Sweet Saboteur

Cozy Cafe Mysteries #1

by C.A. Phipps

Book 1 in a brand new Cozy Mystery Series!

Scarlett’s passion is the Cozy Café.

But it has problems—big problems!

Thwarted by deadly gossip and the power hungry mayor, Scarlett's determined to turn things around and give her family a better life. But when a murder in Cozy Hollow points to the café as a likely cause, Scarlett must put all fears aside to solve the mystery before everything she’s fought to keep is lost—or worse!

Cozy Hollow might never be the same again.

The Cozy Café mysteries are light, cozy mysteries featuring a family-focused café owner who discovers she’s a talented amateur sleuth—and a magnet for animals.

Other books in the series:

Book 1 Sweet Saboteur

Book 2 Candy Corruption

Enjoy a FREE sweet treat recipe in every book!

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Romance, Cozy, Contemporary, Thriller

246 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 9, 2020

About the author

C. A. Phipps is a USA Today best-selling author from beautiful New Zealand. Cheryl lives in a quiet suburb with her wonderful husband of more than four decades.

With a large family to keep her busy when she's not writing, there is just enough space for a crazy mixed breed dog who stole her heart!

She enjoys family times, baking, rambling walks, and her quest for the perfect latte.

You can find her at www.caphipps.com

C. A. Phipps also writes romance as Cheryl Phipps at www.cherylphipps.com.

Reviews

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A light-hearted, fun, easy read. Scarlett's OCD drove me nuts in the beginning but she grew on me in the end. The beginning was shaky. The killer was easy to detect so hope that the author makes it more challenging in future books I will surely read. All in all, a delightful book.

[Traci · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun cozy read about 3 sisters who inherit a family bakery. The one sister is more keen on keeping it running in her mother's honor. Baking is her passion and makes her happy. Her 2 sisters on the other hand would prefer to move on and pursue other passions in life. During the course of them finding their way and getting to the bottom of an apparent grudge against them by the Mayor, they end up solving a mystery around a mysterious death that the killer is trying to frame them for. I did figure out the guilty party about 3/4 of the way through the book but it didn't ruin the story for me as the "why" is explained as well.

The story line is a pleasant read and we get to know the sisters and their interactions a bit. Meanwhile there is a bit of romance in the air between the sisters and some handsome young bachelors.
You will enjoy this read if you like cozy mysteries with a happy outcome.

[☆☆Hannah☆☆ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good cozy mystery. Scarlett and her sisters are trying to run a bakery. However, they are having money issues and the mayor is out to get them. Then a person is killed and they think it had something to do with their bakery. Of course they spend the rest of the book trying to figure out who is behind everything.

[Jerri Cachero · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have a snack ready!

When three sisters with very different career goals unite to fulfill their mother's dream of running a bakery, sparks fly. But it's nothing like the trouble the sisters face when they're accused of murder!

I enjoyed the book and look forward to reading the second book!

[Marija · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy and entertaining

Cozy mystery that kept my attention until the end. The characters were likeable, storyline nice written. Looking forward to read the next instalment

[QNPoohBear]

I abandoned this after the first chapter or two. The characters are one-dimensional. The good people are TOO good to be believed and the bad, like the mayor, cartoonish. I also didn't understand how a librarian could ban a person from a public library based on a personal grudge. Library books will get beaten up and that's OK. They can be repaired and replaced. Isn't the point of the library to get books in the hands of people who need/want them? ANYONE in the town can get a library card and if the librarian has the power to deny them even if they're residents, then there's something wrong there.

On the plus side, the recipes look good!

[Brenda Moser · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great start to a new series with three sisters inheriting their mother's cafe. The author brings a cast of strong characters and weaves an intriguing story filled with drama and mystery. It's well written and moves fluidly. I enjoyed the story and will be watching for the next one.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book. All opinions in this review are my own and freely given.

[Marianne Jay · Rating 2 out of 5]

How could this book be rated so high? Terrible character development, terrible plot, really terrible editing. Just not good over all.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book in the series that I'm sure I will continue to read. While the Finch sisters are trying to keep their mother's cafe open for business, someone in the town of Cozy Hollow not only wants to close their business but run them out of down. But why? When the town librarian dies, the mayor has almost everyone in town convinced that the Finch sisters killed her. And then when someone tries to kill their aunt they decide it is time to do a little investigating. With the help of the local sheriff and the EMT several locals become suspects. This book has a great mystery that takes you around several corners. Excellent reading that keeps you guessing.

