Jody M. (jodymcgrath) -
Helpful Score: 1
Grilled for Murder by Maddie Day is the second book in the Country Store Mystery series. Robbie, the owner of a country store diner, Pans N Pancakes, has agreed to cater a welcome home party for Erica Shermer, the widow of Robbie's boyfriend's twin brother. We learn that Jim had a twin brother named Jon who committed suicide about a year ago. (This comes out of nowhere, as it was never even hinted at in the first book, and it seems like a plot device to me, but oh well.) Erica does not seem like a very nice person, flirting with married men, accused of stealing, racial slurs, etc. The next morning, Robbie finds Erica's body in the restaurant and the front window of her store has been busted out also. It seemed like no one liked Erica, but who hated her enough to murder her? And why leave her in her restaurant?
I actually liked this book more than the first. It seems like Ms. Day has worked the kinks out and really found a good rhythm with the series. Most of the characters were consistent with the first book, but some made moves that seemed out of character to me. I think the author wanted to go in a different direction with one aspect of the backstory and just made the pieces fit to do it. It seemed odd to me, but I didn't like that direction in the first book. I must not have been the only one! All the townsfolk are still quirky and charming and her business seems to be doing well.
The mystery aspect of this book, was kind of a joke. It was way easy to solve and if Robbie would have acted like any other person who had a crime scene in their business would have acted, it would have been solved way early. Ms. Day made Robbie oblivious to this giant clue, which al out any reader would figure out instantly and know who the murderer was. There were no twists or anything. And the reason behind the murder, was stupid and also didn't make any sense.
That being said, I really liked the book. I am not sure why, after I really think about everything, but I completely enjoyed it. I am definitely going to read the next book in the series!
I actually liked this book more than the first. It seems like Ms. Day has worked the kinks out and really found a good rhythm with the series. Most of the characters were consistent with the first book, but some made moves that seemed out of character to me. I think the author wanted to go in a different direction with one aspect of the backstory and just made the pieces fit to do it. It seemed odd to me, but I didn't like that direction in the first book. I must not have been the only one! All the townsfolk are still quirky and charming and her business seems to be doing well.
The mystery aspect of this book, was kind of a joke. It was way easy to solve and if Robbie would have acted like any other person who had a crime scene in their business would have acted, it would have been solved way early. Ms. Day made Robbie oblivious to this giant clue, which al out any reader would figure out instantly and know who the murderer was. There were no twists or anything. And the reason behind the murder, was stupid and also didn't make any sense.
That being said, I really liked the book. I am not sure why, after I really think about everything, but I completely enjoyed it. I am definitely going to read the next book in the series!
