Pumpkin Pie Peril: A Freshly Baked Cozy Mystery

Cozy Baked Mystery #27

by Kathleen Suzette

The charming coastal town of Sandy Harbor is bustling with Thanksgiving preparations. As families plan their gatherings and the scent of autumn fills the air, excitement bubbles for the annual community Thanksgiving dinner. Allie Blanchard, renowned for her delectable desserts, is ready to showcase her pumpkin pies. With Lucy Gray, her best friend and sidekick, they’re anticipating a fun holiday baking spree.However, the festive spirit is shattered when a respected member of the community is discovered dead in his study. There’s no sign of forced entry, and the only clue is an old photo of last year’s Thanksgiving gathering, torn in half.Detective Alec Blanchard, Allie’s husband, is investigating the murder that's seemingly rooted in past grudges and old secrets. While he meticulously investigates the case, Allie and Lucy can’t help but do some sleuthing on their own.As they dig deeper, Allie and Lucy uncover a tapestry of reasons that could provide motives for murder. With every discovery, a new potential suspect emerges.As Thanksgiving Day draws near, the town is on edge, and Allie and Lucy are determined to find the murderer and restore peace to Sandy Harbor. But as they’re about to discover, some secrets are meant to stay buried.

Genres: Cozy Mystery, Thanksgiving, Mystery

132 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 9, 2023

Reviews

[Lily Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Star Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Pumpkin Pie Peril is a small-town Thanksgiving murder mystery. It does a great job of setting up unique relationships between the cast of characters, which is impressive given the shorter page count. We follow Allie, a new grandmother, on her race with the clock to bake an enormous amount of pies for the community dinner, turkey trot, and her own Family Thanksgiving. Along the way we meet a quirky cast of characters, form opinions on them, and formulate potential motives as the story goes on.

This book truly fooled me with the red herring- by the end I didn't expect the murderer until the final scene. However, it felt like the ending was wrapped up too quickly, with no real satisfying conclusion. There was one other character in particular that deserved justice for the way they behaved, and I would have loved to see a satisfying conclusion for them as well. Even an apology would have been nice, or a conversation about their behavior with the main character. I also would have liked to see Lucy's reaction, since Lucy and Allie are sleuth partners throughout the book. Even though Allie was going out of her way to solve the murder, in the end her efforts didn't carry much weight. The murderer was caught by coincidence and her husband, the detective, is who solved it in the end.

Even so, this was a nice read. If you're looking for a short, cozy mystery, I would recommend this book.

[Tari · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually had the real perp picked out early on but kept changing my mind. By the end of the book, the author’d done such a good job convincing me of someone else, I wasn’t really sure until the reveal. Thanksgiving dinner was extra special for Alec and Allie this year with their sweet little granddaughter Lilly. Can’t wait to read about Christmas with the family if there’s a book coming out for it. Allie’s extended family’s so awesome.

[R]

I always love these, and I look forward to the new ones. I love holiday themed/seasonal cozy mysteries (even out of season), and these are wonderful! It's always great to spend time with these characters. If you want a light, seasonal cozy, I'd recommend that you pick up any of this author's series.

[Bridgette Draper · Rating 2 out of 5]

This author does an amazing job at making the killer anonymous until the end! Another book where I had no clue until the ending.
Asking Allie to make 75 pies was unreal and even 20 is crazy but highly entertaining.
This was a great cozy mystery. I felt the ending was was abrupt but overall it was a good story.

[Laura-Jean Slykhuis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mysterious without keeping you up in the night with leftover fear!

I'd recommend Kathleen Suzette to readers who like cozy mystery novels. Enough to keep you reading but not enough gruesome details to linger afterwards.

[Danni · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found it to be a nice little cozy mystery.
I managed to figure out who the murderer was pretty soon after their introduction, but I did second guess myself a couple times.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute little mystery. Listened on audiobook