Nacho Average Murder is the seventh in the series 'A Country Store Mystery' by Maddie Day. I've read another of the author's books from this series so I decided to give this one a try.

In this fabulous cosy mystery, Robbie Jordan is taking a holiday and heading back to Santa Barbara for her high school class reunion. This is the first time she’s been back to her hometown since her mother died, and it is a difficult time for her even before she hears a rumour that her mother might not have died from natural causes. When her mother's friend dies under similar circumstances, Robbie can’t help but investigate. Will she learn the truth before she has to return to Pans ’N Pancakes, her country store in South Lick, Indiana?

I liked that Robbie felt like she’s moved beyond the self-doubt her peers inflicted on her in high school and how she tried to connect with them. The writing style of Maddie Day continued to impress me and the story was easy to follow. Narrator Robbie is a great character and I love her determination and her singlemindedness. The mystery aspect was great with plenty of opportunities for the most diligent of armchair detectives to play along. An abundance of clues were dotted around and I found myself caught out by the misdirection several times. As the reveal unfolded everything started to gel together into a pleasurable, cohesive, read.

This tremendously good novel is a hit for me and I am looking forward to reading book eight, Candy Slain Murder as well as reading some of Maddie Day's back catalogue and getting to know all of the characters to a greater degree. If you adore a fantastic cosy mystery with oodles of scrumptious sounding recipes and foodie references, don't miss out on Nacho Average Murder.

I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel at my request from Kensington Books via NetGalley and this review is my unbiased opinion.

Awesome cozy mystery by one of my favourite authors. I am thankful that I got to read an ARC of this book.

Robbie Jordan is off to Santa Barbara to a high-school reunion. She stays at a similar bed & breakfast to hers back in Indiana except the food is Mexican, yum! Robbie touches base with friends from high school at the reunion. As a surprise, someone suggests that possibly Robbie’s mom may have been murdered by a local agricultural supply firm. Robbie is off and running to see what she can discover.

The murder is solid and the food and her friends are good; however, I miss the characters from Indiana. Looking forward to her return to Indiana with new menu additions.

This is book seven in the "Country Store Mystery Series" by popular cozy author Maddie Day aka Edith Maxwell. I am a fan of the series and highly recommend this series for your reading enjoyment. Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley for the Opportunity.

This next in series finds our intripd protagonist Robbie traveling to Santa Barbara CA for her high school reunion. The area has just suffered from wildfires and smoke is still present casting a worry over the area Robbie is re connecting with local foodies and friends when she finds evidence that her Mother's death in Santa Barbara may have been caused by a chemical company and her suspicions are on alert. She ask her local Santa Barbara friends and SBPD connections to help her look into the chemical company and other reports of suspicious deaths. Soon Robbie is on the right track with clues but may be in danger from those that want her to stop investigating.

I loved this complex well crafted sleuth. The clues and red herrings were surprising to this reader to the conclusion. As always I enjoy this author's fine writing and talent for building a sleuth . The new Santa Barbara location was charming as always and I loved the introduction of new supporting charcters. I highly recommend this next in series for your reading enjoyment . I look forward to each new release in this wonderful series. Review is cross posted.

Brought to you by OBS Reviewer Jeanie

It was delightful to visit Santa Barbara with our favorite Midwest country store owner and meet her friends from where she grew up! Maddie Day has successfully taken what is dubbed the American Riviera and given it the small-town feeling that cozy mystery lovers enjoy. The setting was described beautifully, the characters are as well-defined as necessary for their roles, and the mystery was … well, nacho average murder.

Robbie closed Pans ‘N Pancakes in South Lick, Indiana, for a week to give her staff a vacation while she went to her 10th high school class reunion in Santa Barbara. It was a great time of year to be there, as it was February, when Indiana was blanketed with snow. I enjoyed meeting her best friend, Alana, a biochemist who does cancer research, and her buddy Jason, now a cybercrimes detective. It was interesting to see how close-knit her old neighborhood friends have been. Her mother, Jeanine, passed away two years ago, and Robbie reached out to spend time with Liz, her mother’s best friend. Carmen, another friend of her mother’s, is the owner of Nacho Average Café, with its upstairs B & B where Robbie is staying, is the mother of Hector, another classmate. Katherine, Robbie’s nemesis, is as annoying as ever.

Carmen told Robbie that she heard something fishy about her mother’s death. Busy with the breakfast rush, she couldn’t say more at the time. Robbie and Liz met. As best as Liz and Robbie knew, Jeanine died from a ruptured aneurysm. Liz put Robbie in touch with Paul, a friend of theirs, with whom Jeanine was an environmental activist trying to get a fumigant used on crops banned in the county. The spray travels to neighboring organic farms and ranches, seriously harming farm workers, residents, and animals. The chemical is the primary one manufactured by the company Katherine’s father owned.

