Orange as Marmalade

Biscuit McKee Mystery #1

by Fran Stewart

Meet Marmalade and Biscuit. This saucy cat and her human find a body in the library, and the fun begins. No one in Martinsville, a small town in northeastern Georgia, admits to knowing why Harlan Schneider was in the library. Clues seem to poin to someone local, but nobody asks Marmalade. Then, when Biscuit’s accident-prone sister visits, pursued by a creepy former boyfriend, Marmalade sees what’s happening, but her humans just won’t listen to her. So she decides to take matters into her own paws. Grab a cup of tea, sit back, and enjoy this snappy debut novel, with it’s chatty cat and charming characters.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Cats, The United States Of America, Animals, Family, Fiction

250 pages, Paperback

First published October 30, 2004

About the author

Author of the Biscuit McKee Mystery Series and the ScotShop Mysteries. Lives with various rescued cats beside a creek on the other side of Hog Mountain GA.

Reviews

[Terri]

Marmalade finds a dead body in her library. She tries to tell her human, Biscuit who did it, but her human just isn't listening.

Meanwhile, it is a year later and the police have no idea who killed Harlan and Biscuit is focused on her upcoming wedding and reconnecting with her sister.

This story is interesting in many ways. First, Marmalade comments all along on Biscuit's observations in a fun way. Second it is told through two linear timelines. The current day chaos that is Biscuit's life - filled with interesting characters and fun quirks. The other is told in flashbacks to the prior year leading up to the murder. Clues unfold in both.

This is also different than the usual cozy in that no one is actively investigating the crime, events just unfold and the pieces fall together.

Biscuit is engaging and a fun protagonist and I want to know more of her story. Marmalade is sassy and engaging.

The book also includes two things as extras that I loved as well: Biscuit (and Marmalade's) daily gratitude lists and a book group discussion guide that is full of fascinating and fun questions.

I loved this book and will definitely be reading the rest of the series!

[Laura]

2.5 stars

My favorite character in this book is the cat Marmalade (nicknamed Marmy), who does some narration of the book. I enjoyed the sympathetic relationship the cat has with her human, Biscuit. Biscuit doesn’t understand Marmy, but there is definitely some suggestive telepathy between them. I would have liked rather more of Marmy.

The structure of the book was confusing to me initially because it jumps back and forth in time a great deal, as well as character point of view. Two things I didn’t like about Biscuit were that she seemed older at 49 than I feel at 53, and she got rather preachy about the virtues of small town life.

The book grew on me over time, particularly as I grew more accustomed to the structure, and I would like to read more of them (principally for Marmy) but I won’t be keeping the books in my permanent collection.

But, I am not a huge fan of the cozy mystery—although I keep getting sucked in to trying different ones. Readers who like cozies and small-town life may like this book more.

I read this as my “cozy” mystery book for the 2019
Book Riot Read Harder Challenge.

[Mary MacKintosh]

No matter what the book description says, this is not a snappy novel. It is a cosy, and the author kills the victim off a year early, in an effort, I guess, to take the sting out of killing a good guy. But, the mystery is shoved to the back of the business of familiarizing the reader with a perfect little town. Nice, but this town is too, too lovely for words. The rest of the book is about the main character's evolving relationship with her sister. Biscuit, the main character, is supposedly the part-time librarian for a charming little library in a lovely old Victorian. The collection is the books left to the town with the house by a voracious reader. I am sensitive to librarian characters, having had that training and that role. Biscuit is in the library to find the body, and that about does it for the rest of the book, which is devoted to marrying the librarian to the town's cop. I'm all for books about older characters, but this one didn't do it for me.

[Laura]

Ok, I admit it - I never even got through this book. It took me months just to get through the first few chapters. It moved so slowly. The plot line had promise - being about a murder and all, but the first few chapters barely talked about the murder at all and I couldn't take much more. The author is a friend of my mom's and she is so sweet. She does write very well, but the book just moved too slowly for me. Sorry!

[KelseAwesomeness]

I really wanted to love this book simply because it has all of the qualities I absolutely adore: a librarian, a cat, and a murder mystery. What about that is not to love? Well... a lot, sadly.

From flashbacks to random abusive boyfriends to add extra to a barely-there-plot, to random glimpses into the cat's thoughts WITHOUT the author specifying that the cat was thinking those things (the first chapter threw me for a loop until I realized it was the cat I was reading) to a bunch of other little problems... I'll just focus on the biggest complaint I had with this book.