[Gaby · Rating 2 out of 5]

Three unbelievably(no, seriously) sweet sisters who essentially embody a split MarySue try desperately to solve a murder of the town villain’s/Mayor’s crony, the equally comically evil librarian, when she is found dead with a Cozy Bakery cupcake wrapper in her hand and possibly poisoned cupcake in her mouth. Said town baddie attempts to use the incident as another weapon to crush the too-sweet girls, seeming to completely ignore that a mayor is an elected official and clearly wouldn’t have been elected or stayed in the position if he were truly so blatant about his villainy as this one is.

The characters are too flat. The pacing of the story is fast, thankfully(no, really, the characters are simply too sweet to be real) but the myriad of errors in my ARC made getting lost in the story incredibly difficult. The sisters all embody one trait to the extreme(leader, intellectual, and aggressor) while the two handsome eligible bachelors in town fight for a sister’s attention.

I love cozy mysteries. This one, however, really missed the mark for me.

I received a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Barb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating 3.5 Stars

An easy read set in the ideal small town. The Pearce sisters run the cafe/bakery founded by their late mother, but things are not perfect in paradise. They’re struggling to overcome the mountain of debt from their mother’s medical bills, and powerful people on the City Counsel are spreading vicious rumors about the girls. When a woman is murdered, all fingers point at Scarlett, Violet and Ruby.

The action is fast-paced and there are plenty of questions to keep the reader involved. My only complaint is that the characters are cookie-cutter predictable. The sisters are Rebecca Of Sunnybrook Farms sweet to the point of being cloying. The evil town Mayor and librarian are exactly the opposite degree of nasty. With a hunky sheriff and a gorgeous paramedic as love interests, the town is the perfect place for a cozy mystery.

I enjoyed the story, but would have liked it better if there were a few warts involved.

[Stevie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrific First in the Series

Something that makes this cozy mystery series unique is the special bond between the three Finch sisters and the struggles in their relationship with one another. Reading about how they loved and supported each other while also getting frustrated with how Scarlett always took charge of Violet and Ruby, drew me into their story, page after page. Although they worked together to solve the mystery, once again it was Scarlett who took the lead.

I look forward to continuing this series to see how the sisters’ relationships with one another grow while seeing what comes of each of their dreams beyond working at their family bakery.

[Karen Siddall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid cozy mystery that will also satisfy your sweet tooth!

When the Finch sisters’ mother, Lilac, passed away, she left the girls heartbroken, saddled with a mountain of debt, and the owners of the Cozy Café, her much-loved bakery in Cozy Hollow, Oregon. The eldest sister, Scarlett, was born to follow in her mother’s footsteps and loved the bakery, but the two younger girls, Violet and Ruby, felt trapped, tied to the café, and longed to hang up their aprons and follow their dreams. But the bakery was just barely breaking even, making little headway on overcoming their debt, and their tenure seemed to stretch out endlessly into the future.

Most of the residents of the small town had loved the girls’ mother, and they rallied around them, providing as much business as they could, but there were a few folks that for unknown reasons did everything in their power to make a tough situation worse. One of the most outspoken opponents was the town’s mayor, Arthur Tully. After the death of the Finch sisters' father, Arthur had pursued the new widow and been firmly refused. Also heading up the Finches’ detractors is Arthur’s political ally on the town council, Mabel Norris, the town’s librarian.

When things at the bakery begin to look dire, Scarlett goes to the library to ask Mabel to hire Ruby as her assistant. However, Scarlett discovers the librarian’s body on the floor of a backroom, dead with a cupcake from the Cozy Café at hand appearing to have poisoned the woman. Scarlett is cleared, but another poisoning attempt is made with a cupcake soon after, and the mayor is telling anyone and everyone that the Finch sisters must go!

Sweet Saboteur is the charming debut novel in a new series, The Cozy Café Mysteries, by successful author C.A. Phipps. The three sisters, Scarlett, Violet, and Ruby are all sweet, go-getters that I could really get behind. They’ve had a rough time of it, losing both parents as well as caring for their mother during her long illness leading up to her death. None has been able to spread their wings and fly free, and now, due to circumstances, they are tied to a life that only one of the sisters finds desirable. But, they have a strong love for each other and a reasonably good support system helping them hang in there in their Aunt Olivia and the townspeople who have known them all their lives.

