A delightful cozy mystery that even includes recipes.

It was a fun read and had well-crafted characters that are believable. I highly recommend Into The Frying Pan.

Synopsis:
In the thick of a hot, muggy Atlanta summer, all Ditie Brown wants to do is keep her kids occupied and get them ready for school in the fall. When her ex-boyfriend, Phil Brockton, shows up for a Civil War reenactment, she thinks it might be fun and educational for the kids. Plus, her best friend Lurleen wants to put on the costumes and get in on the action, and Ditie isn’t one to rebel.

But things go south after a cannon misfires, resulting in the death of Phil’s med school rival. Was it an accident or something more sinister? Ditie soon realizes the past rarely stays buried, and her digging reveals longstanding enemies, killer motives, and new jealousy. When another reenactor is “accidentally” shot, the pressure is on for Ditie to solve the murders—or else her friends may be history . . .

Into the Frying Pan

by Sarah Osborne

If my opinion of this book were based on the likability of the characters the plot centers around in Into the Frying Pan, it would get a low rating. Fortunately the main characters, pediatrician Ditie Brown and her detective boyfriend Mason, along with Ditie’s adopted daughter Lucie and Ditie’s close friends Lurleen and Danny, do not like these people either. Sadly they were an odd group of former friends from Ditie’s medical school days.

The tale is full of suspicions and secrets when one of the group is killed during a Civil War reenactment. Ugly motives and complicated relationships emerge. Will Ditie be able to protect herself and her children while interviewing former friends to discover the murderer?

I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Lyrical Underground (Kensington Press) for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 5/5

Category: Mystery

Notes: #2 in the Ditie Brown Mystery Series but great as a standalone.

Publication: May 28, 2019— Lyrical Underground (Kensington Press)

Memorable Lines:

I hung up not sure what I was feeling. I’d put Phil in a category of lousy human being and now he was trying to ease his way out of that box.

Agatha Christie would have loved this gathering. A small clutch of people with one murderer in the mix.

“You see, I learned the hard way that some people get broken by their past and don’t recover from it—that was Carl. I did everything I could not to be like my mother, but Carl became his father. He ran around, had schemes to get money, and always wanted more than he had. I thought I could love him into being a better man, but you can’t do that for another person. They have to do it for themselves.”

Princess Fuzzypants here: Things are evolving nicely as Ditie settles into her unexpected role of mother. Her romance is going strong and they are turning into a family. Then the ex who dumped her after Med school flies into town to attend Civil War Re-enactments with an assortment of his friends from the day. It is a highly charged and awkward interruption to her life but things go from bad to worse when one of her fellow med school buddies is blown to smithereens by a cannon that may or may not have been tampered. It seems either her ex was the intended victim or he might have been the murderer.
Ditie who studied and stayed away from all The shenanigans of her classmates now finds it was a mini Peyton Place with pairings and betrayals and all sorts of questionable behaviour. It is almost impossible to separate emotion from the occurrences but it turns out her adopted daughter, Lucie, has a keen eye. The answer comes out of the mouth of babes.
I truly believe having read the first book of the series has helped me enjoy the book more. To see how the various relationships began and have evolved adds a richness to the story. Med school was a pit of vipers. The reader becomes even more invested in the main characters as they weave their way through the other nasty pieces of work.
It was a gripping story centred on characters for whom the reader can root. I give it four purrs and two paws up.

Into the Frying Pan is a clean southern cozy mystery. This is the second Ditie Brown novel but it is fine as a standalone. I liked the setting, my family are history buffs and the reenactment setting was interesting. Overall this book is just ok for me. Thank you netgalley for gifting me an arc, the opinions are my own.

This book was so fun! I would recommend this cozy mystery...the characters were so real, the settings were amazing and the story had me until the last page. Thank you Sarah Osborne. I look forward to reading more.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book.

I really liked the idea/theme behind this one! When a death occurs at a Civil war reenactment hosted by Ditie's former Medical school classmates, they all fall under suspicion. It's up to Ditie and her household to work through the clues and interview the suspects until they finally catch a killer.

Now, while I liked the theme, what I really disliked was the repetitive method of sussing out the crim. Ditie has so many dinners and conversations with different people that the thread of the story gets lost in monotony. So many of these 'revelations' could be condensed instead of the repeats. I also really didn't get the jealousy angle; she literally does nothing,and says multiple times she's rather not go. Really?

