Connie Archer

Welcome back to Snowflake, Vermont! In a Broth of Betrayal it’s summer, not winter, but with the same cast of characters (plus a few more) and the planned Revolutionary War reenactment, it looks like summer can be as much fun in Snowflake as winter. And maybe as dangerous!

This book was just as charming and as much fun to read as A Spoonful of Murder. The warm, fuzzy feeling is still there. Lucky and Jack are a family and it’s obvious how much they care and look out for each other. Lucky show more is becoming more and more a part of Snowflake with good friends and good times in the soup shop, By the Spoonful. She has her footing now with the shop and enjoys running it. We are learning more about the people in Snowflake, and like in any town some are good, some are bad, some are just annoying. The romance between Lucky and Elias is moving along – slowly, but it’s moving. As we see more of Elias’ personality and how he is with Lucky, we can start to imagine what a good couple they might be.

But this time the story is a bit darker. It’s scary. Bad stuff has happened in the past and bad stuff is happening now, and Lucky is more reflective about things than she was. I enjoyed this. Lucky is developing as a character and seems to be growing up a little. I was intrigued by the mystery, and the suspense continued right until the end. I was worried about Lucky and her friends and family and anxious to learn what would happen next.

Can’t forget the soup. Once again some combinations I would never have thought of, but they sound pretty yummy.

I thoroughly enjoyed summer in Snowflake and am looking forward to my next visit! show less

A Spoonful of Murder brought me back to cozies. I had forgotten what it felt like to lose yourself in a cozy – but maybe a little scary and dangerous – story. A Spoonful of Murder brought that back to me.

When we meet Lucky, she is talking to her mom, reassuring her, telling her not to worry, that she will take care of things. Then we learn that Lucky is back home because her parents have died in a car crash. She has inherited the family business, the By the Spoonful soup shop, and show more she’s come home to run it. Her grandfather, Jack, is there and assures her he can handle things, but she’s worried about him. He seems a little forgetful and confused. Is it Alzheimer’s?

I liked Lucky from the start and wanted to learn how she would fare in Snowflake. She wasn’t estranged from her parents at the time of their death, but she hadn’t been around much. She was “off in the big city” somewhere trying to find her way, to be a success on her own. She is overwhelmed with guilt about all the things she wishes she had done but now won’t have the chance. She is trying to step up and do what needs to be done. She is sincere and determined – and just plain nice. So when she found that dead body my heart went out to her. Sure, sometimes she seems a little naïve and immature, but I’ve just met her and I already want to get to know her better. After all, how many “real” people do we meet that we need to learn a little more about before we really make up our minds?

Jack is feisty and cantankerous but lovable. He looks out for Lucky as much as she looks out for him – they are family.

Snowflake and the cast of supporting characters just kind of sneak up on you. When you’re in the soup shop you forget the outside world exists, but when you rediscover it, it’s beautiful. And the people in the soup shop and Snowflake? We learn a little more about them as we go along. Very interesting cast of characters. Some nice, some not so much. Interesting to watch Lucky interact with them.

Elias, though, not quite sure about him yet. Her feelings for him seem like a schoolgirl crush, which makes him seem old and rather stuffy. However, he does seem to have some feelings for her so I want to read more to see if this goes anywhere. And if he’s really that old!

The soup is an added bonus – some mixings I never would have thought of. Worth a try.

Connie Archer has done a great job with the first in a new series – good people, good place, good food. I’ll be visiting Snowflake again! show less

I decided to choose this book because it has a slightly different premise - the protagonist owns a soup shop - and I thought it would be interesting. It wasn't. In fact, I don't understand how it got five star ratings when there was so much wrong with this book.

First, she's afraid to lose her 'wonderful chef'. Really? Let's be honest, shall we? You don't need to be trained at a culinary school to make soup. It's not that difficult, unless you're making Bouillabaisse or something similar. show more None of these soups are in that category (and none of them are interesting enough to make, either). Let's face it, he could be replaced with anyone's grandmother. Plus there's the fact that all she serves other than soup is sandwiches, and we're supposed to believe that this is a successful business. Anyway...

