CANDY SLAIN MURDER, the eighth book in the Country Store Mystery series by Maddie Day, finds South Lick, Indiana in the midst of holiday cheer. While not overdone to distract from the mystery, the author still conveys the sights, sounds, and tastes the season has to offer. The protagonist, Robbie Jordan, is keeping busy at her restaurant and B & B, Pans’ N Pancakes, and spending time with her boyfriend, Abe, and his teenaged son. I enjoyed seeing their relationship develop in this newest book since Abe hasn’t been featured much in past installments. I also like how Robbie juggles her more than full-time job, her relationships, and trying to solve a murder without shirking her responsibilities. It makes the characters feel more authentic. The reader also learns a lot more about Danna, Robbie’s employee, along with Danna’s mother, the town’s mayor. Interwoven into the mystery is the appearance of Danna’s half-brother, someone she had no idea existed. I have always admired Ms. Day interjecting social issues into her stories, and this book is no exception. Adoption, single parenting, racism, and intolerance are addressed and woven into the fabric of the plot without slowing down the pace. I appreciate her ability to balance entertainment with social conscience.

When a woman’s body is discovered after being missing for a decade and when a new murder occurs, Robbie gets involved asking questions and listening to the folk who visit her café. Are the two murders related, even though there are ten years between the deaths? I enjoy Robbie’s methodical mind and musings over the evidence as it unfolds. It helps the reader link the clues together, and while I had a very strong suspicion (and was correct), I was intrigued to find out why. The well-plotted mystery and the engaging characters kept my attention until the very last page!

Running a popular breakfast and lunch café, Robbie is always cooking up mouthwatering dishes. As with previous books in the series, Ms. Day provides several recipes at the back of the book which all sound fantastic!

Christmas time is coming to South Lick, Indiana. Robbie is enjoying the business coming to Pans and Pancakes Country Store. She thinks life has settled down. Then a fire reveals the skeleton of a woman in the attic of a house. After word spreads, another woman is found dead and the autopsy suggests she was helped along to the afterlife.
Danna has a surprise walk into Pans and Pancakes. She has a brother she didn't know about. Marcus comes into the mix of suspects for the second death.
Robbie is busy with her restaurant, store and B&B, but her curiosity leads her to find time to ask some questions.
In the resolution of it all Robbie comes into danger and the result is a sweet conclusion to the book.
This is a good mystery and fun holiday story.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to review a pre-release copy of the book.

I love this series and was happy to meet again Robbie and her friends.
It's a highly enjoyable and fun read, the characters are fleshed out and the solid mystery kept me guessing.
I loved the Christmas spirit and loved this story.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

I always enjoy visiting South Lick, Indiana and Robbie in particular. I was pretty sure who did it early on but found it interesting on how the author provided plenty of suspects and motives.
The sense of family and community is always uplifting in this series. I enjoyed the further development of the secondary characters along with Robbie.

This was the first of two cold case mysteries with current murders tied into the story lines. That I have read this week.

I was given an advanced reader’s copy from Netgalley. I am not required to leave a positive review.

It's almost Christmas and Robbie Jordan is looking forward to it, ready to decorate the tree, make cookies and enjoy time with family. In short order things get complicated. A storm roars into town and a fire threatens to destroy a local home. As the house smolders the town is abuzz when it's revealed that there was a skeleton found in the attic. Considering that the doctor who owned the house has always claimed that his wife had simply walked out on him a decade ago, never to be heard from again. Everyone has the same thought - is the skeleton his departed wife?
The same day her employee, Danna, gets a shock. Into the Pans N' Pancakes walks a young man asking for her by name. He claims that he is her half brother, given up for adoption as an infant by her mother - who is the town mayor. On the surface he seems okay but cracks start to appear and Robbie wants to know a lot more in order to protect Danna.
I always enjoy spending my reading time in South Lick, Indiana and imagining eating the yummy food at the Pan N' Pancake, maybe even reserving a room upstairs as a guest of her B&B. Watching Robbie interact with her family and friends is heartwarming, she's a wonderful character and a good sleuth when crime crosses her path. The puzzle always engages me and I find myself sorry to read the last page.
My thanks to the publisher Kensington and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Oh, I love this series! A twisty mystery, lots of small town gossip and yummy food to boot - what's not to like?