Paul had concerns of whether Robbie’s mother had been murdered. The chemical they were trying to get banned could either mimic, or cause, an aneurysm. The following day, Robbie went to the courthouse to request a copy of her mother’s death certificate and contact, with Jason’s help, the pathologist. The report wouldn’t be available until after Robbie returned to Indiana. She also went to the chemical company to get product information.

Robbie met more people affected by the chemical. Then, just two days after Robbie met Paul, he was found dead in his apartment. An autopsy proved that he had been poisoned. Robbie was deeply concerned about his death and possibly her mother’s being caused by the same people. She began to ask people questions as she did when looking into murders back in South Lick. She was stalked, once by a driver who tried to push her off the road.

Robbie is three-dimensional, and we continue to learn more about her. I would not have imagined her having any enemies, yet she and Katherine never got along and she didn’t know why. I enjoyed meeting Alana, Jason, Carmen, and Liz, as well as Carmen’s cat Pajarito, a twin to Robbie’s six-toed tuxedo cat in South Lick.

The author did impressive research when writing this novel. Robbie does all she can to maintain an exercise routine during her trip, including bicycling and walking on the beach. Even though Robbie is far from the contacts she has in South Lick, she has a small network of friends from the past and meets new ones each day. The mystery seemed to have only a couple obvious suspects, so the resolution was not completely a surprise. I did feel like something was missing, as it seemed that not all the loose ends were tied up as tidily as the author typically does. Perhaps I was simply looking for it to be more complex than necessary. Overall, I do highly recommend this mystery and series, and am looking forward to the next in series!

*OBS would like to thank the publisher for supplying a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review*

Robbie has left Indiana and her busy restaurant, country store and B&B all wrapped up into one for her 10 year high school reunion in sunny Santa Barbara. Oh the wonderful recipes that can find at the back of the book! I suggest starting there so you have something to munch on while you read, I further suggest that you try the empanadas. YUM! No need to be familiar with the usual cast of characters since they are not the stars this time around. We do get a little more background info on Robbie’s Mom and how she died and what she might have gotten herself involved with right before she passed. So many questions and so few answers, but Robbie has some old high school friends who are ready and willing to help including Jason Wong who is now a cyber cop with the local PD (how lucky was that). This was a nice change of pace from the usual small town mystery and the subject matter is definitely a current topic. Organic crops and threats from non organic farms that use chemicals that can migrate in the wind and how big business is making money either way. A hot button topic to be sure but it was not a soapbox stance making it perfect for a cozy.

I love the title and think it’s very fitting for this story. Loved the story line and the new and old friends that Robbie hangs with during her visit to California. I think you’ll be able to relate to some of them and may even know people like them. It was fun hanging out with Robbie on her vacation. These characters were great and I hope some come to visit in Indiana so we can hang out again. If you like to cook, you’ll find some yummy recipes in the back of the book. I received this book from NetGalley, but my opinion is my own.

Nacho Average Murder by Maddie Day is the 7th book in the Country Store Mystery series, and another delightful book. Robbie Jordan owns Pans N Pancakes in South Lick, Indiana. Robbie is excited about her high school reunion in California, but it also brings back memories of her mother's sudden death. Robbie is loving seeing all her high school friends, and eating and getting recipes for all the Cali-Mex food she has missed. When Robbie hears stories that her mother, an environmental activist, may not of died of natural causes, she is determined to find the truth. I strongly recommend this book/series for cozy mystery book fans. The story is fast paced with a lot of character development and mystery that keeps your attention. I look forward to reading the in the next book in this series.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This was my first time reading this author but it won't be my last. I enjoyed the character of Robbie as she investigated whether or not her mother was murdered. As she investigates, someone else is murdered. I also enjoyed hearing about some of the folks from her hometown. They made me want to read more of the series and see what I have been missing.

Nacho Average Murder by Maddie Day is the seventh in the Country Store Mystery series. Robbie Jordan is not in Indiana anymore. Rather she is in California for her class reunion. She had not returned since her mother's funeral, which had been a thankfully short trip. She was enjoying seeing her friends and enjoying the fact that she didn't normally see some of these other folks. She was staying at a wonderful B&B, which was not only comfortable but served the BEST food. Plus, it had a catching name: Nacho Average Cafe. Carmen, the owner, and her mother, Luisa, made everything and it showed. She also met her mother's best friend, Liz, who imparted a frightening piece of information. She and a few others believed that Robbie's mother did not die of natural causes. Liz was not full of details but arranged for Robbie to meet Paul, a friend of her mother's whom she met as part of her activism about the environment. After getting Paul's details, she had her suspicions. Then, Paul ended up dead and the diagnosis was the same as her mom's.

