A murder, mystery set in a quiet seaside town. Good characters and an interesting storyline which kept the story moving along at a fast pace. The love story added some piquancy to the tale. Easy, enjoyable, quick read

From the author of The Crêpes of Wrath comes another decadent cozy mystery. This time, pancake house owner Marley McKinney is tangling with a salty troublemaker . . . and a ravenous killer.


Tourist season’s in full swing in the small seaside town of Wildwood Cove, and Marley McKinney couldn’t be happier. Since taking over the Flip Side restaurant, she’s made a few close friends, adopted a cat named Flapjack, and started dating her childhood crush. The only cloud on the horizon is local nuisance Ida Winkler, who blames Marley for landing her nephew in prison. Trying to get a rise out of Marley, Ida’s been making crank calls and even vandalizing the pancake house.

The police can’t do much about the pranks, so Marley sets out to bury the hatchet once and for all. But someone’s beat her to it—in the most shocking way possible. After stumbling across Ida’s dead body, Marley’s suddenly the number-one suspect in her murder. Clearing her good name is going to be a tall order, but Marley’s not about to let Ida keep ruining her life—especially from beyond the grave.



* * * * *



There are times when nothing will suit as well as a mystery and thanks for Ms Fox, I have discovered that I especially enjoy the cozy mystery genre and especially this series.



This book has a lot going for it. First of all, the characters are all so well developed and well...real. They remind me a lot of some of my friends especially as they are animal lovers also.And the setting itself is one that is local to me which adds just another touch to love. And let's not forget Ivan's recipes that are in the back of the book. Yummy!



I do highly recommend this book and this series to any of my readers who enjoy cozy mysteries. They are just perfect to read while sipping a mug of tea.



*** I received this book at no charge from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions expressed within are my own.

Sarah Fox did a wonderful job writing For Whom the Bread Rolls!

The main character, Marley, made a major decision to leave her paralegal job in Seattle to run her cousin's pancake house by the sea. Things went from bad to worse when Cousin Jimmy went from being sick to ending up dead. As a result, Marley inherited his business and beautiful home on the water. While life in a big city can be anonymous and cold, Wildwood Cove is a close knit and apparently cut throat community.

Not everyone is warm and welcoming to Marley. Ida, the town trouble maker/grouch, seemed to be jealous of Marley for a variety of reasons. In an effort to drive her away, Ida made crank calls to the Flip Side and vandalized the building. Marley ignored it at first. Reported it next. When it appeared things wouldn't stop, Marley tried to resolve things on her own. After Ida ended up dead, Marley became "a person of interest." While trying to clear her name, Marley learned a lot about Ida and just how many others were willing to kill her.

Although the quest for the truth took a few dangerous turns and uncovered a few suspicious and illegal activities happening in town, Marley learned a lot about herself, her relationship and the importance of trusting others.

I loved this book and look forward to more to come. Thank you Net Galley for gIrving me this ebook for free so I could review and enjoy it.

For Whom the Bread Rolls by Sarah Fox
Book #2: A Pancake House Mystery Series
Source: Netgalley
My Rating: 4/5 stars
My Review:

In the weeks since her uncle passed away, Marley made the monumental decision to embrace life in Wildwood Cove. That means early, early mornings opening the Flip Side Pancake House, considering how to redecorate her Victorian, taking refreshing dips in the ocean, and canoodling with her boyfriend, Brett. Literally, the only thing plaguing Marley’s life is Ida Winkler.

Ida Winkler is no one’s favorite person; in fact, Ida is a certified menace. Of late, Ida has been vandalizing the Flip Side and making prank calls during the restaurant’s peak hours. That is, when she’s not stealing things from anyone and everyone. Yeah, Ida’s a certified menace and Marley is squarely in her crosshairs. With the police being utterly useless (lack of proof!), Marley determines her only course of action is to confront Ida and try and talk some sense into her. As they say, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. When Marley gets to Ida’s house, she quite unpleasantly discovers, Ida’s cold, dead corpse and herself as a person of interest.

