I really enjoy the setting of the island in this book. The descriptions are easy to picture and make it sound like a nice place to visit, especially the diner.

There were several suspects to choose from and I was stumped on who the killer was. I like when the author is able to stump me and keep me guessing until the reveal.

A sweet cozy mystery. This book is filled with some great characters, laughable moments and plenty of food to make tour mouth water at all times. I really enjoyed the paranormal aspect and find that it enhanced the story significantly. Im excited to see where more character development as the series continues.

I really loved this book in a new to my series. Tha characters and location really and to the story. I can't wait to read the next one. This book keeps you guessing until the end

I'm torn between OK and like. When I finished I wasn't super excited to jump into the next books, so I'm going with 3.5 stars.

On the plus side, this was a very dense book, lots of characters, details, info. on people who don't currently play a big role and an interesting mystery. The author really worked at developing Marygene's world.

Not so plus, the characters, especially Marygene, didn't really capture my interest. There were light moments and southernisms, but I didn't find them truly amusing. The paranormal element just seemed superfluous.

I got this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

I didn’t think I’d enjoy this book as much as Young’s first installment in this outstanding series, But if possible, I enjoyed it MORE!
The main character Marygene, is adorable. You are shears rooting for her

The 2nd book in a new series and I can't wait to read more though I wish it had been a bit longer I finished it in one day.

This series is clever and witty yet compassionate and endearing.

There are many laugh out loud moments. There is a strong group of core characters and I love the setting. This installment took place more on the beach than the first and it worked

As the relationship between Marygene and her family members continue to grow stronger and there may even be a love triangle now.

The mystery in this book is of a crime older than Marygene herself. Can she help solve it before the murderer starts killing today?

I am totally looking forward to the next book in this series as the first two have been 5 star ratings!!

I highly recommend!!

I am becoming a huge fan of the cozy mystery genre due to books like this. You can read this as an escape from the everyday in a weekend. A really good mystery.

Southern Sass and a Crispy Corpse is the second installment in the Marygene Brown mystery series by Kate Young. The Marygene Brown mysteries take place on Peach Cove Island in Georgia, and the inhabitants are very small-town southern. Marygene moved back to the Island after her mother died to help her sister, Jena Lynn, run the family diner. Their mother plays an important part in these series, and Marygene is in constant contact with her, adding a supernatural aspect to the story. Marygene discovers two bodies in different locations that have been burned, and as an amateur sleuth, investigates, putting herself and others in danger.

Anyone who is familiar with small southern towns will relate to the characters who are quite well-developed and believable. They seem to be in a different world, and the southern backdrop fits well with the storyline. Young does a good job of telling the story, and except for Marygene’s dead mother coming on the scene to help her solve the problems as the case unfolds, it flows as it should. It seems there are several secondary characters who are prime suspects in the mystery, and readers won’t know whodunit until the very end.

There are dozens of references to mouthwatering food which is served at the diner, and readers will certainly get hungry while reading the book. It may be a good idea to flip to the end of the book to the recipes and prepare them prior to reading to eat while enjoying this fast-moving culinary cozy mystery.

Cozy lovers who are looking for something fun with plenty of food will enjoy this novel.

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

The book is full of humor, memorable characters, and southern charm. The pacing is good, and the writing style is done well. I was engaged throughout the book, and I loved the setting, plot, and mystery!

Southern Sass and a Crispy Corpse by Kate Young is the second book in the Marygene Brown cozy mystery series. Although I had never read a book by Kate Young before, I was hooked after reading Southern Sass and a Crispy Corpse! I could tell I was in for a treat when Marygene first comes across a body while skinny dipping in the ocean and then a second charred body during a catered party.

Marygene is tuned in to the island spirits. This includes being able to see and communicate with her deceased mama. I like how Marygene is able to interact with her otherworldly mother. I can tell where Marygene gets her spunky attitude - when her mother violates the spirit rules, she starts to fade away as punishment. It adds a fun supernatural aspect to the series. However, I have to note that I don't like how Marygene can physically touch and hug her mother.

