Éclair And Present Danger

Cozy mystery fans, boy do I have an entertaining new series for you to read!

In Éclair and Present Danger, the first book in the Emergency Dessert Squad Mysteries Series, author Laura Bradford weaves a thoroughly delightful cozy mystery that follows the amateur sleuth adventures of bakery owner Winnie Johnson.

When Winnie is faced with closing her bakery Delectable Delights due to a rising rent increase, she hoped that the inheritance that her neighbor Gertrude Redenbacher left her would be money, but alas, all she received was a vintage ambulance and an ornery tabby cat named Lovey! While making her final peach pie delivery, she finds her widowed neighbor Bart Wagner dead on the floor. Worried that a killer was out there stalking her show more elderly neighbors, Winnie comes to the rescue by launching a new enterprise: the Emergency Dessert Squad, delivering her delectable baked goods via the vintage ambulance. And if that isn't enough, Winnie goes into amateur sleuth mode as she tries to track down the killer before he strikes again.

Éclair and Present Danger is an entertaining cozy whodunit filled with enough humor, drama, yummy recipes, and a subtle romance that will easily keep the reader engaged and guessing the identity of the killer. I was really intrigued with the clever concept of converting a vintage ambulance into a dessert delivery service, and the to-die-for desserts with witty names like: Hot Flash Fudge Sundaes (for those suffering menopause symptoms) … Never Give Up-side down cake (for someone in need of a little encouragement) … When Life Hands You Lemon (s) pie (for someone just dealt a lousy hand) … and Worry No S’more Bars (for someone who’s overly stressed)… are enough to make your mouth water! Winnie is a sassy lady who I could relate to, and I loved the relationship she had with her elderly neighbors. I really enjoyed following Winnie and her friends on their amateur sleuth adventure filled with crazy trials and tribulations, and I really enjoyed the crazy antics from Lovey the tabby cat. I would be remiss if I didn't mention how much I enjoyed the inclusion of the delectable dessert recipes, oh my goodness they sound amazing and made my mouth water!

Éclair and Present Danger is an exciting new cozy mystery story that will leave the reader wanting more. I look forward to reading the next adventure in the series.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the author / publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review and participation in a virtual book tour event hosted by Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours.

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First and foremost, the Emergency Dessert Squad concept and the names of Winnie's desserts are an absolute stroke of genius. I loved reading about putting Winnie's new business together and the brain-storming sessions for dessert names every bit as much as I enjoyed the mystery.

Winnie Johnson is a fabulous character as is the secondary cast of-- mainly-- senior citizens. Winnie tends to surround herself with older people, and she has a good reason for doing so. There are so many things to like about Éclair and Present Danger, and one of them is the sense of community and of caring Winnie and her "old folks" have.

Winnie-- like several other heroines in cozy mysteries-- has captured the attention of two very handsome and available men, show more but she deals with both of them very honestly. I certainly appreciated the fact that there was no real dithering back and forth between Greg and Jay. Romantic triangles have become a bit of a cliché and tend to bore me to insensibility.

The mystery of Bart's death is pretty much kept on the back burner until almost the end of the book, but the solution is very satisfying. Bart had no real part in the book, but I was left wishing that I'd known him better-- a testament to Bradford's writing in that she took just as much care in developing a character who "had no future" as she did with her returning cast.

With such a satisfying mystery, a wonderful cast, and a brilliant concept, is it any wonder that I'm eagerly awaiting the second book in the series? show less

Eclair And Present Danger is the first book in the An Emergency Dessert Squad Mystery series.

With apprehension, Winnie Johnson is off to lawyers to learn what her dear late neighbor, Gertrude, has left her in her will. Winnie is about to close her bakery and she can use an influx of cash could stave off the closing. But it's not to be in the cards. What she gets is the 1960 Cadillac Miller-Meteor ambulance that Gertrude's husband had painstakingly restored and Gertrude's cat, Lovey. Going by the old saying of “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade”, Winnie and her assistant, Renee, come up with the Emergency Dessert Squad. The plan is to deliver to a person in extreme need a dessert themed to their particular malady.

