Flipped For Murder (A Country Store Mystery)

Who knew southern Indiana could be so picturesque, or so deadly? In Maddie Day’s, Flipped for Murder, protagonist, Robbie Jordan, must solve the murder of a local bureaucrat before she can happily live her dream of running a successful country store/diner. While solving the murder, Robbie takes the reader on scenic bicycle rides, describes delicious food, introduces friends and foes, rescues a stray cat, and starts to unravel secrets of her own past. Oh, and then there are the two men who’d like to get to know her better.

This first in a series title, satisfactorily sets up the story line for Robbie and several supporting characters, while weaving the plot of the murder and suspects. Great dialogue, vivid descriptions, interesting characters, and, yum, banana walnut pancakes, all contribute to the success of this cozy. The only reason it scored four stars was because the final conflict was too brief for this reader. Others, without a need for a protracted and more perilous conflict, are likely to be very satisfied. I highly recommend this book. On to book 2: Grilled for Murder.

Remodeling and opening a new restaurant is difficult enough. Add to that a list of charming folks , (for the most part), conniving folks, and some down right mean folks and you have a picture of Robbie's life. Whoops, I almost forgot the murder! Who killed nasty old Stella Rogers, why did they kill her and how is it that Robbie is at the top of the persons of interest page?
This is the first book in The Country Store Mystery series, the second is due out next year. Maddie (Edith Maxwell) has several series out along with some stand alone books. Check them out on the cozy-mystery.com site, and if you happen to read one, please leave a review!

FTC Full Disclosure - A copy of this book was sent to me by the publisher in hopes I would review it. However, receiving the complimentary copy did not influence my review.

Robbie has just moved to southern Indiana from the west coast to open a diner in the town where her mother was from. Now that her mother is dead, her aunt is the only living relative that she knows of, so she wants to be close to her. After opening her diner, the mayor's assistant, Stella, is found murdered and it seems that Robbie is the main suspect. But after asking around Robbie finds almost everyone in town has a reason to want Stella dead. Robbie also uncovers the secret of her father's identity along with finding out who the murderer is. This was very enjoyable and keeps you guessing til the end.

I received an advanced ecopy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A wonderful new series set in a country store nestled in the Hoosier hills. Robbie Jordan is a wonderfully talented, bright, fun and smart protagonist for what I'm sure will be a long running series. Pans and Pancakes is the innovative setting for this small town of quirky characters. Running the store/restaurant, riding her bike, attracting the attention of two attractive men, dodging bullets and cleaning up rat poop are all in a days work for this intrepid heroine. A truly enjoyable set of supporting characters, Adele is a personal favorite of mine, keep the reader guessing as to who done it: and there is a lot of it that needs to be cleared up by Robbie in the fun, smart and comfortable debut!

I really enjoyed Flipped for Murder. A lot of detail and set up for the series was jam packed into this book. Not so much it was a slow, stodgy read, but no page space was wasted.

The author gives Robbie an unusual backstory in terms of how she was raised and who her father is. It feels slightly out of place to me in a cozy mystery series.

I received a copy from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

I received a copy in exchange for an honest review

Flipped for Murder is a great cozy mystery, once I started the book I knew I was going to enjoy it. The main character Robbie owns her own restaurant and shop, where she sells vintage cookware and breakfast and lunch. I immediately liked Robbie and share her love for cooking. We get a short introduction before the murder mystery starts and there are a lot of other plot lines and side plots too. This book was just a lot of fun and had me invested in all the storylines. I had a hard time putting it down as I wanted to read more.

The mystery was well done, although I did suspect who was the murdered from early on as there are enough hints. There are also enough hints to other people so that does throw you off a bit and with more things going on, there’s more to uncover than just who murdered Stella. I liked how Stella was such an unlikeable person that many people had a motive to want her death, which made it hard at first to figure out who had murdered her. There is also a bit of a family mystery and history that get’s uncovered piece by piece and a bit of romance that slowly builds form the beginning. It all worked well together.

I liked Robbie from the moment I started this book, I love cooking and baking and reading about a character who owns her own shop and sells breakfast and lunch to people was a lot of fun. I have a weak spot to restaurant type stories as I love reading about all the yummy food. She was a great main character and she acted realistically. She didn’t go an try to solve the murder herself, but she did try and talk to other people to find out what they knew and asked the police guy how the investigation as going as the murderer is trying the frame her. And she did think and puzzle about the murder a lot and in the end helped uncover the murderer.

