Against the Currant (Spice Isle Bakery Mystery #1) by Olivia Matthews #bookreview #mystery

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Title: Against the Currant

Author: Olivia Matthews

Publisher: St. Martin’s 

Publication Date: January 24, 2023

Page Count: 298

My rating: 4 stars

About the book:

In Olivia Matthews’s Against the Currant, the first Spice Isle Bakery Mystery, investigating a murder was never supposed to be on the menu…

Little Caribbean, Brooklyn, New York: Lyndsay Murray is opening Spice Isle Bakery with her family, and it’s everything she’s ever wanted. The West Indian bakery is her way to give back to the community she loves, stay connected to her Grenadian roots, and work side-by-side with her family. The only thing getting a rise out of Lyndsay is Claudio Fabrizi, a disgruntled fellow bakery owner who does not want any competition.

On opening day, he comes into the bakery threatening to shut them down. Fed up, Lyndsay takes him to task in front of what seems to be the whole neighborhood. So when Claudio turns up dead a day later—murdered—Lyndsay is unfortunately the prime suspect. To get the scent of suspicion off her and her bakery, Lyndsay has to prove she’s innocent—under the watchful eyes of her overprotective brother, anxious parents, and meddlesome extended family—what could go wrong?

Against the Currant by Olivia Matthews is the first book in the new cozy Spice Isle Bakery Mystery series. As with most cozy mysteries each book in the Spice Isle Bakery Mystery series will contain it’s own mystery that will be solved so they all could be read in any order or as a standalone if choosing to do so. There will be of course some character development that carries over from book to book.

Lyndsay Murray’s family originally came from Grenada, a small Carribbean island, and now they are living in Little Caribbean, Brooklyn, New York. Lyndsay wants nothing more than to finally open her new Spice Isle Bakery that her family will help her run and bring some of her heritage to her new home.

Just as the opening day at the Spice Isle Bakery comes comes though the day is ruined for Lyndsay. Claudio Fabrizi who also runs a bakery in the neighborhood comes into the shop and threatens to shut the new bakery down before it can even begin causing a loud argument between Claudio and Lyndsay. When Claudio’s body is found murdered the next day of course Lyndsay becomes a suspect and want to clear her name.

Against the Currant by Olivia Matthews was a fun opener to this new cozy Spice Isle Bakery Mystery series. I’m always on the lookout for charming and humorous new cozies and this one certainly fit that mold. While I enjoyed the main character in here I really enjoyed having the family involved and showing their Carribbean roots too. Will definitely be interested in continuing on with the next in the series.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Find this book online:

Goodreads  /  Amazon

About the author:

Olivia Matthews is the cozy mystery pseudonym for national best-selling and award-winning author Patricia Sargeant.

Patricia’s work has been featured in national publications such as Publishers Weekly, USA Today, Kirkus Reviews, Suspense Magazine, Mystery Scene Magazine, Library Journal and RT Book Reviews. She’s also been interviewed on podcasts including Destination Mystery with Laura Brennan, Conversations LIVE! with Cyrus Webb, Read You Later with Lasheera Lee and Katara’s Café with Katara Johnson.

Stay connected with Patricia:

Website: http://www.PatriciaSargeant.com.

Email: BooksByPatricia@yahoo.com.

Enewsletter: http://eepurl.com/cOOIPf.

YouTube: https://bit.ly/2Jmbp9E.

Twitter: @BooksByPatricia.

Facebook: @AuthorPatriciaSargeant.

Watch her author brand video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivASYzGogfs.

Patricia has been a keynote speaker and presenter at various events. She’s conducted numerous writing craft workshops for writers groups and book conferences, and offers online fiction writing courses through her The Write Spot website. To contact Patricia about attending your event, email her at BooksByPatricia@yahoo.com.