With her reputation and her livelihood at stake, Marley can’t afford to be a person of interest, and the only way to clear her name and save her business is to dig in, dig around, and figure out who killed Ida Winkler. As it turns out, Marley wasn’t the only person Ida rubbed the wrong way which means Marley’s list of potential suspects gets quite long, quickly. Narrowing the list down takes a lot of patience, even more persistence, and a willingness to put herself in danger. As Marley quickly finds out, poking around and asking questions about a murder makes people twitchy, especially the people involved in the murder 😊 It doesn’t take long for Marley to become the object of the culprit’s anger which means danger is fast on her heels.

The Bottom Line: The Pancake House Mystery series is really keeping me entertained! This is just the right amount of mystery and danger mixed with strange and somewhat endearing characters. Except Ida, Ida sucks! This book is all about Marley trying to become an accepted and respected member of the community through good deeds and hard work. Getting tangled up in a murder isn’t ideal, but through her determination and with the help of some loyal friends, Marley is able to not only disentangle herself, but solve the mystery of Ida Winkler’s murder. There’s lots of community and relationship building in this book which mixes nicely with the light mystery aspect. Overall, this series is helping me fall a little more in love with the cozy mystery genre 😊

Princess Fuzzypants here:
Ida is a pest, a malicious, nasty pest who is making Marley's life more difficult with pranks, theft and vandalism. So when Marley goes to confront Ida, finding her dead instead, she is a person of interest. The friends she has made since moving to Wildwood Cove do not doubt her innocence but she is worried that rumour and innuendo might damage her business. She feels compelled to find out who was responsible.
She has a myriad of possibilities. It appears amongst her other "charming" activities, she was blackmailing several locals for various indiscretions. Who finally had enough of her shenanigans?
As she looks into the connections, she discovers that there has been a drug lab in the woods near town. The remnants have been dumped along with other assorted detritus. Does this have anything to do with Ida's death or just an unpleasant coincidence.
I've grown to like Marley from the previous books. She's an interesting character. The stories are always entertaining because the characters are three dimensional. And while she does tip precariously close to the edge of belief in her investigations, she always manages to stay on the right side. It helps keep the story tight which makes the ending even more exciting. It really was a page turner.
Of course, we cannot forget our animal characters including Flapjack, the cat who owns Marley and Bentley, the cockadoodle that she helps rescues. The meeting between them proves the adage: cats rule; dogs drool.
I give this five purrs and two paws up.

A cute mystery where no one likes the victim. I'm not sure if I would have enjoyed this as much if it weren't for Marley. She's a good character for an amateur sleuth, but the story itself didn't capture my interest like I had hoped. Maybe reading the first one would have helped also. This was still likable, and I plan to read the next.

This is a great book; this is the second book in the Pancake House Mystery series written by Sarah Fox. This is a great book with a wonderful story and well developed characters. This book will keep you reading long into the night. If you are looking for a great book, then you need to read this book. I am looking forward to reading the next book by this great authors. I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader’s copy of this book. The free book held no determination on my personal review.

This book is the second in the series. Not reading the first book didn't seem to have any effect on this book. I didn't feel lost or confused while reading. I enjoy 'cozy' mysteries so this was definitely a good fit. It was exciting and moved along at a great pace. I will be reading the first book soon. I also enjoy the recipes.

ARC provided by NetGalley and Random House Publishing - Alibi Alibi

I tend to like cozy mysteries, they are a little lighter and some light humor. The beginning of the book read a little more like a woman writing in her journal. It dragged and wasn't very good. It did get easier to stomach halfway through.

The main character took way too many stupid chances, and put her self in danger way more than was intelligent. My copy did not have recipes which would have been a nice bonus.

