I absolutely love cozy mysteries and this one was a great one, great read. Can't wait for more by Kitt Crowe.

This is the series debut of "A Sweet Fiction Bookshop Mystery" by Kitt Crowe. Great story and great characters. I didn't mind figuring out the last detail much earlier than the author revealed it.

Lexi runs The Sweet Fiction Bookshop (owned by her parents). One of her besties, Cat works with her in the store. Her other bestie, Teri works at City Hall. They all live in Confection, Oregon where life is sweet... until Lexi's dog, Cookie sneaks into her neighbor's yard and finds his dead body.

Lexi, Cat and Teri are determined to identify the killer along with some help from Lexi's uncles and their book club.

I enjoyed this fun book and look forward to reading the next in the series.

I seem to have fallen into a rut when it comes to cozies. All these new ones don't seem to live up to what I want them to be. Yes, they're still light mysteries in quaint towns with quirky characters but not much more than that. This particular cozy had the cute town and quirky characters. Its failing is in the HUGE number of characters, so many that it was difficult to keep up with all of them. It also seemed to move pretty slowly and did not hold my interest. I'll read the next one because I've been approved for it and hope the author has improved.

This was a fairly fast paced cozy mystery and a good start to a series. However even though it was set around a bookshop it wasn't a cozy mystery for me. But that's okay there's a reader for every book and a book for every reader.

I tried reading this book but because I found the characters to be flat and uninteresting, I did not finish it..

Although not a book I will be ordering in my professional life, it is a title that I will be recommending in my personal life! This is a good start to the series, enough that I want to read more about the characters!

I love that this is set in a bookshop in Oregon! The humor was great, and I loved Lexi's dog, Cookie! The plot was well paced, and I did enjoy the mystery.

Other than being irritated that Lexi doesn't seem to ever leash her dog, I really enjoyed this story. I loved the uncles, and loved the Macaroons. The story bogged down a little after the halfway point, but picked back up again towards the end. I look forward to reading more about Lexi and the gang, hopefully with Cookie on a leash!

This is the first in a new series. Lexi, the heroine manages her parents' bookstore so there is a little bit about books and selling. A mystery book groups meets there so there is a bit of an exploration of fiction components such as point of view and plot structure, particularly those of Agatha Christie. Lexi is also secretly writing a mystery herself. That turns out to be a problem, however, when the grouchy neighbor she has murdered in her novel actually does get murdered.

For me, the best aspect of this novel was the location, a fictional town on the east side of the Oregon Cascades, not too far from Bend. I liked the mention of the mountains and lakes and hikes nearby. The area is beautiful high desert and it was fun to have a novel set there.

Investigating the murder for Lexi turns out to be mostly talking to people. It is a typical small town harboring lots of gossip and secrets and grudges. I had mixed feelings about Lexi. She has some friends who help her in her quest and I liked that. But Lexi herself has a tendency to be sarcastic to those who irritate her. That's not a great personality trait for a store manager. And, while her rescue dog is a good sidekick and helps her with the mystery, I do wish Lexi would have kept her on a leash.

This is an entertaining cozy mystery, especially for dog lovers.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the author. My comments are an independent and honest review.

Title: Digging Up Trouble
Author: Kitt Crowe
Genre: Mystery/thriller
Rating: 3.0 out of 5

Life is sweet when you live in Confection, Oregon. Or, at least, that's how it's supposed to be. But on a summer day, when tourists and locals alike gawk at the majestic mountains, quaint Craftsman houses, and lovely flowers--particularly the renowned Confection Rose--the last thing anyone has come to see is a dead body, unearthed from a shallow grave by a curious dog.

A bathrobe-clad Lexi rushes next door to her neighbor's backyard to find her pooch, Cookie, stalwartly sitting watch over a body in the vegetable garden. Cookie, encrusted in dirt, grips a copper pipe between her teeth. Was this the murder weapon? And was Lexi the murderer? It sure looks that way, seeing as she was spotted squabbling with the victim just the day before. The case becomes all the more perplexing when the real murder weapon turns out to be a garden stake. Then where does the copper pipe fit in? And might a more likely suspect let Lexi off the hook?