This is a fabulous cozy mystery series and the first time Robbie has adventured away from her current home in Indiana. Robbie is a good character: one who is divorced but currently in love with a much better man. She has her friends and her aunt to support her (and help her solve crimes). She is finally in a healthy relationship and happy with her life and her job. She is a foodie and always enjoys eating new and wonderful recipes, many of which are to be found in the back of the book. This series is not only a fun mystery, but also a gastronomical delight. Robbie makes friends and has friends and is always able to call upon their skills to solve a murder. Terrific character. Terrific series. Terrific book. I recommend it.

I was invited to read an ARC of Nacho Average Murder by Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions and interpretations contained herein are solely my own. #netgalley #nachoaveragemurder

For a change of pace, Robbie Jordan has taken leave of her home of South Lick, Indiana to travel to Santa Barbara, California and her tenth year high school reunion. That in itself can add some stress to her life but she has grown since high school and her relationships with various former classmates have grown, too. Along with the reunion, questions present themselves concerning the death of her mother two years ago. Was it natural causes or was it murder? When another death occurs, Robbie can't help trying to connect the two cases.
I enjoyed the way Maddie Day handled Robbie's solo investigating with only the help of her friends Alana and Jordan. Not like her previous investigating back home in South Lick. The setting of Santa Barbara was spot on and the homage to Sue Grafton was very special.Add to that a very well crafted mystery and I was a very happy reader. I can't wait to start reading the next in the series, Candy slain Murder, due out September 29, 2020.
My thanks to the publisher, Kensington and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

If you are a foodie you will definitely love this cozy mystery. Food is intertwined throughout the entire story and even though I am on a very strict diet I did enjoyed reading about all the yummy food. I really enjoyed the story and the characters were endearing. This followed your typical mystery formula and there was no big surprise and who the killer was but it was a fun read and definitely a good book for the beach.

Nacho Average Murder by Maddie Day is book seven in the A Country Store Mystery series. This is a fantastic series especially if you like a culinary theme. It can be read as a stand alone.
This time we leave Indiana for Santa Barbara, California for Robbie's high school reunion which brings up memories of her late mother and the lingering questions about her death. Was it a medical condition or was she murdered. Robbie starts digging up things and then another death that has all the signs it was just like her mothers and her mother and the victim knew each other. Robbie goes into high gear knowing she only has a week to get the answers.
This easy to read, well written cozy has you guessing until the end. As with all in this series, the characters are likeable as is the setting. Day will have you craving Cali-Mex food and she has provided recipes.
I was given an ARC by NetGalley and Kensington for an honest review.

I hover between 3 and 4 stars for this addition to the Country Store Mystery series. I think the reason is that the mystery is quite different from others in the series. Robbie is in Santa Barbara, California for her 10 year class reunion. She sees old friends and the mean girl in the class, Katherine Russom.
Robbie hears rumors that her mom’s death two years ago may have been murder so Robbie investigates and gets to know Paul, who is later murdered.
There is a corrupt company dealing in a toxic fumigant, there are old friends on both sides of the law, there are tense moments when Robbie feels she is being followed or is in danger.
Robbie gets a dose of what other cozy sleuths deal with, the local police won’t tell her information about he investigation.
There is a bunch of great sounding meals that Robbie enjoys while vacationing.
Robbie gets bored and takes risks that could put her in danger, but she is smart enough to seek help from the police.
I think it has got to be hard to insert your sleuth into a new location part way into a series. I had wanted a book set in Italy when Robbie her father, but I can see from how this trip to Santa Barbara went that it would have been even more difficult given the differences in policing between the U. S. and Italy. So I guess 3.5 stars because the ending didn’t feel complete.

Robbie is in California for her 10 year high school reunion. Meeting up with friends has kept Robbie happy, but when a casual acquaintance tells Robbie that her mother's death might have been intentional, it sets her into investigative mode.
This book is filled with mouthwatering food, an intriguing mystery and the chance to meet more of her friends.
I really loved this story.

Robbie Jordan is leaving South Lick, Indiana for a week to attend her tenth high school reunion! Travelling back to Santa Barbara is a bittersweet experience. While she’s glad to see most of her friends again and to enjoy the balmy winter weather, she’s also reminded of her last visit home, two years ago. Her mother Jeanine, only in her early fifties, had died alone and unexpectedly of a brain aneurysm, and Robbie is still grieving her loss.

