Customer Reviews

Sucker Punch (A Candy Shop Mystery)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

With Valentine's Day coming, Abby is finding her candy shop, Divinity, swamped with orders. She's not complaining, but it does leave her little time for thinking about important things like her slowly building relationship with Jawarski and how she feels about him.

That's why she immediately says now when a friend asks her to be part of a play for the local playhouse. A couple of local boys made good are coming back to help direct it. As tempting as it sounds, Abby knows she needs to concentrate on her stop. Still, she can't help checking out the theater. And that's why she is present when a body is found on center stage. One of Abby's friends is immediately labeled a person of interest, but Abby is certain he's innocent. Can she clear his name while still fulfilling the orders at her candy store?

The latest entry in this series is another fun book. I could actually feel the cold air from the Colorado weather despite the fact that it is summer. The new characters were fun and lively even if most of the series regulars get relegated to the background. I did find the pacing of the plot off. In fact, it seemed to stall in the second half before revving back up for an exciting climax. And I can't leave out the three new tempting candy recipes.

If you like your murder on the light side, this is a good series for you.

I really enjoyed this book. I was "suckered" into the plot at the first page.
A top notch mystery for me. Abby and her faithful dog, Max,
seem to always find trouble when they least expect it.
This plot centers around the town putting on a musical with celebrity directors, Lawrence Nichols, and Alexander Pastorelli. Most of the town is involved in the play except Abby. She is to busy with Valentine's Day coming. Candy orders are piling up, so she declines the offer for a part in the play.
Little does she know, that stopping by one day to check up the progress of the musical, would turn her world upside down. Murder! When one of her friends is high on the suspect list, Abby finds the time to figure out who the real killer is. There are plenty of suspects, so Abby has her work cut out for her. Never underestimate a woman's determination when a friend's life is on the line.
This "Who did it" cozy, kept me interested the whole time.
The characters and plot worked nicely for me.
Give this book a try.
The recipes sounded great to me too.

I did not enjoy it as much as the previous books, because it did not have as much storyline involving the candyshop.One of the main reasons I like the books is because of the candyshop storyline, and their was just not very much involvement in the candy shop. Jean

There's nothing more annoying in a cozy than a heroine who has no reason for being involved in a case, yet takes the entire thing over without a word of protest from the police or the suspects they run around questioning becuase they're either a) curious; b) nosy; or c) have a friend being accused of murder. Such was the case with this book.

What I also find unbearable in this series is the way Abby runs around town with Max, taking him everywhere to either leave him in the car or outside in sub-zero temperatures. It's unrealistic to even try to make the reader believe that no one in town minds her bringing her dog (a Doberman, no less) into their establishment and leaving him locked up alone in a theater box office or a restaurant vestibule when she constantly tells us how the dog destroys her apartment whenever he's left there alone.

Add all this to the murderer's identity being obvious from the start, and this book was really painful to read. I liked this series when it first came out, but the last few haven't impressed me. This one, however, turned me off completely.

Abby is at it again but this time she is trying to save her friend from being unjustly charged with Murder. With Jaworski out of town and Nate (her nemesis) in charge of the investigation, Abby battles time between making her famous candy for Valentines Day and investigating a murder at the Playhouse. What will Valentines Day bring to Abby and Pine's relationship? This is a great installment in the Candy Shop Mystery series! It's a cozy....

Great writing, only suggestion is to read books in order of publication (writer refers to things that happen in previous books, so can tend to be spoiler-like if read out of order)....lots of candy tidbits in between chapters.

I thought Sucker Punch by Sammi Carter was great! I've read all of her books & look forward to the next!