Member Reviews

Eve Calder is back with a new Cookie House Mystery, and oh boy, dear readers, are you ever going to be surprised!

Chef Kate McGuire is gearing up for her friend's wedding, set to take place on the beach in the little coastal town of Coral Cay. Deirdre and Judson are just perfect for each other, and they can't wait for their spur-of-the-moment beach wedding. However, on the big day Judson doesn't appear. Did the groom get cold feet or is there something more sinister at play?

Okay, so this is my favourite cozy mystery of the year (so far)! I've been hooked on the Cookie House Mysteries since Kate first stepped on Coral Cay. However, Eve Calder has completely taken it to a whole new level with A Tale of Two Cookies. Not since I first read Agatha Christies novels as a teen have I been completely surprised! After finishing this book, I can say that this series has now been elevated to my absolute favourite.

Coral Cay is picturesque and cozy, and seems like the perfect place to live. However with many island towns there is a lot of mystery surrounding it, and I particularly liked the mysterious elements presented in this book. Add in all the interesting happens as a reality tv series is being filmed on the island, and you've got a fabulous whodunnit that you won't be able to put down!

This series is so fantastic, and just like a great cookie, you won't be able to have just one! I highly recommend you start with A Tale of Two Cookies and then go back and read the rest of the series. It is one of the best modern cozy mystery series on the market!

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A Tale of Two Cookies is the third Cookie House Mystery by Eve Calder. A charming cast of characters and a lovely setting make this series a sweet read.

Our amateur sleuth Kate continues to settle into life on Coral Cay and her role as the junior partner and baker at The Cookie House. She's spoken so highly of her new home that her old friend Desiree plans to get married on the beach, serving one of Kate's masterpiece cakes. With Kate's new friend Maxi, the florist, providing the flowers.

But things don't go according to plan when the groom doesn't show. The authorities think Desiree's been jilted by her wealthy eco-activist beau but Desiree's afraid he's been kidnapped. Or worse.

Kate never wavers in her belief in Desiree. So she's determined to figure out what's happened to Judson.

Eve Calder makes an intriguing departure from the pattern most cozies follow. There's no body. The characters and the reader aren't even sure if a crime's happened.

The author makes sure that there are plenty of suspects including Judson’s actress ex and poachers who all have reasons for tangling with the missing groom.

The pace intensifies as Judson continues to be MIA. No one’s heard from him including his children and business partner.

Eve Calder has an engaging writing style with entirely likable characters. We get check-ins with the quirky residents of Coral Cay, including Oliver, the local dog about town, who helps Kate with her investigations by uncovering important evidence.

I really appreciated the love and support that Kate and even Maxi give to Desiree. Shoutout to strong women supporting each other.

Fans of culinary mysteries will be drawn in by the humor and likability of the characters, the delicious descriptions of baked goods and the well-plotted and intriguing mysteries. This gentle read is for fans of Joanne Fluke and Sarah Graves.

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This is such a sweet read, with so many cakes and cookies appearing naturally throughout the tale. The setting and the characters are also all pretty sweet. I thought the beginning was a little choppy which may be because I haven't read other books in this series, but I quickly got hooked into the story and thought it was very cleverly done. I'd definitely read another of Calder's books

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This is the third book in the Cookie House cozy mystery series. The author is so good at making sure her characters in this series are all well developed, the storyline is captivating from beginning to end, the mystery is puzzling and the book is full of laughs. I look forward to reading more!

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A puzzling cozy mystery to gobble up! Author Eve Calder garnishes lip-smacking cookies and piles on multiple possibilities as to what’s happened to an absent-minded groom who mysteriously vanishes without a trace the night before his wedding. It’s like his footsteps faded away in the sand. When I finally began to fit the puzzle pieces together, I really appreciated what a clever mystery “A Tale of Two Cookies” turns out to be.

