Two murders take place during a bluegrass festival in Indiana. Robbie balances her restaurant Pans ‘N’ Pancakes, her newly opened B&B, and her Dad visiting from Italy. At the same time she is drawn to determine if the crimes are connected and who is behind these killings.
This is book number 5 in Maddie Day’s A Country Story Mystery series. Robbie has made many improvements to her life, she has reconnected with her dad and is dating a great guy. She has also make improvements to her restaurant/store by adding a B&B above the store. However, during the local bluegrass festival a murder takes place and then another murder. Robbie finds herself drawn in to uncover the mystery.
Cozy Mystery Novel with Recipes by Maddie Day
Book Review
Murder Mystery Books🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪
Book Review Outline and Tone:
Robbie’s business is thriving. She has opened her upstairs for its first week of Bed and Breakfast. Her Dad, Roberto, and his wife are in town from Italy. The other 2 rooms are filled with musicians in town for Bill Monroe’s Bluegrass Festival in Morgantown, IN. Author Maddie Day does a fantastic job on incorporating real life events. In Biscuits and Slashed Browns, Day incorporates Indiana Maple Weekend. In that novel, Day included a fantastic recipe for Maple Curry Biscuits.
Back to this novel. The small town of Salt Lick, IN has two murders in a short time frame. Robbie has to determine if they are connected and if so how. She also has to worry if one of her B&B guests could be responsible for one or both killings. There are delightful side characters like Danna, her kitchen helper, and Anne Henderson, the police officer from the town where the music festival takes place, that help to round out the novel. There are several strong and smart women as well as 2 great mysteries.
The novel is a quick read and the resolution to the mysteries is clever and satisfying for the reader. Maddie Day has great characters and knows how to keep the reader guessing with a variety of possible solutions before the mystery is actually revealed.
The author:
Maddie Day is one of my favorite authors to follow on social media. She posts regularly on Twitter @edithmaxwell. She also has a large following on Instagram and Facebook. Like so many authors, Maddie Day is a pseudonym for Edith Maxwell. She has at least six book series that can all be found on her website which is elaborate and has inside information and reviews for all of her books.
What is not to like?:
There seems to be an unsolved mystery that involves Robbie’s step mom. My only hope is that Robbie takes a trip to Italy and we, the readers, get to go with her.
The verdict:
I really like where this series is going. Robbie now has a store as well as a B&B. This opens so many more opportunities for trouble and it is trouble that makes books interesting. I recommend reading this and continuing with the series.
Book Club Books Recommendation:
Read It! 4/5 Books 📚📚📚📚
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Fast Fried Apples
from a cozy mystery novel
Death Over Easy by Maddie Day
Assemble the Ingredients
Easy dessert to make: 5/5 on the Easy as Pie scale 🥧🥧🥧🥧🥧
Melt butter in a large skillet.
Add apples and ½ cup sugar; stir to mix well.
Note. At this point add only 1/2 cup of the sugar.
Cover and cook over low heat for 20 minutes or until the apples are tender, stirring frequently.
Add remaining sugar and cinnamon. This time add 1/4 cup of sugar.
Sizes are easy to read on the measuring cups.
Cook and stir over medium-high heat 5 to 10 minutes longer.
I love this recipe because it is not necessary to peel the apples. The are sweet but not too sweet. They can be eaten as a side dish for breakfast or with dinner. My favorite way is to put them on top of a dish of vanilla ice cream. They are fantastic!
Easy Dessert 🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰
Dessert Recipe 📖📖📖📖📖
Fast Fried Apples from: Death Over Easy a cozy mystery by Maddie Day
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter
- 6 medium unpeeled tart red apples, sliced
- ¾ cup sugar-Divided
- ¾ tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Melt butter in a large skillet.
- Add apples and ½ cup sugar; stir to mix well.
- Cover and cook over low heat for 20 minutes or until the apples are tender, stirring frequently.
- Add remaining sugar and cinnamon.
- Cook and stir over medium-high heat 5 to 10 minutes longer.
What would I do differently next time?
This is an easy question to answer. I would double the recipe. These were a huge hit with my family.
Will I make it again?: Yes! I love fried apples. I put some on top of vanilla ice cream. 😋😋😋😋😋
Apple Orchard Bars from Fudge Cupcake Murder by Joanne Fluke, Apple Turnovers from Two Parts Sugar One Part Murder by Valerie Burns, and Apple Spiced Muffins from Grilled for Murder by Maddie Day.
I know you will enjoy the recipes and the novels!
