Customer Reviews

The Christmas Cookie Killer: A Fresh-Baked Mystery

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Livia Washburn has won the Private Eye Writers of America award and the American Mystery award. She has been nominated for the Spur award (western novels).

The first thing that will draw you to The Christmas Cookie Killer is the cover. It's delightful and begs potential readers to pick up the book. And I suspect that once the book is in the hands of said potential reader and they read the blurb, well, it will leave the store with the reader.

Weatherford, Texas resident and widow, Phyllis Newsom started taking in borders following the death of her husband Kenny. She didn't really need the money-it's that the house was just too big for one person. And Phyllis loves the smell of freshly baked cookies. And she loves to bake. She's entered the Christmas cookie contest and would love to win. She doesn't consider herself competitive, but would love to beat Carolyn, who often wins the contest. And really, her snowflake-shaped lime sugar cookies are simply scrumptious.

Phyllis' neighbor, Agnes, sent her gingerdoodle cookies to the neighborhood Christmas cookie exchange as she was unable to attend due to a broken hip. When Phyllis goes to Agnes' house following the cookie exchange, she finds Agnes dead, strangled by her bathrobe belt. There was no doubt about it--Agnes was murdered. But why? It's up to Phyllis to sift through the list of potential suspects and solve the case.

Christmas and murder. It's a combination that doesn't seem to go together, yet Washburn pulls it off in a delightfully entertaining manner. The plot is fun, the characters are delightful; some you'll love and some you'll dislike, a lot. And if you're into baking, the recipes at the back of the book are a bonus.

Armchair Interviews says: A little bit of murder served up for Christmas. Enjoy!

In Weatherford, Texas, Phyllis Newsome is hosting the annual Christmas Cookie Exchange party, which is a chance for people to relax with others who they rarely if ever socialize with during the year. Mrs. Simmons is unable to attend due to injuries so Phyllis brings a batch of cookies to her. When Mrs. Simmons asks Phyllis to lend her cookie cutters so she can bake some cookie, the host runs home to get them. She returns to find Mrs. Simmons dead; the rope from her robe tied around her neck.

As Phyllis struggles to remove the rope, someone comes up behind her and knocks her unconscious. After a short stint at the hospital, Phyllis returns to the Simmons' house to bring the mourning relatives some cookies, but nobody answers her knock. She notices someone peaking from one of the windows so she enters. She meets Mrs. Simmons' grandson Randal who was in the attic. The police arrest him for skipping bail on a charge of possession with intent to sell. The homicide evidence points to him also, but Phyllis has doubts he killed his grandma and begins to question the neighbors while the culprit watches her every move.

If anyone assumes life slows down at sixty, they need to look at Phyllis to change their mind. She has more energy than the Energizer Bunny has. Livia J. Washburn always provides a delicious whodunit with her latest Fresh Baked Mystery a delicious holiday treat as the audience knows what the heroine feels.

Harriet Klausner

I agree with the armchair interview for this selection. I have read all three of these fresh baked mystery series. They are well-written and even have an underlying spirituality to them. The only thing is that it might be taking a slightly different direction in the next outing in dealing with the four personalities in the series. Hopefully, there is not too much of change in the dynamics. I just love this series, it's my favorite cozy mystery.

"The Christmas Cookie Killer" presents a well-developed murder mystery plot. There are several suspects and several plausible motives. The plot moves from possible solution to possible solution. But the rest of the story just doesn't hold the reader's interest.

Four retired teachers live together in a big house in a small Texas town. They plan and cook meals together, shop together, go to church together, watch "A Wonderful Life" together, look at neighborhood Christmas decorations together. They just aren't very interesting.

One of them, Phyllis, has a policeman son and has been involved in murders previously. She discovers the body of an elderly neighbor, is knocked out before she can get help, then starts to investigate the murder herself. She interviews the neighbors and the victim's family. As an amateur detective, she learns more than the town police professionals (which is rather unbelievable). Although the secrets of the neighborhood should arouse interest (spousal abuse, a cross dresser), they don't. There is just too much time spent on the mundane (how Phyllis makes cocoa, for instance).

If you like mysteries without a lot of physical violence and involving average, small town people, then you may like this book. But if you're looking for distinct, well-drawn characters who capture your interest and propel you from event to event, then this isn't the book for you.