When she gets word that an old friend of her mother’s might have new information about the death, she’s shocked but ultimately curious. Paul Etxgeberria is an environmental activist who was friends and allies with Jeanine as they protested Agrosafe, a local company whose pesticides were decidedly unsafe for some of the smaller ranchers and farmers who lived downwind of spray areas. He’s heard that the toxicity of Agrosafe’s chemicals could induce brain aneurysms, and fears that Jeanine was the victim of foul play.

Even as Robbie is processing this information -- along with the news that her main rival in high school is the daughter of Agrosafe’s CEO -- Paul himself is found dead of a brain aneurysm, too. Robbie immediately alerts the authorities that something seems fishy, but with less than a week to spend in the area and a burning desire to discover the truth behind her mother’s death, she soon becomes involved in her own private investigations. After all, she’s had some success solving murders back in South Lick. How different could Santa Barbara possibly be?

Quite different, which is only one of the things to love about this latest installment in the Country Store Mysteries. While I very much enjoy reading of Robbie’s adventures running her B&B in Indiana, I did find this interlude featuring mouth-watering coastal Cali-Mex cuisine to be even more delicious than her usual midwestern fare. Of course, I love fresh seafood and avocados, so you could say I’m predisposed to this new menu. It was also really fun to find out more about Robbie’s background, as well as to meet and catch up with her friends from back home.

This volume included six recipes of dishes included in the narrative, each one more delectable than the last. In honor of the title’s delightful pun, I decided to try out this one, lightly edited for format:

QUOTE
Nachos

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 15-ounce can refried beans
¼ cup water
1 9-ounce bag tortilla chips
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack

For the topping

1 avocado, diced
1 large tomato, diced
Sour cream, for drizzling
Salsa (fresh or from a jar)
Hot sauce (optional)
¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves (optional)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. and line a large baking sheet with foil.

In a skillet over medium heat, heat oil. Add onion and cook until soft, five minutes. Add garlic and spices. Cook for one minute without browning garlic. Add refried beans and water to skillet and stir until combined. (If you're feeling lazy, omit the onions and garlic and just stir the spices and water into the beans.)

Spread half the tortilla chips on the baking sheet and top with dollops of bean mixture. Sprinkle on half the cheese. Repeat one more layer. Bake five minutes or until cheese melts.

Scatter with tomato and avocado, and drizzle with sour cream and salsa. Enjoy hot. Offer hot sauce and cilantro as options. You can omit the beans for those who can't digest them.
END QUOTE

I love nachos and I absolutely loved this recipe! I actually used a slightly bigger bag of tortilla chips because, as eagle-eyed readers may note, I decided to saute and shred a chicken breast and add it to the baking sheet as I put the layers together before insertion into the oven. This wound up making a ton of food, however, that was well beyond the capabilities of me, my husband and our three small sons to finish in one evening while watching a movie. Fortunately, the nachos are still pretty good heated up and dressed the next day, though they definitely lack the satisfying crunch when enjoyed as leftovers. This is definitely a great snack to make if you’re looking to wow company with finger food while watching a movie or game though.

Next week, unlike Robbie, we get to stay in California and try out a different kind of finger food, while figuring out the identity of a devious killer. Do join me!

Nacho Average Murder is the seventh book in the Country Store Mystery series.

Robbie Jordan is headed for Santa Barbara to attend her high school ten-year reunion, and while she is there she wants to learn more about her mother’s death. It was reported that she died from an aneurysm, but Robbie has never seen the results of an autopsy.

Robbie is excited when she meets up with her BFF Alana. Alana works as a biochemist and has recently become engaged. They also met up with their friend, Jason Chang, who works for the SBPD as a Cybercrime investigator. She also meets her nemesis from high school, Katherine Russom.

The next morning Robbie is enjoying the aroma coming from the kitchen at Nacho Average Cafe, she’s planning on taking some recipes back to her Pan’s and Pancakes diner. Robbie is happy when Liz, her mother’s best friend, shows up. Robbie is enjoying talking with Liz and soon Liz tells her to get in touch with Paul Ebxeberria, an environmentalist that Robbie’s mother was working with before she died. Robbie sets up a meeting with Paul. He tells her of the work they had been doing and that her mother probably died from an aneurysm, which he thinks was caused by fertilizer produced by Agrosafe, which is owned by Katherine Russom’s father. It seems that several farmers have been losing their crops and some have had to relocate their farms to save their animals. Before too long, Robbie learns of Paul’s death, also from an aneurysm.