This book is a witty and fun read. It has a bunch of colorful characters - from her best friend Betsy, who is always up for a wild and crazy adventure, to her solid relationships with her siblings Jena Lynn and Sam, and to her Sheriff father Eddie - eccentricity comes from all corners. Then add in her ex-boyfriend Alex and new Deputy Javier into the mix -- Marygene has a lot on her plate,

It is comical. It is entertaining. It is definitely sassy. Watch out for a bunch of red herrings along the way. With a satisfying ending, I highly recommend Southern Sass and a Crispy Corpse. I can't wait for Marygene's next adventures.

I received this book as an advanced copy from the publisher through NetGalley, but all opinions are my own.

This is book 2 in the Marygene Brown series and can be read as a stand alone. I didn't read book one but it's on my TBR list. Marygene returns to Peach Cove Island to help her sister Jena run the family diner. Their dad is the chief of police and their dead mama is a ghost that keeps telling Marygene she needs to help dead people. Now two bodies have turned up that are twins that disappeared before Marygene was born. Lots of suspects with several mysteries plots within the story. A good read. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Another great book by Katie Young! The plot was memorizing and kept me on my toes. The character development was perfect. I had no idea who did it until the end!

Marygene and her Mom are very memorable characters. Loved the twists and how this mystery was solved. Plan to find the first in the series and continue on! Oh and Great recipes!

The second book in the "A Marygene Brown Mystery" culinary paranormal series by Kate Young, Southen sass, and a Crispt Corpse, is a great read. Published by Kensington Books, this book and series will have you hungry for more, and dessert!

Marygene has inherited more than a little bit of psychic power. She is seeing and talking to the ghost of her mother and isn't sure she likes it. She misses her mother, but talking to her is starting to make things awkward. People see her talking to herself, and they wonder if she has lost her mind. Finding one body after another isn't helping. In this delicious culinary paranormal series, Marygene is the lead character, but readers will find themselves enjoying the other cast member just as much. Aunt Vi is a free spirit who may not be what people think she is. Marygenes BF, Yvonne, is the best friend a girl could have, but she has her problems to deal with. Other characters are equally exciting and believable.

I love a good culinary cozy, but when you add in the paranormal aspect, it gets my attention and keeps it. Kate Young is a writer who knows her characters and her subject matter. She writes with a real sense of what people think and feels under challenging circumstances. She also understands how food, dessert, in particular, can comfort people even in the worst of times. The southern setting of Georgia is a perfect fit for a series that has all the earmarks of having been written by an old fashioned southern girl.

The murder is unusual, as the victims were killed over twenty years ago, and their bodies happen to be found by Marygene. But her mama warned her that the dead would seek her out. Marygene hopes that the dead don't do it all the time. The suspects are older people who have a lot of secrets, and this is what makes this culinary paranormal book so inviting. After all, everyone has secrets that we carry with us throughout our lives, and not all of them are good. Marygene has to uncover the secrets of those involved with the killing, including those of her father.

In the end, Marygene solves the crimes, confronts the killer and saves herself, her sister, and everyone else. Southern Sass and a Crispy Corpse is a genuinely enjoyable read that keeps readers guessing and turning the page. This is a culinary paranormal mystery that readers will want to gobble up with recipes in the back that will help them end their day with a beautiful meal idea. I am happy to recommend this book and series and look forward to the continuing adventures of Marygene.

ARC provided by Kensington via Netgalley.

Marygene returned to Peach Cove to help her sister after the death of their mother. Her mother has been warning her that the dead will come to her for help. While skinny dipping off the island she finds the charred dead body of a woman. Then she and her brother find a second body in a wine cellar. Now she must find the killer before more people end up dead


.

This is the second book in the series and I really enjoyed this one!

Marygene is much more comfortable in her own skin in this book and it shows as she truly comes into her own. She is no longer the woman she should be according to everyone around her, but finally the woman she needs to be to be true to herself. And even as life around her becomes more unsettled Marygene holds strong to the woman she has become.

On our second trip to Peach Cove Island and The Diner we also see and learn more about the other folks who
inhabit Marygene’s world and how they impact her life and the island she finally feels is her home. The mystery also digs deep into the past of the island and the people Marygene knows and more important, the people she loves. As she learns more about who these people were and have become, she learns more about who Mama was, before she was Mama, which helps her to understand and gain some perspective on the way she lived her life. As Mama becomes more real to Marygene and the reader, we see them heal some old wounds in their relationship.

I enjoyed the first book. I loved the second book. And I am excited to read the next one! And anymore after that.

Southern Sass and a Crispy Corpse by Kate Young is the second book in the paranormal cozy Marygene Brown Mystery series. Each book of this series has it’s own mystery that is fully solved within so they can be read as a standalone if choosing to do so. There is however some character development that carries over book to book for those that read from the beginning.

Marygene Brown grew up in Peach Cove Island off the Georgia coast where her family has run the Peach Diner for generations. Marygene had left Peach Cove Island when she married but now after her divorce and her mother’s passing Marygene has returned to help her sister run the family business. Shortly after Marygene had returned and begun to work in the diner with her sister she gets a visit from the ghost of her mother.

Not only is Marygene able to communicate with the ghost of her mother but her mother has warned her that she is open to the spirits and others will track her down for help. Unfortunately for Marygene this seems to be true when she finds a body in the water while out swimming and then a short time later she and her brother stumble upon another corpse while working at an event leaving Marygene needing to track down the killer before more bodies turn up.

I am one that is always looking for those books that are a bit out of the ordinary so paranormal cozies always catch my attention. The Marygene Brown Mystery series is one that has that bit of extra quirkiness that I love with the main character communicating with a ghost as she pokes around in an investigation so I had to come back for book two and it was just as much fun as the first. I’ll definitely look forward to coming back to this small town cozy series in the future.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Princess Fuzzypants here: What is a girl to do when her Mama keeps showing up and drawing her into murder investigation. The fact is her mama is dead and cannot move on until she makes up for her indiscretions during her life. Those indiscretions include an affair with the now chief of police which resulted in Marygene. He is unaware of Marygene’s “talent” but is beginning to get frustrated with the numbers of bodies she has discovered. One of the latest ones was while she was skinny dipping in the ocean. You can image the repercussions on a small island off the coast of Georgia. This body has a twin,, literally, whom Marygene also discovers in a house where she is catering a showing.
The two disappeared twenty years earlier and there were a lot of people, including Marygene’s parents, who were involved with the twins one way or another. No one wants the past dredged up but there are some who are willing to go to any lengths to see that the secrets are not revealed. Add in some romantic tension, some very sad characters and some danger and you have the recipe for a solid cozy. It is a fun way to spend some summer hours.
Five purrs and two paws up.

Southern Sass and a Crispy Corpse by Kate Young is the 2nd A Marygene Brown Mystery. It can be read as a standalone because the needed background information is provided. We return to Peach Cove Island, Georgia where deceased souls who have been murdered are drawn to Marygene Brown. Marygene gets a help with the cases from her mama, Clara who is in limbo (she should have done more good deeds while alive). Marygene co-owns The Peach Diner with her sister, Jena Lynn. Marygene is a wonderful baker whose pastries are in demand by the island’s residents and tourists. Marygene is having relationship troubles with beau, Deputy Alex Myers. Alex was seen doing something that landed him in hot water with Marygene. Alex wanted his cake and to eat it too (if you get my drift). Deputy Javier Reyes is new to the force and sparks fly between him and our protagonist. It looks like Alex has competition. I wish less time had been devoted to Marygene’s love life. It was a little much for me. Marygene deserves a good guy who is understanding, kind, and loyal. There are a variety of colorful characters whose antics had me laughing. Betsy, an employee and friend, is a hoot. The food descriptions will have your mouth watering. Thankfully, there are recipes at the end of the book. I like the author’s conversational writing style which made Southern Sass and a Crispy Corpse was easy to read. The story moved along quickly. The mystery was an enjoyable one to solve. It was complex (love that) with a variety of clues, several suspects and misdirection. I had a good time assembling the clues and arriving at a solution. There is a dramatic reveal where I got to see if my deductions were correct. There was plenty of action in this story that helped move this story along quickly toward the end. The paranormal element is fun and enhances the series. Southern Sass and a Crispy Corpse is a capricious cozy mystery with a disdainful deputy, unabashed bathing beauty, a chill cellar, pretty pastries, a defensive dad, and crispy corpses.