DEEP FRIED DEATH is the twelfth book in the Country Store Mysteries by Maddie Day. With her usual deft at creating a great plot along with memorable characters, this newest release has a side of humor! An Outhouse Race? Check. A dead body hidden in the porta-potty? Check. Okay, a dead body might not be all that humorous, but the set up leading to the murder is. Robbie Jordan, owner of Pans ‘N Pancakes, along with her employees, gets caught up in the Outhouse Race festivities. Ms. Day’s attention to detail helps the reader feel like they’re right there, experiencing the fun, and feel like you know the characters and can call them friends. Even if you’re new to this series, each book can be read as a standalone and will make you want to go back and catch up with the others.

The action starts early and kept me engaged throughout—whether Robbie was hustling at her restaurant or hunting down clues. Despite her bout of early pregnancy malaise, Robbie feels the need to investigate who killed her competitor and placed the body in her outhouse. I appreciated the author gave consideration to the pregnancy and as such, Robbie never placed herself in danger. Instead, she turned over all her found information to the police and, wisely, called them when she thought there was danger. The reveal still gives a sense of urgency that had me turning pages until the very end.

I have enjoyed this long running series and my visits to South Lick, Indiana. In Deep Fried Murder , Robbie is entangled in an outhouse murder, much to her chagrin. She is still persistent in gathering clues, yet Robbie is listening better to the police directives. After a year of marriage she and Abe have new adventures on the horizon. As always, fun, food, and great characters round out the mystery.
Thank you to #NetGalley, #KensingtonCozies for the E-ARC that I requested. My review is voluntary, my opinions are my own. I recommend this book to others who enjoy mysteries with lively characters, a small town closeness, and great recipes!
#DeepFriedDeath #NetGally

Deep Fried Death is the twelfth book in the A Country Store Mystery series by Maddie Day.

Robbie and her employees, Danna and Turner, built a rustic outhouse mounted on two wheels. They entered it in an outhouse race at the Abe Martin, a Hooiser cartoon character from a hundred years ago, Festival on Memorial Day. Danna will be riding in the outhouse, but first, she and Turner start to push the outhouse to the starting line when they bump into a curb. The door on the outhouse pops open, and a body falls out along with a skillet. The body is quickly identified as Evermina Martin, and the skillet is quickly determined to be the murder weapon. Evermina owns the restaurant across from Robbi’s Pans ‘N Pancakes, and her fondest wish was to put Robbie out of business. At first, the police are interested in Robbie. Still, when Robbie’s brother-in-law comes under suspicion, she decides that even with her being with child, she will cut back on her involvement but will do some investigation. Robbie will discover several subjects that she will need to investigate.


I love this series; it has wonderful, engaging, and well-developed characters. I particularly liked that Robbie took into consideration her pregnancy and stayed away from putting her life and her future baby’s life in danger. Of course, Buck is there with his “down home” witticisms. Even his cousin, Wanda, had a few of her own to contribute. The story is well-written and plotted. I feel I am there with the characters in each book in the series. The story has enough twists and turns that I kept guessing until the end who the killer was.

Delicious-sounding recipes are also included in the book.

I’m looking forward to the next book in this fun series.

Maddie Day entertains with Deep Fried Death in which the corpse of Evermina falls out of the Outhouse Pans and Pancakes cookhouse of Robbie. Robbie argued over restaurant competition. Lots of suspects and humor. Enjoy.

Deep Fried Death is book #12 in the Country Store Mystery series by Maddie Day.

I really enjoyed this. I like the characters and the way they look out for each other. I’ve enjoyed how the characters’ lives change through the series and Robbie’s life certainly has changed. I like how she made decisions differently than she would have in the past. There were plenty of twists and I didn’t guess who the guilty party was, though I suspected the person at one time. I can’t wait for the next book.

Thank you to the author, Kensington, and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) copy of this book and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

This might be my favorite in the series so far. It might be because, considering her current health situation (no spoilers), Robbie didn’t go running into danger haphazardly, which was nice. She still investigated, which let us follow along, but let the authorities handle most of the dirty work, which she should. I did figure out who the murderer was about halfway through, but I still thoroughly enjoyed this one. Looking forward to the next one and all the changes that are coming for the residents of South Lick.

