Book Review: SPOOKY SWEET: A Sweet’s Sweets Bakery Mystery (Samantha Sweet Magical Cozy Mysteries Book 11) by Connie Shelton

About the Book

Now that Samantha Sweet has a contract to provide her special handmade chocolates for the wealthy jet-set clients of Book It Travel, Sweet’s Sweets bakery is taking on a whole new dimension. Only problem, Sam isn’t ready. It’s almost Halloween, her pastry shop is bursting at the seams and she needs extra employees but there is no place to put them. 

Right before the witching day, she comes upon a large Victorian house she can adapt for the business, and it seems her problem is solved. But is it? The mysterious, spooky noises at night are way more than the normal creaks and groans of an old building. Something else is going on and Sam suspects it may be related to her husband’s newest case, investigating where an abandoned duffle bag crammed full of cash came from. 

Beau is dealing with a greedy reward-seeker, a robbery with no leads, and a waif who appears and vanishes. Sam’s mystery has her watching for ghosts and working almost around the clock. Is she relying on magic?—well, occasionally. 

Review

Sam's bakery is a hit and so are her chocolates, in part due to some special spices provided by the mysterious Bobul who appears out of nowhere. Along with her magical box, she's able to keep to the schedule but she needs more space and more help. She finds the space and hires some helpers and Bobul shows up. Only there's something off about the Victorian House. Even the magic box seems to feel it. And then there's the money that was stolen, the woman shot in the robbery, and part of that money found in the bakery. 

Shelton weaved the two mysteries together, with well-developed characters and her own brand of magic. Bobul adds his own piece of the puzzle. This was a delightful cozy mystery, well-written, and well-paced. Although it is the 11th in the series, it is easily read as a stand-alone mystery. There are 18 in the series.

AMAZON 

SAMANTHA SWEET MAGICAL COZY MYSTERIES

About the Author 

Connie Shelton's novels have sold nearly two million copies in more than 115 countries worldwide. In addition to her three cozy mystery series, she has written three non-fiction books and two children's books. She was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the Writer's Soul. 

She's known for a light touch when it comes to sex and violence in her stories, but is much more lavish with food and chocolate. Besides writing the Charlie Parker and Samantha Sweet mysteries, Connie is an award-winning essayist. Her work has been published in both small and major anthologies, including Chicken Soup For the Writer's Soul, and her short stories have won several prizes. 

She has also been a commercial hot air balloon pilot and holds the women's world altitude record for size AX-4 balloons. She has been featured in Who's Who and The World Who's Who of Women. She and her husband live in northern New Mexico with their two dogs, Daisy and Missy, who became stars of their own series of children's books.

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