There is a bit of romance going that’s set up from the first chapter already, they go on a few dates and kiss, but it doesn’t fully grown into a relationship yet. There’s also a hint of another guy who’s interested in her. So it will be interesting to see how that all turns out in the next book. The romance was nice and I liked how it slowly build, but as it is a sideplot, it did stay a bit flat. I did like it though and thought it fit well into the story.

The small town setting was really well done and I liked how the town came alive, especially during a scene towards the end where they al come visit a fund-raiser where everyone helps a bit and everyone knows everyone else. It was fun to see. Then add in the autumn season and the tourist who came leaf watching and I really enjoyed seeing the city come alive. There are also interpersonal relationships and it was fun to see how they all interacted. The side characters all have their own personalities, they focus isn’t on them and I would like to learn more about some of them, but I did think the author did a great job making the town feel alive. Although at times I forgot who was who as there are a lot of side characters who play a role, but usually after a few sentences I got reminded who the character was again.

To summarize: I really enjoyed Flipped For Murder, it had a fun murder mystery and some other plot lines going on at the same time. I did predict who was the murdered earlier than it was announced in the book, but there were enough possible culprits to still make it fun. I really liked the main character and the restaurant and shop setting. the small town setting came alive with a fun cast of character who each had a bit of their own personality, although I did forget at times who was who as there are so many side characters. This is a great cozy mystery and I am looking forward to the next book in this series.

Robbie Jordan falls in love with the tiny town of South Lick. She decides to open a store selling kitchen ware and a cafe serving breakfast and lunch. Everyone in town shows up for her grand opening but the mayor's disagreeable assistant is found dead with one of Robbie's biscuit in her mouth she has to figure out who is out to get her.

Flipped for Murder is the first installment in the Country Store Mystery series featuring Roberta "Robbie" Jordan. Robbie has quit her faced past job in California, ditched her cheating ex and moved back to South Lick, Indiana. Robbie has opened Pans 'N Pancakes, a combination kitchenware store and café.

On the day of the Grand Opening of Pans 'N Pancakes Robbie is feeling hopeful that her lifelong dream will be a success. With the help of her Aunt Adele and close friend Phil things are running smoothly until the Town Mayor, Corrine Beedle and her assistant, Stella Rogers arrive. Stella is a sourpuss of a woman who put Robbie through the wringer during the massive renovations and permitting process required to open the new little store.

Rejoicing in the glow of a successful opening day, Robbie is excited to be out on a date with her real estate lawyer, Jim Shermer enjoying a lovely dinner and dancing. Things take a sudden downward spiral when they return to Pans to find Officer Buck Bird waiting for them. Stella Rogers has been found dead with one of Robbie's signature cheesy biscuits stuffed in her mouth and Robbie's lucky pen laying nearby.

As the newcomer in town Robbie becomes the chief suspect in Stella's murder. Determined to clear her name and save her new business, she takes the investigation into her own hands. Stella has made a lot of enemies over the years in her position as the mayor's assistant and it looks like she's been doing a bit of blackmailing on the side. But, who is trying to frame Robbie and why? Is it Ed Kowalski, owner of Kowalski's Country Store and Robbie's competitor in the next town, or Roy Rogers, Stella's son who has a beef that Robbie bought the building that he had wanted?

There is an interesting subplot in addition to the main mystery. In the course of her investigation Robbie discovers the name of her father whom she had never known. Roberto Fracasso was the Italian foreign exchange student who had been involved with Robbie's mom in high school.

Following the lines of most traditional cozy mysteries, Robbie takes in a little stray kitty she names Birdy, and finds herself in the midst of a triangle of romantic feelings. I'll be looking forward to the next in the series "Grilled for Murder" to see how things develop with her newfound father, to see which man she chooses and of course to see what the next adventure for Robbie and her friends will be.

I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley via Kensington Publishing. While I was not required to write a review I am more than happy to offer my honest opinion.

Great mystery. It had me guessing until the end. The characters and setting were very will written and the descriptions of food were amazing. I highly recommend this book and can't wait for the next one.

Loved the storyline in this 1st in the series novel. Good characterization and plot. A bit thick on the local yokel language but that too adds charm to the story. Can't wait for the next in the series