Olivia Greyson is the proud owner of The Gingerbread House—a quaint shop that specializes in all things cookie—and her best friend, Maddie, is her sidekick, baking up scrumptious treats for their cookie-themed parties. But when a stunning antique cookie cutter collection leads to murder, things get a bit too hot to handle…
Olivia Grayson is afraid her cherished shop The Gingerbread House has been broken into when a few things on the shelves appear to have been rearranged. Olivia is surprised to discover not only is nothing missing, but she has actually gained more antique cookie cutters than she had before going out of town. She starts digging into this puzzle and finds that former resident Greta Oskarson has returned to Chatterly Heights and the extra cookie cutters are part of her collection. Before Olivia gets all the answers to what Greta has planned, a murderer strikes and Olivia could become a suspect because of her connection to the mysterious cookie cutters. With her sheriff boyfriend out of town on a personal matter, Olivia feels she must take the investigation into her own hands to help catch a killer and keep her own name free of suspicion.
I have been reading the Cookie Cutter Shop series since the beginning. It’s hard to believe Cookies and Scream is the fifth book in the series. This is one culinary series that hasn’t grown stale. Each book continues to feel fresh and just as entertaining as the first, with a fun and intelligent main character. Olivia works hard in her shop and proves herself to be an excellent investigator whenever she finds herself in the middle of a mystery. Cookie cutters aren’t just for show and play an important part in each mystery, cleverly worked into the plot in a new way each time. This book also has information about antique cookie cutters throughout the story.
The character of Greta, whose cookie cutter collection is at the heart of this story, is very entertaining even when she appears to be up to no good. Even though it’s fairly obvious there is more to her motives for coming into town than selling her cookie cutters, it’s interesting to see the story unfold and watch Olivia get to the bottom of the case, with the help of her energetic mother and her best friend Maddie. The plot had just enough surprises to keep things interesting through to the very end.
The only sour note in this book is the sub-plot involving Olivia’s boyfriend Del and his ex Lisa. The reader doesn’t know much or care about Lisa, so having Del sharing information with Olivia via rushed phone call information about what’s going on with Lisa’s legal problems is dull and takes away from the main story. I can understand sending Del out of town for purposes of the story because it gives Olivia a very compelling reason to get involved in trying to solve the murder. However, I would have rather Del be away teaching a seminar, attending a law enforcement conference, or anything besides playing protector for Lisa. Not enough details about what is going on are given, so it just slows the pace of the book without adding anything substantial to the plot.
Even with this less exciting subplot, this is still a solid, entertaining installment in this delightful series. Fans of Joann Fluke or of Jenn McKinlay’s Cupcake Mystery series will enjoy the charming Cookie Cutter Shop mysteries. The characters and storylines are entertaining, although those who want to try some of Olivia and Maddie’s creations at home may be disappointed there is only one cookie recipe at the end of the book.
Reviewed by Christine