Also on show more their agenda is looking into the death of Bart Wagner. Recently widowed, Bart lives across the street from Winnie and Winnie has been following his wife's final request to she bake and deliver a peach pie to Bart. As she is delivering the latest pie she finds Bart's dead body. Winnie is sure that someone murdered Bart and with the help of her downstairs neighbor, Parker Nelson(Nosy Nelson) and next door neighbor Bridget O'Keefe, an 80 something reporter for the Silver Lake newspaper, set off to find out who had sent Bart to be with Ethel.

Winnie has a close relationship with old of the elderly in the neighborhood and Parker and Bridget are a real hoot. Parker has a hearing problem and quite often forgets to turn on his hearing aid and will often misunderstands what people are saying. His misunderstanding of conversations is often quite amusing. Bridget can also be of a nosy nature, but her excuse is that she is a reporter and just looking for a future story.

What I particularly enjoyed about the book was the great names for the “emergency desserts” that Winnie and Renee prepare. Just a couple are, You're A Peach Pie and Worry No s'More Bars.

Recipes are also included.

Looking forward to the next delicious book in this series. show less

This is the first book in the new Emergency Dessert Squad Mystery series. I enjoyed the clever new twist it gives to bakery-themed cozies, though I'm left with mixed feelings overall.

The main character, Winnie, is very close to her neighbors, many of whom are elderly. When one friend passes away, Winnie inherits a cool vintage ambulance, and soon her new bakery business is born -- emergency desserts delivered right to your door. Winnie discovers the body of a widower on her block while delivering a peach pie, and she and her friends are devastated. The characters are real and likable, though Winnie seems rather sensitive when folks make comments about her hanging with an elderly crowd.

This book focuses on Winnie building up her dessert show more business, and also on possible romances. Unfortunately the mystery part gets lost in all that, which is my main complaint. There wasn't a lot of true investigating until the last quarter of the book. I did have to laugh, though, at the antics of Lovey, the temperamental kitty she inherits with the ambulance.

Recipes are included at the end of the book, including "Worry No s'More Bars" and "You Are One Smart Cookie," which are two of the fun emergency desserts Winnie offers.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. show less

This is the first book in an exciting series that is sure to be a hit with all cozy mystery readers. The characters are funny, resourceful and downright a blast to read about. I really enjoyed the book and the concept. I also want to mention that I love the cover. It is definitely an eye catcher and compliments the book.

We are introduced to Winnie who is a baker that has hit on hard times. She finds herself not being able to continue paying rent on her beloved bakery. What is a person to do? Well there is an ambulance that she just inherited that could be used for something. I had to laugh as I read that. Who leaves an ambulance to someone in a will? I thought how brilliant and creative the author was with this concept. I knew I was in show more for a great ride as I read the story. Yes the pun was intended . The book is just so well written . The Emergency Dessert Squad has officially become a business for Winnie. I would love to have her come to my neighborhood. I am always having dessert problems. Wouldn't it be a great business to have? Winnie is sure it will become profitable . Now there does seem to be a little problem with her elderly neighbors that has her concerned . When she finds one of her dear neighbors is dead she knows that trouble is around the corner . Who is killing her neighbors?

You are in for a treat with this wonderful start to a very interesting series. The characters are wonderful and an added plus is the recipes that are included in the book. I cannot wait for the next in the series to hit the shelves. Be sure and grab your copy of Eclair and Present Danger and be ready to laugh and enjoy a great mystery.

