Laura Pauling

I love the vibrant and fun cover of Laura Pauling’s Footprint in the Frosting, so I will follow the Footprints…to the conclusion.

Holly Hart’s new business, Just Cheesecake opens with a dead body in her dessert. With the help of her faithful companion, Muffins, she decides they must investigate the murder themselves. Right off the bat, I am smiling.

Her scruffy dog, Muffins, has a habit of leading her to the rich, hunky Mason Carlton. First he catches her in her pajamas and they share a show more cup of coffee, then he catches her lurking around his mansion. Muffin has good instincts about people, but why does he keep leading her to Mason? I think it’s too obvious for him to be the killer.

There is a lawyer who could be Santa Claus.

Charlene is the small town’s crazy cat lady. At first I don’t know whether to hate her or love her, but she kinda grew on me. She is quite the character. Will she become a friend or foe? I think we both know. Did she hide her smarts under a crazy layer? I couldn’t help but chuckle when Charlene talks about old people diapers. I will leave it to you to discover for yourself. It is worth your time.

The writing caused me to burst out in laughter now and then. Even the cop has a great sense of humor. The dialogue was sharp, snarky and witty, especially Holly’s part.

I left my Footprints, in my walk through Fairview’s cast of characters, as Holly investigates the murders. There are more than enough suspects, but none of them appear to be the real one…even Millicent. And how about a mystery book club? Holly will have a little more help now.

Food fight – a little cheesecake here, a little jello there.

Footprints in the Frosting is a fun and light summer beach read that will brighten your mood and keep you entertained. I hope the people around you don’t think you’re crazy when you break out in laughter.

I received Footprints in the Frosting by Laura Pauling in return for an honest review.

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I do enjoy my cozy mysteries and this one “took the cake!” Sorry, I had to say that.

Escaping her big city life with all the glitz and glamour, Holly Hart finds the small town life appealing and prepares for the grand opening of her new shop, Just Cheesecake.

It’s the morning of, and she doesn’t have time for her pint sized dog’s shenanigans. Muffins somehow slipped out of the apartment and seeing a flash of gray fur enter her shop across the street, Holly rushes out in her PJ’s to show more fetch him.

Upon nearing her shop, she notices the locks are broken and hesitates before entering. Her trepidation is well founded when she discovers a dead man in her kitchen, face down in one of her cheesecakes.

Now she’s suspect number one, her grand opening is on hold, and her reputation and her freedom are at risk. So, Holly puts on her sleuthing guise and sets out to solve the murder before her business goes bust before she can even get it open.

I read this in about an hour and a half, non stop. Holly is such fun. I couldn’t help but feel for her when a female reporter splashes her name and picture all over the front page of the local newspaper, naming her as the murderer. She’d hoped people would be different in a small town, not befriend you and stab you in the back for a story.

When these two women bump into each other at a book club meeting, more than cake flies and I gave a “you go girl” to Holly. She gave as good as she got.

She didn’t take no guff from the police either. Officer Trent may be the sexy bachelor in town, but she wasn’t having any of it and hit him with both barrels. I had to laugh. She’s just so spunky.

The author did a good job at misdirecting me. There were several suspects and motives and I had to follow all of the clues, right along with Holly, to get to the bottom of the mystery.

Fun for all, with a cute budding romance, some odd and endearing characters, and a mystery that’s not easily solved, I recommend this to all cozy fans. show less

I received a complimentary copy of this book as a part of a book tour for a fair and honest review and rated it 4.5 out of 5 Stars.

A comedic cozy in a small town setting, Footprints in the Frosting by Laura Pauling is full of colorful characters, a cute little “crime hound” and plenty of laughs. The first book in a new series, Footprints in Frosting is lighthearted and the perfect beginning for the Holly Hart character. Teasing the reader with descriptions of tasty coffees and pastries, show more this is a quickly paced book which can easily be read in a couple of hours.

Ms. Pauling does a good job developing her primary character, Holly Hart, right from the start. A woman, whose dreams of living in a small town, owning her own business, and living life on her own terms, Holly is young, attractive and a more than adequate baker. When a dead body is discovered in her new “Just Cheesecake” shop right before its grand opening, by her mischievous dog no less, Holly finds herself the talk of the town, the prime suspect and the focus of the local newspaper’s headlines. I easily connected with Holly and found her to be a real gem. She’s got a wicked sense of humor, an inquisitive mind and refuses to be sidelined by adversity.

The secondary characters were very colorful and I found them to be a real hoot! From Officer Trent Trinket, whose mother turns out to be the “crazy cat lady” in town, to Mason Carlton, the scion of the town’s richest family and a fellow suspect, to the town’s newspaper reporter, Millicent, who first approaches Holly as a “friend” and then proceeds to paint her as the “out-of-towner”, who makes the best suspect. The mystery portion of the book is very well done and takes several twists and turns and features more than one dead body.

Who will solve the murders that began at “Just Cheesecake”? Will it be Officer Trent? Or will Holly’s private investigation lead her to discover the killer’s identity? You’ll have to read Footprints in the Frosting to find out, I enjoyed it and look forward to reading the next book in this cozy series. show less

Footprints in the Frosting (Holly Hart, #1) by Laura Pauling

Holly is opening Just Cheesecake. She is new to town, wants a nice life, then she finds a dead body. She becomes the prime suspect. She begins investigating to solve the mystery and clear her name. She is also dealing with a disruptive reporter, the local police office, and a nosy neighbor.

A fast paced fun cozy murder/mystery. Holly is very likable as well as her dog Muffins. There are some twists and turns and several suspects. A show more classic "who-done-it" that had me hooked from the first page. I highly recommend Footprints in the Frosting to those who love a good cozy murder/mystery. show less