Yummy recipes, I love it.

Really enjoyed reading this cozy mystery, Risky Biscuits!! A must-read.

Synopsis:
Sugar and Spice Cookbooks’ newest project is a fundraiser organized by the St. Ignatius Crack of Dawn Breakfast Club, famous for their all-you-can-eat biscuits and gravy events. But when a group member is found dead, Sugar and Spice’s priorities change from raising dough to figuring out who put murder on the menu.

No longer a magazine editor, Sugar Callaway joined forces with Dixie Spicer two launch a community cookbook publishing business....Sugar and Spice. When one of the feisty seniors whose group is their latest project goes missing, Sugar helps look for her. Later found dead, Sugar keeps on looking into it and finds many secrets in her small Iowa town. I wasn't able to connect with the characters, but that could be from skipping the first book in the series. The book is lively and fast paced with a number of red herrings to keep the reader engaged.

Risky Biscuits by Mary Lee Ashford is the second installment of the cozy A Sugar & Spice Mystery series. As with most cozy mystery series each book in the A Sugar & Spice Mystery series features it’s own mystery that is solved within the book so each can be read as a standalone or in any order. There is character development that carries over from book to book for those that do follow from the beginning though.

This series introduces Rosetta Sugarbaker Calloway who prefers to just be called Sugar by her friends. After losing her job at a magazine Sugar teamed up with baker Dixie Spicer, the other half of Sugar and Spice, to start a cookbook publishing business in the small town of St. Ignatius, Iowa.

Sugar and Dixie have now taken on a new job at Sugar and Spice Cookbooks in organizing the recipes from a fundraiser organized by the St. Ignatius Crack of Dawn Breakfast Club. However the gals end up back to their sluething when a member of the club turns up murdered.

The A Sugar & Spice Mystery series is another small town cozy with quirky characters and lots of culinary delights for the foodies out there, there are even some yummy recipes included in case the book gives readers cravings. With likable characters and a decent mystery involved again I’d rate this second installment of the series at three and a half stars.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

I went back and read the first in this series, then followed up with Risky Biscuits! As a lifelong Iowan, I’m really enjoying the small town Iowa setting! Good, smooth writing, interesting plot, and plenty of suspects served up for consideration. Will very likely continue with this series. Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for a complimentary digital review copy of this title!

Risky Biscuits is the second installment of the Sugar & Spice series of cozy mysteries by Mary Lee Ashford. Sugar Calloway left her job as a magazine editor to start a community cookbook publishing company with her friend and business partner Dixie Spicer, who is a fabulous baker and tests the recipes before they are published. Dixie grew up in this small town and knows everyone, which helps when amateur sleuthing. There is a murder in town, and of course Sugar and Spice are right in the middle of it. Then a bad boy from the past, Nick Marchant, who was an old boyfriend of Dixie, reappears, and things start to go wrong. Nick is the prime murder suspect, but when he is found murdered, Sugar and Spice have to reevaluate their facts.

This is a fun novel, and it is a fast read. Ashford is organized and the story flows while the suspense builds. Sugar and Spice are good believable characters; Ashford has done a nice job of developing them, and there are other secondary characters that play supporting roles and seem like they would fit well in the small town. The book includes recipes for excellent biscuits, as well as a fancy cake and a breakfast casserole.

All told, this is a fun novel and will make readers want to grab the others in the series. This is a cozy, so there is no graphic violence, sex, or language; it is suitable for all ages, and things in the novel happen quickly so readers can enjoy it in a few reading sessions.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

Sugar and Spice are working on another cookbooks for a fundraising group when one of the members is found dead. The pair find themselves in the middle of a mystery which includes the return of the town bad boy. My absolute favorite part of the book was the mention of "city Southern" which rural Southerners will understand very well. The solution to the mystery was a bit too obvious, but I still enjoyed the book.

3.5
When Alma, a local resident, is found dead in the city park it is initially thought to be an accident. But it is soon determined that she was run over (twice, no less), and this now becomes a murder investigation.

Sugar and her business partner Spice just can't help get involved in trying to find the murderer. Their naturally inquisitive minds will not rest. Things really heat up when there is a second death. What is going on in their beloved hometown?

I'm really enjoying this series. Sugar seems to do most of the investigating. I like her sometimes self deprecating humor and how she has an inate ability to follow clues. This was a quick and entertaining read.

My thanks to Kensington Books and Netgalley for this ARC.