This was my very first time reading a LW book. I rarely read light mystery but this one was a very easy, fast read. I like her style of writing..and will read the rest of the books in this series... as an added bonus, there are handful of recipes in the back of the book and they all seem simple, easy to follow and won't break the bank. Having said that, I agree the story was a little too unrealistic at time and the main character (Phyllis, widowed, retired school teacher, and mother to one really sickening mama's boy) did come across a tad preachy and a little too perfect at times. She lives in a big old drafty house with 3 boarders, all of them unlikable at times.. with the exception of Sam.. whilst hosting the annual neighborhood xmas cookie exchange, she sneaks over to an elderly neighbors house with a plate of cookies. The old lady asks to borrow some cookie cutters.. (hard to believe at 87 with a broken hip and walker that she's going to be doing any baking, but okay) Phyllis runs home get the cutters, gets sidetracked by some other guests and returns 20 min. later to find Agnes dead as a doorknob. Strangled. Phyllis gets a nasty crack on the head by the killer, comes too, and runs home to her pseudo-family and they in turn call the cops. The black sheep grandson, accused of the murder is arrested and Phyllis feels it's her duty to do some sleuthing. She isn't convinced he's guilty. The sleuthing turns up, a middle aged gent who enjoys wearing women's clothing, a young mother who once stabbed a man to death, justifiable homicide and an angry depressed drunken housewife who verbally and phys abuses her husband. But all in all, a fun read.

I love the title and the book was a good read. Also, best part it comes with recipes! I love to cook and this is just a double pleasure.

This is a fun light mystery. I enjoyed it very much.
The author has a nice way of expressing herself and has created characters that you feel you know. Since I work in a school and am nearing retirement age, I felt I could identify with them.

Murder hits closer to home than ever for Weatherford, TX, baker and amateur sleuth Phyllis Newsom and her friends in the third Fresh-Baked Mystery (preceded by A Peach of a Murder: A Fresh-Baked Mystery and Murder By the Slice: A Fresh-Baked Mystery; the fourth, Killer Crab Cakes: A Fresh-Baked Mystery, is now available in hardcover). Christmas is coming and Phyllis and her housemates are much occupied with decorating, baking, gift-shopping, and of course entertaining, including the traditional neighborhood cookie exchange. One would-be guest, 80-some Agnes Simmons, who lives next door, is temporarily using a walker and unable to attend, so Phyllis takes her a sampler of everyone's contributions. Returning shortly afterward with some cookie cutters to lend, she finds the old woman strangled with her own bathrobe cord. How can anyone resist the temptation to try to find out the identity of a murderer who strikes almost in one's own house?

It isn't long before Phyllis begins to realize that the murder may be rooted in neighborhood secrets. "Everybody had [them]...there was no way of knowing what went on...But you might catch a glimpse from time to time, especially if you spent your days sitting at your own window, watching, watching..." And she soon has a considerable list of suspects--a cross-dressing widower, a young single mother who once killed a man to defend her own mother, a woman battling alcoholism and depression, and Agnes's grandson Randall, who turns out to have been hiding out in her attic from a loan shark. Or is it possible that the shark is to blame? When the police arrest Randall, Phyllis admits he's the most likely perpetrator, yet her instincts insist he's innocent. How she happens on the real killer's identity, and above all who it is, may surprise you; it did me. This volume upholds the quality of its predecessors and should be a hit with lovers of cozies and culinary mysteries.

I thoroughly enjoy the Freshed-Baked Mystery series by author,
Livia Washburn.

In each of her books, the author has a superb ability for character development. It's fun getting to know her fictitious folks of Weatherford, Texas. There are some characters I would love to chat with over a cup of coffee--and those that drive me nuts (just like real life family members and friends!).

I love the internal dialog of main character, retired-teacher-turned-sleuth, Phyllis Newsom. Her thoughts betray her sincere efforts to balance her parochial upbringing and beliefs with her wish to be an accepting and nonjudgmental soul--all while trying to solve murders.

This book in the series does a good job of demonstrating that you never really know your neighbors. Ms. Washburn throws in enough red herrings so that the story's ending is a surprise--yet you have to admit, the clues were there all along.

Plus--I love, love, love the recipes that appear in the back of each book. Just yesterday I went shopping for the ingredients to try another dish. Mmmmm! Such fun!

Having gobbled up all the rest of the Fresh Baked Mysteries, I am sorry to report I have only one more book left in the series to devour. There is only one solution: Ms. Washburn, you must whip up some more Freshed-Baked Mysteries pronto!

This is the first time that I have read a book by this author and I loved it. There is not all the extra info that I think is unnecessary in a story. I will buy more books by this author.