Murder in Christmas River
by Meg Muldoon
Blurb:
Cinnamon Peters is one tough cookie.Every year at Christmas River’s annual Gingerbread Junction Competition, pie baker extraordinaire Cinnamon aims to win, taking down any competitor who gets in her way. But when she finds a dead body in the woods behind her pie shop just days before the big competition, Cinnamon realizes that there’s much more to worry about than cookies, frosting, and gumdrops.Someone’s out to bring Cinnamon down. And they’re playing dirty. Only Cinnamon and a mysterious stranger who walks into her life one snowy evening can figure out the mystery. But can they solve it before Cinnamon’s chances of gingerbread competition glory crumble?
My Reaction:
Yet another 372-Pages podcast/bookclub selection! (Shared read with Donald, as usual.)
I don't have much of a reaction to this, aside from the podcast element. It's not my personal cup of peppermint tea. (Not that I drink peppermint tea; I don't. The only tea I ever drink is sweet iced tea, and that's only at family get-togethers, these days... But peppermint tea felt seasonally appropriate, so...)
I've only ever read a few cozy mysteries, so I'm not really familiar enough with the genre to be an effective judge of them, but this was not nearly cozy enough for my tastes. In my opinion, you should either go heavy on the cozy or just call yourself a regular mystery. This was neither cozy nor much of a real mystery, so I'm not sure what I'd call it... A bland romance with an extremely lightweight mystery element, maybe. Cinnamon, the protagonist, was ridiculously morose and self-pitying, as well, which made for a less interesting reading experience.
As for humor, there were a few moments of unintended mirth, but this was not one of the best 372-Pages selections. Not one I believe will stay with me, particularly. Even though there was a dog! Even a cute dog couldn't save this one...
I don't have much of a reaction to this, aside from the podcast element. It's not my personal cup of peppermint tea. (Not that I drink peppermint tea; I don't. The only tea I ever drink is sweet iced tea, and that's only at family get-togethers, these days... But peppermint tea felt seasonally appropriate, so...)
I've only ever read a few cozy mysteries, so I'm not really familiar enough with the genre to be an effective judge of them, but this was not nearly cozy enough for my tastes. In my opinion, you should either go heavy on the cozy or just call yourself a regular mystery. This was neither cozy nor much of a real mystery, so I'm not sure what I'd call it... A bland romance with an extremely lightweight mystery element, maybe. Cinnamon, the protagonist, was ridiculously morose and self-pitying, as well, which made for a less interesting reading experience.
As for humor, there were a few moments of unintended mirth, but this was not one of the best 372-Pages selections. Not one I believe will stay with me, particularly. Even though there was a dog! Even a cute dog couldn't save this one...
