
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