When the Flip Side pancake house is targeted by vandalism and prank calls, new owner Marley McKinney decides to confront the woman responsible. Instead of the peaceful resolution she hoped for, she finds the older woman's body and becomes a suspect herself. My reaction to this one was kind of lukewarm. The vandalism was intriguing, but the other elements of the mystery weren't. Or maybe it's just because I live in the neck of the woods were that sort of thing is more expected than surprising.

The entire time I was reading this book, I was trying to formulate my review as I went along. Whenever I start a book, it starts as a 5 star book and then stars just start falling.....or they don't. I SO wanted to just love this book. In the end though, I just liked it. It's a story of Marley McKinney who inherited her uncle's house and restaurant when he got killed. She's decided to become an amateur detective (VERY amateur) after the person she suspected of vandalizing her restaurant and placing prank phone calls to her, dies and she becomes a "person of interest."

I felt off kilter this entire book. For one thing, I have no clue how old she is but she felt about 16 which I know is way off base. I think that there was just TOO MUCH detail. Every little conversation, every little thought, every little thing was in this book. It took 2 pages to discuss something that should have taken 2 short paragraphs, if you even mentioned it at all. I typically read mystery and suspense novels so there were at least 15 occasions when I thought ohhhh this is foreshadowing, something is going to happen here and then no, she just went on a run, or a swim in the ocean, or just went straight to bed, all uneventfully. When I described the book to a coworker (since I was reading on my lunch hour) she said, "Wait, this chick runs a restaurant, helped rescue a dog, runs all the time, swims in the ocean constantly, and on the side is investigating these two cases? Did she create a 48 hour day? How does she get all this Sh&^ done?" And that's how I felt! I just didn't care for Marley, I felt she bumbled all the investigating she did. Where was her level of concern. You're just going to hunt a murderer down and not be worried or concerned? And her "relationship" with Brett lacked so much chemistry that I kept thinking she was a teenager with how everything went. I don't know, parts of the book were good, and there were moments in there where I went, Sarah Fox CAN write, she just gets side tracked by fluff.

I hate just unloading like that, it was a nice book, I'd actually read the next one because I feel as though the author is still discovering her voice and the potential to be a good author is there. I was hooked the last 8% of the book, when all the action happened. That section was SO well written that I feel like suspense is her genre and not chick lit.

Just like the first book in this cozy series, The Crepes of Wrath, the title of this second book is just a bit over-the-top cute. And so is the book.

The series is definitely very cozy. In Crepes, Marley inherited her cousin Jimmy’s small-town pancake house, The Flip Side. And solved his murder. In this second book, Marley is settling into her new life in tiny, touristy Wildwood Cove – and neck deep in yet another murder.

I sense a trend.

At the end of Crepes, Marley’s meddling into the investigation of Cousin Jimmy’s death results in, among other things, nasty Ida Winkler’s son landing, quite justifiably, in prison. But Ida is both nasty and crazy, and is doing everything she can to run Marley out of business and out of town. However, Ida isn’t terribly effective, and Marley is just (and quite justifiably) annoyed.

Not that anyone in town has a single nice thing to say about Ida. She’s a piece of work. But while no one would miss her if she moved away, no one seems to hate her enough to want her dead. Which doesn’t stop Marley from just about tripping over Ida’s corpse.

And Marley has just enough of a motive, and just enough of a window of opportunity, to put herself at the top of the suspect list. So of course she decides that the best thing she can do to clear her name and protect her business is to “help” the police investigate the murder, annoying half the town (but not as badly as Ida) and putting herself squarely in the killer’s sights.

Again.

Escape Rating C+: The series is still cute. I particularly love Marley’s cat Flapjack, who is just a cat and doesn’t solve murders. But he’s a sweet boy and I wouldn’t mind having one just like him. He’s also very good, as cats often are, at knowing when his person needs an extra cuddle.

Sticking oneself into the middle of a murder investigation is enough to make any sane person need a little extra feline TLC.

But Marley’s motives for nosing around town don’t seem quite as clear-cut or as compelling as in the previous book. She loved Cousin Jimmy, and felt terribly guilty that she hadn’t been around more. And as his unexpected heir, she really was the logical murderer, if not the correct one. Following the money led straight to Marley.

