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karinlib's review against another edition
3.0
To be honest, I read this because it is set in Oregon. I found the premise a bit unbelievable. Kelly owns a café and a waitress that works for her is found murdered. Kelly is dating Mike, the Sheriff of Cedar Bay, and he shares way too much information about the investigation.
sparklingreader's review against another edition
3.0
Decent Cozy but with issues
This is the first of a series of cozy mysteries and it was “okay”. Not great, not awful, just okay. There were a few issues I had with it. First of all (spoiler alert), the killer is a character not even introduced until the end when the sleuth is confronting him. Standard procedure in a mystery is to introduce all suspects throughout, not just at the end. So we had a group of suspects, all the clues led to one... and it was someone not even introduced.
Secondly, even in a relationship, a good cop wouldn’t discuss things so openly with the sleuth, or allow non-law enforcement people to tag along—with a gun—to help him capture someone.
There were other things too that just didn’t add up.
Recommendation: it was interesting to read right up to the end when I was completely thrown off balance by the introduction of a new character who turned out to be the murderer. That kind of ruined the entire book for me. So...keep that in mind when going for this.
This is the first of a series of cozy mysteries and it was “okay”. Not great, not awful, just okay. There were a few issues I had with it. First of all (spoiler alert), the killer is a character not even introduced until the end when the sleuth is confronting him. Standard procedure in a mystery is to introduce all suspects throughout, not just at the end. So we had a group of suspects, all the clues led to one... and it was someone not even introduced.
Secondly, even in a relationship, a good cop wouldn’t discuss things so openly with the sleuth, or allow non-law enforcement people to tag along—with a gun—to help him capture someone.
There were other things too that just didn’t add up.
Recommendation: it was interesting to read right up to the end when I was completely thrown off balance by the introduction of a new character who turned out to be the murderer. That kind of ruined the entire book for me. So...keep that in mind when going for this.
mizele20's review against another edition
3.0
Fairly typical -- although the victim is not so sympathetic. Disappointed in the ending--shallow
lorihenrich2021's review
4.0
Kelly is worried when Amber doesn't show up for work one morning. Later she finds out that Amber's body was discovered. Her boyfriend Mike, the local sheriff, is concerned that Kelly will get involved in the case to the point that she will wind up becoming the target of the person that murdered Amber. There are five main suspects and the evidence couldn't be murkier.
Loved the characters and the coffee shop as the main focus point of the town. The people in the story are very likeable and the plot was very good. The story line kept you intrigued and didn't come to head until the end. The murderer is very well hidden in the story. Very good!
Loved the characters and the coffee shop as the main focus point of the town. The people in the story are very likeable and the plot was very good. The story line kept you intrigued and didn't come to head until the end. The murderer is very well hidden in the story. Very good!
avidreadergirl1's review
4.0
Loved it! I appreciated that Twist at the end with the unknown subject that brought all the pieces together.
dollycas's review
3.0
Dollycas’s Thoughts
Kelly’s Koffee Shop sounds like quite a gathering spot. Cedar Bay seems beautiful and like a place I would love to visit.
I like Kelly, she seems about my age with grown children and she has a wonderful canine companion too. She has a very close relationship with a certain law officer who willingly shares way too much information with her. They make a good team, but that would get him in trouble in a bigger town. They seem to work together with some assistance from Kelly’s pooch to solve the case.
This is a very quick read but I think the conclusion was a bit forced and rushed. I think I am used to reading cozies that are twice as long that include a little more investigating and chasing suspects and clues. There were plenty of suspects and I would have liked a bit more information and detail about them. Part of the fun is the following the clues and eliminating the suspects.
I did enjoy the story and look forward to reading more about Kelly and the folks of Cedar Bay. Murder at Jade Cove is already downloaded to my Kindle and White Cloud Retreat has just been released.
thegracefulone1's review
1.0
World's Longest Food Blog
Holy crap this was tough to get through. The dialogue is poorly written and the plot, while straightforward, is dull and anticlimactic. None of the characters are more than a few tropes and stereotypes mixed with a dash of small town gossip. It's clear the author did absolutely no research into the Oregon coast and the people who live there. I've lived in the Pacific Northwest my entire life and I feel more mad about this than I did Twilight.
If you are someone who can pick up editorial, copy editing, and proof reading mistakes, do not read this book; you might go crazy.
The book ends with several recipes and all I can think of is the joke about food bloggers telling really long and uninteresting stories before actually getting to a recipe. And that's all this book is.
Holy crap this was tough to get through. The dialogue is poorly written and the plot, while straightforward, is dull and anticlimactic. None of the characters are more than a few tropes and stereotypes mixed with a dash of small town gossip. It's clear the author did absolutely no research into the Oregon coast and the people who live there. I've lived in the Pacific Northwest my entire life and I feel more mad about this than I did Twilight.
If you are someone who can pick up editorial, copy editing, and proof reading mistakes, do not read this book; you might go crazy.
The book ends with several recipes and all I can think of is the joke about food bloggers telling really long and uninteresting stories before actually getting to a recipe. And that's all this book is.
dmtcer's review
2.0
I liked the storyline of this easy-to-read book. I did find the dialogue a little stilted. The characters names were repeated a little too much for me. I think I would have enjoyed it more with a bit more descriptive language. That said, I did find the storyline light and not difficult. I was surprised at the "who-dunnit" part; I was busy trying to figure out who the murderer was from the cast of characters.
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