It was so good and so funny, full of humor and with many tasty recipes, a must try.
Sugar and Dixie run a publishing house that publishes cookbooks but their main business is solving homicides. In fact they are often found in the midst of some trouble. This time they have to help their elderly neighbor, she has disappeared suddenly and the police seem to underestimate it.
I love all the characters but Sugar is really nice and very nosy. St. Ignatius is a small, very welcoming community, where everyone lends a hand but is also full of gossip.
It is very well written and manages to capture the reader's attention to solve the mystery. The plot is interesting, well developed, with many twists.
It can be read as a standalone, I can't wait to read the first book in the series

Highly recommended for those who love cozy culinary mysteries

Thanks NetGalley for this free advance copy. Here is my review. I really enjoyed this cozy mystery. This is the 2nd book of the Sugar and Spice mysteries and this loaded with fun references and excellent writing. We all gather in the village of St, Ignatius where Sugar and Spice are working on publishing a cookbook for a local senior citizens fund raiser. One of the elderly ladies is killed and our mystery begins. Sugar is new to the town and goes out of her way to help everyone and especially the old ladies at the Good Life Center. Why not always trying to help solve the murder, she always seems to get clues as to the identity of the killer. Lots of fun plays of words and characters. Again very well written and paced well with little slowdown in the middle. If you enjoy a nice cozy mystery this one is for you..

Risky Biscuits by Mary Lee Ashford is about a woman named Sugar. She launched a cookbook publishing company. When Nick, the town bad boy, returns to town, the gossip is stirred. Sugar and her friend, Spice, need to sift the guilty from the crowd. This is a good book. I recommend it. A nice cozy mystery. It was well-written with friendly characters, who shared their high school stories. Don’t read it on an empty stomach as there is lots of talk about food, especially biscuits. Thank you to Net Galley for allowing me an advanced readers copy of this book.

Sugar and Spice Publishing is made up of two dynamite ladies with most excellent names. Rosetta Sugarbaker Calloway aka Sugar and Dixie Spicer aka Spice or Spicy (but most people just call her Dixie) have my dream job, putting together cookbooks and testing the recipes. Speaking of recipes, you will find 3 must try breakfast recipes at the end of the book. Before you get those yummy recipes you will be tantalized by the descriptions of Dixie's cooking which must be good because Disco their retail neighbor seems to make an almost daily appearance. Everyone is quite neighborly as would be expected in a small town where everyone knows your name and if you skipped your usual muffin at breakfast they will be talking about before brunch rolls around. Small town but big secrets. Talking about rumors, the mill is churning when the prodigal Marchant boy comes home driving his fancy jag and fighting with his twin. In addition to being the designated taste tester, Sugar is also a designated driver for a group of lively seniors who take care of their own and fully expect Sugar to get to detecting when Alma becomes the victim of a hit and run.....with her own car...Needless to say, local law enforcement does not agree with Ms. Greer and her gang. You have got to love a story with lively seniors, they add a great touch of zest and small town seniors are the best! Great story line excellent characters!

This is a series that I enjoy and really liked this book. It's an quick, easy read that is just perfect a Sunday afternoon. The characters are growing and I'm looking forward to see the way they develop in future books.
The ,mystery had twists and turns and kept me reading. I can't wait to try some recipes!

Another fun cozy mystery in the Sugar & Spice series! I enjoyed getting to know the characters Sugar and Dixie better. Their profession of a cookbook publishing business is unique and interesting. I love how everything comes together from the recipes to the pictures. This cozy contained a well planned mystery that kept me guessing to the very end. I am looking forward to the next book in this series!

This was a quick, fun read. I enjoy cozies very much and this did not disappoint. I am looking forward to reading more by this author. I would recommend.

I have no idea how I had missed this author and series, but I am glad to be catching up and I hope there will be a lot more to come with this wonderful couple of female sleuths.

Sugar and Spice are helping set out a fundraiser cookbook for a local breakfast club, there are a couple of hiccups but they don't expect the largest hiccup of all to be the death of the organiser, Alma, and when it turns out that her death wasn't the accident that everyone thought Sugar in particular starts to look more closely at people around St Ignatius, one of which appears to be the prodigal son, who is trying to smarm his way back into people's good books. Does he know more about the death than he is letting on, does Alma's grandson? and can the Sheriff sort it out quickly!