The most glaringly obvious problem that I had with Fran Stewart's novel was the way in which it flowed. It starts off with the main character, Biscuit and her cat Marmalade, finding a dead body inside the library. Then it jumps to the present, about 6-8 months later, where Biscuit is waiting for her younger sister to show up because Biscuit is getting married soon and her sister is going to help her. Biscuit is telling her sister, Glaze, about the small town and the people who live in it. As Biscuit is telling her this, she is also telling her about the murder that took place at her library, at the same time. Biscuit will be talking about someone she knows and then will say things like "Oh, where were we? Yes, back to the murder..." As if that wasn't enough to throw me off, the author would throw in points of view from the murdered victim inside chapters. And how did Fran Stewart achieve this? By using time-skips/flashbacks.

Normally I quite enjoy flashbacks within stories, especially when they really add to the experience of the book. This was not the case with this particular novel. There were time-skips all over the place with no real rhyme or reason to where they were placed in the book. Due to the unorganized manner of these flashbacks, there were many times that I was confused as to how a certain part of a chapter (the time-skip) worked into what was going on at the current time until I realized that I was reading a flashback.

One thing that I do want to highlight as a positive was that the author incorporated little interview sessions with the characters and we were able to read their responses. I felt that this worked nicely with the book and was a great little insight into a few of the characters. Now that I've highlighted it, I've got to complain about it again. Sorry!

My one complaint with these interviews was that they always ended up with the character in question stating "I don't know why he [the murdered victim] was in the library...". Every. Time. It ended like that. I was left wondering, "Jesus Christ, can no one think of one reason why someone might go to the library?" Working at a library I could easily list a few reasons: to get a book, use the internet, use the WiFi, to utilize local resources, to meet new people, etc... I understand why the author did that, but it always left a bit of a bitter taste in my mouth.

As a librarian who loves and owns cats, I guess I might have had high expectations from a book that I had found at a Half-Price Books. With all of that being said, there were parts of this book that was enjoyable but not enough to make this a great book. However, if you are needing a break from serious reading, this one isn't bad.

[Debra]

This was my first exposure to a completely cozy mystery. Not my genre, I need more suspense and thrills and horror! But, this was a fun book in its own right. The cat could have done more talking - I really liked her. The book is full of descriptions of cooking, food, people, flowers, decorating, sewing, and more. The tone is light and easy and the town and people are picture perfect, for the most part. There is at least ONE bad guy; the murderer! But everything is wrapped up nicely and everyone lives happily ever after!

[Deb]

A delightful "fluffy" series for kitty lovers...

[Sheri]

Orange as Marmalade (Biscuit McKee Mystery #1) by Fran Stewart

Biscuit is the new Librarian in the small town of Matrinsville. A dead body is found inside the library by her cat Marmalade. Biscuit begins investigating the year old crime, she is also reconnecting with her sister and reaching a new stage in her relationship with her boyfriend. Life is busy for Biscuit as the suspect list grows and she comes closer to solving the mystery.

The story moves at a steady pace alternating from past (time of the crime) to present. Also we hear from the perspective of her cat Marmalade, which ads fun to this story. The characters are likable with
twist, turns and splash of romance. Overall I enjoyed Orange Marmalade and recommend to those who enjoy a great cozy murder mystery.

[Jenny]

I love cozy mysteries, but this book wasn’t for me. I wouldn’t have finished it had I not inherited a copy. There was a LOT of telling rather than showing. There were also many details about places, events, and people that turned out had nothing to do with the mystery, and I found it difficult to keep track of all the characters. I thought that writing was stale and formal (not a lot of contractions were used) and there were many words/phrases that seemed better suited for the ‘50’s than the ‘90’s (whoopee, phooey, smartie-britches, baloney-feathers (?!) ).

[Cathie Murphy]

The storyline and the plot sounded very interesting. I like Marmalade and the characters were fun. But what I hate? Is books that jump all over the place. Going back and forth from the past to the present. It sucks. It's just too hard to follow. Most people don't want to have to work when they read. I don't recommend this book.

[Jan]

Orange as Marmalade is a delightful start to a series by Fran Stewart. The town librarian Biscuit McKee & her cat Marmalade belatedly solve the mystery of who killed the man in the library. The characters are great, and of course I loved the human/feline interaction.

