B. B. Haywood

This is by far my favorite cozy series. The characters are more endearing than some others (Hannah Swensen is insufferable) and much more capable, I think. I enjoy the coastal setting and the local bakery, and her job as a part-time newspaper columnist is the perfect foil to get her involved in all kinds of hi-jinks. But what really sets it apart for me is the ongoing thread that runs through all of the books: the feuding between two families, the Pruitts and the Skyes. Candy, our affable show more protagonist, is unaware of just how much these families and their legacies are responsible for pulling the strings. Because of this, each resolution is ultimately unsatisfying - which is GOOD in a series - since you know there are bigger goings-on than just the apprehension of one suspect. Lastly, I'm extremely glad that these are devoid of the typical body-blatherings in many of these cozies. Candy is described as an approaching-middle-aged, attractive, fit woman. There isn't an endless devotion to decrying her physique which isn't helped by immense amounts of treats scarfed down. I feel so many of these food-based cozies are really embroiled with fat activism in the guise of body positivity. A big much? Maybe. But the SWJ rhetoric I fear is creeping in to even cooking mysteries. Not so in Cape Willington, Maine. show less

I thoroughly enjoyed this edition of the Candy Holliday Murder Mystery series by B.B. Haywood. Candy finds herself in a bit of hot water when she offers to help an elderly friend find a stolen recipe. She's still working at the newspaper, dating Ben, baking pies, and helping Doc with the blueberry farm, but she always has time to solve a mystery ... or two ... or three. Of course more than the mystery of a missing/stolen recipe is involved ... there's also a murderer on the loose in Cape show more Willington and Candy is hot on their trail with the help of her friend Maggie. Do yourself a favor and stop what you're doing and pick up this excellent little cozy and settle in for a good read. When you're done, why not make a pot of delicious lobster stew from one of the included recipes. I think you'll find it's time well spent. show less

I tried to pick this one up from my great teetering pile o' mysteries some time ago, but I had literally just put down a book by an author I really like and am really familiar with, and Town in a Blueberry Jam suffered by being started so hot on the heels of the other book. I was disappointed with it, so I put it back in the pile. I just took it out again a few days ago wanting something a bit different, and this time it grabbed me and wouldn't let go! Pages and pages flew by as I got caught show more up in the place, the characters, and the multi-layered story! So I suppose the lesson I learned was to give myself a little bit of breathing space between books, so the second book doesn't suffer. I am really looking forward to Town in a Lobster Stew now! show less

When Cape Willington's Lothario falls to his death from a cliff on the shore, some locals have their suspicions about the circumstances. Then the new Blueberry Queen and gossip columnist Sapphire Vine is found dead. Blueberry farmer Candy Holliday is distressed when she learns that the town handyman has been taken into custody as a suspect in Sapphire's murder. Ray is a gentle soul, and Candy is convinced he isn't capable of murder. Since the police aren't looking any farther for the killer, show more Candy undertakes her own investigation with a little help from her father and her best friend, Maggie.

The small-town Maine setting may remind readers of Jessica Fletcher's Cabot Cove. However, the first book in the series leans a little more toward the Perils of Pauline than toward Murder, She Wrote. (Or maybe, as the characters themselves suggest, toward Lucy and Ethel in I Love Lucy.) I don't like it when characters put themselves in needless danger, when they withhold evidence from the police, or when they rationalize illegal behavior. Candy did all three in the course of her investigation. I did enjoy the setting and the charming cast of characters, so I'll probably make at least one more visit to Cape Willington. show less