Cookie Dough or Die by Virginia Lowell

Cookie Dough or Die by Virginia Lowell is the first book in the new “Cookie Cutter Shop” mystery series. Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime (Penguin), April 2011

Olivia Greyson is the proud owner of The Gingerbread House—a quaint shop that specializes in all things cookie—and her best friend, Maddie, is he sidekick, baking up scrumptious treats for their cookie-themed parties. But now they must take a break from baking and turn their attention to re-creating a recipe for murder.

No one is more shocked than Olivia when prominent business owner Clarisse Chamberlain is found dead. It was Clarisse who encouraged Olivia to open The Gingerbread House—and she was one of her best customers. The sheriff is ready to call the case an accident, but Olivia’s convinced there’s a murder to solve.

Then word spreads that Clarisse left Olivia a large sum of money, along with a collection of valuable antique cookie cutters. Suddenly, Olivia is the prime suspect, and when the local postman falls ill after sampling one of their cookies, all eyes are on The Gingerbread House. If the cookie-loving duo doesn’t find the real killer, their reputation—and quite possibly their lives—will be battered for good.

In this debut series, we are introduced to Olivia and her best friend Maddie who are partners in a shop that sells cookie cutters and cookies. Livvie has become good friends with Clarisse, one of her customers and when Clarisse suddenly dies, the police deem it an accidental death. Having known Clarisse, Livvie thinks there’s more to her death and begins to question recent incidents in Clarisse’ life and believes that someone may have murdered her friend. With help from Maddie, this crime-solving duo searches for answers by leaving cookie crumbs that only the killer will pick up. This was a great read. With a wonderful cast of characters and a great setting, this story will have you craving for one more cookie. The tone was very comfortable and the witty and entertaining dialogue kept me engaged as I quickly turned the pages. The mystery was good and the author kept me guessing while I got to know more about the two protagonists. This is a welcome addition to the cozy genre and I hope this enjoyable series continues.

*new-to-me author

FTC Full Disclosure – The publisher sent me a copy of this book

previously posted on the Cozy Chicks blog