[The Grey]

Would be considered in the cozy genre of mysteries. I like something that moves a little faster, although I like the interview aspect repeating the same line and almost every end was monotonous, and personally I need a little bit more tension.

[Kaeeap]

Biscuit McKee (Bisque) and her sister Glaze body found murdered in the library, not a whole lot to this mystery

[Rose]

This was the most boring mystery I’ve ever read! I was hoping I had found a new series author to enjoy but I was mistaken.

[Suzanne]

Cute, enjoyable story, a bit heavy on description. I do agree with other reviews that said: MORE MARMALADE!

[Angela]

I have read other books by this author and loved them...this one however I didn't love so much. Maybe it's because I have read others in this series and perhaps because this was book one it wasn't written as well. The plot was there, but I found the writing confusing at times. I know the flashbacks were put in to help tell the background of the story of Harlan and why he was in the library when he was murdered, but I thought the back and fourth of the time in the story was too much. A few flashbacks is one thing, but in this book the whole book is a flashback inside the present time and then there was another flashback in time in the flashback of the current time. I started to get used to it and not mind quite as much by the end of the book, but I think it took away from the enjoyment of the book for me. So much so, that if I had not read other books of hers and loved them, I probably wouldn't continue reading any of the books in this series. However, I did read other books of hers and loved them. Even in this book though, Marmalade adds to the story and book. This mystery solving cat is just adorable and adds that cat loving flare to the read. Anyone with cats can just picture Marmalade and the looks on her face as she tries to communicate with her human, Biscuit.

Now, the plot was a great idea. The murder in the library was a very great mystery start. It was fun to follow as they tried to solve this unsolved murder from a year ago before the wedding of Biscuit and Bob (the local cop). Biscuit's sister Glaze added a flare to the book too. There was much detail in this book as far as the settings and being able to picture the story in your head, a bit too much detail at times, but for the most part it was nice.

3/5 Stars!

[Steven]

Marmalade and Biscuit. Kind of like Toast and Jam, but in this case it's a saucy white and orange cat and her extraordinary human who discover a body in the town library. The tiny little town of Martinsville in northeastern Georgia becomes the scene of an intriguing who-done-it murder mystery. So, who killed nature photographer Harlan Schneider? No ones talking in Martinsville, as most of the clues point to someone local. But then again, not the first investigator asked Marmalade.

I was first drawn to this book simply for the "cat factor." Any book that has as one of it's characters a fancy feline has to be on the right track.

Fran Stewart uses flashbacks to weave the details of what transpired before the murder of the young photographer and the current events surrounding Biscuit McKee, the new town librarian, who is getting ready for her upcoming wedding to the town's only police officer. Although the flashbacks took getting use to, it filled in the story just fine.

Stewart's Martinsville has such a richness to it that I'm looking forward to learning more about this "town" and its inhabitants. Orange as Marmalade contains some clues to a mystery that surrounds the 1745 founding of the town. Each book in the Biscuit McKee Mystery Series will add a few more clues, and the 200-year-old puzzle will be finally solved in White as Ice, the eighth book of the series. So, this will definately be a series worth looking forward to.
This is a five star book worthy of a place on the bookshelf of any well read mystery enthusiast. But you don't have to be a connoisseur of mysteries to enjoy this book.

Take a trip to Martinsville, Georgia and spend a little time with Biscuit McKee, Marmalade, and a town full of interesting characters.

[Sally]

This was not quite the cozy mystery I expected it to be. The mystery itself, the unexplained murder of a man in the town library, was gradually revealed through jumping between current events, and events leading up to the murder a year before in a town where no one even locks their doors.

The orange and white cat, Marmalade, has a voice of her own, with observations and attempts to let people know what she sees and understands. Sometimes the humans sorta pickup on what the cat is trying to be vocal about, and sometimes they don't. It's a bit too fantastic to be believable, although the cat is an enjoyable character.

I think the thing that made this story seem too contrived was the sense that the writer was trying to put too many examples of how great the residents are in the setting of the small Georgia town. Although it was not reviewed as this being a book by a Christian writer, with focus on faith of individuals, nor did it really mention Christianity in a blatant way, it still had the feeling of that type of book. Yet, at the same time, there seemed to be too many tragic events in the background of lives of the townspeople. Obviously the writer has an interest in herbal medicines and a love of plants, but that too felt overdone. I guess, in summary, it felt more like a blog where a person manages to comment on things of interest to that person, and there was very little plot or character development.

