I’ve been loving cozy mysteries lately. Give me a cozy mystery with a Carribean flair, and you surely have a recipe for success with me.

Against the Current by Olivia Matthew’s was lovely. Lyndsays dream has been to open a bakery and that she has she’s being framed for murder? What’s a girl to do but roll up her sleeves and investigate! Set in Brooklyn with a host of supportive friends and family.

Pub date: 1/24/23 (out now)
Genre: cozy mystery (1st in a new series), ownvoices
Quick summary: Lyndsay and her family are on top of the world as they open Spice Isle Bakery - but the sweetness turns sour when competing baker Claudio ends up dead - after a very public spat with Lyndsay.

I love cozy mysteries, especially those that center on food! This one had a great twist - turns out that Lyndsay has a great mind for business, but the family currant roll recipe is beyond her skills (at least at the beginning of the book). I loved seeing her persevere in her dream and take her place in the community she loved - providing delicious Grenadian food for all. Note - don't read this book while hungry!

The mystery was compelling - there were certainly plenty of suspects in Claudio's death, and Lyndsay did a good job investigating. I really enjoyed this strong start to the series, and I'm excited to continue to follow Lyndsay's adventures! Both audio and text were great, and I recommend both!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for my e-ARC and Libro.fm/Macmillan Audio for my ALC!

In Against the Currant, the first installment of the Spice Isle Mysteries, Lindsay and her family open a bakery that has been her dream only to be threatened by another bakery owner in the neighborhood who feels threatened by her presence. As he falsely accuses her of trying to steal his business, he also threatens that she will be sorry. Standing up to this neighborhood bully, Lyndsay surprisingly threatens him back to never enter her business again. Then there is a murder and Lyndsay is the prime suspect. Not confident in the police investigation, Lyndsay sets off to prove her innocence and find the murderer. Lots of red herrings but delicious clues, makes this a cozy mystery to satisfy your taste buds. The story was enjoyable to read and kept my interest from the first page and I enjoyed the family and community support for Lyndsay. Some parts predictable, there were plenty of unexpected moments that made the reader go “ah-ha”. I look forward to hearing more cozies connected with this bakery.

Many thanks to #netgalley #againstthecurrant #oliviamatthews #st.martinspress for the opportunity to read and review this book.

really loved this intro to a new series. loved the mc, grandmother, recipes and the small town quirks, excited to read the next in the series

This is a cute cozy mystery, the first book in a series to come. It’s set in a Brooklyn in a Caribbean bakery, owned by the Murray family. Their competitor, Claudio Fabrizi, is a cranky baker who threatens to shut the new bakery down. Lyndsay Murray, the owner’s daughter, argues with him about his threat. Unfortunately, Claudio is found dead the next day, and Lyndsey is the prime suspect.
She has to investigate to clear her name.
This was a fun, easy read. 4 stars.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed as in this review are completely my own.

There is nothing that I love more in a cozy then when there is food added. And Indian food?! Be still my heart! We need more diverse cozies in the genre and I’m so happy this one stepped up to the plate. I want all of the food in this book. And Grandma is literally my spirit animal. She was feisty and fun! I also loved the whole entire feel of Lindsey’s family and how much family meant in the book. I highly recommend this.

Really fun interesting read! Loved the family aspect of the story! Looking forward to the next book in the series.

I ended up listening to the ALC instead of reading the earc. This was an easy cozy mystery that held my interest the whole time.

thank you publisher and netgalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I do love a food-related mystery and this debut novel did not disappoint! Here's what I liked:

1. Lynds and her family. Every family member felt unique and had a clear personality and voice. I could see that the author was setting up some possible plot hooks for the future. I liked all of the family and enjoyed "hanging out" with them in this book.
2. How the mystery was handled. Lynds did enough sleuthing to learn more information and even get herself into a bit of trouble, but she wasn't breaking into people's houses constantly or interrogating people who had no reason to talk to her but who gave her information anyway. She went through her lawyer to get information to the police when she had information to give. Although her family was concerned about her efforts (for good reason) she didn't act like an idiot to solve the mystery.
3. A lot of the information that was gathered came naturally through the bakery patrons. The author set up Spice Isle Bakery early as community gathering place, and people naturally talked with each other while waiting in line and to Lynds as she rang up their orders. She also heard things through family members or friends instead of having to sneak around getting a lot of information. In this way, she had an advantage over the police because the community was comfortable interacting with her and talked with her freely.
4. Spice Isle Bakery! It's a family business with Lynds as one of the decision makers. She used her marketing knowledge to make the business opening a success and the food did the rest. In my town we don't have any Caribbean restaurants any more as far as I know and I did miss that as I was reading the book. If you are in the same boat as me, consider taking this book on vacation with you if you head somewhere warm or to a city where you've got better access to this food, because my mouth was watering as I was reading! Although the store is a bakery, it also provides savory foods and lunches, so I not only got to read about currant rolls and coconut bread, but about fish bakes and callaloo. Plus some teas that I am not familiar with and I very much appreciated learning more about this cuisine.

