A new, fresh, enjoyable add to the world of cozy mysteries. Wonderfully written with an enjoyable setting and fun characters, very enjoyable and looking forward to more to come.

Game of Scones by Mary Lee Ashford was a delight to read. Ms. Ashford is a "new to me" author but this book had everything that I look for in a cozy mystery.

I enjoyed this setting as it was quite different from the usual small tourist town setting. St. Ignatius, IA is a small rural community that has survived through hardships by working together. I loved both Sugar and Dixie as they both seem to be strong, smart and capable young women who have begun their own business publishing community cookbooks. I found this to a unique career choice that I've never seen in other books.

The plot moves quickly and drew me in from the first chapter. After the death of the town matriarch (who had created plenty of enemies), there were several suspects that had a motive to want the troublesome woman dead. Then a second death occurs and the sheriff has his hands full and Sugar and Dixie keep asking questions. There were also a couple of secondary threads throughout the story that weren't directly related to the murders but did show how small towns thrive on gossip as well as how they come together to help each other.

I enjoyed the book and look forward to more books from this author.

A fresh new voice in cozy mysteries featuring interesting characters, a well developed plot, a glimpse of small town living and a behind the scenes look at what it takes to put together a community cookbook. When Rosetta Sugarbaker Calloway (known as Sugar) gets laid off from her job in publishing she moves to the small town of St. Ignatius, Iowa where, along with her friend Dixie Spicer, she starts the firm of Sugar and Spice, publishers of community cookbooks. Their first venture is in their own hometown, putting together the St. Ignatius Founders Cookbook. There is trouble from the start with two strong willed women, Elsie and Bertie, on the cookbook committee who are each determined to have their scone recipe in the book. When Elsie is found dead from rat poison with a poisoned scone in her hand, suspicion falls on Bertie, who is Dixie's beloved aunt. Sugar and Dixie get involved in investigating on their own since the sheriff, Terry Griffin ( who had a prior relationship with Dixie ) seems to feel Bertie is the lead suspect. With great humor, wonderful recipes and characters you would want to have as friends, this is the beginning of what I hope will be a great series.