A Peach of a Murder (Fresh-Baked Mystery)

I really enjoyed this first book. Interesting characters and held my interest. Not a typical cozy mystery.

I picked up gingerbread bump off at library sale because I thought the dust jacket was so pretty. I never heard of cozy mysteries before this was the greatest story after reading gingerbread bump off I had to get the rest . absolutely love them

This book was really fun to read, it was quick and entertaining... I have read the three in the series and I loved them all! Buy it!

So far so good as far as the first in a new series goes. The characters need more fleshing out, but that will come as the series develops. I look forward to reading the next title in the series.

As a fan of the "Ladies of Covington" and "Elm Creek Quilt" series (which are not mysteries but good stories all the same) I enjoyed the dynamic of the group of active retired women sharing a home which is the basis of this story. The book also presented a good puzzle: was the first event a murder or an accident? Is the second event (which is clearly a murder) related to the first, and if so, how? And what about the third event (I don't think we actually find out if the victim survives or not). I didn't catch the connection until the end of the story and found the solution plausible and satisfying in the way of classic mystery stories where the criminal justice system doesn't typically play a role! Overall a good read and I'm looking forward to the next book by this author.

I loved the characters in this book. I felt the author was very descriptive. I can't wait to read the next in the series!

The townsfolk of Weatherford, Texas is getting ready for the annual festival and housemates Phyllis, Mattie and Carolyn are plucking peaches in Newt Bishop's Orchard. Phyllis happens to notice that Newt is arguing with another man who turns out to be his own son. When she hears a scream coming from the barn, they see that Newt's car fell on top of him. They later learn that it might have been murder instead of an accident. At the cooking competition, Donnie, an affluent businessman and one of the judges, suddenly keels over; it is later discovered that his water jar was laced with arsenic gotten from the laetrile from the peach pits. Suspicion falls on Carolyn because her daughter who worked for Donnie was arrested because he charged her with embezzlement; she claim he wanted revenge as she spurned his advances. A high school student commits suicide and one of the teachers is run over in a hit and run. Nobody realizes all these events are linked and when Phyllis discovers who the link is she doesn't want to believe it nor do any of the townsfolk. Instead of pining away when her beloved husband died, the heroine opened her home to boarders and now three retired teachers and a widower who recently lost his wife are active in the community and are there for one another. Although Phyllis and Carolyn were competing in the cooking contest, Phyllis starts her own investigation because she is sure her friend is innocent. There are many surprises in this entertaining who done it but when the killer is revealed, nobody can believe that person is the killer. Livia J. Washburn has a refreshing way with words and knows how to tell an exciting story. Harriet Klausner