All the volumes in the Sweet Fiction Bookshop, and all the specials at Eats n' Treats, prove of little help in jogging Lexi's brain to find a solution. Fortunately, Cookie is not finished digging up clues. As the fur flies, can this trusty border collie mix save sweet Lexi from a bitter end?

Sometimes cozy mysteries featuring pets are so charming and well-done and sometimes I think they’re cliched and overblown. Cookie felt like a caricature, not a believable animal. That’s too bad, as that made the whole thing feel like a cartoon. And Lexi…felt pretty self-absorbed and oblivious. This could all just be a “me” problem, as the writing was solid, but the story was on the verge of boring because of the character issues.

Kitt Crowe is fueled by caffeine. Digging up Trouble is her debut novel.

(Galley courtesy of Crooked Lane Books in exchange for an honest review.)

Digging Up Trouble by Kitt Crowe is the first installment in Sweet Fiction Bookshop mystery series.

I thought that for the first book, it was a solid try.
I loved the cookies and absolutely loved the book club. I always find it so interesting when there is a book club where they discuss murder mystery cases.
The main heroin is a lovely character and her dog is adorable. What I didn't appreciate was the love triangle, my opinion was that we had a lot of them in contemporary cozies and I am not the greatest fan of it.
It was a steady paced story till the middle of the book and then it kind of lost its pace and started dragging until the end.
The clues were clearly laid out for readers to follow and try to solve together with the main character. Although there were a few too many red herrings.
There were also a lot of secondary character so it was sometimes a bit difficult to keep track of all of them.

I am very biased when I say the dog is definitely the star of the story, Jokes aside, its a terrific intro to this town and the characters as a setting and would love to read more of it.

Princess Fuzzypants here: It took me a while before I liked the heroine Lexi. I liked her doggie, who is not only clever and loyal but very badly trained, or so I thought at first. It turns out I judged too hastily. While Lexi can come off a bit acerbic, she actually is an interesting character. She has left an editing job to return to her home town to open a book store. She also has the desire to write her own mystery. She is working on the plot in a workbook and when her surly neighbour yells at her and Cookie, she vents her frustration by writing a highly satisfying death for him.

Too bad life imitates art and Cookie discovers his body in his backyard with the possible murder weapon. Generic notes in her journal end up making her a suspect. If anyone read the scenario she has written, she is doomed. As it happens, between friends and family and even some possible love interests, she works her way through the suspect pool. Another murder eliminates one suspect and one by one, she can strike off various townspeople. Once the story got traction, it was very entertaining. I did suss out one of the murderers although the motive was a big surprise. Too bad Lexi didn’t before she finds herself in an exciting but death defying situation. The heroine of the piece will turn out to be Cookie and not Lexi. She is the smartest one around.

It will be interesting to see where the characters develop in future books. Four purrs and one paw up.

In this cozy mystery centred around a book shop and a book club, we plunge into the chaos that is Lexi's life with her mischievous dog from the very first page. She is back in her home town after a not-so-happy stint outside in a bigger city. As with many of the 'towns' that feature in books like this, this one also has a focal point. Here it's gardening and festivals.
Lexi is struggling to write her own book and finding it hard to choose between two men (as lead protagonist for her fictional and real-world). In this already unsteady life, she finds her neighbour dead. The police are called in, and an official investigation begins, with Lexi doing an unofficial one.
The formula is present, with helpful and unhelpful compatriots, some twists and a naughty dog. It works well in combination with the actual turns the story takes. I partly guessed the solution but found it a little unfair because we do not get appropriate information for it when we should, making it almost impossible to see the ending coming.
I reserve my recommendation to others to try this series until I try out the next book in the series, which I might get to at some point soon.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for providing me with a copy of this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love cozy mysteries, and this book - first in a new series - was a perfect setup for the future. Lexi has moved back to Confection to run a bookstore and, with the “help” of her dog, runs into dead bodies and trouble. Will she be able to solve the whodunnit before she’s arrested or killed? There’s two love interests, a rapscallion dog, small town secrets, no terrible interference in police investigations (I can’t STAND that!), a couple of friends, a bookstore, lots of action, and baddie I picked early on in the story with a twist I didn’t!

