Lyndsay Murray is back in the second Spice Isles book, Hard Dough Homicide.
The unique family bakery is catering their first party, and everyone has mixed feelings about it.The celebration is a retirement party, and the guest of honor belongs to Lyndsay's mom's former boss, high school principal, Emily Smith.
Emily is not well liked, and her sudden death puts Lyndsay and her family at the top of the suspect list.

I like this series, it's a fresh look for traditional cozy mysteries, and all the characters are funny and colorful.
The family dynamics are well done, portrayed in way everyone can relate to.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy of this book.
I'm happy to recommend this series by Olivia Matthews.

The second Spice Isle Bakery mystery finds Lyndsay and her family catering an event for her mom's former principal. The principal is universally disliked, even by those few attending the retirement dinner, and winds up murdered. This time, it is Lyndsay's mom who falls suspect. Lyndsay decides to investigate again to clear her mom and the bakery's name.

I'm really enjoying this series! The characters are great, and the pacing is on point for a cozy. I can't wait to read more in this series!

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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, 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.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press & NetGalley for allowing me to read this book

Hard Dough Homicide by Olivia Matthews is a delectable recommendation for anyone looking for a fantastic cozy mystery with immaculate vibes that is baked full of heart & family. It is book #2 in the Spice Isle Bakery Mystery, but could easily be read as a standalone. I absolutely adored the first book in this series, so I was incredibly excited to dive back into this world. I also recommend the entire series to anyone looking for a new cozy mystery series.

This series revolves around Lyndsay Murray, her phenomenal family & their bakery in Little Caribbean, Brooklyn, New York called Spice Isle Bakery that honors their Grenadian roots. I’ve said it before but I would love to go there & experience the delicious food that they describe.

The core of this book is about her family that I adore so much. This is the family that completely shows up for each other. Their close-knit mature & unwavering loyalty is woven so seamlessly into their lives to create such a beautiful group.

One of the many unique things in these books is the fact that the family joins the main character on her quest to solve the cozy mystery, which showcases their family unity even more. Generally speaking, a lot of cozy mysteries are centered around a solo main character attempting to solve a grand mystery. Lyndsay’s determination coupled with her family by her side makes for an interesting pursuit.

I hope this serious continues because I love it. But also, I’m hardcore rooting for this delectable slowburn romance that is simmering in the background. I can’t wait to see what this group gets up to next.

Massive thanks to NetGalley & St. Martin’s Press for the free arc, which I voluntarily read & reviewed.

Content Warnings: This book mentions &/or contains murder.

I will post this on my social media & Amazon around release date & add links once I do!

This is the second book in a series. I enjoyed the first one a little more than this book. I don't read a lot of cozy mysteries and found myself having to get over events that seemed unrealistic. It is fiction, after all. I like the characters and their relationships to each other and their community.

Hard Dough Homicide by Olivia Matthews is book #2 in the Spice Isle Bakery Mysteries series. The Spice Isle Bakery is in the news again. Not in a good way. The retiring school principal, Emily Smith, has a seizure during the retirement dinner being held at the Spice Isle Bakery. Emily Smith insisted on having this dinner there. She invited only five coworkers. Amateur sleuth Lyndsay Murray and her entire family band together to solve this latest mystery. I really like this family and how they work together. I enjoyed the support and comments of steady customers in the bakery. I have read the first book in this series and find the series quite entertaining.

Spice Isle Bakery owner Lyndsay Murray is always looking for new ways to grow her family’s business. But she already regrets agreeing to host the retirement dinner for local high school principal Emily Smith. Six guests arrive for the celebration, but only five survive.

It’s not long before the police are knocking on Spice Isle’s door, bringing the Murray family back into the heart of another murder investigation. Lyndsay can't help but wonder if this is the end of the bakery, even though it's just begun. She must put aside her reservations about investigating another crime because the Murrays refuse to go down without a fight.

The story was entertaining, and the atmosphere was enjoyable to read. I felt I was right alongside some of the characters. There were a few places the story dragged, and I found myself skimming those sections.

A good addition to the Spice Isle Bakery Mystery series. A fun, fast read.

#NetGalley #HardDoughHomicide @StMartinsPress

Second in a series
Lyndsay Murray owns the Spice Isle Bakery along with family. In the interest of growing the business,
she reluctantly agrees to cater a retirement party for her mother's former boss, high school principal
Emily Smith.
When the guests arrive, it becomes obvious that none of them care for Emily. When Emily dies after
eating curry chicken, Lyndsay's mother Cedella becomes the number one suspect due to her contentious relationship with Emily.
Which of the attendees really killed Emily? Lyndsay sets out to clear her mother and ensure
that the family bakery stays open.
#HardDoughHomicide #NetGalley

This is the second in the Spice Isle Bakery Mysteries series by Olivia Matthews.
What I liked about the story is the relationship that Lyndsay Murray has with her grandmother, parents, and brother. I am amazed at how well they work together in the bakery.

