3.5 Stars

This series is billed as books that are light cozy mysteries featuring a cat-loving bakery owner who discovers she’s a talented amateur sleuth. They contain “no cliffhangers, swearing, gore or graphic scenes”.

After reading that description, I was intrigued.

Unfortunately, this one did not live up to my expectations.

Mystery? Yes. Amateur sleuth? Yes. Romance? Not really.

Maddie, the main character, is constantly pushing away (“friend zoning”) the other main character, Ethan. While it has been years since they dated, once Maddie returns to Maple Falls her interactions with Ethan are quite stilted, even though in her personal dialogue she clearly is attracted to him. He, on the other hand, tries several times to help Maddie understand that he would like to move on from their past history and get reacquainted with who they are now but she rebuffs his attempts.

Could we have watched them rediscover one another, albeit Ethan being the town sheriff and Maddie being an amateur sleuth (which would put them at odds to begin with) in a natural progression of a relationship which could still be accomplished without “graphic scenes”?

It was that thought that I kept wondering about as the story progressed. Where’s the romance?

If you’re looking for a quick, light “whodunit” type of story, this fits the bill. If you’re looking for romance, not so much.

I voluntarily read an advanced reader copy of this book, however, this is my honest opinion.