However, no one seriously believes that Marley is Ida’s murderer, and that includes the cops. Not just because they know her now, but because they actually are capable of doing their jobs. Marley’s insecurity about how this latest investigation will affect her business is a bit all in her head.

And while she “investigates” one crime, she trips over two more. Someone seems to have been blackmailing local residents over mostly petty incidents, and everyone assumes that it was the late, unlamented Ida. She certainly was nasty and judgmental enough to have been the blackmailer. As if that wasn’t enough of a crime spree, someone is illegally dumping large garbage piles on the shore, and one of those dumps contains remnants of a meth lab.

While this probably isn’t a lot of crime for a small town with loads of tourists, it is a lot of coincidence for one completely amateur and occasionally inept investigator to trip over and more or less solve. The connections between the crimes feels tangential at best, and Marley just can’t resist poking her nose into all of them. It felt like more than a bit much.

Over-the-top, just like the titles. But I like Marley a lot, and I’m still enough interested in her adventures to give the series one more try. The next book, Of Spice and Men, is scheduled for the end of the summer. The perfect time for a beach read, set in a beach town, possibly with a beach murder. We’ll see.

For Whom the Bread Rolls by Sarah Fox is the second book in A Pancake House Mystery series. Marley McKinney is enjoying life in Wildwood Cove. She is glad that she gave up the rat race in Seattle working as a legal assistant. Marley arrives at work one morning to discover hateful words painted on the windows of The Flip Side, the pancake house she owns. Ida Winkler has been at it again. It is the second time within ten days that this has happened. Marley knows Ida committed the act, but she has no proof. Then the phone calls start (you know where someone is there but does not talk) and an antique lamp base that Marley had just purchased is stolen off her front porch. After a couple of days of hang-up calls, Marley decides to visit Ida (bad idea). Marley knocks on the front door and receives no answer. A kindly neighbor suggests she go around to the back door. Upon arriving in the backyard, Marley notices that the door to the garden shed is standing open. She looks inside and finds Ida on the ground. Ida was hit on the head with Marley’s antique lamp base. Marley contacts the police and notices a clue while awaiting their arrival. Sheriff Georgeson quickly arrives and takes Marley’s statement. Unfortunately, while the good sheriff knows Marley would not hurt a soul, this does not look good for her. Marley, with her natural curiosity, starts nosing around looking for clues and questioning Ida’s neighbors. But what happens when the killer finds Marley a little too close for comfort.

For Whom the Bread Rolls is easy to read, has a good pace, and can be finished in a few hours. I found it, though, to be more cozy than mystery. Marley spent much of her time enjoying the beach by herself and with her boyfriend, Brett (Sheriff Georgeson’s nephew). I wish there had been less romance and more time spent on the actual mystery. I give For Whom the Bread Rolls 3 out of 5 stars. The murder is not the only mystery in the book. Someone is dumping illegally around town and then an abandoned meth lab is discovered near the woods. There is also a blackmailer among the town’s citizens. I did enjoy how the author tied these three storylines together. Unfortunately, they are all easily solved. I could tell you who would die and the identity of the killer before the murder occurred. The other two cases are equally simple to crack. I wish the author had spent more time on crafting the mystery. I enjoy reading cozy mysteries because there is less gore and they usually revolve around a craft, hobby or pet. The mysteries used to be more developed and harder to unravel. I did like the addition of Flapjack, the cat, and Bentley, the dog, Marley and Brett discovered on the beach. I felt bad for Bentley. He was injured and quite thin (I cannot stand to see or read about injured animals). While this is the second book in the series, For Whom the Bread Rolls can be read alone. The author provides the necessary background information on Marley and how she came to be living in Wildwood Cove. If you prefer books with more of the cozy element, than For Whom the Bread Rolls is the book for you.

