Welcome to my Sunday Book Review. Today I’m sharing a fun and delightful chick-littish, cozy mystery by Barbara Silkstone. Two years ago I got hooked on Barbara’s Cold Cream Series and I picked this one out of my Kindle to read just before Christmas as the theme was appropriate for the season. The dynamic duo of Olive and Lizzie have found a new matter to investigate – Grams’ Christmas Baby. Grandma may be 94 years of age and feisty, but how could she possibly think she could keep the baby that suddenly appeared on her doorstep?
Blurb:
Christmas Eve ~*~
Grams finds a baby on her doorstep—but what about the body in the bay?
Unarmed, can Olive keep the thugs away until the cops arrive?
Will Lizzy overcook the roasted faux goose?
Is WonderDog’s bite worse than his bark?
Will all this fit in one mini-read?
COLD CREAM MURDERS – series
When Olive Peroni put out her family therapy sign, she never thought her top client would be the retired head of a New York crime family. When Olive’s Nonna dies leaving her a condo in Florida and a secret recipe for miracle cold cream, Olive grabs the chance at a new life in Starfish Cove, Florida, making designer creams for ladies who spend far too much time at the beach.
But when the quiet little community on the Gulf of Mexico soon begins to compete with a certain notorious coastal village in Maine, Olive finds herself solving odd-ball murders as often as she soothes wrinkles.
Clean, wholesome and loaded with laughs!
Each book contains a recipe for homemade cosmetics!
My 5 Star Review:
I enjoyed this fun little romp again with the Lizzie and Olive’s adventures in this Christmas episode of the Cold Cream murders, along with the usual characters in her stories – Officer Kal, Lizzie’s feisty Grandma, Wonderdog and Puff. In this story, Olive and Lizzie are getting ready to close their magical skincare shop to enjoy Christmas Eve at Lizzie’s for the faux goose dinner Lizzie has been hinting about. But just as they’re about to wrap up with the last customer, Gram pulls up toting a baby she’d already named Herbie. Someone left Herbie on her doorstep. And then the fun ensues as Olive is determined to find out who would leave a baby on Gram’s doorstep, despite Gram thinking the baby was now hers.
Olive wants to get her friend Officer Kal involved but decides to wait a bit, being Christmas Eve and her concern that the baby would spend Christmas in child protective custody, besides, Kal was busy working on a case about a missing body in the bay. So in the meantime, while the regulars are congregated at Lizzie’s place well before faux goose dinner, Olive suggests Gram and the baby stay with them til the new mystery is solved – after all- where did that baby come from and it may not be safe for a 94 year old Gram to be left alone with this mysterious baby. But just in case a loving mother may have left the baby with Gram in desperation, Olive wants to go back to Gram’s and leave a coded note on the door.
They leave Herbie with Lizzie, and Olive and Gram head out with Lizzie’s Wonderdog to Gram’s to leave the note and for Gram to pick up a few items she’ll need for the overnight at Lizzie’s. But life is never simple when Olive once again finds herself walking into part of a mystery case.
Once they arrive at Gram’s, the story of fun heats up. It’s a good thing Lizzie knows how to prepare for danger as she’s found herself embroiled in quite a few of Officer Kal’s cases out of curiousity. Fully armed with hairspray, they approach the front door and an odd discovery leads them to believe there is someone inside Gram’s house. Who could it be? They enter and discover someone in the kitchen. After discovering the surprise guest isn’t dangerous, it isn’t long before the baddies are spotted outside the house.
If you think these women are left defenseless, let’s just say that there’s a lot more ‘homemade’ weaponry going on now in the kitchen. Foolishly, they’d left their purses in the car with their cellphones inside them. We can only hope too much time has passed and Lizzie at home gets suspicious and sends help after futile attempts at trying to call the ladies. But what happens until that happens? You can’t even imagine.
Silkstone has a gift for writing these believable characters who seem to always find themselves in a pickle and find the most creative ways to help them dodge danger. This is my 3rd book I’ve read in this series and I highly recommend a Cold Cream mystery fun read for a great escape.
©DGKaye2020
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