Anyway, it was good in parts but needs work on the investigation side. Another very wholesome family mystery too. Three stars.

I really expected to like this one. Ditie Brown takes her kids to a Civil War Reenactment and that was my first problem. Her kids have only been "hers" since their mother died (in the first book of the series, which I haven't read.) While it's great that Ditie considers them her real children, it was extremely confusing to me as the reader. A lot of the plot is spent parenting, which is what I was hoping for, but the rest is spent with Dities friends and acquaintances from med school. Seemingly everyone involved in the murder mystery was a doctor. I never did really warm up to Ditie or get engrossed in the mystery.

This was an okay cosy mystery, but nothing more. It went on and on about the same things and the focus on identity/beloning became a bit too much for me. Though I did enjoy the element of reincarnactmets (sp?) and little Lucie.

This mystery has everything needed to make it successful- suspense, great characters, murder and a little romance. I learned some things about Civil War re-enactments and there are some recipes from that era as well.
Many thanks to Kensington Books and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Ditie gets a call from her ex-boyfriend that leads to several adventures at Civil War re-enactments. She is reunited with some of her old classmates from medical school. One of them ends up dead and Ditie , Mason, Lurleen and Danny join up to figure out who did it. The solution to the mystery was very easy and a bit of a cop out. I had mixed feelings about this book. It was easy to read, but did seem to go on for a while with the same things. Lurleen and Danny didn't seem to ever go home- they were always watching the children. Everybody kept making this big deal about the South and had some weird attitude about belonging. I grew up in Atlanta and never experience the kind of attitudes that these people kept going on about. I couldn't decide if the author was being critical, ironic or serious.

I received this ARC via Netgalley and Kensington Books in return for an honest review. This is the second book in a new series and I recommend it highly. It can be read as a stand-alone. Dr. Mabel Aphrodite 'Ditie' Brown is the foster mother to Lucie and Jason, the young children of her murdered best friend. Mason Garrett is her detective boyfriend who becomes jealous when Ditie's first love, Dr. Phillip Brockton IV, appears in her doorway to invite her to a Civil War reenactment weekend. The weekend is also a bit of a medical school class reunion of the core people who revolved around Phil in school. When one of them is killed (in a unique way!), Mason and Ditie are dragged into figuring out the murderer. When a second reenactment results in a second death, things get even more complicated. Ditie struggles with her unresolved feelings for Phil, who had dumped her with no warning, and Mason's jealousy over Phil's reappearance. I like Ditie; she is a well-written character struggling with human emotions that easily cloud her judgement. Each of the main characters are also very human; the children are clearly written with each having their own responses to their birth mother's death four months earlier. It's a good book and I'm looking forward to more by this author.

Into the Frying Pan is the second A Ditie Brown Mystery and it can be read as a standalone. Ditie Brown finds herself embroiled in another mystery when one of her old medical school classmates dies at a Civil War reenactment. She must also deal with jealousy from Mason Garrett, her detective boyfriend, when her old beau Phil Brockton IV comes to town. There are multiple suspects who all had a reason for doing away with unlikeable Carl. The murder was unique with the killer using an old cannon to dispose of the victim. The second victim also died in an uncommon way. It was interesting to learn about reenactments and the people who participate in them. It is educational and a good way to allow children to learn about the Civil War. Avid mystery readers will not find the whodunit challenging, but others will like the variety of suspects and misdirection. I was not a fan of Mason’s jealousy which was featured throughout the whole story. Ditie was not the strong, confident woman we saw in Too Many Crooks Spoil the Plot. She came across as weak and easily manipulated. I do like Ditie’s interactions with the children. She is sweet with them and I like how she is handling the loss of their mother. Lucie is the highlight of the book. She is a smart little girl with a sensitive soul. I like how Lucie watched and took notes which helped solve the case. There are recipes included for the dishes featured in the book. Into the Frying Pan is a lively Southern cozy mystery with death, destruction and a deadly foe.

Ditie brown, MD is adjusting to a new chapter in her life after becoming the guardian of a two children after their mother dies. It's now summer and she needs to plan activities for them to enjoy as a family. the solution arrives when her ex-boyfriend shows up to take part in a civil War re-enactment and invites her to join the fun. It sounds like a good way to teach the children, Lucie and Jason, some Souther history. What she isn't expecting is a possible homicide when the cannon explodes and kills one of her ex-boyfriends former medical school classmates. An accident is one thing but, given there is no love loss between them, a declaration of homicide is a very real possibility. Can Ditie help keep him out of jail? One homicide leads to another and jealousy plays a major role in her investigation.
Old relationships clash with new relationships and more jealousy is involved. The list of suspects is long and the number of red herrings had me guessing to the very end. This is a cozy series with some serious themes and a good dose of humor. I will happily read all future books in this series.