Risky Biscuits by Mary Lee Ashford
Book #2: Sugar and Spice Mystery Series
Source: NetGalley and Lyrical Underground
Rating: 4½/5 stars

The girls are back with a new project, the prospect of several future projects, and another dead body or two 😊

Following the success of their first cookbook and crime solving foray, Sugar and Dixie are back in business with a small but significant project. The morning breakfast group at the senior center is intent on refurbishing one of the building in the park and to raise funds, they intend to sell a cookbook full of nothing but yummy breakfast foods. Trouble is, just as the project is getting off the ground, the senior charge is found dead, run over by her own car.

With only one case behind them, Sugar and Dixie have no intention of becoming involved in this newest St. Ignatius crime. Unfortunately, because of their involvement with the cookbook, they’re smack dab in the middle of the mess. If the cookbook is going to move forward and be completed, Sugar and Dixie are going to have to do some poking and prodding. Poking and prodding usually means discomfort, especially for the person responsible for the crime.

Poking around into this new murder has Dixie and Sugar digging up secrets at least two local families would much rather stay buried! From an illegitimate birth to a set of twins with clear and present issues, the murder of one little lady has stirred up a hornet’s nest of trouble. With each new revelation, Dixie and Sugar discover some people/families will go to any lengths necessary to preserve the status quo. To Dixie and Sugar’s dismay they dig deep enough, accidentally discover just enough, and ask just enough questions to trigger a second death. With a load of guilt and great sense of responsibility, the ladies work harder than ever to uncover the truth behind all the awful.

The Bottom Line: In case y’all didn’t know, I LOVE breakfast foods which makes this the perfect book for me 😊 Dixie and Sugar are a bit more experienced with the crime solving and because they were involved by default have a vested interest in solving the crime. What I liked most about this installment of the series, beyond the food, of course, is the subtle little ways the author is setting up story lines for future installments of the series. For example, Sugar is interviewing with another group for a future cookbook project, Max the photographer is more committed than ever to staying in town, Sugar’s neighbor is pesky as ever and not going anywhere, and Dixie’s love life is slowly making a comeback following the death of her husband. All of these bits and pieces play out as the girls work on their current project and solve yet another crime. All is blended together seamlessly to create yet another totally yummy cozy mystery.

Who would murder Alma? And where are those recipes?
Risky Biscuits by Mary Lee Ashford is a marvelous mystery, filled with small-town life, lots of humor and plenty of baked goods.

Characters
Sugar Calloway is our main character and point of view. She and Dixie Spicer run the Sugar & Spice Publishing Company, where they publish cookbooks. They also dabble in the investigation of local murders. Even though the local Sheriff, Terry doesn’t like or appreciate their assistance.

I like Sugar and Dixie. They make a good partnership. The problem they have is that they are nosy. Neither Sugar nor Dixie can let a mystery go. At least they turn over their findings to the Sherriff.

Greer Gooder is my favorite character. She is a hoot, who drinks coffee until she is buzzing, has to be everywhere early and she is nosier than Sugar. Here is a quote from the story.
“She’s been on edge. Like the other day we were going to the bakery over in Marston and she turned the wrong direction on the highway. When I said, ‘Hey Alma, wrong way!’ she slammed on the brakes so hard that poor Freda Watson’s wig ended up in the front seat on top of Nellie’s pocketbook. It’s lucky we didn’t all have whiplash.”

Mystery
The mystery is superb and had me guessing throughout the story whodunit? There aren’t a lot of suspects but the culprit was a surprise. I like the tie back to old small-town secrets.

Recipes Included
• Jeri Beetles Cat’s Head Biscuits
• Alma Stoller’s Heart Attach Hot Dish
• Greer’s Better Than Robert Redford Cake
• Diane’s Blue-Ribbon Made-from-Scratch Biscuits

I can't wait to try these recipes.

4 Stars for Risky Biscuits by Mary Lee Ashford
My rating for Risky Biscuits by Mary Lee Ashford is four stars. The story is entertaining with well-developed characters and the mystery is top-notched. I recommend this cozy mystery to all.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the Great Escapes Book Tours. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Risky Biscuits by Mary Lee Ashford.

Anyways, until next time,
Karen the Baroness
Happy Reading

If you would like to see other reviews like this one, check out BaronessBookTrove.com.

Dollycas’s Thoughts

Biscuits and Gravy cooks from the St. Ignatius Crack of Dawn Breakfast Club have been hosting breakfast events to raise money for the park shelter where they hold their events. The decide to bind their recipes together in a cookbook put together by Rosetta Sugarbaker Calloway and Dixie Spicer aka “Sugar” and “Spice”. When the de facto leader of the Breakfast Club goes missing and is later found killed, Sugar’s landlord, a member of the group begs Sugar to look into the tragic death. Sugar does have an in as she needs to attend meetings and contact members to keep the fundraising cookbook on track. Plus the gossip chain has ratcheted up with the return of Nick Marchant to town. He and “Spicy” have some kind of a past that Sugar knows nothing about but keeping her ears open and putting a little pressure on her friend she just might find out. The good sheriff is sure not thrilled the man is back in town either.