All my fave characters made an appearance in this book and Buck was on fire with his usual funny Buckisms, lol. I really enjoy his character! It was pretty cool that he, Wanda and state detective Octavia were in this book, and we finally got to meet Buck’s wife who was super nice (wouldn’t’ve expected any less) as well as another law enforcement officer who turned out being actually friendly after Robbie was worried the woman had suspected her.

Who knew it’d take being a mommy soon that’d make Robbie back off from her dangerous adventures she usually had during an investigation. I was super proud of her during the finale and loved that outcome. She’s got some of the best people on her team and they came up with just the perfect reward for the case being over.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book, and my opinions are my own.

Excellent addition to the Pans 'N Pancakes Mystery series. Robbie and her crew are all excited to participate in an outhouse race, until a body tumbles out of theirs. Now Robbie and several other folks are suspects in a murder! Robbie can't resist trying to help the police figure out whodunit. But she'll have to be very careful now as it's not only herself she needs to keep safe.

I adore this cozy mystery series! It's always fun and interesting, with great characters and a mystery that keeps me guessing. Huge thanks to the author for writing such an entertaining series.

Many thanks to Kensington Publishing and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. My thoughts and opinions are my own and without bias or favor or expectation.

Deep Fried Death by Maddie Day takes us back to South Lick, Indiana where Robbie Jordan and her employees are shocked when a dead body tumbles out of the Pans ‘N Pancakes Outhouse Race Festival entry. I found Deep Fried Death to be easy to read. Robbie and Abe are expecting their first child. Morning sickness is plaguing Robbie (saltines are her friend). Pans ‘N Pancakes is busy from opening to closing. We get to hear about food prep, cooking food, food ordering, and the descriptions of finished meals. The mystery is simple. Robbie does little sleuthing. I thought the family connection would have Robbie eager to investigate. I believe more time was devoted to the restaurant’s new deep frier than to the whodunit. I was surprised at how Robbie treated law enforcement when they showed up at the restaurant to ask questions. Deep Fried Death is the twelfth A Country Store Mystery. This story can be read as a standalone since the author provides the necessary background information for new readers. Deep Fried Death lacked depth and I felt the mystery was shoved into the background (I wanted less food and more mystery). Deep Fried Death is an easygoing story with an outhouse race, a murdered restauranter, a power problem, saltine crumbs, a deep frier delivery, and flavorsome food.

This is the eleventh in the Country Store Mysteries and, I think, the first I've read. (Others are available on Kindle Unlimited, so I'll be going back and catching up at some point soon.) The trouble starts when a dead body is discovered in Pans N Pancakes' entry in the annual outhouse races. The victim owns a competing restaurant and of course we know that the protagonist, Robbie Jordan, is innocent, but there's no shortage of other suspects. It's a fast paced read, set mainly in the restaurant itself, and contains plenty of references to the other books in the series.

Another nice addition to Maddie Day’s Country Store series. Robbie and her crew have entered an outhouse race to get publicity for her restaurant Pans ‘N Pancakes. Having dropped off their outhouse on wheel the day before, the morning of the race, a body falls out of their entry. Robbie now has to solve who murdered the woman who had been trashing her restaurant, which means she, along with a slew of other people, are suspects. This was a lot of fun, and I love this series in general. I did feel that the ending was a bit rushed (would have like the motive to have been more fleshed out), but still an enjoyable read. I received an arc of this book from NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for my honest review.

Deep Fried Death is the newest addition to the Country Store Mysteries series by Maddie Day, The book's protagonist, Robbie Jordan, is the owner of Pans 'N Pancakes in South Lick, Indiana, Her restaurant is participating in an Outhouse Race but when preparing to race her team makes a gruesome discovery. Now Robbie, who is pregnant, is doing her best to find out what happened without putting herself in harms way.

The book is a typical cozy mystery, with plenty local flavor. The plot is predictable but engaging and the main characters are likable. The author also includes recipes for some of the dishes featured in the book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington for an ARC. The opinions expressed are my own.

Have enjoyed this series from the beginning and it's still going strong. I knew from the title this was going to be a strong one and enjoyed every bit of it.