This was a cute cozy mystery with funny Southern culture and charcters that are humorous.. This is the 2nd in series and I recommend the first in series. This can be read as a stand alone. This is a great book to enjoy with a iced tea outside in your sun chair. .

Mabel Aphrodite Brow nickname Ditie, is a pediatrician in Atlanta, Georgia who works at a refugee clinic. Her work is stressful and I like that author makes it realistic to today's world. She has a dog named Hermoine and a cat named Majestic. The animals are a fun addition to this series. She recently had a big life change from her well structured world when she decided to take on raising of her dead friend's children as per her friend's wishes. This has caused a huge life change but she is jumping in with both feet to care for the kids.
She is taking a break from work and the kids to join up with a fun group of friends from med school for a Civil War reenactment, When a cannon misfire happens and a man is killed Ditie is on the case . Soon she is finding multiple motives and clues that shock her to her core but she is on the right track for solving the case. Soon another murder occurs and she has her hands full investigating both cases.

This is a quick fun read with charming characters and a lot of humor throughout . I enjoyed this 2nd in series and look forward to the third in series. Thank you for the ARC which does not influence my personal review.

This is a delightful cozy mystery with some of the best developed, most interesting characters I have met recently. Ditie is a doctor in a refugee clinic in Atlanta, and she is surprised when one evening while she is relaxing with her police detective boyfriend Mason and her two foster children, her former boyfriend, Phil, shows up at her home telling her about his participation in a local Civil War re-enactment and inviting her to come and see him there. Much to Mason's unhappiness, Ditie does go and while there sees Phil and another classmate, Carl, who did not get along at all while in medical school, working together firing one of the cannons. When the cannon explodes, killing Carl, Phil starts to lean on Ditie and get her involved in clearing him. This book was fascinating, with a combination of mystery, Civil War re-enactment lore and relationships.

Into the Flying Pan by Sarah Osborne is the 2nd book in A Ditie Brown Mystery series, and another great addition. Dr. Mabel, Ditie, Brown is a pediatrician. Ditie is busy with her two foster children, getting them ready for school, and enjoying the summer. Ditie thinks it would be fun and educational to go to a Civil War reenactment, but when a cannon misfires, the mystery begins. I really enjoyed this book, it was unique, and filled with twists and turns. Looking forward to reading the next book in the series. I recommended this book for cozy mystery lovers.

I reviewed a digital arc provided by NetGalley and Kensington Publishing. Thank you.

Great book. Fun read. Love how Ditie, Lucie and Jason are becoming a family. Lots of twists and turns and surprise revelations. Really enjoying this series and hope it continues.

I loved the first book in this series and I loved this one.
I think it's a bit darker and more realistic than the average cozy mystery but I loved the fast paced plot, full of twists and turns.
I really like Ditie, the protagonist. She's a strong women, with an unusual profession for a cozy mystery and a big heart.
The cast of characters is likable and I was happy to meet them again.
I look forward to reading the next installment and see what is happening in Atlanta.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to Kensington Books and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

This book was wonderful! I love that the main character is smart, no nonsense, and quirky. The way the author sets up the character's navigation through different types of conflict is so wonderfully done. The added bit of history is a definite plus as well. I feel like the main character is really starting to hit her stride, but life is still messy enough for her to make this story really seem real. I cannot wait to see what else the author has in store for everyone.

Into the Frying Pan is 2nd installment in the Ditie Brown mystery series. Mabel Aphrodite Brown (Ditie) is a pediatrician who is in the process of adopting her friends two children Lucie and Jason after her death in the first book. As it is summer she is looking for things to do with the kids and when an old flame Phil Stockton comes to town for a civil war re-enactment comes to town she thinks it might be something the kids might enjoy. Only Phil's med school rival Carl ends up dead when a cannon misfires. Was this truly an accident? Ditie is dating detective Mason Garrett and he is none too happy about Ditie helping Phil out to prove his innocence. There are plenty of suspects and the mystery is solid. I like the way Ditie is with Lucie and Jason and the kids are great. I enjoyed both books in this series and look forward to the next installment.