So Hard to Say Goodbye with Guest Olivia Matthews

Brrrr! The temperature has dropped from the fifties to the thirties in just two days! But it’s perfect for welcoming back Olivia Matthews and her Spice Isle Bakery Mysteries because who doesn’t want something warm and spicy in this weather! Olivia is here to celebrate the release of Coconut Drop Dead on December 26. Yes, we all have to wait a week but it is up for pre-order!

Olivia: I want to thank The Wickeds Blog authors for inviting me back to spend today with your community. It’s always such a pleasure hanging out here.

I talked about my Spice Isle Bakery Mysteries during my last visit. The stories are centered around the Murrays, a multi-generational West Indian American family who opens a bakery in the Little Caribbean neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. The main family members are:

Lyndsay, our baker lead amateur sleuth,Her older brother, Devon,Her parents, Cedella and Jacob,Her maternal grandmother, Genevieve Bain.

Aunts, uncles and cousins are regularly added to the mix. We get to know the bakery’s regular customers and all their moods. And there are two homicide detectives who turn up the heat on the investigations: Lyndsay’s high school crush and current love interest, Bryce Jackson, and his partner, Stanley Milner.

Against the Currant is the first book in the trilogy. Hard Dough Homicide is the second. Both are available now. Coconut Drop Dead is the last book in the trilogy. It releases Dec. 26, 2023.

I’ve enjoyed writing this trilogy and sharing some of my West Indian culture—food, music, colloquialisms and folklore—through the stories. Now I’m in what traditional publishing insiders call “limbo.” Will the publisher want additional Spice Isle Bakery Mysteries or will I have to say goodbye to the Murrays?

This is always such a tense, bittersweet time. My previous cozy mystery series—Sister Lou Mysteries and the Peach Coast Library Mysteries—ended before I was ready to say goodbye. In Sister Lou, I’d wanted Chris and Shari to at least get engaged if not married. And in my Peach Coast Library Mysteries, I’d wanted to solve the cold case I’d referenced in the first book, Murder by Page One.

What cozy mystery series do you believe ended too soon? Thanks in advance for sharing your thoughts. I look forward to reading them.

About the Author

Olivia Matthews is the mystery pseudonym of best-selling author Patricia Sargeant. She’s written the Sister Lou, Peach Coast Library and Spice Isle Bakery mysteries. National publications such as Publishers Weekly, USA Today, Kirkus Reviews, Suspense Magazine, Mystery Scene Magazine, Library Journal and Book Riot have reviewed Patricia’s work.

Website: https://PatriciaSargeant.com

Twitter: @BooksByPatricia

Facebook: @AuthorPatriciaSargeant

Coconut Drop Dead: A Spice Isle Bakery Mystery, Book 3

By Olivia Matthews

This case is going to be a tough nut to crack.

Brooklyn’s annual Caribbean American Heritage Festival is finally here, and Spice Isle Bakery is thrilled to be one of the event’s food vendors. After all, the Murrays have been attending the festival for years. Co-owner Lyndsay Murray hopes their West Indian pastries and finger foods draw people back to the bakery in Little Caribbean. She’s looking forward to having fun, connecting with customers, and celebrating with her family.

The day’s festivities are cut short when Camille, lead singer of an up-and-coming reggae band, dies. The police think it may be a tragic accident. But Lyndsay’s cousin Manny was close to Camille, and he believes someone cut her life short. Now Manny needs Lyndsay’s help to make sure a killer faces the music.

Buy link: https://bit.ly/48bkOLy