"Deep Fried Death” the 12th book in the Country Store Mystery series by Maddie Day. I just love this series! I love the setting of South Lick, Indiana and I love Robbie and her staff at Pans N Pancakes they are like one big family. Now that she’s pregnant and been married to Abe for a year what could go wrong …

But when a dead body and a cast-iron skillet tumble out of the Pans ’N Pancakes outhouse entry on the race route, it seems someone is trying to frame Robbie—in a most unconventional way. Now she’ll need to be privy to the townsfolks’ secrets as she races to flush out a killer . . .

There were enough twists to keep me intrigued and wanting to know how it ends. The plot and story were good and seemed to flow at a good pace.

I highly recommend to anyone who enjoys a cozy filled with down home characters and a small town atmosphere.

I requested and received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from Kensington and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my OWN.

Once again Robbie and crew will have you laughing and sleuthing! The story starts with an outhouse race and of course ends in catching a murderer while a wonderfully woven plot wraps both ends together quite nicely and with optimum entertainment! If you haven't started this series yet, I suggest that you start with the first book and work your way through. It will give you hours upon hours of quality entertainment as well as a load of backstory on all the characters that live in South Lick. I promise you'll love the setting, the story lines and the people, the trifecta of great cozy mysteries! FYI: the previous books in the series are available on audiobook if you like audio's and the narration is wonderful so I am assuming this one will eventually hit audio as well. However, if you just love reading a good book by yourself then you have found a great series to enjoy for days to come. The author weaves a vivid story that lets you really get to know the characters and the multi-generational characters means there is someone for everyone to love and champion as their favorite character. While Robbie is the main character, all the characters are wonderful!

I have read other books by Maddie Day but I don't believe I've read any in this series, The Country Store Mysteries. I've enjoyed this book as much as I have the other series I've read. Reading the other books I knew what to expect from this author's writing style.
This is kind of a funny one, not the murder of course, that's never funny.
Abe Martin Festival on Memorial Day in South Lick, Indiana brings quite the crowd every year. This year the shop owners are drawing the crowd in with a race featuring replicas of outhouses decorated to represent town businesses.
As the race is getting ready to start the shop owners must push their outhouse to the top of the hill in preparation. One particularly heavy outhouse tips and out spills a body that had been knocked over the head with a skillet and the skillet was still in the outhouse representing Pans ’N Pancakes, the country store owned by Robbie. She better do some sleuthing before things get really heated up. Fun to see how she came up with clues to solve this. Plenty of suspects kept everyone busy. This was not a simple case to solve. I look forward to more in this series.

Pub Date 26 Dec 2023
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

While I loved this series in the beginning, I am starting to think at least for this reader the series has ran its course.

This was another delightful installment in the Pans and Pancakes series. These books always make me hungry and wish we had a place like Robbie's restaurant in my town.

The story starts out surrounding an outhouse race in Nashville, Indiana. Robbie's excited to compete but when a dead body falls out of her entry before the race starts, those chances are dashed. Robbie somehow winds up being a (ridiculous) suspect and she gets involved trying to find out whodunit, without putting herself in harm's way now that she is pregnant.

While I appreciated the fact that for once a heroine sleuth is much more cautious about her snooping, there was a lot of focus on her pregnancy and it became a little redundant after a while.

My absolute favorite parts of these are the jargon Ms. Day uses to bring authenticity to her characters. Some of Buck's metaphors made me LOL.

I do enjoy this charming small town series and hope to read many more in the coming years.

My thanks to Kensington Cozies and Netgalley for this ARC.

Who knew that racing outhouses was a thing? I don’t know if Maddie Day took this from a real life event in Indiana or if she made it up for the book, but it definitely caught my attention and got a laugh. The laugh only lasted until a dead body falls out of the outhouse on race day.
This is a complex mystery with plenty of suspects.
I enjoyed getting back to South Lick and visiting with Robbie Jordan and friends. I enjoyed the changes that came with Robbie being in the family way.
I love this addition to the Country Store mystery series. Come hang out with Robbie, Danna, Turner, Adele, Corrine, Abe, Seth and Buck for a new mystery and to hang out with friends.
Thanks to Netgalley and Kensington cozies for the chance to review this book.

I would have like to see that outhouse race. Definitely something different. It’s always good to see what the good folks of South Lick are up to. I love these folks! Family dynamics can certainly be crazy sometimes. This book has an interesting story line. The guilty always shows their hand at some point. Can’t wait to go back and see what Robbie, Abe and family and friends are up to. I received this book from NetGalley, but my opinion is my own.