Scrappy Summer

A Cumberland Creek Mystery #3.5

by Mollie Cox Bryan

Summer's in full swing, and it's time once again for the Cumberland Creek County Fair Pie Competition. DeeAnn Fields just knows this is her year to finally win with her brilliant apple green chili pie. But after the judges take one bite and spit it back out, ordering DeeAnn to leave at once, she's baffled as to what went wrong. . .until she discovers someone sabotaged her pie.

Banding together to find out who hated DeeAnn enough to ruin her chances of winning, the ladies of the Cumberland Scrapbook Crop scrap their summer plans to get to the bottom of this mystery so that they can return to what they do best--cropping and crafting!

Includes tips and a glossary of terms for the modern scrapbooker!

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Novella, Cozy, Crafts

57 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Author also writes as Mollie Ann Cox

Reviews

[Paula Ratcliffe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was cute little who screwed with DeeAnn Fields pie? She enters her pie into a contest and is devastated when she finds out that someone altered her with cumin instead of cinnamon. Her friends are quick to find out what is up and solve the mystery using a recreation method having DeeAnn take them through her day of baking the pie and find who put the cumin in the pie.

Granted it was a small novella but I found it cute. I got this book with a gift card when I got my new nook so it was definitely worth the .99 purchase and I wasn't disappointed in the least.

[Cozy Reader Lady · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Scrappy Summer (Cumberland Creek Mystery #3.5)" by Mollie Coz Bryan is a super cozy mystery. The scrapbooking ladies are looking into who may have sabotaged their friend's pie entry at a country fair style pie contest. There are a few of the ladies who entered pies that may be a bit too competitive. However, in a very quick turnaround, the culprit is discovered and everything turns out okay.

[Vanessa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Maybe this would have worked if I had read any others in the series, but a good novella should stand on its own, and not have to rely on a reader already knowing the series. In fact, a good novella should make the reader want to take up the rest of the series. This does not. Reads like a big run-on sentence, with odd, jarring jumps between scenes. Zero characterization, giving the reader no sense of any individuality of the characters. All the women blend together and not one of them is likable. Their judgmental comments, about not only people they don’t like (including “old order Mennonites”) but each other (their supposed friends), seem to be the only character-building in the story. In fact, the person I thought was the “bad guy” when I started the book turned out to be the poor “wronged” main character. And as for mystery, it was just silly. I would not continue this series.

And quotes like, “she was not above using food, blackmail or sex to get what she wanted from her husband.” Ugh.

[Gab · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love it when authors release a novella in between books - this way you get to catch up with characters from a series, even for a short time! This is a nice story about a pie baking competition gone horribly wrong and the baker is one of the scrapbookers of Cumberland Creek. She is really disappointed I’m what happened to her pie and her friends take it upon themselves to find out what happened.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was so short it was more like a magazine article than a book. I didn't realize that when I started reading it so I was quite shocked when it suddenly ended. It's hardly worth fooling with.

[Dawn · Rating 1 out of 5]

the whole book was not there, it was missing chunks even after 2nd download.

[Victoria · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a complete waste of time.

[Traci · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun novella in this series. It definitely packed in action for a short book. I would say I didn’t enjoy it quite as much as it felt rushed but that’s the nature of the length. Also it felt a bit like there were too many characters and a few too many red herrings due to being a novella as well. Definitely want to be familiar with the series and the characters when reading this one

[Girl Next Cubicle · Rating 1 out of 5]

I usually like this kind of story--this 'homey' genre that incorporates mystery/murder with hobbies like cooking, scrapbooking, knitting, etc.--which is why I got the Kindle version at Amazon. It was good for one sitting. No, make that good for while you're in line at Starbucks.

There was so much said about all the characters that I didn't know where to focus. Well, maybe that was the author's intention. The point was about a pie that was 'sabotaged' during a competition, which in the end turned out to be the plan of some disgruntled neighbor/pie-maker. But the entire investigation, done by the women in the community, made them sound judgmental and narrow-minded.

Won't be reading any more titles in this Cumberland Creek series, sorry. :)

[Glenda · Rating 2 out of 5]

too short - rip off at $.99.

[Wendy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Partial story

It started out fine, but ended after 2 chapters. really disappointing. I want my money back and the rest of the book.

[Jenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow this was a very short book!
I didn't get a feel for the characters since it was a short read but enjoyed the tale it told anyway.

[Fairlee Corkran · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish it was longer.

[Marnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining and a quick read.

I always enjoy Mollie Cox Bryan and this was no exception. The ladies never fail to keep me on my toes and are always good for a little giggle.

[Dawn-marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Scrappy Summer

This is a very short book, luckily no one gets murdered. This explains how Sheila won the cruise in the previous book

[Angela Herzog · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun little read. A baker enters a pie contest and her pie is not what is supposed to be. It has cumin in it. With the help of her friends, they help her figure out what happened.

[Staci · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute novella with our favorite Scrapbooking sleuths. A fun quick read.

[Linda Freitag · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a quick read novella. I thought it was funny!