Written to Death

Sandie James #4

by Tessa Kelly

A pending divorce. A struggling bakery. A winning plan. Two dead bodies?

Sandie’s sister needs help. If she can’t come up with a hefty chunk of change to save her struggling bakery, her wish for a fair settlement with her soon-to-be ex-husband will be dashed.

When Sandie devises the perfect plan—a competition to save the bakery, all the pieces come together fairly quickly. Sandie believes she’s done something that can help Kathy keep her business and finalize her divorce relatively unscathed. But her plan goes awry when not one but two bodies are discovered.

Now Sandie has a real mess on her hands and little time to solve this baffling case, as well as find her suddenly MIA father, deal with the irate cat lady who’s taken up residence in his house, and somehow pull off a successful competition.

Can she do it or is her grand plan dead on arrival?

263 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 29, 2020

About the author

Tessa Kelly is the award-winning author of the SANDIE JAMES MYSTERIES series.

A former teacher with a degree in French, Tessa spent several years living in an uptown Brooklyn neighborhood, frequenting its many cafes and coffee shops and getting to know it from the inside and out. During her undergrad years, she has worked at a bakery just like the one depicted in her novel, where she developed a lifelong fondness for cheesecake brownies.

These days, when not writing, she loves to be outside exploring hiking trails, often wandering off the beaten path. Her other passions include baking, learning foreign languages, and reading.

Follow me on Amazon for news about my new releases!

Reviews

[Elsbeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Allergies, a workshop and a couple of dead guys.
Some real life experience for a bunch of mystery writers. And Sandie, the amateur sleuth and published author to teach them.
A bunch of peculiar characters, a few annoying bad guys and the usual suspects.
Another great mystery in this series. They keep getting better!
There is only not enough Marlowe in this story...

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Jodi Sweet · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was not the writing class competition that Sandie was hoping to have to help save Kathy’s bakery. An obnoxious speaker that thinks he’s all that, trying to hit on any woman he can, really is not very interesting and could cause them to lose the Guilds contest. He and the other man from the Writer’s Guild are so full of themselves, drink to excess, and don’t want to take no for an answer. Is it any wonder one ends up dead and another gets a threatening letter? I have to say that I didn’t come close to solving this one, but I think I’m safe saying that no one guessed this one. If anyone did I really want to know how! Nicholas finally comes home, after leaving strange Tammy pet sitting, to surprise everyone with some big news. Got to say, one of the attendees, Robin, sure was right about how things would work out, just not the way expected. I liked her little otherworldliness thrown in.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Nadine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a good read!

Sandie has another case!

First page and I was already fully immersed in the story. Great style, great wording, great mystery. I thought it was very clever and I love that! Another winner by Ms. Kelly!

[Emily Pennington · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sandie James is a mystery author and reluctant amateur sleuth. She works part-time in her sister’s bakery. Her sister, Kathy Thompson, is going through a divorce and her husband wants to make sure he gets all the money he can out of her. The mystery writers’ workshop competition was supposed to help generate funds so Kathy could keep her bakery and just pay off greedy Jeff, but the speaker was boring everyone to death. He was determined to not allow anyone to get a word in as he droned on and on about his own inspiration and how his family was so proud about his new book. Sandie finally jumped on the word “dog” and told of her amazing experience with a killer and being saved by her dad’s dog, Marlowe. It kind of got them back on track.

But ultimately Sandie’s plan flounders when not one but two bodies are discovered and Sandie must quickly solve the murders or her plan to save the bakery will fail. Can she find the killer and succeed in the writer’s competition to save the bakery? And where did her missing father go?

This book felt a bit slow to me and did not capture my interest right away. I was almost getting as bored as the writers listening to the new author drone on and on. It did finally pick up the pace. Many of the characters were not very likable, and for me, that added to the general tone of the book.

[BigGirl BigBooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the continuation of these characters into "Written to Death". Sandie has a lot going on but with all the Drama around her and all of those people needing her help no one ask her how she is dealing with it all. In an attempt to help everyone she has become a suspect in two murders and has lost track of her father, All the while hoping boyfriend understands why she isn't ready for the "meet the parents" dinner yet. Really, the timing is pretty bad.
The characters are witty and likable m unless the reader isn't suppose to like them in that case, you will have good reason not to like them. There are several characters to keep track of BUT in most Cozy mysteries there are several characters otherwise the who-dun-it would be too easy.
Only thing that kept me from giving 5 stars is because of trend i have noticed lately in authors having their characters spout random facts of favorite authors, wanting to be authors, or characters ARE authors. Have a bookshop or want a bookshop (don't we all?) You get where I am going with this.
But the characters talking about how some famous past authors passed away was fitting to the story.
I hope in the next book Sandie gets to take a vacation.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sandy’s efforts to save her bakery from the clutches of a soon to be ex husband to her sister yield a crazy bunch of writers, their collective egos and drama, and a large group of friends and family who can b a little nutso trying to help their own - whether writing projects or people

If they can survive the oddball and lethal extremes, frwat fun and writing might be ahead - along with yummy veg, intelligent yet off the wall pet companions, and a bevy of funny friends

Sweet and crazy cozy mystery adventures

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Dorothy Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sandie’s Writing Workshop is a disaster, shortly after ending in death. Will and Sandie discuss whether it was an accident or murder. To make things worse, her apartment is flooded and she has to stay at her dad’s. Meanwhile, Sandie’s dad is missing and a woman from Kentucky is allegedly pet sitting, giving a story the Kellys cannot confirm. Sandie investigates the suspects attending the workshop, however, another death occurs closer to home and the suspect pool expands. Written To Death is a clever mystery. I love the characters, especially how close the Kelly family is to each other.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[sandra may · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read!

