Review: Stake and Eggs by Laura Childs

Stake & Eggs
(A Cackleberry Club Mystery)
4th in Series
Cozy Mystery
A Berkley Prime Crime Mystery
The Berkley Publishing Group (November 6, 2012)
Published by The Penguin Group
Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
ISBN-13: 978-0425255575
Cover Illustration by Lee White
Cover Design by Annette Fiore Defex

Suzanne, Toni and Petra found a second life after losing their husbands. They opened the Cackleberry Club, a cafe featuring yummy egg dishes. But they never thought sleuthing would come to be the special of the day.

A KILLER HAS THE TOWN WALKING ON EGGSHELLS.

A loud crash is heard behind the cafe. Suzanne rushes out in a blizzard to see what caused the commotion. She finds the town’s most hated baker beheaded. He was riding his snowmobile and ran through a wire staked in the snow. When some the cafe’s best customers become prime suspects and the police investigation starts snowballing off course, the ladies know it is time to track down the killer.

Dollycas’s Thoughts

In this 4th installment of the Cackleberry Club mayhem blows right in before the end of chapter 1 along with a nice snowstorm.Suzanne tries to keep her own head as she tries to put the killer on ice.  It is like a wonderful toboggan ride racing downhill.  

I love these ladies. They are so relate-able and if I lived in Kindred they would definitely be good friends of mine. Great food, a book nook and a crafty corner, what more could we ask for in the perfect meeting place.  They are also the requisite quirky supporting characters needed to round out the town’s residents. Add to that a Fire and Ice Festival, that includes a parade, ice sculpting, an ice fishing contest, a treasure hunt and a murderer on the loose.  All the ingredients of a marvelous mystery.

The thing that stands out to me in this series is the friendship shared by Suzanne, Petra, and Toni. Each dealing with their own battles but they are they for each other day in and day out.  Raising each others spirits, lending an ear, sharing their thoughts, all while running  a restaurant and solving a murder.

Toni’s  hot and cold relationship with Junior brings some humor to the story. His latest invention will have you giggling, but had my husband thinking it might not be a bad idea. 🙂 Boys and their toys!

I have enjoyed every book in this series! They are at their best when read in order. I read the first 3 one right after the other back in 2010 and I was so happy when Stake & Eggs was released this month. I have missed by visits to the Cackleberry Club. I hope Laura takes us on another adventure with these ladies very soon! 

Stake & Eggs is a scrumptious  who-dun-it and the recipes included are tasty too. You must try the Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Pancakes.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”