Member Reviews
Scone Cold Dead is a cute cozy mystery, with a seasoned sleuther FMC, and a very mysterious murder.
Robbie, the FMC of the story, is hoping for no more murders as she approaches her baby's due date. But lo and behold, a mysterious murder occurs anyway, and the body is found on her Aunt's farm! Robbie tries her best not to get involved with solving another murder, but she cannot help herself and does some investigating of her own, while also sharing any clues she finds with the local police.
The case of the mysterious murder continues to get more mysterious as more and more members of the small town seem to have had some connection to, or knew the victim, from their past.
Robbie works in and owns Pans N Pancakes, a breakfast and lunch diner that provides comfort food for locals and tourists. I really enjoyed the cafe, where most of the story takes place, and all the descriptions of the yummy food being made or served, I kept wanting breakfast and pastries! I love that the end of the story does have recipes for some of the delicious sounding food items that Robbie made in her restaurant during the story. I enjoyed the other main side characters as well, the Police Buck, he was funny, I could not imagine how he would eat so much food every day, and sometimes twice a day! There was some suspense too with Robbie and one of the other town newcomers, that keeps you on your toes.
While I haven't read the other stories in this series, I really enjoyed reading Scone Cold Dead. I recommend this for any cozy mystery fan, and especially those who enjoy a cozy mystery that includes recipes!
Thank you to Netgalley, Kensington Books, and the author for a review copy of this book!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book!
I’ve read a couple of books in this series, but it’s been a while and things have moved along considerably since then. Robbie, our leading sleuth, is just about to have her first baby. Some of the team are about to move on, and new central characters will take place in future books.
Now, while I enjoyed revisiting Pans and Pancakes, this book felt like a bridging novel. It’s hard to have a cozy mystery without the actual murder being confirmed, and in this case, didn’t actually happen. There’s also so much cooking and stopping to put her feet up and peeing (so pretty much an accurate pregnancy) that the book gets a bit bogged down. I think I’d like to read the next one and see where this story goes from here.
If you’re a long time reader of the series then I suspect you’ll enjoy this one too. However if this series is new to you, it’s better to go back and read some of the previous additions.
1 of my favorite authors and series. This was 1 of the best books I have read recently. Hopefully more are to come in this series. All the characters are exciting. Hope you read this series also. I suggest reading the books in order.
This is book 13 in The Country Store Mysteries
We start this book with Robbie about to give birth to her first baby! And it’s Thanksgiving time!
As Abe & Robbie prepare to welcome their baby, Robbie is working on getting Pans ‘N Pancakes ready for her maternity leave.
Of course there is a body found, but this time on Aunt Adele’s farm, as there is a link between Adele and the victim.
We learn in this book of a beloved character leaving, and another “surprise” coming.
Although Robbie is ready to pop, she does become quite nosy in trying to clear Aunt Adele.
At the end, Robbie & Abe welcome a precious baby (I’m not giving away name or gender though!)
I have heard rumors this may be the last book in the series, if so, only one thing was left “open”.
I really hope this series continues though.
This book releases 4/1/2025
This long running series never disappoints! Robbie is ready to give birth but before that can happen, A mysterious man is found dead in Adele's' field. He was seen around town and had connections to several people. Robbie has no desire to get caught up in the investigation but Adele is the prime suspect! A well plotted story with lots of changes in store for every character. It feels like the end of the series, but I hope that isn't the case! The resolution of the death was interesting and the return of the Lou character was fun.
I received an advanced copy of the book in exchange for a review.
Scone Cold Dead (Country Store Mystery, #13) by Maddie Day opens with Robbie and her husband Abe preparing for the birth of their first child in a few weeks. When a stranger comes into Robbie's restaurant, Pans 'N Pancakes, asking about her aunt, Robbie is a bit uneasy about the situation. Then, the stranger is found dead in her aunt's field, and Robbie knows she must clear her aunt's name off the suspect list.
NetGalley, thank you for the Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of this book. I really enjoy the author's writing, and I was ecstatic to receive a copy for free in exchange for my honest review.
I really enjoyed this story in the Country Store Mystery series, and I am looking forward to start it from the beginning after this latest edition so I can really get to know the backstory of each character. Most of the characters are likable, and it's not too hard to pick up on things from previous books despite me not reading a lot of the series. It definitely can be read as a stand alone book.
I found myself drawn into the story like I was really there with the rest of the characters. To me, that is what makes a book enjoyable ... forgetting that I am reading a book. Whenever I came up for air, it took me a couple of minutes to come back to reality.
Although there were a few slow spots, they didn't last for long, and I found myself wanting to rush through the story to find out what happened. The only complaint I do have is how often the main character talked about having pregnancy brain.
All in all, Scone Cold Dead (Country Store Mystery, #13) by Maddie Day is absolutely fantastic and perfect to escape reality. The expected publication date is April 1, 2025. I gave the story four out of five stars.
Thank You NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.