Robbie will dig into the history of Agrosafe to see if the environmentalist work has caused financial difficulties for the company, enough so that they will silence the environmentalist. Robbie and Alana also decide to visit with Katherine Russom pretending to engage her to plan Alana’s upcoming marriage, hoping that Katherine will divulge information about her father’s company. Robbie also asks Jason if he can get her in contact with the coroner. She is hopeful that she will be able to convince the coroner to look for traces of chemicals that could cause an aneurysm. She’s hoping they will find the answer before any more people lose their lives.

Another wonderful and well-written book from Maddie Day. The characters are well developed and believable, but I did miss the residents from South Lick. The book will leave one desiring for Cal-Mex food that is described throughout the book.

I’m looking forward to the next book, Candy Slain Murder due out on September 29th of this year.

Nacho Average Murder: A Country Store Mystery
By Maddie Day
Kensington
June 2020

Review by Cynthia Chow

High school reunions are usually a mixed bag. While they can provide the opportunities to restart old friendships and catch up with former best friends, they may also reignite never-forgotten resentments and past rivalries. For Pans ‘N Pancakes owner Robbie Jordan, returning to Santa Barbara for her Chumash High School ten-year reunion brings both. Robbie is delighted to be back with the newly engaged biochemist bestie Alana Lieberman, but it also puts Robbie back in the eye-line of bossy mean girl Katherine Russom. Not only did the wedding planner organize their high school reunion, her father happens to be the president of the controversial Agrosafe chemical company. It is local resident Paul Etxeberria who links Walter Russom to the recent death of Robbie’s mother, whom Paul claims was intentionally poisoned by one of his company’s products. Robbie is stunned by the suggestion that her mother’s aneurism was actually a case of murder, but she’s unable to ignore the possibility when Paul himself is found dead.

Fortunately, one of Robbie’s high school pals also happens to be the cybercrime investigator for the Santa Barbara Police Department, and he grants her access to those with insight into both cases. Robbie’s dreamy boyfriend Abe O’Neill remains back home in South Lick, Indiana, but Alana’s upcoming nuptials help them to get closer to the still-irritating Katherine and learn more about her possibly homicidal father. Along the way Robbie savors the Cali-Mex cuisine of the Nacho Average Café, a delightful restaurant that shares not just her practice of farm-to-table meals, but an affinity for six-toed cats. Drug addiction, gambling, greedy widows, and company misdeeds all provide our favorite chef with a surfeit of motives for murder past and present.

This seventh in the series seems to do its best to outmatch previous entries with descriptions of mouth-watering meals, despite Robbie being away from her restaurant and out of the kitchen. Even SBPD investigator Jason Chang whips up a version of his grandmother’s stir-fry, with an easy but delicious recipe included at the end. Robbie’s emotions are bubbling at the surface with the implications concerning her own mother, but her involvement in the present investigation is seamlessly integrated into the official investigation and never seems intrusive or implausible. Robbie’s friendships and reunions with her charismatic former classmates is so naturally presented that it feels as though readers have known them all along, and having them appear in a future installment would be welcome. The topics of locavore cooking and organic farming are presented in ways that educate and tantalize, using humor and clever writing to make the discussions compelling. Whether written under the name Maddie Day or Edith Maxwell, these series highlighting cooking and farming never fail to entertain with their spirited heroines and sparkling dialogue.

Another great read in what has proved to be a fun, puzzling mystery series.

Robbie Jordan has closed her diner in Indiana for a much needed break, coinciding with a school reunion in her home town of Santa Barbara where the climate is much gentler - even in winter! It's a bittersweet visit as her mother died there a couple of years ago; when Robbie gets wind of the possibility that it may not have been from natural causes she can't help but make further enquiries. As she begins to think she's making headway, the dead bodies begin to turn up and Robbie feels threatened . . .

What a fabulous addition to this wonderful series! Maddie Day writes very plausible mysteries but, for me, what makes them truly different is the setting and - oh boy - the food! Being a Scot, there are very few dishes which are known to me and my mouth fairly waters every time Robbie enjoys a meal or a snack. This is a fine change from the usual setting in Indiana and I have been enthralled by the differences according to location. From an author who never fails to deliver (I adore her Quaker Midwife Mysteries, written under her real name of Edith Maxwell), this is another engaging and enigmatic read which I almost finished reading in bed last evening: I just couldn't put it down! A sparkling 5* read and worthy of a hearty recommendation to all lovers of cosy mysteries.

My thanks to the publisher for my copy via NetGalley; this is - as always - my honest, original and unbiased review.

Robbie is in California. High school reunion and new characters are fun. Mystery is well thought out. Liked the change of scenery but miss the characters that Robbie trusts. Great read and can't wait for the next book.