Cold Case Crumble

 This is the 3rd book in the Jessica James series by Jennifer Joy (Becca Bloom).   The series is set in Ecuador and does a wonderful job of blending descriptions of the local atmosphere with the mystery itself.  The characters are charming and feel like a real family, full of quirky habits and gentle teasing.   If you are looking for a well developed mystery with surprises these are great books to select.

Jessica is visiting with a family that has a long term relationship with her own family.  Unfortunately her vacation has turned into a repetitive case of finding bodies and having to solve mysteries.  This time, she and Tia Flora, Sylvia, and Abuelita uncover a cold case going back to when Sylvia was in high school in Banos.   The characters continue to develop as do the relationships between them.  The family is a tight knit group with typical family interactions.   It is easy to visualize the characters and the locations described in the book.

The mystery itself is a wonderfully written book with plenty of twists and turns with a surprise conclusion.  I look forward to continue reading the series to see how Jessica continues to fare in Ecuador.  

Cold Case Crumble by Jennifer Joy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Always fun to read about Jessica James' adventures in Ecuador. This installment has Jessica and her hosts, Tia Flora, Abuelita, Adi, and Sylvia, all discovering an unwelcome surprise while fixing up the new building Tia Flora has acquired to build her new bakery. This time Jessica actually has the permission of the Head Policeman and the local officers to investigate the mystery. She only has a short time window to solve the cold case since the pertinent individuals will only be in Banos for 4 days. As is typical with this series there are moments of levity and some twists and turns in the mystery. The characters continue to be endearing and you feel as though you could hang out with them in Abuelita's restaurant kitchen.
If you are looking for a fun cozy set in South America this is a great series to explore

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Challenge Prompts

The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:  

1. Literary Escapes  #LiteraryEscapes  Ecuador
2. Finishing the Series   #FinishingTheSeries2021
3. Virtual Mount TBR #VirtualMountTBR2021   Book #21
4. Back List Reader  #Backlistreader  Book #24
5. Calendar of Crime  #CalendarOfCrime2021   
6. Cruisin thru Cozies  #5-1 set outside US
7. Cloak & Dagger  #CloakDaggerChal  Book #16
8. Craving for Cozies  Book #14
9. Around the Year in 52 Books #35. A book set in a country on or below the Tropic of Cancer
10. The Unofficial Magnus Archives Challenge  #TMARC21  #22. Es Mentiras: with a door on the cover
11. NJM Book Challenge  #NJMBookChallenge2021  #23 weather word in title
12. Bookworm  #29.) Read a book from your favorite genre
13. Magic in the Books Book 3 #6 With a source of light on the cover
14. Pick your Poison #25 Borrowing A book with a character from a different book
15. Medical Examiner Challenge  2 Toe Tags-  hit, poison
16. Beachcomber Challenge  
• Crime Scenes 
• Row 1
• Kitchen or bakery
• Row 4
• Hotel room
• Weapons
• Row 1 
• Poison, poisoned food
• Row 2 
• Rock, brick, blunt object
• Detectives- Jessica/Tia Flora/Abuelita/Adi/Sylvia
• Victims- Sophia/Alex
17. Six Shooter Challenge  Target #22  Shot #3