Kate McGuire and Sam Hepplewhite co-own the Cookie House in gorgeous Coral Cay, Florida. Maxi, a florist, is Kate’s best friend. One of their friends, Desiree, is marrying Judd Cooper, a wealthy marine biologist in a couple of days, and they’re all excited over the beach nuptials. At this point, I was flipping pages as fast as I could read them from the time the wedding party realized the groom wasn’t coming...until the last page. So many possible reasons flooded my mind as to what could have happened, and I was in my zone following the storyline to see what path the author chose to take with the mystery. I felt like I was watching my favorite soap opera during summer sweeps!

Needless to say, this is a page-turner story and the Coral Cay Irregulars book club members go all out to help Detective Ben Abrams solve the crime. I also love stories that include sea turtles nesting and baby turtles hatching. There is so much more happening behind the scenes that I won’t give away, but the villainous schemer responsible is satisfyingly captured. The ending is spectacular!

I was provided with an advanced copy via NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you.

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Through NetGalley, I received a free copy of A TALE OF TWO COOKIES (Book 3 of the Cookie House Mysteries) by Eve Calder in exchange for an honest review. Kate McGuire is excited to spend time with her old friend Desiree Goldsmith and her fiancé Judson Cooper while they visit Coral Bay. Desiree and Judson like the area so much, they then decide to marry on the beach before they leave. When Judson doesn’t show up for the wedding, law enforcement believes he simply suffered a case of cold feet and became a runaway groom. Desiree enlists Kate, Maxi, and Oliver in her efforts to locate Judson. Meanwhile, a reality television show is filming locally, and the cast is causing havoc in town.

I enjoyed this book and like the series. I recommend this book to fans of cozy mysteries featuring bake shops, island life, doggy sidekicks, greed, smuggling, reality television, and environmental issues.

#ATaleofTwoCookies #NetGalley

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A TALE OF TWO COOKIES, the third book in the Cookie House Mystery series by Eve Calder, is a page-turning addition to a yummy series! In this newest release, protagonist bakery owner Kate McGuire finds herself embroiled with a runaway groom, a jilted bride, a contentious reality show, and endangered sea turtles. With so much going on, the author does an admirable job of building the plot and weaving the threads of the story together to build tension and intrigue. Central to keeping the pace on track are the delightful characters that inhabit the small island, Coral Cay. Kate is not only friendly, but she has a knack for making everyone feel welcome and wanted. I especially enjoyed how she knows just what kind of cookie to give to customers to fit their tastes without any input from them, even after only meeting the customer for the first time. Her sidekicks, best friend, Maxi (a fiery Cuban florist) and the adorable dog and town mascot, Oliver, are on hand to assist no matter what situation pops up. As the mystery progresses, I loved that Kate also calls upon the Coral Cay Irregulars, the local mystery readers book club, to hunt for clues. I find it appealing that Kate doesn’t try to investigate on her own, and doesn’t willfully put herself into danger. It lends a greater sense of reality to the book.

The mystery itself is quite intriguing. Without providing any spoilers, it centers on a groom who disappears the night before his wedding. All appearances point toward him jilting his bride-to-be, but the bride thinks foul play was involved. As the story progressed, the clues presented had me guessing all over the place and not once was I right. The clever diversions kept me turning pages and I couldn’t put the book down until I’d read the last page. With all the various subplots wrapped up together in a cohesive story, I closed the book, hungry for cookies and hungry to see what comes next for Kate and her friends!

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley, I was provided with an advance copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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Although I thoroughly enjoyed the previous books in the series, this one disappointed me.
I did not feel invested in the mystery and the reveal felt like it was rushed.
I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.

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A Tale of Two Cookies by Eve Calder is an advance reader copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Kate Mcguire lives on a small Florida island. She moved into an upstairs room above The Cookie House Bakery. Kate is helping her friends, Deseree and Justin, celebrate their marriage on the beach. The groom and his boat disappear and the police are looking suspiciously at Deseree. Kate and her friends look into the situation and a lot of stuff is unearthed. I find it so interesting how each person can have such different perceptions on the same events. Eve Calder looks at the many layers of a man and leads the reader to wonder who is lying. I really enjoyed this book and couldn't wait to find out how it ended.