I really enjoyed Scone Cold Dead. This is my favorite cozy mystery series of all time. In this book, we follow the main character Robbie who is pregnant and due any day as she tries to uncover the mystery. As usual the food descriptions in the Country Store Mystery series always sounds good and it’s always fun to go back and read about the other characters that pop up throughout the series.
Robbie is days away from giving birth and she is determined to work until the very end and not get involved in anything dangerous. All that changes when a man's body is found on her aunt's property, and it appears her aunt has become a suspect. It doesn't help matters that Adele knew the deceased, but refuses to discuss how. Robbie cannot help but look into things, but will her unborn baby wait until things are settled to make an appearance? Lots of twists and turns, and an ending most enjoyable and not typical. Looking forward to more in this series.
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
A visit to South Lick, Indiana always proves to be entertaining. Robby and Abe are expecting their baby to come soon, with Robby trying to slow down and reserve her strength. Then a dead body is found on her aunt's property. Difficult as it may be for Robby to rest AND investigate---she manages.
This series is a favorite for many reasons, including the great cast of characters whose personalities have expanded over the last 13 books. The small town cozy warmth, the relationships between the characters and, of course, the recipes included at the back of the book.(The Italian Wedding
Soup is fabulous).
This installment was not my favorite of the series, mostly because it was less than the normal murder mystery. The hunt for the killer, if that is what happened, was not fast-paced or suspenseful. I did enjoy the read after I adjusted to the different format.
Thank you to #NetGalley #KensingtonCozies #KensingtonPublishing for sending me the ebook advanced reader copy that I requested. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
#StoneColdMurder #NetGalley
This is another adventure in Maddie Day’s Country Store series. This time a stranger to town is killed on Aunt Adele’s farm. Robbie, although almost ready to give birth to her first child, feels obligated to help solve the crime. While an enjoyable and quick read, this book did not seem to have the energy of the others. But, having your primary character who is 9 months pregnant probably makes the action sequences difficult to write! NetGalley was kind enough to provide me with a free ARC, but the opinion is my own.
Maddie Day has done it again!! LOVE THIS BOOK!
Robbie is just weeks away from giving birth and balancing the final preparations for her baby while managing her shop and restaurant, *Pans ’N Pancakes*, before her maternity leave. As she makes arrangements, Robbie notices a stranger causing a stir in town, and her Aunt Adele seems unusually distracted at the baby shower.
The tension escalates when a body is discovered in the ram field on Adele’s sheep farm, and Chief Buck Bird links Adele to the victim. Concerned for her aunt and with time running out, Robbie steps in to unravel the mystery, determined to piece together the clues before things spiral further out of control.
Normally I enjoy this series. I thought it was interesting watching Robbie in her last bit of pregnancy. However that is the most suspenseful the book got. It was not particularly intriguing as it consisted mostly of activity at the cafe. The ending was a complete let down for me. I hate to give it this rating but I was disappointed
We are back at Pans and Pancakes with Robbie and the gang. Robbie is just weeks away from giving birth and trying to finalize plans to keep the restaurant running while on maternity leave. When a stranger with a past body is found Robbie's aunt Adele comes under suspicion. Now Robbie must clear her name while continuing to prepare for the baby. I love how the characters have grown and changed and how the story has evolved. This is a great mystery with a surprise twist at the end. I look forward to the next book.
Life is changing for Robbie Jordan with the impending arrival of her baby. But when a stranger comes to town asking after her aunt Adele and winds up dead her Adele's fields, Robbie leaps into action. Several other women in town knew the stranger from the past, so their are other suspects beside her aunt. Entertaining and fun to read.
Hmmm. I like this series a lot, but this entry falls a bit flat to me. I think it's because we don't know throughout the entire book whether there's even been a murder! There's a death, certainly, and lots of suspicious happenings and history. But for me, when we don't know if a death is murder or accident or natural causes, then the whole solving of it becomes more of an intellectual exercise than a suspenseful read. So, this book let's me down on the tension/suspense end of things. And it's literally the next to last chapter before we find out! I'll look forward to the next book in this reliable series, but this one's just okay for me.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy.
I read Scone Cold Dead without realizing it’s book 13 in a series but still really enjoyed it. Now I need to go back and read the entire series!
One of my favorite series. This book the latest in the series doesn't disappoint. Body of a man is found on Robbie aunts farm. This leads to a good mystery on what happened to him. I would highly recommend this book.
I wonder if this book is the final one of the series. Now that Robbie is a mother and the other characters are moving on to the next stages of their lives, this might be the end. The mystery was interesting.
Another good one in this series. The end left me wondering whether or not the series would continue. Kind of felt like the author was wrapping things up but there was also a possibility of what direction the series might go. I guess we wait and see and I'm on board if it does. Good characters and interesting setting.
Scone Cold Dead is perfect for Murder She Wrote/cozy mystery fans (the investigator is pregnant and owns a pancake house, and the victim was found on her aunt's sheep farm).
In fact this mystery is so cozy it put me to sleep a couple of times, in a good way.
This quick read takes place in the fall in a small town, so it's a great read for this season.
Thank you Kensington Books and Netgalley for the digital review copy.