Hard Dough Homicide by Olivia Matthews
Sometimes you just need a cozy mystery and this one fills that need.
Lyndsay and her family just opened a family bakery in Brooklyn. So far, business is booming. In spite of a murder to a rival bakery owner. Unfortunately, during their first catering event, the guest of honor dies from poison and Della is a person of interest. Their customers stop coming. Lyndsay needs to discover the murderer to clear the bakery’s name before they lose their business.
I enjoyed this book very much. The family is very colorful and loving towards each other and just positive. Very refreshing!

Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for an arc in exchange for my honest review!

Publication: May 23, 2023

Rating: 3 stars

This was a light read and the perfect cozy mystery to dive into. I loved reading about all the different foods that left me drooling and a little hungry. I found some spots repetitive but overall a quick read. Perfect to bring to the beach this summer and perfect for fans of cozy mysteries.

I really enjoyed this cozy mystery book. This is perfect for anyone who enjoys the Tita Rosie's Kitchen books. It was a similar vibe except the characters are Caribbean, not Philippino.

This is the second installment following Lyndsay Murray and her family's bakery Spice Isle Bakery. They bake and cook traditional meals from their homeland in Grenada. They have just started to breath easy after being cleared from any involvement in the murder of one of their neighbors. When Lyndsay is pressured into hosting a retirement party for her mom's old boss at the bakery, she suddenly finds herself in the middle of another homicide investigation. Her mom is the key suspect as it was no secret she butt heads on numerous occasions with her boss. In fact nearly everyone who came across Emily hated her. Lyndsay is forced to do her own investigation to clear her mothers name and to protect her bakery from the borderline slander being written in the local paper.

The best part about the book was the integration of the Grenadian culture and the tight knit community of Brooklyn's Little Caribbean. Similar to Tita Rosie's Kitchen you learn all about the traditional foods. One notable thing to look out for is Lyndsay's grandmothers tale of a mermaid she encountered back in Grenada. It was a nice touch of levity to the story. You also will enjoy following the trail to find Emily's killer. Surprisingly, my guess of who the killer was incorrect. I didn't see who it was until the big reveal, which I always think is a great plus for a thriller. Definitely pick this one up, it'll be a good option for anyone who doesn't like super suspenseful thrillers, but also wants a little mystery in their life.

This is such a cozy mystery! The added bits and pieces of Caribbean culture were a treat to read and learn. Love that this reads as a stand alone series. Olivia Matthews is a new to me author and for sure one I’d pick up again!

Thank you to the pubolisher and to Net Galley. The review opinions are my own.
This is book two in the new foodies series "Spice Isle Bakery Series," I enjoyed the first in series . This can be read as a stand alone. Lyndsay Murray is the owner of the bakery she runs with her close family. Foodies will love this series for the exotic foods and receipes included in the back of the book.

Lyndsay is asked to cater a retirement party for a nemisis of her Mother. When said nemisis dies of poisening the local police are looking no farther then Lyndsay. She must investigate to save her family business and her reputation. As clues abound and red herrings add up Lyndsay has a long way to go to solve this mystery.

This is a fun foodie read with enjoyable charcters and humor throughout. The series is growing in this second book and Lyndsay as a protagnist is finding her way as a new business owner with a talent for solving murders. A enjoyabe cozy series.

Hard Dough Homocied picks up where the first in the series left off, with the Murray family busy running their family bakery. They’ve been asked to cater a local high school principal’s retirement party, a woman Lyndsay’s mom, Della, dislikes. And of course, when the woman dies in the bakery, Della becomes the chief suspect in the murder investigation. Lyndsay decides she has to investigate to clear her mom’s name and save the business – being connected with two murders just months apart is definitely not good for customer retention.

I can’t tell if the cops are actually incompetent or not, since we only see things thru Lyndsay’s eyes. There are several suspects and at least from Lyndsay’s point of view, the cops aren’t investigating them all as well as they should. We’ve got a few clues that definitely point to people aside from Della.

Lyndsay and her family are very close. They always have each others’ backs. The family even joins in on the quest to solve the mystery. Breaking and entering, gathering gossip, they are (almost) always up for it. I’m not a fan of the potential love interest though.

This is definitely a fun book. The mystery’s fine but the characters are where it shines.

This is such a fun cozy series! I love the Caribbean heritage. The food they make at Spice Isle Bakery sounds so delicious!

Lyndsay is determined to solve this case. She’s fiercely loyal to her family and I love that. They have such strong family bonds. But sometimes I felt like it got in the way of the investigation? Like she is always misunderstanding the Detective and making it seem like he’s just out for her family when really he’s doing his job...

It can easily be read as a stand alone so don’t worry if you haven’t read book 1 yet. This gives you all the info you need to keep up.

Overall, another good installment in this series. I’ll be looking forward to the next one to see what happens!!

[ Thank you to the publisher & netgalley for the eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own! ]

This book 2 in the Spice Isle Bakery Series, Lyndsay Murray is the owner of the bakery and is always looking for a way to expand the family business. When the bakery hosts a retirement party, someone dies during the dinner and the family is blamed. Can the Murray family solve the murder and keep the business going?

I read the first book in the series, and it was an okay read. I didn't feel it was necessary to read that one prior to this book. However, I struggled with this one. Key themes were just too repetitive. The mystery itself was a bit lacking, as well. Things just took too long to come together. The essential pieces of a solid cozy mystery are here, but something just fell flat.