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I really enjoyed this book. Even though it’s the third in a series and I hadn’t read the others, I had no trouble getting into the story and figuring out who was who. Kate is the main character in the stories. She’s a baker whose friend, Desiree, comes to visit her and hold her wedding on the beach. Unfortunately, the groom (and the JP) never arrive. Kate shows just how good a friend she can be when she helps Desiree prove that her fiancé did not have a case of cold feet and flee the wedding. Unfortunately, there are a lot of others who do think that. Kate and her cadre of friends go to work solving the mystery of the missing bridegroom.

This is a fun book set on a fictional Florida key (cay) in a small community. It’s full of mystery, intrigue, great baked stuff (I really wanted to be in the bakery with them!), fantastic characters, and even a little ecology as the groom attempts to save nests of loggerhead turtles. There are lots of suspects to keep you guessing until the very end.

I will note, that even though I thoroughly enjoyed this book, there were several minor editorial issues that I hope will be cleaned up in the final version of the book as they glared at me. I didn’t take off a star because this was an ARC from Netgalley but hopefully the proofreaders will catch the issues.

Recommendation: A definite buy. And I’ll be getting the rest in the series as well.

Disclaimer: I received a final and/or advanced reader copy of this book with the hope that I will leave my unbiased opinion. I was not required to leave a review, positive or otherwise, and my opinions are just that… My Opinions. I am posting this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”

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I enjoyed the first two books in this series, but "A Tale of Two Cookies" didn't really do it for me. I found myself wanting to speed/skip through a lot of the book. Still willing to give the next one a chance, though, if there is one.

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When one of Kate’s friends arrives in Coral Cay from New York City, the visit turns into a celebration as Desiree and her fiancé Judd decide to marry on the beach. Kate has made the wedding cake and the sun is setting as the bride arrives for the wedding on the beach. When they can’t find the groom or justice of the peace, the bride is sure the groom has been kidnapped, but the police think the bride may have been jilted at the altar.

Having spent time with Judd and Desiree Kate believes her friend, but some of the things she starts hearing as people start talking makes her second guess her belief in her friend a bit. As the Coral Cay Irregulars come to aid Desiree and Kate, they start digging deeper and and finding bits and pieces of the puzzle, but Kate can’t see the big picture. Will they see the bigger picture before it goes up in flames, or is the bride really as delusional as they make her out to be? Only time will tell.

A fun series in a tropical location that will get you geared up for the warmer weather. The red herrings keeps you going back and forth between the likely suspect until the end. A great read for the beach bag or just sitting by the fire and dreaming of Summer. You won’t be disappointed.

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I’ve really enjoyed getting to know Kate and her friends, and this book definitely showed how good a friend she is.
Kate’s best friend is getting married on Coral Cay, and when the groom mysteriously disappears, everyone has their own opinion on why he took off.
Kate desperately wants to believe her friend, that her fiancé wouldn’t just disappear like that, so she begins to put the clues together, determined to find the answers.
I’m looking forward to reading more in this series by Eve Calder.
#ATaleofTwoCookies #NetGalley

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I received a copy of this book from St. Martin's Paperbacks and Netgalley.

Kate is a pastry chef who has an old friend announce a very sudden wedding and the whoopsy-doodle! The groom is gone!
Kate and a great cast of characters step in to find out what happened!

This is a very fast-paced, fun read. I read it in less than a day.

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Kate works at solving the case of the missing groom while trying to keep her friend's spirits up. Lots of intrigue concerning the groom's children, partner & former lover. Everyone has their own ideas on why Judson has disappeared. Suddenly, there is a ransom demand, an explosion & other thrilling things happening. I really liked this book

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