The bad guy in all of this, the mayor, is an awful person. Every chance he gets, he’s there bad-mouthing the girls, and he is a character that is easy to boo and hiss. The local paramedic, Sam Drake, and Sheriff Nathaniel "Nate" Adams provide delightful, potential love interests for two of the sisters, and I can’t wait for the next book in the series to see how those relationships pan out and if a third eligible bachelor makes an appearance.

I recommend this book to cozy mystery readers, especially those that enjoy a culinary storyline. The author provides a number of recipes for some delicious sounding sweets at the end of the book.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving a free copy.

[Denise Fitzpatrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this cozy mystery... the author had all the necessary elements to keep me hooked wondering who the villain of the piece was. Have now ordered the second book in the series.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three sisters trying to escape a mysterious vendetta😟🙁🤔

3.5🌟stars
The plot of this first in a new cozy series was fine, but by the story's end I still barely got a good handle on any one character's personality. Maybe Scarlett, the oldest of three baking, cafe-owning sisters who form the heart of the book. Scarlett is a bit OCD and controlling of her sisters when their actual situation is so out of control due to a mountain of medical bills and someone in town intent on sabotaging their business. Sisters Violet and Ruby have a love-loathe dynamic vis a vis Scarlett which sets them apart.

Typical of cozy mysteries, there's a mysterious death, just a hint of cute romance, a crew of locals, some malevolent but mostly supportive, and a police force that gets a push in the right direction to find the villain by concerned citizens (and a peripatetic cat 🐱 named George). Plus, the author supplies some tasty recipes at the end that tie into the sisters' business.

I wish the ending had not been so rushed. The storyline about the town's mayor's odd behavior was particularly (and unrealistically) speedily discussed, diagnosed and resolved. But the story did set up a quaint, small-town universe that's primed for future excitement and I will look for the next book to see if the Finch sisters and the mayor make the transition to better days.

I read a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review.

[Lise · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Finch sisters have a busy life running their bakery and trying to keep their house from tumbling into disrepair. Worse still, the mayor seems to have a personal vendetta against the girls. It all comes to a head when the town's librarian dies with one of the bakery's cupcakes close at hand. The mayor swears she's been poisoned. With mounting evidence pointing towards the siblings, they realise the sheriff needs their help to catch the person stirring up trouble in their hometown.

I loved the story and the attitudes of the main characters. It evoked the essence of a grown-up version of the Boxcar Children who, like the Finch sisters, had a can-do spirit and were willing to work hard to keep themselves together. Sadly, the work needs polishing - there are so many misplaced apostrophes, possessive cases instead of pluralisation and one instance of a continuity failure. Though these imperfections pulled me out of the world, it was easy enough to slip back again and enjoy the adventure.

[Monie Prosser · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed finding out about the Finch sisters and their cafe. I liked the way you got introduced to the sisters and the people in their lives to start as this gave the background to the story. It was fun to try and work out what was happening, who was doing what, and what was going to happen next. I liked the suspense that was woven into the story that kept you guessing right until the end. I would recommend this book to anyone that likes a quick and easy read with some suspense and romance. It was also good to see a new series from this author I have really enjoyed her books and always are on the look out for anything new from her. I can not wait to read the second book of this series.

[Melissa Basnight · Rating 3 out of 5]

Scarlett, Violet and Ruby are running the Cozy Cafe that their mother opened after her husband died. Scarlett is very passionate about the keeping the cafe open after their mother died. The other sisters are hoping to get a career that they love. The mayor and some other townspeople don't like the sisters for some reason or another and one of them died and one of the sisters is a prime suspect. I really liked that the townspeople came together to support the sisters cafe and help with repairs on their home. The sisters also get a chance at love too with new transplants in town. Sweet cozy mystery with romance and another subplot of another mystery. I received an ARC and I voluntarily reviewed this book.