Then the police just 'prop' the dead woman against a dumpster so the doctor can look at her. Say what? He's going to examine her in the snow? Doesn't this town have an ambulance? A morgue? I guess if you die here in the winter they just throw you outside and prop you against a tree or something. Why not? You'll freeze in no time!

Then she hounds a realtor until she gets a key to the dead woman's home. The realtor tells her not to tell anyone, so what does she do? Tells the first person she sees! Can you say "Go ahead, lose your license, I don't care". Plus when she worms information out of people and is asked to keep it secret, what does she do? You guessed it - she tells someone else and asks them to keep it secret. What kind of person is she?

She cleans up a crime scene, and even gets her grandfather's help in stealing police keys in order to look at the evidence they have against Sage. Um, those are criminal actions and she can be prosecuted. But does that happen? No. She confronts people outright and asks them if they were sleeping with the woman or if they killed her. She's certifiable, and doesn't care who she hurts or tells things to as long as she gets what she wants. Man, she should have stayed in Madison and left this town alone.

Then there are things that don't make sense: She wants to sell her parents' home because she doesn't want to pay a mortgage (but is paying rent at an apartment); doesn't want to fix up the home (but is fixing up her apartment). She's an idiot. Why doesn't she keep the house and just have her grandfather move in with her? It would make more sense. (Then the little things like a reporter getting her name completely wrong - not likely).

Not to mention what kind of people are in this town? They take advantage of her by eating at the restaurant for free but when a body is found outside behind the restaurant, not inside, they won't eat there anymore so she can stay open? Guess they'll have to find another restaurant to leech off of. She's dumber than a box of rocks if she forgives any of them. Gee, I guess if someone was killed outside the bank these people would go crazy because they wouldn't be able to get their money. This entire town is full of nutcases.

As you can see I'm no fan of this book, but since it's the first in the series I will cautiously wade into the next and see if it improves. If not - or if it's as bad as this one - I'm done with the series. show less

A Roux for Revenge by Connie Archer is a breath of fresh air in cozy mystery land. It is set in Snowflake, Vermont and takes place in October. There is a Harvest Festival coming up and a pumpkin carving contest. But the author does not dwell on Halloween activities and that makes this cozy great for a year round read.

Lucky is the owner and runs the By The Spoonful which makes creative delicious soups and bread to go with them. The recipes in the back of the book look so mouthwatering. I show more missed the first book in this series but did not feel that I was left out on the past happenings and relationships. Lucky had a crush on Elias, the doctor who runs the town’s clinic but that is going sour. I agree with Lucky, she has every right to be mad at Elias. I don’t know if this is the end for the couple or if Elias will realize that he was in the wrong in the next book.

Lucky has a lot to deal with along with the shop that she has only had for a year, her mother and father’s death back then, her problems with Elias and one of the staff. Janie who is still a little girl emotionally runs off from her mother after a terrible argument. Janie is upset that a man seems to be spying on her and then she discovers a secret from her mother’s past. But she won’t listen to the whole story. Lucky can’t let her sleep at the shop so she invited her to share her apartment. Janie leaves her clothes everywhere and dirty dishes too. So it is best for the mother and daughter to resolve their differences as soon as possible.

Into this mix is a band of gypsies from Cape Breton, who speak a Scottish form of Gaelic. True outsiders, they live off the grid, going from place to place playing music for hire. At the beginning of the story, a Nate Edgerton, the town’s chief of police tells Lucky that a van was found in a ditch and the driver is dead but not from the crash but from a shot. All this ties together with Janie and her mother.

I really like Lucky’s character, she is smart, independent and plucky. She has emotional support from her grandfather and her friends. She is not reckless like some cozy heroines but thinks things out when solving the mystery. The pacing is great and my interest in this story never lagged.

I hope to read more books in this series by Connie show less