Marley McKinney has moved to seaside town of
Wildwood Cove on the Olympic Peninsula. She is
now running the Flip Side restaurant and living with
Flapjack, the cat in the house on the beach that
she inherited.
The restaurant is being vandalized and getting
harassing phone calls. Marley goes to speak to the
person suspected of the annoyances. She discovers
the person dead in the shed. Now Marley must clear
her name and play sleuth to discover who actually
murdered the person.
Marley manages to uncover illegal dumping sites, a
blackmailer, unfaithful spouses in her quest to solve
the murder.
You will meet Bentley and Angel, the dogs. You will
get delicious recipes and mouthwatering descriptions
of foods.
Colorful, well created main and supporting characters.
This is book # 2 in A Pancake House Mystery series. It
can be read as a stand alone.
It was an enjoyable read.
I volunteered to read this eBook. Thank you to Net Gallery
and Alibi for the opportunity. My opinion is my own.

This was a great, new-to-me cozy series. Sarah Fox writes about her heroine's oceanside town in such a way that I would truly like to visit. The town sounds wonderful with all its Victorian houses, wooded areas, river, and of, course, ocean views. I could easily imagine Marley and Brett swimming in the ocean or seeing an eagle overhead.

For Whom the Bread Rolls spends adequate time showing Marley at work and Marley investigating. The revelation of the murderer was a pleasant(?!) surprise and animal lovers will enjoy Bentley and Flapjack. I am recommending this series as a great cozy to add to your reading list!

I received a complimentary copy of this book, but will be following this series from now on. This review was voluntarily given, and all opinions are my own.

I picked up this book from NetGalley and after starting it I realized that I hadn't read the first book in the series - stopped and read that one and dove right back into this great little cozy.

This installment brought back a nasty lady who was repeatedly harassing the Pancake House and since the police were unable to get enough evidence to do anything to stop her, Marley decided to try to bury the hatchet, however what ended up getting buried was the nasty lady after Marley found her dead.

Marley is now a prime suspect so she has to find the real murderer to clear her name.

The characters are continuing to develop as well as the relationships between them. I really enjoyed this.

A Yummy Mystery at a Seaside Resort

In the second book in the Pancake House Mysteries, Marley McKinney is settled in Wildwood. The pancake house is flourishing, she’s dating Brett, her teenage crush, and she’s made friends. The cloud on the horizon is Ida Winkler. She blames Marley for landing her nephew in jail and is doing what she can to make Marley’s life difficult.

Marley has had it with Ida’s crank calls, words painted on the pancake house, and scenes in the restaurant. She decides to talk to the woman, but when she arrives at Ida’s house she finds her body. This makes Marley a suspect. Personally, I found the idea of Marley as a suspect rather thin, but it does give her a reason to solve the crime.

Wildwood is a great location. I love the descriptions of the seaside, Marley’s house, and the quaint town. The crepes served at the pancake house make your mouth water.

The characters are good. Marley is a strong woman who confronts trouble and wins. I love Ivan the grumpy chef and Brett is almost too good to be true. Flapjack, Marley’s cat, adds a warm touch.

The plot had several twists which ended with a different view of Ida’s murder than the one the story began with. The pace was a little slow. Marley spends a lot of time swimming either alone or with Brett. It adds some romance, but doesn’t do much to further the plot.

If you enjoy cozy mysteries, this is a good one.

I received this book from Alibi for this review.

FOR WHOM THE BREAD ROLLS by Sarah Fox
The Second Pancake House Mystery

Marley McKinney is pleased with her decision to move to Wildwood Cove. She is slowly making her late cousin's Victorian her own home, managing the successful pancake house, The Flip Side, and developing her relationship with her new boyfriend, all while enjoying the beautiful scenery of the Olympic Peninsula. Everything is tainted, however, when Marley and The Flip Side are targeted with vandalism, harassment, and theft. Marley has had enough and, certain that Ida is to blame, goes to confront her. While Marley didn't expect to find Ida repentant, she didn't expect to find her dead either, apparently murdered by the very item stolen from Marley!

