Tuesday, February 2, 2021

Egg Shooters by Laura Childs - Book Review & Tour

Today, I'm excited to be re-featuring cozy mystery author Laura Childs on my blog as part of a blog tour for her new book Egg Shooters.

 

Book: Egg Shooters
(Book 9 in the Cackleberry Club Mystery)

Author: Laura Childs
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Publisher: Berkley
Publication date: 26 January 2021
Hardcover: 304 pages
ISBN-10: 0425281744
ISBN-13: 978-0425281741
Kindle ASIN: B085BVYLKY

 


Synopsis:

A murder in the local hospital is raising everyone's temperature in the latest book in the New York Times bestselling Cackleberry Club series.

Suzanne Dietz co-owner of the Cackleberry Club Café is visiting her fiancée, Dr. Sam Hazelet when a masked gunman bursts into the emergency room. He shoots two people and would probably have done more damage had Suzanne not brained him with a thermos full of chili. Still, the gunman manages to escape.

Now the ladies of the Cackleberry Club are determined to find the killer before he finds them.

 

Book Review of Egg Shooters

"Whoever this maniac is, he's been leading us on a merry chase. And he seems to be enjoying it enormously."

Egg Shooters by Laura Childs is the ninth book in The Cackleberry Club Mystery Series. And WOW! What a ride!

I've always wanted to read Laura Childs' books and got to interview her in 2019 for her then-new-book Broken Bone China. Then in 2020, I got a glimpse of her writing – and stunning teas and desserts in Lavender Blue Murder.

Since then, I've been curious about The Cackleberry Club books. And what a read! I loved the mystery, characters, settings, and let's not get to the mouth-watering delicacies Petra can make!

Egg Shooters opens with action from the first chapter. Suzanne Dietz, co-owner of The Cackleberry Club Café is visiting her fiancé, an ER doctor, and bringing him some late lunch. While she's talking to the receptionist, a gunman comes in, shoots a security guard, the receptionist, and is hit on the head with Suzanne's thermos of hot chili.

"What's our own Nancy Drew gonna do about these robberies? You're the one with the head for crime solving. You've got the sharpest instincts in town, though Doogie would die a slow death if he ever heard me say that."

Suzanne is a lot of things but curious and creative top the list. Especially when it comes to defending herself and others.

So the book opens with a murder, a theft, and luckily the receptionist lives. But at the same time, truck hijacking is plaguing the small town of Kindred.

After the shootout, Suzanne's curiosity is piqued, and of course, a few townsfolk ask her to investigate. They know that her skills top the Sheriff Doogie's and deep down the Sheriff knows he could use a helping hand. But never admits it.

The Cackleberry Club is comprised of three co-owners: Suzanne, Toni, and Petra. Each has their quirks but Toni is by far the funniest!

"Petra was the social conscience of the Cackleberry Club, while Toni served as court jester, and Suzanne was CEO, marketing guru, and chief problem solver."

The mystery in Egg Shooters kept me glued to the book. I couldn't put it down. Not to mention Petra's mouth-watering dishes.

If there's ever a café or restaurant like The Cackleberry Club, I'm saving to go there.

I loved how the characters are both strong and deep in their own way, even Toni. I also liked how this cozy mystery shows the characters – in a way – trying to work with the police. Well – sort of.

Toni offers a ton of humor in Egg Shooters, from hilarious comments, her endless to-and-fro with her no-good-soon-to-be-divorced-absolute-kid-brained husband, to her antics and energy. Here's how she describes a new character who walks into their café.

"Who's the Daddy Warbucks type sitting over there with our diddly-squat-do-nothing mayor?"

The book also offers a number of recipes at the end of the book. Courtesy of the chef extraordinaire Petra.

I also learnt a new word: Sesquicentennial – don't ask me how to pronounce it because I failed but it means someone's or something 150th birthday – in this case it was their town's celebration. (That was worth mentioning!)

Overall I loved the Cackleberry Club, Suzanne, Toni, and Petra along with the supporting characters. I just fell in love with this series and can't wait to read more books in it.

Overall rating for Egg Shooters by Laura Childs: 5 stars

 

Don't forget to check out my exclusive interview with Laura Childs and my 4-star book review of Lavender Blue Murder.

 

About the Author:

Laura Childs is the New York Times bestselling author of the Tea Shop MysteriesScrapbook Mysteries, and Cackleberry Club Mysteries. In her previous life she was CEO/Creative Director of her own marketing firm and authored several screenplays. She is married to a professor of Chinese art history, loves to travel, rides horses, enjoys fundraising for various non-profits, and has two Chinese Shar-Pei dogs.

 

Laura specializes in cozy mysteries that have the pace of a thriller (a thrillzy!) Her three series are:

The Cackleberry Club Mysteries – set in Kindred, a fictional town in the Midwest. In a rehabbed Spur station, Suzanne, Toni, and Petra, three semi-desperate, forty-plus women have launched the Cackleberry Club. Eggs are the morning specialty here and this cozy cafe even offers a book nook and yarn shop. Business is good but murder could lead to the cafe’s undoing! This series offers recipes, knitting, cake decorating, and a dash of spirituality.

 

The Tea Shop Mysteries – set in the historic district of Charleston and featuring Theodosia Browning, owner of the Indigo Tea Shop. Theodosia is a savvy entrepreneur, and pet mom to service dog Earl Grey. She’s also an intelligent, focused amateur sleuth who doesn’t rely on coincidences or inept police work to solve crimes. This charming series is highly atmospheric and rife with the history and mystery that is Charleston.

 

The Scrapbooking Mysteries – a slightly edgier series that take place in New Orleans. The main character, Carmela, owns Memory Mine scrapbooking shop in the French Quarter and is forever getting into trouble with her friend, Ava, who owns the Juju Voodoo shop. New Orleans’ spooky above-ground cemeteries, jazz clubs, bayous, and Mardi Gras madness make their presence known here!

Connect with Laura Childs via her Website and Facebook.

Purchase Links: Amazon   B&N  Kobo   Google Play  IndieBound

 

Keep up with the rest of the blog tour, including book reviews, spotlights, interviews, and guest posts via Escape with Dolly Cas.



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