I received a copy of this book from Great Escape Book Tours for an honest review . show less

Éclair and Present Danger by Laura Bradford is the first Emergency Dessert Squad Mystery. Winnie Johnson is thirty-four years old and has inherited a vintage (1960) ambulance along with Lovey (the cat) from Gertie Redenbacher. Winnie was hoping to inherit some money that would help her keep her bakery, Delectable Delights, open. Her landlord has decided that Silver Lake is the next big thing and has raised the rents on all his properties. Luckily, Winnie comes up with the idea to use the ambulance to deliver desserts and call it Emergency Dessert Squad (clever idea). Renee Ballentine (her friend and employee) will be the “dispatcher” for the business. Winnie will make and deliver her delicious treats (with a rescue theme). Winnie show more and Renee work to outfit the ambulance and come up with unique desserts that work with the new theme. If her venture does not succeed, Winnie can always sell the ambulance to Greg Stevens (who they dubbed Master Sergeant Hottie) the new EMT in town. Business is slow at first but then it starts to take off. Winnie goes over to Bart Wagner’s house to deliver his peach pie (Winnie promised his wife, Edith—before she passed away—to continue to make Bart’s favorite pie every week). When Bart does not answer, Winnie goes inside and finds Bart deceased. Winnie lives on Serenity Lane which houses many senior citizens and Winnie loves it. She has found a family in the wonderful people on this street. Poor Bart was murdered. Winnie is determined to find out who hurt her friend. Winnie will be busy with her new business, investigating the murder, and a new love interest. You will just have to read Éclair and Present Danger to find out what happens!

The premise for Éclair and Present Danger is cute, but the novel does not live up to the title (or synopsis). The dialogue is awkward and the focus of the book was not on the mystery. I found the majority of the novel dedicated to Winnie’s new romance, her elderly neighbors, starting up her new business venture, and that awful cat, Lovey. The mystery definitely took a backseat. I found the pace to be slow. I liked Winnie’s bakery concept, but it seemed unbelievable that she could have her new business up and running within a few days. I know it is fiction, but there has to be some reality (like health inspections, permits, business plan). You cannot run a business (especially a food related business) without a health inspector and a business license (even in a fictional town) especially with Winnie baking the desserts in her apartment (and she has a cat in the kitchen which is not allowed). I got tired of the neighbor Mr. Parker and his hearing aids quickly (he turns them off and misunderstands what people are saying to him). Once or twice is funny. After that it is plain annoying. The same with the cat, Lovey (who dislikes Winnie). It seems to “escape” frequently and does not like Winnie (which was mentioned way too many times). I had a hard time liking Winnie. She would get distracted by a cute guy or thinking about a guy, and then say “focus focus” (yes, this happened multiple times). I thought that the mystery was a cinch to solve (more time is devoted to the dessert descriptions than the mystery). I give Éclair and Present Danger 3 out of 5 stars. I just expected more from Laura Bradford. Will I try the next book in the series? Yes. I will check it out to see if there is improvement.

I received a complimentary copy of Éclair and Present Danger from NetGalley in exchange for an honest evaluation of the novel. show less

Winnie Johnson's bakery is closing up and hopes of an inheritance from an elderly neighbor lead to the puzzling ownership of a vintage ambulance and a cat that seems to hate Winnie. Obviously, neighbor Gertrude Redenbacher thought Winnie would be a good steward of these items. Living on a street named Serenity, Winnie's area of Silver Lake skews elderly, as do most of her close friends, including downstairs neighbor Mr. Nelson and nearby Bridget.. When a newly widowed neighbor appears to be suffocated, Winnie's street, named Serenity, takes on a new cast. Mr. Nelson and Bridget are her biggest cheerleaders as her idea to deliver desserts, made in her home kitchen, in emergency situations via ambulance. With former employee Renee at her show more side, they figure out how to rig up the ambulance and create clever names for the desserts. It grows quickly into a fun business model that actually begins to take off like crazy in the book. The mystery is hinted at all along, but not necessarily the main focus of the book until the end, when everything comes together. I really liked the beginning of what I hope will be a long running series. show less