This second book in the Pancake House Mystery series finds Marley dealing with more than an antagonistic vandal and murder. Marley's feelings for Brett have intensified and that has her scared. Will she be able to let herself truly love? Love and loss are a major theme here Brett is one of the good guys and Marley will have to figure out if she can risk her heart. Me? I tend to go for the foreboding brooding guy, so yes, I love Ivan, and not just because we share the same surname. I was delighted to learn more about his personal life and now am even more intrigued.

FOR WHOM THE BREAD ROLLS is an entertaining novel with a finely constructed mystery, a beautiful setting filled with complex characters, and two adorable animals. I'm delighted to be back on the Olympic Peninsula, virtually munching on the delicious breakfast treats created by Chef Ivan.

Delightful and entertaining, cozy mystery. Marley, Lisa, Brett, the staff at Flip Side and the citizens of Wildwood Cove make for a much needed pause in my daily concerns; I just relaxed and enjoyed! Good, easy read with a multitude of suspects to eliminate before the guilty can be identified. 3 1/2 stars.
Voluntarily read an ARC, thru Netgalley and the publisher, for honest review.

What a wonderful treat it is to return to Washington’s Olympic Peninsula to spend a few days with Marley at The Flip Side pancake house she inherited from her cousin Jimmy. She now lives in the beautiful Victorian home where he and his late wife had lived and where she visited summers when growing up.

A long-ago former employee, fired for stealing, still returns to vandalize the pancake house when it’s closed. Ida is not a teenager, but a woman old enough to know better; she simply hasn’t learned when to let go. As of late, she has been painting comments about Marley on the outside walls and windows. When she began to make hang-up calls every few minutes, Marley takes a walk to try to talk with Ida and come to a truce. Gotta love a place where almost everything is in walking distance!

Nobody answers at Ida’s home, but one of her next-door neighbors suggests knocking on the back door. She goes to the back, where again nobody answers, but there is a garden shed with an open door. Marley finds Ida, but Ida has been murdered. The apparent weapon is an antique lamp base that Ida had stolen from Marley's steps the night before and reported stolen. While waiting on the back porch for the police, Marley sees what looks like a blackmail note, written, she later learns, to a man of questionable ethics who has a second-hand shop in town. While trying to avoid being arrested, Marley is off and running to find out who the killer is and how many people had been blackmailed by Ida, but she annoys the wrong people while trying to find the right bad guy/ gal.

What a great setting for this mystery series, in a thriving community with a friendly pancake house. It isn’t just anyone who could successfully – and happily – remake herself from a legal assistant in Seattle to owner and manager of a popular café with a view of the ocean. I like Marley and how well she has been able to fit into the community. She inherited her cousin’s cat, Flapjack, a wonderful companion, bundle of love and adventure. Brett is the guy Marley had wanted to get the attention of on those long-ago summer visits and now they are dating. The person we learn the most about this time is Ivan, their most excellent chef who usually seems like a rough, tough, grump. They say appearances are deceiving – and getting to know Ivan better has been a unique surprise. I’m looking forward to seeing who we will get to know better next time!

The plot is interesting and includes several twists. There were a couple red herrings I followed. To say the bad guy/ bad gal was a surprise is an understatement, as it tilts the tale upside down. One thing I was surprised at is how Marley continues to ask probing questions from people who clearly didn’t want to hear from her again! Being a very bright young woman, I thought someone with her former legal career would be savvier about safe boundaries. Then again, I’m a granny armchair sleuth who does not have the courage and confidence that a younger woman like Marley has. I do admire her perseverance. The author has designed a heroine who is in so many ways how many readers would like to be. I highly recommend ‘For Whom the Bread Rolls’ to fans of well-written cozy mysteries with plucky female sleuths and cats. It is a fabulous treat to watch this series grow!

From a grateful heart: I received this eBook from NetGalley and this is my honest review.