After reading Game of Scones recently I could wait to sink my teeth into Risky Biscuits. Author Mary Lee Ashford sure didn’t disappoint. She has written strong characters and enveloped them in a stellar mystery.

Sugar & Spice Publishing is getting more clients and Sugar is using her organizational skills while Spice refines a bunch of recipes all to make their next cookbook publication a huge success. Photographer Max Windsor wasn’t as present at the beginning of the story as I had hoped but he doesn’t let the ladies down when it is time to take the food photos needed for the book. We also meet several residents from Greer’s retirement community. While mourning their friend they are still a fun and feisty group.

Ms. Ashford takes a bit of time introducing the new characters and showing readers how they fit with those we had already met. But then Sugar gets hot on the trail to find the killer. Red herrings, yes there were a few. I made the mistake of thinking I had the culprit pinned down early only to be shown the error of my ways. Twists and turns led to a shocking reveal.

Aside from the murder, this little town in Iowa is a fun place to visit. I love all the friendships that are blooming.

I can’t finish this review without mentioning the food. Spice is always baking up something good. Even things she considers flops are downright tasty. She always seems to have plenty of people dropping by their shop for samples too. I wish she could pass them out from the pages, especially the Better Than Robert Redford/George Clooney cake. The author does include recipes in the back of the book but I don’t have the skills Spice has. Then again the recipe of the above mentioned doesn’t look too complicated 🙂

Culinary cozies readers will love this story.

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this story. We have the standard formula of small-town life, a new transplant with a golden heart and an interesting cat. You will have to take my word for the fact that this was a very well written version of the cozy murder mystery genre(plus cat). That is until you read and confirm the tale's efficiency for yourself.

Each action and behavioural quirks are explained in painstaking detail and should have had the effect of explaining a joke after the crowd has heard the punchline but it does not. I cannot place my finger on how that worked but it did. We have cutesy names for all the characters and I did not feel like cringing because their behaviour was above board and intelligent and the names are just coincidences of their lives in general. This is not the first book in the series but apart from the (almost non-existent) love life of our leading lady Sugar (see what I mean about the names?) who is a partner in a cookbook publishing company, the story can be read as a standalone. I only felt I missed something in the first story when she mentioned the 'guy' who was absent from the first half of this tale and I wanted to know more about their original meeting. 

In this installment, Sugar is trying to settle on friendly terms with her neighbour and solve a local murder when it turns up because she cares for the people involved and she might be holding all the clues in her hand. Once again with books like this, the plotline is not the main focus. the narrative tone, the comic timing and of course the random mentions of the cat and commentary of the interpretation of his actions or the lack thereof. I would definitely read the next in the series only to spend time with Sugar and her friends and keep my fingers crossed on Dixie (her partner) finding her happily ever after soon. If I have to mention the investigation in this one I would say it progresses at an acceptable pace and has a few twists that I thought I saw coming but was wrong about (in the best way).

I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the review is completely based on my own reading experience.

“Risky Biscuits” earns 5/5 Breakfast Treats...Entertaining and Clever!

Former magazine editor “Sugar” Calloway has partnered with award winning baker Dixie “Spicer” to launch a unique publishing company, “Sugar and Spice” Cookbooks. They help communities and organizations create cookbooks as a fundraising event. The current project is for St. Ignatius senior’s Crack of Dawn Breakfast Club who hope to refurbish the aging shelter house at the park. However, their cookbook has...a recipe for murder! Deliciously entertaining! Mary Lee Ashford has stepped up her game with book two in her Sugar & Spice Mystery making me an eager fan! Her entertaining writing style includes descriptive language and dialogue that illustrates well the setting, characters, tone, and personalities along with a delightful sense of humor, some a little too quirky but fun. Ashford follows a traditional cozy formula with a first-person narrative from “Sugar” Calloway’s perspective sharing her inner thoughts. And for a delicious bonus...start your own “breakfast club” with these easy-to-follow recipes each including informative tips: Jeri Beetles Cat’s Head Biscuits, Alma Stiller’s Heart Attack Hot Dish, Greer’s Better Tan Robert Redford Cake, and Diane’s Blue Ribbon Made-From-Scratch Biscuits.