Welcome to Cozy Wednesday!
I am thrilled to welcome Daryl Wood Gerber back to Escape With Dollycas today
as part of her Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour!
In Sifting Through Clues, at the Cookbook Nook, Jenna is featuring all sorts of cookbooks that serve up a great tea. Do you love high tea? I do. I love the pomp and circumstance. The tea, the champagne, the scones with whipped cream. Yum.
At the Nook Café, Katie is whipping up all sorts of great recipes to feature at a tea. In fact, she gives a tea sandwich demonstration at the Cookbook Nook. One of the sandwiches she makes as a sample for the guests to enjoy is a pear and cheese tea sandwich. This is one of my favorites. Many tea sandwiches are savory, but this one is sweet–not too sweet because of the goat cheese. Now, if you’re not a goat cheese fan, switch it out to Brie or cheddar or even cream cheese. The honey and pears are what makes this sandwich stand out.
Pear and Cheese Tea Sandwich
(Makes 8 sandwiches or 16 – 32 triangles)
4 ounces of goat cheese, softened to room temperature
2 red Barlett pears, sliced thin
½ cup watercress
¼ cup pecans, chopped, *or nut of your choice
4 tablespoons honey
16 slices of white bread
In a small bowl, mix the cheese and pears. Add the watercress, pecans (*or nut of your choice) and honey. Spread on 8 slices of bread. Top the sandwiches with the remaining slices of bread. Carefully remove crusts, and then cut the sandwiches into desired shapes.
Sounds fantastic and easy.
Thank you, Daryl, for visiting today!
Keep reading for my thoughts on Daryl’s book.
About the Book
Sifting Through Clues (A Cookbook Nook Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
8th in Series
Setting – California
Beyond the Page (April 23, 2019)
Print Length: 235 pages
ASIN: B07NQNFC45
The Agatha Award–winning author of Wreath Between the Lines returns to the Cookbook Nook, where culinary mysteries are giving everyone food for thought . . .
Book clubs from all over have descended on Crystal Cove to celebrate the library’s Book Club Bonanza week, and Jenna Hart has packed the Cookbook Nook with juicy reads and tasty cookbooks. But she’s most excited about spending an evening with the Mystery Mavens and their moveable feast, when they will go from house to house to share different culinary treats and discuss the whodunit they’re all reading. It’s all good food and fun for the savvy armchair detectives, until one of the members of the group is found murdered at the last stop on the tour.
As if that weren’t enough to spoil her appetite, Jenna discovers that all the evidence points to her friend Pepper as being the guilty party. And with Pepper’s chief-of-police daughter too close to the case to be impartial, Jenna knows she’ll have to step in to help clear her friend’s name before a bitter injustice sends her to jail. Sifting through the clues, Jenna unearths any number of possible culprits, but she’ll have to cook up a new way to catch the killer before Pepper’s goose is cooked . . .
Includes tasty sweet and savory recipes!
Dollycas’s Thoughts
We return to Crystal Cove, California just in time for Book Club Bonanza Week sponsored by the library. It is an event that has brought in many tourists and the Cookbook Nook has stocked up and planned a few events. Jenna’s book club, the Mystery Mavens is hosting a progressive dinner while discussing this month’s book, each course being hosted at a different member’s house. The final host seems to have received her “just desserts”. She is found dead as her guests arrive.
The deceased, Ivy Beale owned Dreamcatcher, a crystal shop, focused on their healing properties. All the evidence seems to point at the owner of Beaders of Paradise, Pepper Pritchett, Jenna’s friend and mother of Chief of Police, Cinnamon. Everyone knows Chief Cinnamon is too close to the case but she refuses to step aside, even when an unexpected visitor enters her life. Jenna finds herself Sifting Through Clues to get to the truth to make sure the real killer is booked!
The author brings readers another terrific mystery! This time her focus is on book clubs is a real treat. Because of that, we are introduced to several new characters. We also meet someone from Cinnamon’s past which adds another interesting dimension to the story. These characters all mesh with our returning favorites to create a story I had a hard time putting down.
All the core characters have evolved in this series. Jenna’s friend Bailey is getting so excited for her little bundle to be born and I loved the decor she has planned for the nursery. Bailey always makes me smile. After Jenna, she has become my favorite. The fact that Pepper and Jenna are now friends shows so much growth. They have come a long way. Jenna’s relationship with Cinnamon though is pretty rocky. I know she doesn’t want Jenna involved in her investigation but I would think this time she would be happy for Jenna’s help.
The mystery portions of the story were so intriguing, I mean the chief of police’s mother as the prime suspect! Twists, turns, red herrings, this story had them all. So well written and well plotted out. A truly exciting email element added to the drama. I urge to plan accordingly because had I been able to keep my eyes open I would have finished the book all in one sitting.
As with all the books in this series, the recipes had my mouth watering and all the references to cozy mysteries and cookbooks are always appreciated.

About the Author
Agatha Award-winning Daryl Wood Gerber writes the nationally bestselling Cookbook Nook Mysteries as well as the French Bistro Mysteries
. As Avery Aames, she pens the popular Cheese Shop Mysteries
. Daryl also writes stand-alone suspense. Fun tidbit: as an actress, Daryl appeared in “Murder, She Wrote.” She loves to cook, and she has a frisky Goldendoodle named Sparky who keeps her in line!
Author Links
Visit Daryl or Avery at www.darylwoodgerber.com.
Daryl’s Blog – Avery’s Blog – Mystery Lover’s Kitchen – Killer Characters
Twitter: @AveryAames @DarylWoodGerber
Goodreads: Daryl Wood Gerber Avery Aames
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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.”
Thank you for your review. Can’t wait for the opportunity to read “Sifting Through Clues” by Daryl Wood Gerber. ALWAYS enjoy this author’s books! Love this cover and can’t wait to see how it ties in with the storyline.
Appreciate the opportunity to win a Cookbook Nook Mystery book in addition to the original book contest.
2clowns at arkansas dot net
Kay, isn’t the cover darling? Love this new artist. ~ Daryl
Wonderful review and wonderful books! Thank you for the chance to win!
Autumn, so glad you’re enjoying the series. ~ Daryl
So glad you enjoyed. I had a blast writing this one! ~ Daryl
Great series! Looking forward to reading “Sifting Through the Clues”.
Dianne, so glad you’re looking forward to it. ~ Daryl
I love this series and this author!!!
Johnna, so thankful to hear this. 🙂 ~ Daryl
This is a new author for me, I look forward to reading the series.
Katie, always thrilled to meet new readers. Enjoy! ~ Daryl