I thought it was really well paced. It took a few chapters to get into the character of Lexi and the particular brand of small town life, but once I got there I loved the snark and minutiae. and I enjoyed the cast of characters that were featured (especially a couple of the book club members). I thought it was well paced, with a decent amount of action and some very well placed red herrings.

I’d definitely recommend this for anyone who likes to read cozy mysteries, and I’ll be following for the next one!

Cookie was an intelligent, mischievous, and loyal little dog, causing problems for poor Lexi with the law. Once again, Cookie was at the center of all the drama and intrigue, Lexi had to defend and prove their innocence to Detective Berg. I guess I can’t blame him for Lexi and Cookie’s penchant for getting into trouble, oh that is, Cookie’s mischievous ventures cause trouble right around. An intriguing, exciting, and captivating fun read.

Author Kitt Crowe kicks off her brand new Sweet Fiction Bookshop series in this instalment, Digging Up Trouble in style! Set in a small touristy town called Confection in Oregon, it features Lexi Jones along with her doggy, Cookie, a border collie. Twenty-seven-year-old Lexi is a former book editor who is looking after her parents' business while they are away; they are bookshop proprietors. Lexi also facilitates a book club known as the Macaroons and they get involved when Lexi is placed at the top of the list of suspects after arguing with cantankerous neighbour Gil, who is later found dead.

I found Digging Up Trouble a fun, thoroughly enjoyable and humorous read with the possibilities of not one, but two love interests. I'm already hotly anticipating a return to Confection. Highly recommended.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

I adored the setting for this book. The town was adorable, especially with all the sweets named shops. The character of cookie was also especially adorable. The characters were all entertaining and relatable, I enjoyed the mystery and the book was well done. Overall I look forward to book two.

An excellent start for a new cozy series: I thoroughly enjoyed, had fun and the plot kept me turning pages.
I loved the solid mystery that kept me guessing, the relatable and well written characters, and the lovely setting.
Can't wait to read the next book.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Digging Up Trouble by Kitt Crowe has Lexi Jones managing her families’ bookstore in Confection, Oregon. Lexi’s dog, Cookie has managed to escape the yard once again and has landed her in hot water with Detective Berg (again). The next day, Lexi awakens to find Cookie has done a Houdini and is in her neighbor’s yard along with Detective Berg. Gil, Lexi’s grouchy neighbor, is dead and Cookie has the murder weapon in his mouth. Lexi is at the top of the suspect list after Gil was seen yelling at her the previous afternoon. Lexi with help from the Macaroons digs into the case in the hopes of exposing the killer. Digging Up Trouble is the debut of A Sweet Fiction Bookshop Mystery series. Confection, Oregon is a small town where the residents lavish their time and attention on their gardens. The upcoming contest with the large cash prize has people pushing for their gardens to look their best. They do not appreciate a cute dog digging in their flowerbeds. Lexi Jones has returned to her hometown where she manages the family bookshop, Sweet Fiction and, in her spare time, is working on a novel. I would have liked to learn more about Lexi (lack of background). There are a number of secondary characters that include Lexi’s besties, her uncles, and the Macaroons (the book club). The whodunit is straightforward. There are several suspects and I thought there were too many red herrings. There are clues a plenty to help readers arrive at the solution before the reveal. I did not understand why Detective Berg was so focused on Lexi. The story flowed well until about two thirds of the way through. It slowed down then until the reveal scene. The author has set up a love triangle that I wish was not a part of the book. Cookie was the highlight of the book. He is a smart, wily, and entertaining canine. Digging Up Trouble is a lighthearted whodunit with crafty canine, rampant rumors, flower garden fanatics, a devious digger, a cunning killer, curious clues, and a surfeit of suspects.