Review & Giveaway: Ladle to the Grave by Connie Archer

Ladle to the Grave

by Connie Archer

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GENRE: Mystery

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BLURB:

By the Spoonful is Snowflake, Vermont’s most popular soup shop, but owner Lucky Jamieson doesn’t have any time to enjoy her success—she’s too busy trying to keep a lid on false accusations against her loved ones…

It’s almost May, and some of the local ladies have organized a pagan celebration in the woods to welcome spring. But the evening goes terribly wrong when one of the attendees winds up dead, apparently poisoned by an herbal concoction prepared by Lucky’s grandfather, Jack.

Lucky’s sure her grandfather could not have made such a tragic mistake. But before she can clear him of suspicion, her best friend, Sophie, is diverted from planning her wedding to By the Spoonful chef Sage DuBois when she finds a dead man floating in the creek on her property. Now it’s up to Lucky to get both Sophie and Jack out of hot water before a killer stirs up more trouble…

Recipes included!

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My Review:

I loved everything about this story: the cover, the small Vermont town where everything takes place, the characters, good ones and bad ones, the captivating storyline, the recipes at the end of the book.

A Snowflakes a few women decide to organize a party in the woods at night. It must be a nice ritual to celebrate spring but everything has been turned into a strange pagan ritual: women in a semicircle in front of a big bonfire with a cauldron containing a beverage that all the partecipants had to drink. But the first woman who drank she felt ill and died immediately. The grandfather of Lucky Jamieson is the first suspect,  it was he who has prepared the drink. She is very attached to her grandfather and is very protective of him, especially after the death of her parents. So she personally investigate to clear him, it is impossible that he made a mistake so big to the point of poisoning the drink. Meanwhile she has other problems to solve as planning the wedding of a dear friend and guard her from getting into trouble.

Lucky Jamieson is a great character. She manages very successfully the Spoonful, a good soup shop, he is happily engaged to the doctor of Snowflakes. She's a woman generous, helpful, sweet and has a great intuition to solve the mysteries. Of great help in the investigation is the police chief who is her grandfather's friend, is very willing to provide the information she needs to investigate.

It's the fourth book in the series, each book may be enjoyed as a stand alone novel but for more enjoyment read the whole series. I can not wait to read the first three books.

It 's written really well, the pace is fast and floing, the storyline is very engaging and, at least for me, it is difficult to solve the mystery until the end of the book.

If you like cozy mystery books this is one to add to your list.

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EXCERPT:

When Lucky reached Jack’s front porch, she was dismayed to see the windows dark.  She heard thumps and banging and Jack’s voice crying out. He was inside, somewhere in the dark.

Jack knew it was happening again. He couldn’t block out the screams. The boat was rising and falling in the sea. The water was purple with blood.  A hand reached up from the dark waters. Jack grasped it and held on with all his strength. Then a quick glimpse of a shark’s fin, and the man was gone. He was holding a disembodied arm. All around him were the cries of men being torn to pieces. Jack sobbed. He couldn’t help them, no matter how quick he was, no matter how strong. He wasn’t fast enough to save them.

Lucky pushed the door open and called Jack’s name.  His moans were louder now.  He had barricaded himself in the bathroom in an effort to control the memories. The sound of shattering glass came from within.  She hurried to the kitchen and grabbed a small knife from the wooden block next to the stove.  Just as she slid the edge of the blade into the doorframe, a heavy thud hit the door and Lucky fell back in shock, the knife falling from her hands. Her heart was racing. She pushed the knife into the doorjamb again and finally the lock released.

Jack was slumped on the floor in a small pool of blood.  Broken glass was everywhere.  He was lost in his nightmare. 

“It’s okay now, Jack.  You’re home.  You’re safe.”

He looked into her eyes, confused. “Lucky?”

“You had a spell, but you’re okay now.”

Tears spilled down Jack’s face. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“Nothing to be sorry about. Everything’s going to be all right now.” She prayed her words would make it true.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Connie Archer is the national bestselling author of the Soup Lover’s Mystery series from Penguin Random House (Berkley Prime Crime).  A Spoonful of Murder, A Broth of Betrayal, A Roux of Revenge and Ladle to the Grave are set in the imaginary village of Snowflake, Vermont.  A Clue in the Stew will be released in April 2016.  Connie was born and raised in New England and now lives on the other coast.  You can visit her at www.ConnieArcherMysteries.com, Facebook.com/ConnieArcherMysteries and Twitter @ SnowflakeVT.

Buy Link

 http://www.amazon.com/Ladle-Grave-Soup-Lovers-Mystery/dp/0425273113/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1452835027&sr=8-1&keywords=the+ladle+to+the+grave

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE

Connie will be awarding a $20 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway