I apprecitate the publisher allowing me to read this book. This is a great mystery that kept me guessing until the end, I can't wait to read more.

This is such a fun book in an easy to love series. The characters are well developed, and I love the visuals I get from the author's descriptions. There are plenty of twists and turns to keep you engaged and I'll be looking forward to the 8th book in the series.

A Room With a Roux

by Sarah Fox

For anyone still enjoying the lingering spirit of Christmas, I heartily recommend Sarah Fox’s A Room with a Roux. Although nothing about the cover or title suggest a holiday tale, it emits wintery, Christmas vibes from its beginning. The scene is set as our main characters Marley and Brett travel from their beach home to Holly Lodge nestled in the mountains. It is a small, quiet, isolated, snowy retreat that makes the perfect backdrop for a Christmas murder mystery.

Marley, owner of the Flip Side restaurant, and Brett, summer landscaper and winter construction worker, have only been married three months so there is a lot of sweet romance in their interactions. Their weekend getaway gets cut short by a murder. They leave as soon as they can, but Marley’s penchant for getting to the truth is activated when other Holly Lodge guests retreat to her town of Wildwood Cove. Then most of them return to Holly Lodge for a memorial service where they are snowed in for a “locked room” type of scenario.

Marley works hard to uncover the murderer before she or someone else becomes a second victim. There are many possibilities, but none seem to have a strong enough motivation to provoke murder.

Along the way, we get to know the characters. Brett and Marley are nice, generous, and community minded. There is a side story that demonstrates this spirit well when a mini-mystery emerges as ornaments disappear repeatedly at the Festival of Trees. Join Marley and Brett as they enjoy each other’s company along with lots of cups of hot chocolate in a wintry atmosphere. The author has a talented touch in stopping the chapters at just the right point to make the reader shout “one more chapter.”

Read a few days after Christmas, A Room With a Roux, is probably my favorite read of this Christmas season—likable characters, wonderful atmosphere, just the right touch of adventure, and a well-plotted mystery. This cozy mystery is a winner!

I would like to extend my thanks to NetGalley and to Kensington Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 5/5

Category: Mystery

Notes: 1. #7 in the Pancake House Mystery Series, but you would have absolutely no problems reading it as a standalone!
2. Tempting recipes end the book: Pumpkin Scones with Maple Glaze, Cinnamon Pancakes, and Gingerbread Muffins.

Publication: January 12, 2021—Kensington

Memorable Lines:

I suspected he enjoyed stirring up trouble for his own amusement, and I couldn’t help but dislike him for it.

I tore off the paper, already knowing that the best present was having the company of my husband and two closest friends.

Time seemed to pass at an excruciatingly slow pace. At first I watched everyone by the light of the fire and candles, searching their faces for any sign of guilt, even as I pretended not to be studying them. After a while, it became more and more difficult to keep my eyes open, despite my worries about a killer being among us.

Another thoroughly enjoyable book in Sarah Fox's long-running Pancake House cozy mystery series, this one, the 7th in the series. Loved the snowy, Christmastime setting and, as usual, loved the characters.

This is a series that seems to get better with each book.

Highly recommended for cozy mystery fans.

A Room with a Roux by Sarah Fox is the seventh book in the Pancake House Mystery series. Marley and her husband Brett get a quick getaway to nearby Holly Lodge. It seems to be the perfect break until they stumble upon a body buried in the snow. Books that venture away from the normal setting can be problematic. This is not my favorite in the series for that reason. I did find it to be a nice light read with an enjoyable mystery. I will be back for book number eight!

Another excellent edition to a wonderful series! Full of twists and turns that leaves you wanting more and enjoying each moment until the end when the killer is caught!

Marley McKinney and new husband Brett go to Holly Lodge for some quality couple time. They're having a wonderful time in the beautiful secluded mountains until they find a dead body buried in the snow.
No one feels safe until Marley figures out who the Killer is.
I love reading books by Sarah Fox and this one did not disappoint.

Marley somehow always gets herself in the middle of a harrowing experience no matter what or where she is or who she is with. In A Room With A Roux, nothing has changed. Even with her new husband and their first chance to get away since the wedding, she can’t seem to keep away from murder. The pancake house, Flip Side, can wait while Marley solves not just one mystery but two.

When one of the owners of the lodge that Marley and Brett are staying at ends up dead, and all of the suspects are staying together, it makes for some interesting situations. Evidence is buried under ice and snow, and there appear to be several people who have an excellent motive to want Kevin dead. Still, finding out who the culprit is takes everything Marley can cook up, including pancakes. Before long, all of the pieces come together, and a killer is revealed. For some readers, the identity of the murderer may be surprising. The other mystery in the book, who is stealing ornaments from the tree e decorated by the local businesses, was easily solved, the motive understandable.

Marley is a strong character, and the length of this series proves this. Unfortunately, this time the backup crew readers have come to love are not as helpful as they have been in previous books. The Flip Side is, in fact, a side dish and plays no significant role. Even Brett takes a back seat. This aside, the story was compelling and added a fresh location instead of the same places Marley visits all the time. Readers who enjoy this series will like A Room With A Roux, even in the middle of summer.

I really love this Pancake House Mystery series. Marley and her newlywed husband Brett take a short vacation in the mountains at the beautiful and scenic Holly Lodge. They cut their vacation short after they find the co owner of the lodge, Kevin, dead in a snow bank. Upon returning to the lodge for Kevin’s memorial service, they are stranded there during a blizzard. Did the killer also come back for the memorial service as well? This book was beautifully written and I had a lot of fun trying to figure out who the killer was. I can’t wait for the next book

I unfortunately couldn't get into this book. Hopefully someone else enjoys it. I will try and read it in the future

Marley and her husband Brett are taking a romantic getaway in the mountains since they postponed their honeymoon. They have found what they think is the perfect spot - Holly Lodge. They have been snowshoeing and hot tubbing and have met some interesting people in this out-of-the-way B&B but things turn bad when they find the owner in a snowbank, stabbed to death.

Return home early, several of the other guests come to Wildwood Cove too. With some of the suspects in their town, Marley and Brett decide to protect their town, they need to find the murderer.

The story follows their efforts to a snowy conclusion. The regular characters are fun and the mystery was well-written.

This is a very charming cozy mystery! I love that Brett goes with Marley anytime she questions a suspect so he can be part of the conversation and help Marley out. Their love story is a wonderful addition to this book. Marley is a great observer and often notices little details that others miss. The plot is fabulous with a surprising twist at the end. This is book seven in the series but is fine to read as a stand-alone because there is enough background information to keep the reader up to date. It made me want to go back and read the other books in the series. Since Marley owns a Pancake House there are recipes at the end of the book. Yummm! If you enjoy reading Joanne Fluke, you will like this series as well!
Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

The Pancake House Mystery series is a fun one and this seventh outing is another winner. Of course there is a murder, but this one does not occur in town, but at The Holly Lodge, a resort in the Olympia Mountains. Newlyweds Brett and Marley had a few days to get away and after a recommendation from a local business owner, this winter holiday seems to be just what they are looking for. Unfortunately, death follows them and they find the owner of the resort dead and buried in a snowdrift. When they return to Wildwood Cove, several of the suspects end up there as well, allowing Marley to continue poking around. There is also a secondary mystery involving the theft of ornaments on the trees decorated for the Festival of trees. This mystery is more lighthearted and brings out the quaint feel to the town and we see some of the secondary characters that were not a large part of this story. The murder mystery was a bit more difficult to solve as the actual crime was committed elsewhere. Marley, Brett and Chloe followed what clues they had, asked lots of questions and poked around until they figured out whodunnit. There wasn't a big reveal or any danger, so it was a bit anti-climactic. While I enjoyed the setting of the mountain lodge, this was not my favourite in this series.

7th installment in a wonderful series. Marley and Brett are on a vacation after getting married but that can't even go as planned. While there they stumble across a dead body. The story continues back in Wildwood Cove but draws them back to where the murder happened.

This was my first Pancake House mystery, although I am a love of Ms. Fox's literary pub mysteries. She did not disappoint with this story!

Marley Collins and her husband Brett take a short vacation to the winter wonderland known as Holly Lodge to get away from it all and enjoy each other's company. Unfortunately, murder has also followed them to their mountain retreat. Marley vows not to get involved, especially since she does not know most of the possible suspects. However, when attending the proprietor's funeral turns leaves them once again stranded at Holly Lodge, Marley must figure out the killer before they will again.

I enjoyed this book a lot even though the plot was a tad on the predictable side. I did not guess whodunit, however, so that was a bonus! As I said, I am a fan of the literary pub mysteries by this author and I will definitely be seeking out the rest of the Pancake House series. Be prepared to be hungry when you read about the delicious dishes serves at the Flipside, though!

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.

Coming in at #7 in a series is not really the best thing to do but I was so tempted by the blurb and that pretty cover that I decided to give it a go.

I could tell straight away that I was well into an ongoing series because the MC, Marley, was happily settling into a new marriage. I can imagine the first six books have been building up to this. The Pancake House of the title belongs to Marley and she is well established and happy there too.

In [book:A Room with a Roux|53633285] the author moves Marley away from home as she and her husband have a couple of days rest and relaxation in a mountain retreat. Unfortunately a body is discovered in the snow and Marley begins her own little investigation to discover "who dunnit".

This was a very easy book to read and it was no problem to get involved in all the Christmas preparations and the wonderful food. The author writes nicely and she gives us a few recipes to try at the end as well.

I adore these characters and their dynamics within each other. While Marley tends to get on my nerves sometimes (there's zero way her approach to investigating murders as a civilian, would fly), the story is still cozy and engaging, worth picking up.

Thank you Netgalley, for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3833936233

A Room With A Roux
Pancake House Mystery, Book #7
Sarah Fox
5 Stars

Synopsis:

Pancake house owner Marley McKinney takes a break from the Flip Side for a romantic getaway. But soon, instead of mixing batter, she’s mixed up with murder . . .

Marley and her new husband Brett need some quality couple time before the holiday madness, so they drive up into the mountains of the Olympic Peninsula to charming Holly Lodge. Before long they’re enjoying snowshoe excursions, hot chocolates, and cuddling in front of a roaring fire. Despite some barely concealed marital tension between the owners of the lodge, they’re finally able to unwind . . .

Until one morning when they notice a glove sticking out of a snowbank outside of the lodge. Inside the glove is a hand connected to a frozen corpse buried beneath the snow—lodge owner Kevin Manning has been murdered. Presented with a stack of suspects and eventually stranded at the lodge by a blizzard, Marley has to catch the cold-hearted killer before someone else gets iced . . . (Goodreads)

Review:

Marley and Brett think they are going to have a romantic getaway but things do not go as planned. They find a dead body in a snowbank, one of the lodge owners. Now Marley has to try to figure out who the killer is before someone else dies.

The characters are well rounded and well developed. The Flip Side staff gets along really well and they feel like a big family. They help Marley try to solve the mystery as best they can. I enjoy watching the interaction between Marley and her staff.

The author is very talented in her descriptive writing and that brought the book to life in my mind’s eye. Whether describing the lodge, the blizzard or the romantic getaway, I could see it and feel like I was experiencing it first hand. The mystery was well plotted and there were enough suspects to consider and clues to sift through and it was not easily solved. I like the fact that the book took place in two different settings, that brought another level to the story, in my opinion.

I would highly recommend this book, and series, to anyone who enjoys a well crafted cozy mystery. I cannot wait to see what is next for Marley and her gang.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley, which I greatly appreciate.

Princess Fuzzypants here: Marley and new hubby Brent have booked a romantic getaway at a mountain lodge before the chaos of the the holiday season begins. They fall in love with the peace and beauty that surrounds them but when they discover the body of the owner in a snowbank, the spell is broken. What is worse, because of wintery road conditions up a treacherous highway, in all likelihood the killer is one of the people staying on site. They don’t know if it is one of the people who work in the lodge or one of the guests but when they return home early, it appears the killer may have followed them..

They return for a memorial service but are unable to leave due to a blizzard and a fallen tree. Now they really are trapped. And Marley, as is her wont, has been asking questions of everyone. So has a mystery writer whose plot from one of her books is resoundingly similar to the actual murder. When the killer attempts to stop her, Marley realizes she needs to put the pieces together before the killer succeeds again.

This is an enjoyable series as we have watched Marley and her Pancake House grow and thrive. Between her and Brent’s family and friends, there are lots of interesting characters with whom the reader can connect. And of course, Flapjack the kitty and Bentley the dog, add fun and fur to the stories. Maybe this one is not the book to read while suffering a polar vortex... or maybe it is. But add a hot chocolate to the mix.

Four purrs and two paws up.