I may read another in this series by Fran Stewart, to see if the writing style improves, but if it doesn't, I won't pursue this series further. Too bad. I liked the cat.

[Ronda]

Looking forward to reading the sequel to this one--lots of potential storylines and really interesting characters. I enjoyed getting to hear Marmalade's point of view. Why not a higher score? Even though there were dates and locations listed at the beginning of each section, I was confused by the switching back and forth between timelines and characters. Instead of being a seamless story, it often reminded me of a crazy quilt that had me jumping around to find the common threads. That said, there were lots and lots of interesting tidbits of information, many of which may lead me into some librarian fugue states of my own as I go looking up for info about some of them--such as Latin names for plants and food combining. :D

[Vicki]

Bouncing from past to present day was a little confusing at first, but most of that is my fault. I rarely read chapter titles, but the dates were important.

There were so many things I enjoyed about this book that it's hard to list them all. The characters were well written, in fact I'd love to hang out with them. Actually I'd love to live in their small town! I got a kick out of reading the cat's thoughts, I just hope my cat doesn't call me "Widelap" in his mind! LOL! I'm going to have to have a little chat with him tonight, just to make sure he understands that even though I may HAVE a wide lap I would prefer a kinder nickname.

I'm going to have to add the Marmalade books to the list of series I want to keep up with!

[Alison Forde]

A very cosy murder mystery set in very cosy small town Georgia, USA. Fran Stewart brings her characters to life with lots of background detail, first multiple first person views ( including Marmalade the library cat who understands English and aids with the detection). Feasible plotting, believable likeably characters and a bit of gardening knowledge thrown in make it Miss Marple meets Rosemary & Thyme meets Midsommer Murders. The only thing which really jarred with me was the Martinsville Town Council's idea of how to establish a library service - with an old house full of donated books and an underqualified librarian - but I guess a lot of rural Britain is being reduced to that under local government spending cuts.

[Moondance]

I really had a hard time finishing this book. The storyline skipped back and forth between different years and I found it annoying. Bisque "Biscuit" McKee is the town librarian and finds a body in the library. Actually her cat, Marmalade, finds him. Marmalade is the high point of the book. I enjoyed her thoughts. Biscuit is telling the story to her sister, Glaze. Yes, really. Their mom was a potter. I wanted to enjoy this more than I did. 2.5 stars

[Barbara]

I had a difficult time getting into this book. The local Georgia allusions didn't seem real; the style seemed very contrived. I bought the book at a signing and I felt I owed it to the author to read it. I ended up getting some pleasure out of characters, but I am not sure I'll read another in the series.

[Sandy]

This book is writtin in alternating sections. One section about Biscuit McKee's current life and then a short police interview from the murder which took place a year ago. Eventually the unsolved muder was worked back into the present. I found that the mystery got lost between the sections of the book telling about Biscuit McKee's current life.

[Pam Engman]

This book was so hard to get into. I kept reading thinking it would get better. About three fourths the way through it started catching my attention. Very slow and jumped back and forth. Definately not worth the effort

[Donna Agnelly]

Really a delightful start to this series - a "cozy" mystery - I enjoyed this book and I like how the author has the cat "speak" by placing those words in italics. I've already picked up the next in the series. No gore, minimal violence - nice change of pace. Thumbs up!

[Carol]

My husband and I both thoroughly enjoyed this cozy mystery that we got first on our Kindles. It was a bit confusing with the jumps from far past, to past, to present, but it was interesting to see the threads come together for the climax. We both plan to read the rest of the series as well.

[Mary Gilmartin]

The first line of Chapter 1 in this book is great. It captured my interest... "There had definitely not been a body on the second floor landing when I had run upstairs to the attic earlier in the evening". Wow, this makes the reader wonder what happens next, doesn't it?

[Toba]

I liked this book. Interesting characters, pleasant locale, and of course Marmalade. Love the names she gives her humans. Looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

[Davis13]

I loved this book because it involves a cat named Marmalade who helps solve a murder mystery. Mystery, confusion, and a few dead mice, this book is a must read.