This story centers around Cedella’s previous boss. She is a totally witch. I would only work for her if I needed a job and could not find one anywhere else. Cedella becomes the primary suspect when Emily collapses and eventually does enroute to the hospital.

I felt the story dragged in many places. It took me awhile to get through the book.
I was given and advanced readers copy and these are my own opinions.

The Spice Isle Bakery is doing great despite the murder of Claudio and being a prime suspect in the case. Things seem to be getting back to normal. A man who works for the Early College high school has been calling multiple times to set up a catered event. They've declined and he keeps insisting. The principal Emily Smith who is retiring wants to have it at the bakery. They decide to go ahead with it. After sitting everyone down, Emily dies. Of course the police suspect the bakery and Lyndsays mom as the culprit.
The family must investigate again to clear their names and help the business stay afloat.

I really enjoyed this mystery. I had no clue who the killer was until the end. I love the family dynamic and Granny is hilarious. I can't wait to see what happens next.

In the second Spice Island Bakery mystery, Lyndsay and her family need to clear her mother's name when the principal who was the cause of her retirement dies in the bakery. The Murrays had been hired to cater Emily Smith's retirement party which they reluctantly agreed to do since Della disliked the woman.

Their first surprise came when they found out how few people had been invited to attend. The second surprise was the animosity that filled the air when the guests assembled. The third surprise was when Emily suffered a medical emergency and later died.

Rumors spread that the food was poisoned which didn't do anything to build the clientele of the new business. Even after the food was tested and proven not to be the source of the poison, rumors were still flying since Della Murray was declared a person of interest in the crime.

Lyndsay needs to clear her mother's name in order to save the business that all the family had invested in. She decides to investigate herself when she learns that the cops, including the hot guy she had a crush on in high school, aren't investigating fast enough or paying attention to the clues she uncovers and shares with them.

This was an entertaining mystery filled with Caribbean culture, fashion, and food.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a copy of "Hard Dough Homicide" in exchange for my honest review.

This is the second book in the Spice Isle Bakery Mysteries. While there are many references to the previous book in this one, it is not difficult to follow along if you had not read the first book.

Lyndsay Murray is part owner of Spice Isle Bakery with her brother Dev, grandmother Genevieve Bain, and her parents Cedella Bain Murray and Jacob Murray. Lyndsay's mother had taught math at the Kings County Early College High School. She retired because of the attitude of Principal Emily Smith. So it comes as a huge surprise to everyone that the Principal is insisting on holding her retirement dinner at Spice Isle Bakery. What is also surprising is that only 6 people are invited. Besides the principal, the assistant principal, the librarian, the nurse, the administrative assistant and the guidance counsellor. Lyndsay wonders why these people only are at the dinner, why did she choose her family's restaurant and is there some scandal that the principal is either covering up or hoping to expose.

When there is a death at the dinner, Lyndsay steps up to prove her mother's innocence when she feels that police Detective Bryce Jackson of the homicide department is not doing enough to prove that her mother had nothing to do with the death. Lyndsay with the help of her family believes she can solve the case faster than the police because they are in her opinion wasting time, not following clues that could help clear her mother. She feels that she has a better approach to police work than the police. As can be anticipated once she puts all the pieces in place, she sets herself and another member of her family up for danger.

The underlying message of this book is family togetherness, keeping each other close and helping each other. The book ends with a couple of the recipes that are mentioned throughout the book.

Hard Dough Homicide was a steady paced read. I enjoyed the read and the look into the life of the Murry clan. However I feel it was missing something. I cant really put my finger on it exactly. Overall a good solid 4 star read.

I LOVE cozy mysteries! They are my go-to for a brain break, and that’s exactly what I’m needing right now. This was the second book in the series, and I was able to jump in with the background that the author gave. I enjoyed this book, the mystery, and the characters. If I could give one criticism, it would be that the mc constantly refers to her parents as “mommy” and “daddy” and that grates a bit. Aside from that, it was really enjoyable.

I love a good cozy mystery with an amateur sleuth as the main character, so I was so excited about this book. Unfortunately, this one just wasn't for me.

I did not read the previous book, though I don't think it impacted the story much. This book is written to be relatively stand-alone and provides plenty of background that it didn't seem overly necessary to read the first book prior to this one.