Lyndsay reluctantly agrees to cater the retirement party for Emily, who was miserable to her mother over the years, but she sure didn't poison her either, The Spice Island Bakery is just getting up and running and this is the last thing the family needs, especially since Lynd's mom is considered, albeit briefly, a suspect, Cozy readers know that no one liked Emily and everyone (except Lyndsay's family) could have done it. I like this series (well, this is the second one) for the family and the fact that Matthews weaves in Grenadian culture. And because it's set in Brooklyn. Don't worry if you missed the first one- it's still in the set up phase (there's a nascent romantic interest). Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC, Recipes!

This is a really fun cozy series. Matthews has some amazing sounding food/baked goods and a solid cast of characters. I still think the setting is perfect - the neighborhood closeness gives it the right feel for a cozy, but the city gives more plot opportunities for the rest of the series. The mystery here was delightfully complicated, with a deep pool of suspects and motives. I’m excited to read the next book in this series!

Thank you Netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.
1 star.
I read the first installment in this cozy series and was hoping for more from this one. Sadly this series is not for me. While the characterization is coming along, the themes of family, insecurity, neighborhood and financial struggles were constant, repetitive and unnecessary. Also disappointed by the mystery. By the time the resolution occurred, I was frustrated with the heroine and the meandering path she choose to finally get there.

Second book, but not necessary to have read the first. Thoroughly enjoyable murder cozy and food story with recipes in the back. Loved the family and the dynamics of this family, although don't understand why the police lieutenant insisted upon keeping Mommy a suspect in the murder. Lynds knew she needed to do her own investigation after her own accusation in book one. A good list of suspects and investigation to a satisfactory ending. Thank you to NetGalley and publishers.

Matthews does it again! With the second book in the Spice Isle Bakery Mysteries, Lyndsay returns to catch the killer before their bakery is shut down from bad publicity. Except this time, her mother is on the chopping block. Once again, I loved the family elements in this cozy mystery. Dev and Lyndsay and their parents and grandmother feel like my own family, and I loved seeing them once again rally around each other through another tough time. The ending of this story was also golden as a certain committee received their just desserts and saw just how wonderful Spice Isle Bakery and its owners were!
The only downside was I struggled a bit to understand why the police thought Lyndsay's mother was a suspect. At first, yes, I completely understood. But as several elements of the mystery were revealed, it made less and less sense why Bryce and Stan were forced to keep considering Lyndsay's mother.
Overall, though, I thoroughly enjoyed this read and I'm already looking forward to the next one! Matthews is a cozy mystery writer at their finest!

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Lyndsay enjoys working at the restaurant. When an incident happens her mother becomes a suspect. Lyndsay is unsure of what to do. I liked the different characters in this book.

This is the second book in the Spice Isle Bakery Mystery series. I was new to the series and the author, but I had no problem reading this story as a standalone book.

The story involves Lyndsay Murray and her family's bakery in the Little Carribean neighborhood in Brooklyn. In this story, a private retirement party for school administrator goes wrong and the guest of honor is poisoned. The police don't seem to be getting anywhere and the local newspaper crime beat reported names Lyndsay's mother as a person of interest. Lyndsay watches the business decline at the bakery and decides to start investigating the crime herself.

I really enjoyed the close-knit family aspects of the story, however it was irritating to me that Lyndsay, who is a grown woman, refers to her parents as "Mommy and Daddy.." This could be a cultural thing, but I felt like it was unnecessary every time she called to them or talked about them to call them Mommy and Daddy.

The story itself was interesting, with a limited but varied group of possible suspects. I enjoyed this book and would enjoy reading more in the series.

My thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is a quality follow up in the Spice Isle mystery series and fits within the cozy mystery and food related genres. I like the multicultural aspect of these books since the family is from Grenada. Well developed plot.

I like the Caribbean representation in this cozy mystery. Its nice to see one with an appropriate amount of cultural representation for an American immigrant family with 2nd and 3rd generation members of the family.

This would be a great book with a few things paired down or removed. Why is the only sign someone is frustrated or annoyed them "kissing their teeth?" The occasional use for one character to do this is fine. However, every character seems to do this frequently. Very annoying.

Second thing that needs to be cut back. Lyndsay needs to stop making it everyone against her and her family. If that's how she sees the world that's all it will ever be. She is constantly miss understanding Detective Bryce, who only really wants what she does but has to do things accordingly to his job. All she sees is him doing his job but interprets it as he has a choice to either do things her way (that'll loose him his job) or his boss' way. Not realizing that he is really trying to keep her in the loop so they can stay ahead of things.

I would still continue reading this series despite the few annoy things. For how long depends on how long the love interest avoidance gets drug out. I'm a get them matched and move one kind of reader.

The Murray family decides to host a small retirement dinner for the money…even though they don’t care for the retiree herself. But when the woman has a seizure and ends up dying, the family bakery is back in the hot seat again.

While no one believes Lyndsay’s mother is a killer, the police seem to think her just having a motive, means and opportunity are enough. It’s up to Lyndsay and the family to find the killer before Mommy ends up being pinned for a crime she didn’t commit.

This is a great cozy series set in the Little Caribbean neighborhood and you can just hear the music and smell the food as you’re reading. Come for the mystery, but make sure you stay for the recipes at the end…they’re delicious!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review. This was such a cute little mystery book! I loved Lyndsay, her family, their bakery, and how dedicated she was to solving this crime. I loved when one of the customers said, “You’re like the Grenadian Nancy Drew.” Hopefully there’s more of these books that I’ll be able to read in the future!