[Bernadette Cinkoske · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet Saboteur is the beginning of The Cozy Café Mysteries. Three sisters have inherited their Mother's cafe - and a mountain of debt. Ms. Phipps does a great job introducing us to the sisters, the cafe, the town, the townspeople, and some most attractive first responders. There is the requisite body - but someone makes it appear that the death was caused by eating a poisoned cupcake from the Cozy Café. The mayor has a personal vendetta against the girls. He wants them out of business and out of town. This book grabbed me in the first chapter and made me just sit and finish the book because I could not put it down.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read other books by CA Phipps, including her Maple Lane Mysteries series, and enjoy her style of writing. In this story you've got Scarlett and her two sisters, Violet and Ruby, who took over running the Cozy Cafe after their mom passed away. Scarlett loves baking, but there's tension between the three because it is not the dream of Violet and Ruby. Will death by cupcake be the end of Cozy Cafe? Will the three sisters come out stronger at the end or will tension cause more of a divide? Add in sexy EMT, Sam, and sheriff, Nate, and things get interesting... This story takes you on the adventure of uncovering the murderer and the chance for HEA.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like clean cozy mysteries, this book is for you. It does have elements of romance in it, but they mostly centre around the pre-dating stuff. I chose this book to review, because I like cozy mysteries and while the concept of a cafe setting isn't new, I am always looking for good ones. I also enjoy the sisterly component! The book flows pretty evenly, if at times a bit too monotonous and emotionally flat. My favourite part about this book is that this is the beginning of the journey for 3 sisters who may finally be able to live life the way they want it. I am looking forward to the next book in the series!

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scarlett and her sisters Violet and Ruby inherited their mother’s cafe. She is perfectly happy baking and running the cafe; her sisters not so much. But they help, because they’re deep in debt from their mother’s hospital bills. Someone in town wants them gone, and there is sabotage and a murder. Scarlett finds out she’s a pretty good sleuth, and eventually, with her help, the mysteries are solved. I really enjoyed this book and the closeness of the sisters, in spite of them being so different from each other. I can’t wait to read more about them.

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scarlett and her sisters Violet and Ruby are suspects in a murder. Did one of their cupcakes really kill someone? The author did such a good job of introducing us to the Cozy Cafe, the town and its residents. The tension between Nate and Sam was quite funny considering what they thought was going on. gotta read to find out - Scarlett plays detective and has more than one mystery to solve. There is more than romance brewing. Looking forward to reading Violet's book.

[Raksha · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read about three sisters who continue to run the family cafe after the passing of their mum. Their constant struggles make this very realistic, and to add to the mix sometone is trying to sabotage their business. But the Cozy Hollow community spirit
and love of those near and dear help solve the mystery behind it all. Looking forward to finding ourt more of the sisters in future series.
A received an ARC and this is my own opinion.

[Eileen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three sisters

Three sisters recovering from the loss of their parents and trying to keep their home and business running while paying down medical bills that accumulated during their mother’s illness. They are disliked by the town mayor and someone is trying to frame them for murder. This seemed like an introduction to the characters. It will be interesting to see how they develop as the series continues.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.0 out of 5 stars Good start to a new series.
Reviewed in the United States on April 11, 2020
Format: Kindle Edition
Three sisters take over a family cafe. The hard terms are well written and the story kept my interest throughout. There were twists to keep me guessing. I look forward to reading this series. I received an ARC and this is my honest opinion.

[Tiffany Rains · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my first book by this author and I loved this delectable cozy mystery featuring the Scarlett, Violet and Ruby. Let me also say that I loved their names. There were enough characters that just when I thought I had the mystery solved, I was fooled again. I must admit the ending was one of the options but not completely. If you like mysteries, I would highly suggest you read!

[Ida Lukasik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scarlett and her sisters

This book was an interesting mystery.
Sad that the 3 girls lost their mom and had to make it on their own.
They took care of her when she was sick and passed.
They kept her cafe going. And living on little.
But then a mystery on top of it. Wow. I liked watching it unfold.
And seeing how good things can turn out.

[Joni · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked it

3 sister coping with moms death and trying to run her backers/diner. Throw in a dead body of the crabby town Librarian and you have a great story and it has recipes for cupcakes

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining

This is a story of family ties and loss. Three grown daughters with different personalities and dreams work through love to solve the mysteries that could ruin their lives. A touch of romance sweetened the plot. Enjoy!