Janel Gradowski

What a tasty whodunnit mystery that let me DROOLING!! I loved Amy Ridley, part time sleuth, and quite the baker. When Amy entered a pie baking contest against her rivalry, she had no idea how dangerous it was and she never expected to find Mandy Jo dead under a table with her pie smeared all over her face! Mandy had made more enemies with her harsh tone and her hateful words, but just when Amy knew that she could dethrone the reigning queen, she ended up DEAD! Pies and Perils is LOADED with show more sweets that tempted me off my game and I was floored by who killed Mandy! show less

cozy mystery, amateur sleuth, women sleuths, murder investigation, Danger Cove

After meandering west from Indiana while wallowing in guilt for not really mourning the death of her husband (dimwit was struck by lightning while insisting on playing golf during a thunderstorm), Maura winds up in Danger Cove. When working in high pressure sales, she used to relax by baking and creating recipes, so when she saw that the local bakery was out of business, she began to follow a whim sparked by a show more passerby. Getting to know this man and so many others, she came to follow her whim, but also became involved in a series of vandalisms and a murder. The mystery is well done with twists and red herrings. Very enjoyable! show less

When I saw Culinary Competition in the series, I was expecting television competitions (like The Food Network etc.) so it was a bit of an adjustment to find that it was a cook who entered local events and competitions akin to the Pillsbury Bake-Off. In the end, I found it did not really matter. I enjoyed the story. There were a few times that I felt the author was stretching the plot to get it to a certain number of pages, and sometimes Amy's preoccupation with food was too much of a show more distraction from the plot. I also wondered why Amy's husband, friend, and the investigating detective didn't insist on Amy giving up sleuthing after she sent the detective on so many tangents thinking they had something to do with Mandy Jo's death and the threats Amy gets after that. show less

Revenge (6:1 Series, Volume 2) by Janel Gradowski is even more well crafted than the first volume of short stories and flash fiction, beginning and ending with a wallop. Once again there are six stories in this collection: “Persistent Foe,” “Kaboom,” “Check Out,” “Inconvenience,” “Anniversary,” and “Addendum.” Some are longer than others, but each is well paced, with only one typical revenge story — “Kaboom.”

Agnes from “Persistent Foe” is the neighbor you show more wish you could be when you have loud, inconsiderate neighbors of your own. While she does not complain too much outright and doesn’t call the cops, she exacts her revenge little by little each day envisioning a big payoff in the end. And the ending of this one is inspired and unique. Gradowski does a great job of foreshadowing in this short story as well: “She plucked the invasive vine out the basket and dropped it into the tangle of weeds flourishing on the other side. ‘Time to join your ancestors.’” Readers will be sitting alongside Agnes as she watches the show unfold in her neighbors backyard one late evening.

Read the full review: http://savvyverseandwit.com/2012/06/revenge-61-series-volume-2-by-janel-gradowsk... show less