Thank you Net Galley for my ARC. I am still in the middle of reading this and will finish it. Very easy read and the characters are likable.

The premise for this book is that Rosetta Sugarbaker Calloway (Sugar) has lost her job as a food editor and moved back to her hometown in St. Ignatius, Iowa. There she has formed a cookbook publishing business with her friend Dixie Spicer (Spice), which both desperately need to work out as a business. Their cookbook is then potentially put in jeopardy by one of the town’s financial leaders and contributor to the cookbook turning up dead. Sugar and Spice are then further drawn in when Dixie’s aunt becomes the lead suspect and the sheriff on the case has a history with Dixie.

I found the book a little hard to get into, but it is a sweet relaxing cozy mystery read.

Two women start a business in a small Iowa town, publishing community cookbooks.  But, when one of the community members is killed after an argument about whose scone recipe to include, they try to solve the case.  There are also two handsome men in the story--the local sheriff and a photographer--to add some romantic interest to the storyline.  I enjoyed the mystery and the quirky characters, typical of small towns everywhere.   The author paints a realistic picture of this small Midwest town and its people, adding nice depth to the story.  I'd read another mystery in this series!

A new, fresh, enjoyable add to the world of cozy mysteries. Wonderfully written with an enjoyable setting and fun characters, very enjoyable and looking forward to more to come.

Game of Scones by Mary Lee Ashford was a delight to read. Ms. Ashford is a "new to me" author but this book had everything that I look for in a cozy mystery.

I enjoyed this setting as it was quite different from the usual small tourist town setting. St. Ignatius, IA is a small rural community that has survived through hardships by working together. I loved both Sugar and Dixie as they both seem to be strong, smart and capable young women who have begun their own business publishing community cookbooks. I found this to a unique career choice that I've never seen in other books.

The plot moves quickly and drew me in from the first chapter. After the death of the town matriarch (who had created plenty of enemies), there were several suspects that had a motive to want the troublesome woman dead. Then a second death occurs and the sheriff has his hands full and Sugar and Dixie keep asking questions. There were also a couple of secondary threads throughout the story that weren't directly related to the murders but did show how small towns thrive on gossip as well as how they come together to help each other.

I enjoyed the book and look forward to more books from this author.

A fresh new voice in cozy mysteries featuring interesting characters, a well developed plot, a glimpse of small town living and a behind the scenes look at what it takes to put together a community cookbook.  When Rosetta Sugarbaker Calloway (known as Sugar) gets laid off from her job in publishing she moves to the small town of St. Ignatius, Iowa where, along with her friend Dixie Spicer, she starts the firm of Sugar and Spice, publishers of community cookbooks.  Their first venture is in their own hometown, putting together the St. Ignatius Founders Cookbook.  There is trouble from the start with two strong willed women, Elsie and Bertie, on the cookbook committee who are each determined to have their scone recipe in the book.  When Elsie is found dead from rat poison with a poisoned scone in her hand, suspicion falls on Bertie, who is Dixie's beloved aunt.  Sugar and Dixie get involved in investigating on their own since the sheriff, Terry Griffin ( who had a prior relationship with Dixie ) seems to feel Bertie is the lead suspect.  With great humor, wonderful recipes and characters you would want to have as friends, this is the beginning of what I hope will be a great series.