Kitt Crowe

Everything is sweet in the town of Confection. Lexi runs the bookshop, and life is good, until her dog Cookie unearths the dead body of her next door neighbor. Cookie is known for her digging, but she really outdid herself this time! And since Lexi was just arguing with her neighbor the day before, she is high on the list of suspects. The more Lexi tries to clear her name, the more complicated things become. It’s an intricate plot, cleverly woven together. The tale is well constructed, show more with interesting characters and cute ideas, one being the book club called The Macaroons. It’s a promising beginning for a new series. show less

After a hectic career as an editor in Seattle, Lexi Jones is back in her hometown of Confection, Oregon, running Sweet Fiction and taking care of her rescue dog Cookie. She's surrounded by family and friends and life would be great if her dog wasn't a digger in a town with too many competitive gardeners getting ready for the annual garden contest. Cookie has drawn the attention of new police officer Chad Berg who keeps threatening to give Lexi a citation if she can't keep Cookie on her show more leash.

Lexi's next door neighbor is a cranky old gardener who complains about everything Lexi and Cookie do. So when Cookie gets out in the yard and climbs under the fence into Gil Cloutier's yard, Lexi is quick to try to get her back. But Cookie has made an interesting discovery; someone has murdered Gil and buried him in his yard.

Lexi looks like the perfect suspect since she's a beginning author who wrote a death scene starring Gil after their last argument. Lexi recruits her best friends Cat and Teri along with the Macaroons - the book club at the store - to help her clear her name and find out who really murdered Gil.

Finding Gil's enemies isn't hard. It seems he's angered quite a number of people in town including his three grown sons and the other members of the Confection Garden Club. While Lexi investigates, against Detective Chad Berg's strong advice, she learns a number of town secrets. She also finds herself the target of someone who doesn't want her looking into Gil's death.

I liked the interesting group of characters and the small town setting of this story. Lexi is the narrator of the story and I really like her voice and style. I liked her two potential love interests, Detective Chad Berg and her best friend's older brother Dash who might finally be seeing Lexi as someone other than his little sister's best friend.

This was an entertaining start to a new cozy series. I can't wait to see what happens next. show less

Lexi Jones, her dog Cookie, and the rest of the Macaroons book club has a new murder to solve when the body of realtor Rachel is found in Lexi's best friend's brother Dash's back yard.

Rachel's death isn't the first suspicious death in town. Her boss Marilyn has also recently died. The cause was assumed to be a heart attack since Marilyn had known health problems, but Lexi and her friends don't think things add up. Since Marilyn had a habit of flirting with men, especially married men, there show more were many women who wouldn't have minded seeing her dead.

Dash had also dated both women, but that didn't mean that he had a motive to kill either of them. Lexi and her team begin investigating despite being told by Detective Chad Berg to let the police do the investigating.

This cozy mystery was filled with motives and suspects and lots and lots of characters. I liked Lexi and I liked her growing relationship with Chad. Cookie was also a great dog who added a lot to the story.

I'll admit that I had no idea who the murderer was, but once identified, I could see clues that I had missed. Fans of cozies will enjoy this entertaining story. show less

A thoroughly enjoyable cozy, mystery. I love the characters that Kitt Crowe has created for this mystery series. Lexi, Teri, Cat, Dash, Jimmy, Elvis, Mt. Bachelor (ha ha) and everyone living in Confection ,Oregon.
I was able to guess who the murderer was but Kitt threw enough distractions and red herrings in there that I second guessed myself a couple of times.

Looking forward to reading book #3 in this Sweet Fiction Bookshop series.