Christmas is coming and the grill at Pans 'N Pancakes is getting hotter than ever as the Christmas rush starts early for Robbie Jordan and her staff. They are rushed off there feet when a young man new to South Lick turns up and reveals himself to be the long-lost half brother of one of her assistants, then there's a fire destroying the home of a local medic which becomes more sinister as a body is found in his attic. Robbie is, of course, intrigued but barely has time to keep her head above water without carrying out her usual investigating!

This is one of my favourite cosy mystery series. Along with all the regular characters there are always new ones popping up, keeping each book fresh and yet still familiar. Robbie has a great wee business, but she works hard at making it a success. Being Scottish, I have no idea what the accent is like in Indiana, but I think I make a pretty good fist of it in my mind as I read and I love the phrases which pop up - especially from Buck! Full of fun and intrigue, this novel encompasses everything which is happening globally too and I particularly like Robbie's (and the author's) take on things. The recipes at the end of each book are a bonus - even if I don't understand half of the items (again, being Scottish) - I'm still trying to work out what grits are! A fabulously entertaining read, skilfully crafted as always and beautifully written. I cannot recommend this series highly enough, and also the Quaker Midwife Mysteries, written under the author's own name. No doubt about it, this is a five star read!

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

I’m glad that this book moved back to the restaurant since I missed all of the secondary characters in the last book. The story is well written and the story had several interesting twists. I did feel that having the restaurant be as busy as it was hampered Robbies ability to investigate.

I didn't really get into this one. I think it may have been better had it just been about the town happenings as told throughout cafe life in the author's voice
Thank you netgalley and the publisher for this arc

I’ve been reading this series from the beginning, and was glad to see this book set back in South Lick, Indiana, the last one had Robbie traveling to California. Mysteries arise quickly, are the old skeletal remains found in the attic of a burned home that of a long missing wife, and are they related to another death? Also, who is the man who comes to Robbies restaurant looking for her assistant, claiming to be her half brother? As Christmas approaches Robbie wants everything resolved so they can enjoy the holiday in peace. This was a fun, quick read. The characters and their back stories have developed over time, the only thing that annoyed me a bit was, what to me, was an overuse of ‘cute’ country sayings so often by so many of the characters....do so many people speak that way all of the time? It wasn’t off putting enough to keep me from looking forward to more in the series.,

This is such an enjoyable series and I was happy to be able to read the newest book. Everything about this book screams cozy mystery and quite frankly that's a comfort. The characters are well developed and feel like friends and the storyline is well written. I even enjoyed reading a Christmas cozy in September.

This was a fun book to read. I have not read the prior books in the series but I certainly will now.

Robbie Jordan owns Pans and Pancakes, a popular breakfast and lunch café in the small town of South Lick, Indiana. Her restaurant not only serves delicious foods but also as the town gossip hub. When a skeleton is found in a prominent local doctor's home, tongues start wagging with speculation. And when the skeleton's twin turns up dead, Robbie is on the case.

I loved the cozy small town atmosphere that Maddie Day develops in this book. South Lick seems like it would be a fun place to visit and I would certainly eat at Robbie's restaurant. All those delicious dishes referenced made me hungry and I was absolutely delighted to find the peppermint mocha muffin recipe at the back!

I liked Robbie has a lot of gumption. I especially liked the cast of supporting characters like her aunt Adele and Buck, the police lieutenant. What really carried the believability was the delightful dialogue. Although the English major in me cringed at the grammar, it really added to the atmosphere of the story. I will definitely be looking for the other seven books in this series!

