Vangie Vale and the Murdered Macaron (The Matchbaker Mysteries Book 1)
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – Montana
Hummingbird Books (July 21, 2017)
Paperback: 362 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1548024437
E-Book ASIN: B073ZLKBZT
Small towns and gossip go together like flaky crust and sweet pastry cream. Between the police scanners, social media, and the senior center, it’s like a zombie apocalypse where the undead consume people’s secrets instead of living flesh.
But Vangie Vale wants nothing more than to stay under the radar…especially the police radar.
So when her new bakery becomes linked to a murder investigation, nothing will stop the gossip mill from connecting her to the dead body. Can’t have that.
Forced into the role of investigator, this new-in-town bakery owner has to become the very thing she hates–a nosy, small-town gossip–in order to clear her good name, and keep her face off the front page. But when a dating debacle brings her face-to-face with the Sheriff, Vangie can’t ignore the fact that one of her macarons was involved in a murder. She has to find the who-dun-it.
Dollycas’s Thoughts
This series is off to a tasty start.
Evangeline (Vangie) Vail is a part time pastor and a full time baker. The issue that brought her to Montana is a little foggy yet but she is settling in nicely. Her Matchmaker Bakery is a really cute idea. She matches you to the perfect pastry and beverage not the man or the woman of your dreams. She’s an upbeat person and a good listener and she truly wants to help wherever she can. When one her pastry boxes is found at a crime scene she becomes one of the Sheriff’s top suspects. She and the Sheriff have a very rocky relationship. They are neighbors and he just didn’t like her from the first time they met. The only place near her home that she can get cell phone service is at the corner of his property near a big bush and it just drives him crazy. He reports her trespassing to the parish and she is on thin ice already with them. He has even threatened to arrest her. Let’s just say all this trespassing and murder has not made Vangie’s life easy but she doesn’t give up. I really like her and want to get to know her much better.
The murder mystery is very well plotted out. It all comes down to a very small timeline, alibis for all of the suspects and motive. Vangie takes us down a prickly path until we finally get to the real killer. Vangie can now add sleuth to her resume. Some of the story goes a little off a cozy path, at the end of one chapter my breath was just taken away. The author quickly get us back on track in the cozy realm. It was simply a page turner that kept my attention from the beginning to the end.
I am excited about this series. This first escape to Montana just gave us a taste of what to expect from this author and these characters. I am very happy to learn there are two more books in the series to be released soon.
**My review was of an Advance Review Copy and was informed that there were some adjustments made to the final edition.
*There is a tragic death that appears at first to be a suicide within this story.
About The Author
Rebecca Syme writes small town romance as Becca Boyd and cozy mystery as R.L. Syme. She is a long-time foodie and loves fancy cheese. Becca calls the mountains of Montana her home and draws inspiration from the beautiful vistas and heartwarming people. She is the USA Today bestselling author of the Line of Fire series of sweet romances and part of the Chick Tales series set in Somewhere, TX. You can find her on Twitter talking #fancycheese or #Chopped, and on Facebook with her fans in Becca Nation.
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More Praise for Vangie Vale and the Murdered Macaron
by R. L. Syme
A new to me author and a book that will keep you turning the pages as fast as you can to see what happens.
~Babs Book Bistro
What I wouldn’t give to be in this story. It was fun, imaginative and full of yummy treats.
~Bibliophile Reviews
I liked the neighbourhood friendship all the characters have, they agree and of course disagree, and let me say I can’t wait to discover more characters and more delicacies from Vangie!
~Varietats
It might have been the book cover that drew me in.
But it was the story and plot that kept me and lured me all the way to the end.
~My Reading Journeys
Purchase Links
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Coming Soon
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Tour Participants
August 1 – Blogger Nicole Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
August 1 – Island Confidential – INTERVIEW
August 2 – Babs Book Bistro – REVIEW
August 2 – A Holland Reads – SPOTLIGHT
August 3 – Bibliophile Reviews – REVIEW, GUEST POST
August 3 – Varietats2010 – REVIEW
August 4 – My Reading Journeys – REVIEW, INTERVIEW
August 5 – Bookworm Cafe – REVIEW
August 5 – My Funny View of Life – REVIEW
August 6 – Texas Book-aholic – REVIEW
August 6 – Valerie’s Musings – REVIEW, INTERVIEW
August 7 – Sleuth Cafe – CHARACTER GUEST POST
August 7 – StoreyBook Reviews – REVIEW
August 8 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
August 8 – Teresa Trent Author Site – INTERVIEW
August 8 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW
August 9 – The Power of Words – SPOTLIGHT
August 9 – A Blue Million Books – INTERVIEW
August 10 – Socrates’ Book Reviews – REVIEW
August 10 – 3 Partners in Shopping, Nana, Mommy, &, Sissy, Too! – SPOTLIGHT
August 11 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW, INTERVIEW
August 11 – Book Babble – REVIEW
August 12 – Brooke Blogs – GUEST POST
August 12 – A Chick Who Reads – REVIEW
August 13 – Cinnamon, Sugar, and a Little Bit of Murder – REVIEW
August 13 – Girl with Book Lungs – CHARACTER GUEST POST
August 14 – Melina’s Book Blog – REVIEW
August 14 – Jane Reads – REVIEW, GUEST POST
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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.”
Great review I just brought this off of Amazon, can’t wait to read it.
Penney
The book sounds good,
Thanks for the generous review and for hosting the tour, Lori. Sounds like you hit the nail on the head–Vangie is a treat.
This sounds like a wonderful new series! Thanks so much, Lori, for featuring it on your blog ~
A Matchmaker Bakery – how fun!!
So glad that this book is still on tour would love to have the print copy in my hands sounds just so good and a new series!
This series does sound yummy! I’ve never had a macaron either. Sharon catwoman-1(at)comcast(dot)net