Raspberry Truffle Murder by Wendy Meadows – Book Review

I don’t remember when I had downloaded Raspberry Truffle Murder but after a two-year reading hiatus, I’m happy to have started the year with this cozy mystery.

Raspberry Truffle Murder by Wendy Meadows is the first book in the Maple Hills Series. The cover looks delicious but the book title doesn’t really relate to the book itself. Only that the main character, Nikki, opens a chocolate shop.

“Maple Hills is a quiet community where the upstanding members sit around holding hands and watching Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood all day and forget that every word Denforth wrote about them was backed up with hard evidence.”

Nikki is a 42-year-old woman, running from a brutal divorce. She moves to the small town of Maple Hills and opens a chocolate shop. A former investigative journalist and her father worked in the FBI, mysteries and following leads are in her blood.  

Nikki is quite relatable. To ease her mind, she decides to “make myself some hot chocolate and read a good mystery.”

Shortly after leaving her store on opening day, a man, Steven Denforth, is killed in what appears to be a hit-and-run.

Surprisingly, Denforth, who owned a local newspaper, was hated by most of the town. Those whose names have been smeared by Denforth were happy to see him go.

But who went as far to kill him?

“I believe the murder involves this town and everyone in it, including me…I have to investigate this murder to protect myself.”

Nikki gets her investigative skills up and running almost instantly and starts to dig in. She’s creative, quick-on-her-feet, and fun to watch as she unravels this mystery.

There are many memorable, or highlight-worthy lines and statements in the book. Here's one:

“A criminal mind is like fire, never satisfied and always hungry and very clever at lies.”

Raspberry Truffle Murder is a short and quick cozy mystery. At 175 pages, I finished it in a couple of sittings.

Overall rating for Raspberry Truffle Murder by Wendy Meadows, 3.5-4 stars. 

You can also find this book review on Goodreads. Let's connect there.

I Took an Unplanned Two-Year Break: Here's What Happened

I knew I hadn’t written a single blog post in 2025 but it seems I didn’t write any in 2024 either (except one in January 2024).

2025 was a trying year for me. I barely read any books. I felt like I was a fraud calling myself a book blogger.

I worked a lot, slept and binge-watched series a lot (Mainly Criminal Minds, if that matters).

But I just couldn’t get myself to read. Maybe I read a couple of books, at best. But that’s it.

I was burnt out on so many levels.

If you don’t know me or what I do, here’s a little reminder:

I’m Nada, an Egyptian translator-turned-copywriter. I specialize in B2B content and copywriting for marketing, software-as-a-service (SaaS), HR, and F&B companies.

You can find and connect with me on LinkedIn or see my non-book blogger portfolio here.

While I wasn’t reading books in 2025, I was reading a ton of articles and LinkedIn posts, and I was active on LinkedIn.

When I’m not working, you can find me coloring (I did a bit of that in 2025), reading (less in 2025), exploring online courses (did some last year), or binge-watching mystery and action TV series, like Chicago Fire, Criminal Minds, and Marvel & DC series.

 

This post is to let you know I’m slowly coming back to book blogging. So, expect some activity on this blog in 2026.

It’s already April but we’re getting there.

I’ve finished reading 3 books and have about 2 more (non-fiction) open.

Here's an image of one of the books I'm reading right now --> 

Stay tuned for book reviews covering cozy mystery, non-fiction, thriller, and more.

I’ll also be posting more about the books I read on Instagram so follow me for summarized reviews and progress updates.