Is he really Danna's brother? That's the easiest question facing Robbie right now, since there's also a cold murder case and a new one, Robbie's friend Danna is shocked when a man shows up claiming that he is the chid her mother gave up for adoption; everyone doubts the story. Meanwhile. Robbie is trying to run her business snd have Christmas when the bones of a woman who allegedly ran away years ago are discovered,. And then some else is murdered (no spoilers as to who)_. Robbie is a good intrepid cozy heroine on he eighth outing in the series (this one will be fine as a standalone). She's got a nice relationship with her family as well as with he love interest Abe. It's a good read. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. AND, there are yummy recipes.

I loved this book!! Great story!! Wasn't confused by not reading the other books in the series!! Will read the other books in the series!! 1st book I have read by this author will read more of her books!! Received this book from netgally!!!

Very entertaining story. I love Robbie and the gang! I love this series and this group! It never disappoints.

This was the first full book i've ready in the Country Store Mystery series, and I enjoyed it! I love reading about Robbie's restaurant/shop, Pans 'N Pancakes. In these weird quarantine times, this book really made me miss going out to breakfast! Day really captures the bustling atmosphere of a local diner, complete with delicious daily specials.

When a house fire uncovers the skeleton of an unknown victim, the town of South Lick, Indiana, is thrown into full investigative mode. Do the remains belong to a local doctor's long-missing wife? What happened to her?

Robbie tries to stay out of the investigation, but Pans 'N Pancakes is South Lick's gossip hub, and she gets sucked in (and maybe, just maybe, she actually wants to be involved...) Then, another suspicious death occurs that could be tied to the discovery of the skeleton.

Day includes a lot of suspects throughout this book and I changed my mind a handful of times before the final reveal.

Thank you Kensington Books for the NetGalley ARC!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book!

Yet again, I find myself enthralled by this series, with it's wonderful characters and small town vibes. Each mystery just keeps getting better, and this one is entangled with more than one line of enquiry. Of course, plenty of cozies have a Christmas book once a year, but I still love the covers for the special editions. You see, most cozies I read are set in America that celebrate Christmas a little different from us Aussies, so I love to see their traditions and read about them too.

The cast of characters work really well togehter and bounce ideas of each other, sometimes providing the answer before you know the question. The food sounds amazing, and I always leave these sort of books starving!

This is another great mystery series with quite a few books out now if you're looking for a good binge read. Five stars

Candy Slain Murder is another great book by Maddie Day, thanks Netgalley. Our main character, Robbie, runs Pans 'N' Pancakes. After a storm blows through the area, a skeleton is found in a doctor's office. The doctor is said to be part of the KKK. Christmas is coming, so Robbie decorates a tree and serves meals with Christmas colors. Then the sister of the skeleton is found dead. What is going on? After a lot of questions, someone feels Robbie is getting too close. Will she get in the way of the killer. This was a great story to the very end.

4.5 stars

This is the eighth book in the Country Store mysteries by Maddie Day.

Lots going on in this small town cozy series set in South Lick, Indiana. Robbie’s assistant suddenly discovers she has a ling lost brother she never knew about and at the same time there is a dead body found in the attic of a local doctor and then the sister of that dead lady ends up dead as well.

Round and round we go as this mystery circles around and around taking us on a very exciting roller coaster ride. Mystery is great and it challenges us to take a second look at who we think might have done it. Love all the characters here and the setting is amazing and I totally resonate since I live in Illinois right next door to this small town.

All this action happens around the Christmas season as well making this a cozy read perfect for the holiday season after you have trimmed your own tree. I will definitely be delving more into this wonderful series and checking out more of the action in this lovely small town.

If you like cozy mysteries, definitely check this one out. You won’t be disappointed.

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.

I love this series! This is installment #8 and I hope it's going to be around for a lot longer. Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington for the ARC.

I am becoming a huge fan of the cozy mystery genre due to books like this. You can read this as an escape from the everyday in a weekend. A really good mystery.