Kristi Abbott

When Rebecca is making caramel topping one morning, she hears someone screaming and runs next door to find her friend Coco's niece Jessica. When Rebecca investigates further, she sees that Coco is dead. Now Rebecca wants to find who killed her friend, and why. But doing so could put her in more danger than she realizes...

I really wanted to like this book, I really did. It had a different premise and I liked that. The first sentence should have been a precursor to the rest of the book. But it show more wasn't. I just didn't think much after that was believable.

First, this is a cozy mystery, and this woman swears like a sailor. I know it doesn't bother some people, but I really don't care for cozies where the protagonist is throwing out cuss words like yesterday's trash. Personal opinion, people.

I also didn't understand a popcorn shop that was open for breakfast. Who buys popcorn for breakfast? What popcorn shop sells coffee? They sell specialized popcorn and sodas. That's pretty much it. And if I found one that did sell coffee, I sure wouldn't eat there. A substantial breakfast is so much better for you than a sweet popcorn bar. I really can't imagine - unless there's no diners in this town - that it would be as popular as indicated. Popcorn shops are specialized shops, not restaurants. Then, have you ever eaten a popcorn ball? They're nasty, sticky things and you're picking popcorn out of your teeth constantly. I would have believed it if she sold specialized cones, tins, or bags of popcorn instead - because that's what popcorn shops sell.

Then, when the rumor started that she killed Coco, this town was awfully quick to believe it. I would hope that if it came down to it, they'd try her in another city, because she sure couldn't get a fair shake here. What happened to innocent until proven guilty? I guess if she hadn't done stupid things, it might have been easier on her, but since I didn't like her anyway - she was snarky and nasty - it really didn't matter. Her husband probably didn't pay any attention to her because of the snark. Who wants to spend time around someone like that? I sure don't.

But the last was the animal cruelty. I don't believe in it, and I certainly don't believe it's necessary in a cozy. It wasn't necessary here. There are several other ways that the scene could have been handled without the animal cruelty. I will never read a book by an author who does this without a very good reason - and there wasn't one here.

In the end, we already knew who killed Coco practically from the beginning, and throughout the book it was proven time and again, so no surprise there. Unfortunately, there just wasn't a lot for me to recommend this book. I won't be reading this author again. Sorry. show less

With her poodle, Sprocket, popcorn entrepreneur Rebecca Anderson must bag a killer in the latest Popcorn Shop Mystery from the author of Pop Goes the Murder .

Repairs are under way at Rebecca Anderson’s gourmet popcorn shop. With production of her tasty treats on hold, Rebecca has plenty of time to read the old diary she discovered hidden in the shop’s walls. It’s a fun peek into her town’s history…until the diary’s abrupt ending leaves Rebecca wondering whether she’s actually show more stumbled upon a cold case.

Unfortunately for Rebecca, mysteries are popping up right and left. When local busybody Lloyd McLaughlin is found dead, the police suspect he was poisoned by Rebecca’s popcorn. But Rebecca has only made one batch of popcorn recently, and it wasn’t intended for Lloyd. Nothing about Lloyd’s death makes sense—until Rebecca discovers a startling connection between the missing diary-writer and the murdered man.

Now, with her reputation on the line, Rebecca must discover who’s been cooking up murder—both in the past and in the present. Popcorn Shoppe #3 show less

Opening a gourmet popcorn shop was never on Rebecca Anderson’s bucket list. But after a failed marriage to a celebrity chef, she’s ready for her life to open up and expand. She has returned to her hometown of Grand Lake, Ohio, with her popcorn-loving poodle Sprocket to start a new business—naturally called POPS. As a delicious bonus, Cordelia “Coco” Bittles, a close family friend who has always been like a grandmother to Rebecca, owns the chocolate shop next door, and the two are show more thinking of combining their businesses.

But when Coco’s niece, Alice, discovers her on the floor of her chocolate shop, those dreams go up in smoke. The local sheriff thinks Coco was the victim of a robbery gone wrong, but Rebecca isn’t so sure. As suspects start popping up all over, Rebecca is determined to turn up the heat and bring the killer to justice in a jiffy!

Popcorn Shoppe #1 show less

Long before I discovered cozy mysteries, I was a science fiction reader. I loved discovering new worlds between the pages. Everyday was a new adventure as I travelled to new worlds. Now my genre of choice is cozy mysteries, and alike to my love of science fiction, I get to travel. However, with cozy mysteries I get to travel to beautiful, quaint little towns and solve mysteries, at the same time. Whenever I dive into a new series, I don't know what awaits me, but I know I'm usually going to show more enjoy meeting new faces, new shops and new adventures.

When I picked up Kernel of Truth I had no idea, how much I would love a new adventure to a new town. In this case it was to Grand Lake, Ohio. In Grand Lake, you will find beautiful little shops, and one shop in particular - POPS, a popcorn shop! Inside there is the delightful smell of popcorn (one of my favorite cooking smells ever!) and a adorable Poodle named Sprocket.

My first stroll through Grand Lake was the start of a great adventure, and I loved every page of it. Not long into Kernel of Truth I desperately wanted to ignore the outside world and read the rest of the book in one sitting. Like a fantastic bowl of buttery popcorn, I wanted to devour every last morsel, and that's exactly what I did.

I like Rebecca. She has a lot of spunk, and she's not afraid to stand up for herself, even if means her fellow townfolk don't think much of her. She's determined to find her friend Coco's murderer, and together with her sleuthing (and somewhat thieving!) dog, Sprocket, she sets to play detective.

Kernel of Truth is everything a reader is looking for in a mystery. It was fun to discover the town, the folks with their quirky personalities and solve the mystery. I'm looking forward to taking another trip back to Grand Lake soon. In the meantime, there are some great popcorn recipes (that are gluten free too!) for me to try!! show less