This is the first in the Country Store series by Maddie Day set in Indiana. This cozy series is set in French Lick in Brown County Indiana. There are numerous references to the area so those familiar with the area will find points of interest they know. The series centers around Robbie Jordan, a single businesswoman who has just opened a Country store and restaurant in town. This process has led her to meet new people and to have some not so pleasant experiences with some of those characters.
One of these residents ends up dead right after Robbie's grand opening. The guilty party left implicating evidence at the scene. Thus, Robbie quickly finds herself having to defend herself but criminally and in her reputation as a business owner. The story reveals much of the struggle and commitment it takes to own a business. These details set the stage for the story as well as make Robbie a relatable character. I was easily swayed to find myself rooting for her success in investigating and her business.
Robbie had only recently moved to Indiana from Southern California when the story begins. Her realization of the small town life is part of what makes the story believable. Everyone knows everyone's business and gossip abounds. This gossip helps Robbie to discover the guilty party but also makes running her business difficult as someone sets out to sabotage her success.
One aspect of the small town life is the concept that people tend to know or at least be familiar with most everyone in the town. This feature leads to Day including many characters in the story. At times the supporting cast becomes confusing and I had difficulty remembering who each of them were at times. Day does generally give a frame of reference description when they are mentioned in the story but not always. This is probably the main reason I didn't give the book a 5 star rating. This is not going to stop me from reading more in the series though. I suspect as the series progresses the characters will reappear and become familiar.
All in all this was an enjoyable read and I plan to continue with the series.
Flipped for Murder by Maddie DayMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Enjoyable cozy set in southern Indiana. Lots of references to local area so this is an added bonus if you are familiar with Brown County. The main character, Robbie Jordan, has recently opened a country store and restaurant. This cozy is filled with details about that adventure as well as an unexpected one. Robbie finds herself embroiled in a murder investigation when the murderer tries to plant evidence to make her look guilty. As the story progresses multiple suspects are identified and Day does a wonderful job of pointing attention to the different parties. In the end the murder is revealed and I found it to be a believable solution. As well, the clues to their guilt were revealed to the reader during the story. The characters were quirky and believable although my main reason for not giving it 5 stars was at times it felt like there were too many characters to keep track of all of them. Part of that was to add to the small town, everyone knows each other, feel but it did make it hard to follow as I picked up the book at different times.
All in all I enjoyed the book and the characters and I plan to try more of the series
Challenge Prompts
The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:
- Library Love #LibraryLoveChallenge - Book #129
- Literary Escapes- IN
- Cravings for a Cozy and Cloak and Dagger #CloakDaggerChal : Book # 110
- Cruising through cozies - Free choice # 49
- Medical Examiner- 1 Toe Tag
- Six Shooter- New target #48
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