Eve Calder

Sugar and Vice by Eve Calder has Kate McGuire and her best friend, Maxi planting some vegetable gardens behind Maxi’s flower shop in Coral Cay, Florida. Kate’s dog, Oliver suddenly begins digging frantically and uncovers a skeleton with pirate clothes. They wonder if the skeleton is Sir George Bly, the pirate who founded the town and the reason they have the annual pirate festival. Kate has enough on her plate with baking unique items for the pirate festival and the unknown skeleton. But show more then her ex-fiancé, Evan arrives in town with an agenda. Kate keeps herself busy (aka avoiding Evan) by investigating the legend of Sir George Bly with the book club hoping they can learn the truth about the gentleman pirate and his long-lost treasure. What happens when they learn the skeleton is more recent than a four-hundred-year-old pirate? Sugar and Vice is the second A Cookie House Mystery. It can be read on its own for those new to the series. Kate is a likeable young woman with a talent for baking. I love her dog, Oliver with his exuberance. Kate loves to bake, and she creates delicious items for the bakery. I enjoy the interactions between Maxi and Kate. I did find the chapters too short and there were too many of them (68). It made the book choppy. The mystery was simple and could easily be solved long before the reveal. But the mystery does suit the book. It is a lighthearted cozy mystery with the focus on baking and friendship than the whodunit. There are lovely descriptions of the town which has friendly residents. I could have done without the Spanish words or phrases used by Maxi. They are not explained which is frustrating (I was never able to master Spanish). I did enjoy the humor and the descriptions of Kate’s baked items. Sugar and Vice is a fun cozy mystery with a peppy pooch, tasty treats, pirate plunder, a bothersome ex-beau, and a screwy skeleton. show less

After losing her job, condo, and fiancé all in one day, Kate McGuire decides to get as far away from Manhattan as she can and Coral Cay, Florida seems as good a place as any. Even though she is a trained and talented pastry chef, she is still having a hard time find a job until Sam Hepplewhite, owner of the Cookie House, reluctantly hires her. Kate is just getting used to her job – including the fact that San won’t let her bake cookies – when Steward Lord, a real estate developer, is show more murdered. Lord wanted Sam’s property and Same is soon considered the number one suspect in his death. Kate and her new friend Maxi Mas-Buchanan are convinced that Sam is innocent and set out to clear his name but can they convince the police of Sam’s innocence?

“And Then There Were Crumbs” is the very nicely done first book in Eve Calder’s Cookie House cozy mystery series. I was hooked on this book from the very first pages. I loved everything about this book starting with the characters – Kate, Maxi, Sam (who isn’t as crusty as he seems), Oliver the dog, and the various townspeople. I also love the setting – not just Coral Cay but the Cookie House itself. And the food – there is so much food in this book and it all sounds yummy! (a nice feature in this book is Kate’s ability to figure out the favorite cookies of various characters in the book seemingly just by looking at them). The mystery aspects are very well done and very cleverly plotted – I was completely surprised at the identity of the killer which was one of the best solutions I have read in a cozy mystery and I read a lot of cozy mysteries!

“And Then There Were Crumbs” is a wonderful debut in what looks to be a great cozy mystery series! show less

This is book 2 of Ms. Calder's "Cookie House Mystery" cozy series. It maintains all the charm of the first book, with the laid-back Florida tourist town vibe, the quirky but not overly eccentric cast of characters and the adorable dogs. This one sees the town of Coral Keys overrun with Pirate Fever as the annual pirate festival is approaching when a corpse dressed in pirate garb is found in the yard of heroine Kate's best friend and neighbor, Maxie. The twist at the end of this one is truly show more a shock and well done, but you need to have read book 1 in order for it to have a real impact. I definitely would recommend this series to any fan of cozies. show less

Nice start to a new cozy mystery series. Setting and characters were charming. The puzzle was interesting and not too easy to solve, if somewhat implausible. The author occasionally moved things along with an easy stereotype (dumb cop - aka "the bobo", evil insurance companies, etc.) But for a first book, it's quite good, and I will be happy to continue with it.