Doughnuts and Deception (Peridale Cafe Mystery #3)
by Agatha Frost
Rating: 4 stars
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Blurb:
The 3rd book in the BESTSELLING Peridale Cafe Cozy Mystery series!Julia never expected to be caught up in another murder investigation, but when she discovers that homeless people are dying suspiciously and the police aren’t investigating, she can’t sit back and do nothing. After promising her young lodger, Jessie, that she will do everything she can to help, Julia finds herself diving headfirst into the case, aided by her new Detective Inspector boyfriend, Barker. Sure there is a serial killer preying on the vulnerable residents of an old burnout warehouse, Julia must act quickly to get to the bottom of the mystery, but can she crack the case before more bodies turn up?
Book 3 in the Peridale Cafe Mystery series! Can be read as a standalone but will be enjoyed more as part of the series. A light, cozy mystery read with a cat loving and cafe owning female amateur sleuth, in a small village setting with quirky characters. No cliffhanger, swearing, gore or graphic scenes!
My Review:
I was in a cozy mystery mood so I decided to pick up the next Peridale Cafe Mystery and it fit my mood perfectly. I quickly finished this one and had a lot of fun reading it. It’s fun to follow Julia along while she tries to solve yet another murder. The plot in this one was slightly different and a bit less traditional cozy mystery plot line, but it totally worked here.
There has been a series of death’s among the homeless that the police isn’t paying attention to, but Julia is. She figures they are being targeted and is determined to catch the murderer. The police doesn’t see it as a problem as they don’t connect the deaths and thus won’t investigate, so she takes things in her own hands. Unlike most cozies there was no scene at first where you meat the person who gets murdered and the potential suspects. In fact only as the story progressed a few suspects came up.
While I wasn’t too surprised who turned out to be the murderer I was reading so fast through this one I didn’t take the time to figure it out. I was shortly thinking in that direction, but hadn’t pieced it all together. And the last clue that Julia uses to piece things together we only get to hear after she uncovers the murderer. It was a solid mystery and I liked how it was a tad different. With the police not investigating, the plot of the book developed a bit differently, which was interesting.
The books in this series are usually are pretty focused on the mystery, which is one of the things I like about them. But there are also some side plot lines, in this case one about Julia’s grandmother Dot and the homeless people. Then there are some plot lines that progress throughout the series like the romance between Julia and Baker, which had some interesting developments in this book. And then there is the plot line surrounding Jessie, which also had some great scenes that advanced that part.
To summarize: this series is a lot of fun to read, they are fast reads with a solid mystery and some great side plot lines as well. I quickly read through this book and it fit the type of book I was in the mood for. The mystery was a good one and I liked how it deviated a bit from the standard cozy mystery. The police didn’t investigate this time and only later on in the story some suspects popped up. I wasn’t too surprised by who the murderer was, but hadn’t figured it out myself yet. The side plot lines are great too and I like reading about the café, Julia, Jessie and the other characters. The romance also progressed nicely in this book. I hope I can read the next book soon!
You can also read my review on Goodreads and Amazon.
Glad to see this series is still going strong for you. Neat how her inter-personal relationships have a solid role and the mystery kept you wondering until the end.
I do like it when books don’t always stick to the genre formula.
It was a good solid read and I like how the side plot lines and the inter personal relationships keep progressing in each book.
A great review, Lola. And yes… I really enjoy it when authors give us a twist on an established genre theme – it keeps the genre from growing stale.
sjhigbee recently posted…While the Morning Stars Sing
It was nice how this book was still a typical cozy mystery, but in some ways different as well :).
I do love twists. The cover and title are really interesting too.
Mary Kirkland recently posted…Happy Raturday!
It’s great when a book has some nice twists. I really like the covers and titles for this series!
Sadly, I think that homeless murders often are ignored by the police in real life too. Glad to see that the main character takes up the battle for them. Sounds like a cute story. Great review.
Melanie Simmons @mlsimmons recently posted…Forging Hephaestus Audiobook by Drew Hayes (REVIEW)
It was great how the main character takes up the battle for the homeless and cared for what was happening with them.
This sounds like a good one! I love cozies, but yes, I do like that this particular book in the series changed the whole cozy mystery formula a bit.
Let’s Get Beyond Tolerance recently posted…Goodbye Days by Jeff Zentner
It was fun how it changed the cozy mystery formula up a bit, while still keeping other elements as well.
I love it when a book starts off one way and then completely changes course and does its own thing. It helps break up the repetitiveness that happens when you read a lot of the same genre.
Kristin (Book Sniffers Anonymous) recently posted…Review: Map to the Stars by Jen Malone
It was nice how it changed up some elements, with the police not helping solve these murders, the mystery developed in a different way, which was fun!