I will be completely honest and say that I could not finish this book, but it wasn't the storyline that stopped me from finishing the book, it was the fact that the main character, presumably an adult female, continually referred to her parents as mommy and daddy, both when she was talking to them and also talking about them. I really tried to get past this and enjoy the book, but I couldn't. It made the book unreadable for me.

Hard Dough Homicide is an enjoyable read with an engaging cast of characters, a great sense of community and a first-rate mystery.
I started this series with this, the second book. I had no difficulty with reading the book "out of order"--there is enough background provided but it doesn't slow down the pace of the story. The author does reference the first murder but doesn't provide enough details to ruin going back and reading the first. Much appreciated as I plan on reading soon.

Lyndsay left a job in marketing and public relations to open a cafe/bakery with her parents and grandmother. They are from Grenada so there are many references to Caribbean culture and their restaurant in the Little Caribbean district of Brooklyn specializes in Caribbean food. The business is still relatively new and growing.

The Spice Island Cafe is approached to host a small retirement dinner and they won't take no for an answer. It's for the principal of a school that Lyndsay's mother Cedella taught at, and she was not a pleasant person, so they really don't want to do it. She finally gives them a quote that she thinks is too high and will turn them off, but they aren't. Thinking that it may be a good opportunity to pursue catering they grudgingly accept.

They regret that decision almost immediately. The principal is rude and mean to the other attendees of the small dinner. And when she dies after her first bite of jerk chicken and the police discover she was poisoned things get worse. Cedella is a person of interest as she didn't like the principal and since poison was involved the cafe's business plummets. Lyndsay is irate that the police would consider her mother a suspect and since she is already upset that she was considered a suspect in the first murder, she decides she needs to get involved in figuring out what happened. And her family helps.

What follows is a well plotted mystery.

I received an advanced reader copy but the opinion expressed is my own.

3.5 stars

The best part of this book is the Caribbean culture - food, music, clothing and family. Lyndsay Murray owns and operates a bakery in NYC's Little Caribbean, along with her parents, grandmother and brother Dev. They are just building their popular business and working on getting the word out about their food and restaurant.

Lyndsay reluctantly agrees to cater a dinner at the restaurant for her retired mother's ex-boss, a principal at a private school. The woman was intensely disliked for her arrogance and bullying, and only the overly generous price tag for the event persuades Lyndsay to agree.

The dinner is a disaster -- the retiree antagonizes everyone as soon as she steps in the door and then collapses at the table, later dying in the hospital from poison. Lyndsay and family, having just survived another death in their new restaurant, are soon reeling from the negative publicity and lack of customers.

Lyndsay's mother is on the suspect list along with her other co-workers. Lyndsay once again undertakes her own investigation because she doesn't trust the police. She is (somewhat irrationally) constantly angry with the cops because she just doesn't understand how anyone could suspect anyone in her family. Her stubborn belligerence does get a bit tiresome after a while. But the overall atmosphere of the book is entertaining and fun and of course, Lyndsay once again solves the murder.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you to the publishing and Netgalley for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

This was super cute! A fun, easy read and I loved it! Olivia is so great at this cozy mystery genre and I have loved each and every book I've read, this one is no exception! Plus, that cover is adorable. I couldn't get enough!

"Someone in Brooklyn's Little Caribbean neighborhood has an appetite for murder in Olivia Matthews' Hard Dough Homicide.

Spice Isle Bakery owner Lyndsay Murray is always looking for new ways to grow her family's business. But she already regrets agreeing to host the retirement dinner for local high school principal Emily Smith. The tyrant used to be her mother's boss and they did not get along. Six guests arrive for the celebration, but only five survive. Emily starts convulsing - right after eating the curry chicken - and dies soon after. It's not long before the police are knocking on Spice Isle's door, bringing the Murray family back into the heart of another murder investigation - driving away customers in the process. Lyndsay can't help but wonder if this is the end of the bakery, even though it's just begun. She must put aside her reservations about investigating another crime, because the Murrays refuse to go down without a fight."

The real mystery, why is a bakery making curry chicken?

Hard Dough Homicide is the 2nd book in the Spice Isle Bakery series. It was a good cozy mystery with likable characters. The mystery kept me guessing. It was a little slow in places and repetitive at times.(we were frequently reminded Mommy was still on the Suspect List.) The family relationships were supportive and nice. Lyndsay and her family just opened a Caribbean bakery. They were asked to host the local high school principal', Emily Smith's retirement party. They didn't want to do it but need the money so they agree to it. The principal is not liked and Lyndsey's mother used to work for her. Emily dies at the retirement party and Lyndsey's mother becomes a suspect. There were only 5 guests besides Emily. There are some other things going on which made it more interesting. The mystery kept me guessing until the end. Overall, it was an enjoyable cozy mystery. #HardDoughHomicide
#NetGalley