cozy-mystery, Brooklyn, bakery, family-business, family, culinary, cultural-heritage, Caribbean-peoples, multigenerational, recipes, friendship, friends, kickboxer, murder-investigation, murder, poisons, unpleasant-guests, unputdownable, reporter, relatives, relationships*****

The mystery is good, but the recurrent mentions of delicious foods of the menu was sheer torture!
The nasty principal was permanently retired at her own retirement party held and catered at the Murray family's Spice Isle Bakery. The worst thing about that is that the family bakery was caught up in the negative publicity and Lyndsay's mother was in the frame even though she hadn't worked for the woman for over a year! To make it even worse, this is the second murder in two months that Lyndsay has been associated with! Great sleuthing by the whole extended family, real red herrings as well as personal feelings about the investigating detective kind of blindsided me when plot twists sneaked in. It was a joy to read about such a dear and loving family as they worked through problems together. Loved it!
I requested and received an EARC from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley. Thank you!

The second book in this new series has us in Brooklyn’s Little Caribbean neighborhood with Lyndsay and her family. One of my favorite families.

Owners of the Spice Isle Bakery, they are looking for ways to up their income when a query comes in about a retirement dinner for the local high school principal, Emily. The problem is no one likes her. She was a horrible boss to Lyndsey’s mother and maybe if they make up an outlandish figure, the group will go elsewhere. But no such luck. For some reason they are insistent.

As I said, she isn’t well-liked and only six people show up. But not all will make it past the meal.

As Emily begins convulsing, after eating the curry, she is soon dead. Of course, the police are going to look at the bakery owners. And that publicity is definitely the bad kind. Sending customers running. Nothing kills a food business quicker than poison!

But the Murray family isn’t going to sit idly by and get railroaded into jail. Nope, they will stick their noses into everyone’s business to make sure the family stays intact.

NetGalley/ May 23, 2023, St. Martin’s Paperbacks

I was so excited to get this book because I loved the first one. But it just--honestly, it reads like it hasn't been edited yet. I know that ARCs tend to have typos and that's fine. But the main character is furious that police want to examine a crime scene for clues. Then the officers walk away from the scene, leaving four suspects to just sit there until they get around to coming back. That makes no sense. It goes on and on.

The mystery itself is interesting. The execution needs work. I like this author, but this book feels rushed. It needed at least one more editing pass for consistency and content.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press for the free book.
This is book two in this cozy mystery series, and they do need read in order. It was fun to be back with Lyndsay and her family in their bakery. I enjoyed how the author always has such healthy, strong familial relationships in these books, and I know spending time with these characters always leaves me feeling hopeful. The mystery aspect of this book was intriguing. I think the author came up with a unique plot that unfolded at just the right speed to keep me hooked into trying to figure out who committed the murder. It was a fun book, and I can't wait for the next one.

This series is as much about families and togetherness as it is about murder investigations. I'm finding myself more and more drawn to cozy mysteries with strong families and character development. This one is still relatively new and has a way to go toward having completely well defined characters but it's showing promise. Main character Lyndsay Murray/Lynds began the series as a likable but probable push over, bullied as a child and not accustomed to standing up for herself in most circumstances.

The circumstance that kicked started her willingness to step forward involved her family, as it does here. Her family has invested their hearts, time and money, not to mention their energy, in making the Spice Isle Bakery a success. Despite this, she is reluctant to book a retirement dinner for an old nemesis of her mother. It's a family decision to accept it when the outrageous fee quoted to discourage those trying to book the dinner is accepted. Little did Lynds know it would lead to her involvement in another murder investigation when her mother's past history with the victim makes her a person of interest.

So, who killed retiring school principal Emily Smith? Quite frankly, simply based on her arrogance and sense of entitlement even before the meal begins, it could be any of the invited guests. Tensions are high and that isn't helped when it turns out one of the male guests once had a crush on Lyndsay's mother. To complicate things, it turns out a hefty sum of money may have gone missing from school funds. How was Emily poisoned? Could it be the assistant principal, eager to take her spot? Emily's assistant, who is downright nauseating playing up to Emily, seemingly to gain favor? One of the others? Who had the opportunity and, more importantly, how did they do it?

Through it all, the Murray family stays strong, even when Lynds is crushed to hear her bakery will not be included in that year's Caribbean festival due to the murder there. How will that impact their quite young business? Will the threatening messages sent to Lynds detour her? Oh, come on. Of course not. Read this one to find out how it all plays out in the end. There's even romance brewing.

Thanks #NetGalley and #StMartinsPress - #StMartinsPaperbacks for letting me revisit Lyndsay's Spice Isle Bakery. Looking forward to where the end-of-the-book developments take us.

This Spice Isle Bakery series, featuring West Indian bake shop owner Lyndsay Murray, is quickly becoming a favorite mystery series (and that's after only two books).

Delightful recurring characters, including Lyndsay's family, her mother and father, her brother and her grandmother, along with other assorted relatives. Even the two Brooklyn cops add the the enjoyment of the mystery though Lyndsay's ex-high school classmate/crush infuriates her.. Plus another interesting plot as the Spice Isle Bakery caters a small retirement party for a much-hated high school principal who, up til the year before, was Lyndsay's mother's boss.

The murder of one of the retirement party guests threatens to damage the Spice Isle Bakery business and it's up to Lyndsay and her family to protect one of their own from ill-founded accusations in this murder.

Absolutely love this series!!

Kindle Copy for Review from Net Galley, and St. Martin's Press.

I received a free, advance copy of this book and this is my unbiased and voluntary review.

It’s one retirement party that ends up deadly.

Our chef finds herself catering an retirement party for a school principal but it turns into a murderous event when the principal takes a bite of her curry chicken and keels over. She’ll become a suspect when it is known that the principal was once her mother’s boss and they never got along.

Will she be able to find the real killer and save her reputation and that of her mother’s? Another a delicious addition in this newish cozy series.