All of Tessa Kelly’s cozy mysteries has been very enjoyable. The only criticism I have lies with editing. Whoever is editing the delightful books has missed now only grammatical errors, but several spelling errors. The one that sticks in my mind the most was in the third book in the series: Jennifer was suddenly changed to ‘Jenifer’. While both spellings are accepted, it is unusual to find the same character bearing both. A little more care should be taken,but as I have previously noted, I found each of these booth quite enjoyable and would certainly recommend them.

[Kristi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A pending divorce. A struggling bakery. A winning plan. Two dead bodies?

If you love a good cozy mystery then you don't want to miss this one. Amazing characters you'll love getting to know and a well written story line that captures your attention. The story has suspense, mystery, a bit of drama and the question of who dun it. The characters are well developed and blend well together as they work to solve the mystery of who dun it.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

A group of wannabe mystery writers descend on Kathy's Bakery for a workshop with a known published author but things go awry when not one but two people dies including the headliner. Sandie steps in to try to save the day while also dealing with a full house amidst where her dad has really gone. No shortage of mysteries in this book.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Jeanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written to Death is the 4th book in the Sandie James Cozy Mystery Series by Tessa Kelly.

I appreciated the recap of characters at the beginning as it has been a while since I read the previous books.

The main mystery related to trying to win the competition to save the bakery was interesting. I enjoyed the closeness of Sandy and her family and friends.

I didn’t care for how the mystery wrapped up. Part of my enjoyment is trying to figure out who did it. If that isn’t an issue for you, try this book out.

Overall, I enjoy this series and I am looking forward to the next book to see what happens with the book tour and bakery.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Willow Webster · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read a few of her books and really enjoyed them. The characters are adorable. I am looking forward to seeing more by this author!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Rhonda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting and entertaining characters. Page turning whodunit with lots of twists and turns that will keep you guessing until the end. Good whodunit read.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Lizabeth Tarr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

This book had some really interesting characters, some good and some sleazy. Fortunately, it was the sleazy ones who died!

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great story in this series. Intriguing characters, well-thought-out mystery and clues, and surprises along the way. Excellent editing, too.

[Patrice Grays · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written to death

This was a great read. I loved it because it kept you guessing




Can't wait to read the next book in the series

[Juliet Minerva Swift · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think it’s time for me to put this series down. I kept having lukewarm feelings toward it, and this last book was not fun.

First of all, I think I don’t like Sandie. The first book, she was a bit lost and needed to find her way in life. In book 4 I would expect some kind of growth, but she is so passive, always scared and unsure about everything. On a personal level, she kept struggling with her communication with Liam, who by the way I really dislike. He is being jealous because you are sleeping under the same roof as your sister’s colleague??? OK even if Sandie did have a crush on him, the idea of him hating her in the same room is so hideous. I was hoping she would say something about how his jealousy means he doesn’t trust her or that it’s not in his right to be upset over nothing and he needs to grow up, but she just mumbles something and ugh I don’t like their dynamics.

As a sleuth, she is even worse. You are just randomly hanging out and some woman comes to you and insults your sister saying that she treated her ex badly and should be ashamed and should give him half the bakery, and you don’t immediately think she’s shagging him??? Like wtf it’s so obvious! But nope, no thoughts, head empty for Sandie.

The police are not much better, at some point a person is arrested but it’s not clear why. Any vaguely decent lawyer would’ve got him free soon since there was no proof, no idea of who he committed the crime and everyone had a motive, so why was this person targeted specifically? Cause his very old book has a similar crime? That’s BS.

The pacing was all wrong too, with a very long weird discussion on famous people that died weirdly. I get that Camus’s work is mentioned at some point, but they keep going on and on, and the next day they start the conversation over and it was so irrelevant.

And lastly, the revelation was so anticlimactic. We were not privy to all the information, so we couldn’t have guessed about Kevin being the killer, and it came out of nowhere. The whole reveal was so stupid, why did Hyde write in his notes on the workshop that he stole Kevin’s girlfriend and then submit that to the Guild too???? And why would the Guild not say something like “Dude keep your private diary to yourself”??? This whole part made no sense, and was done only so that Sandie could find a way to get this information to incriminate Kevin. It’s lazy and not creative.

I guess this is where Sandie and I part ways.