This author seems to have thought about the food cozy mystery and made an effort to address some of the plot weaknesses that these books can have. I really enjoyed this book and will happily read the next one in the series!

I think this was my first cozy mystery. It was fine, the audio was entertaining and I was interested in finding out how the story ended but I'm not sure cozies are for me.

Lyndsay has just opened Spice Isle Bakery with her family in her neighborhood of Little Caribbean in Brooklyn. She wants this bakery to showcase their talent as cooks and bakers and to bring some Grenadian culture to the area. Claudio, who also has a bakery in the neighborhood, is livid because he thinks that Spice Isle is going to be competition for his bakery. He starts instigating continually when they first open. He comes into the bakery and makes threats. Lyndsay defends herself but also retaliates with a threat that comes back to bite her when Claudio turns up dead the very next day. She becomes the main suspect even though she has plausible factors that remove the guilt from her. Eventually after seeing the business suffer from her mistake, she takes matters into her own hands and tries to find out who the killer is. Eventually she is led to the murderer and is free from guilt, charges and any additional threats. it was a very entertaining read and I hope to get some more stories based in Spice Isle Bakery soon.

Lyndsay Murray has just opened up her Caribbean family bakery in New York. But when a fellow bakery owner Claudio threatens her and later ends up dead, Lyndsay gets caught up in a murder scandal.

Y’all. This book was not great. I probably would have DNF’d this one, but I pushed through with the hope that the ending might redeem it a bit. While I appreciated the diversity and learning about another culture, the book was repetitive, poorly written, and the plot was weak. It feels like every other line was about how this bakery was Lyndsay’s dream, which we already understood from the start. I thought this was going to be a great cozy mystery, but I was very disappointed.

Thanks to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first installment in the Spice Isle Bakery Mystery. Our main character Lyndsay is opening up a bakery with her family in Little Caribbean, Brooklyn, New York. But not everyone in the area is super stocked about the new business. Lyndsay gets in a verbal altercation with another business owner, and everyone in the bakery witnesses it. When the business is found dead a day later things don’t look so good for Lyndsay after she was seen arguing with him.

This follows Lyndsay and her family and friends as they try to prove her innocence. This was a good start to a new series.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

YOOOOOOOOOOO I really enjoyed this first in series! The beginning 30% was all background. At first I found this a bit slow, but keep in mind it is the first in a mystery series and I found it to be very helpful moving forward.

Despite being set in NY, the mystery gave cozy small town vibes. My only critique for this book was that I would have loved more ambiance included. We get great description for the bakery and everything her family is cooking. I would have enjoyed that level of description for settings outside the bakery (and not just at the police station).

I had my first suspect around half way through the book, however I continuously doubted myself as EVERYONE IS A SUSPECT. This book reads like a tv show, each chapter furthering the investigation but also making the reader ask a bunch more questions. Overall, this was an exciting and hilarious read! I can't wait to read the next book!

Against the Currant is a fun start to a new cozy series. I love culinary themed books, thrown in some baked goods and a murder and I'm hooked. The bakery setting in a neighborhood that's part of a large city was a fresh twist versus the typical small town setting. The deep bonds of family were weaved throughout the story. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.

This book was so much more fun than I expected. I ended up getting an arc of the audio but truly I would now follow Lyndsay to any mystery.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Paperbacks for accepting my request to read and review Against the Currant.

Published: 01/24/23

I really, really wanted to like this. Unfortunately, it was a miss for me. I wasn't entertained by the Caribbean family traditions. . The murder was too convenient and seriously cheesy. The familial bantering didn't translate well.

There is a market for this series. It's not with me.

I do recommend if you like cozy mysteries give this a try.

More and more I'm enjoying these cozy, culinary mysteries! Against the Currant is a good start for a new series I'm excited to continue.

Lyndsay was a very compelling character. I related to her in many ways, especially in terms of how she handles conflict/confrontation (avoids it!). I enjoyed her journey finding her voice, standing up for herself and gaining confidence by doing so. Her granny had many nuggets of wisdom to share, and her support of Lyndsay's endeavors was like a warm hug. Brought so much comfort!

Lyndsay's amateur sleuthing nearly got her killed on multiple occasions, but her determination to clear her name understandably drove her. Her passion for her business was felt. And more than that, representing and staying true to her West Indian culture was so important to her. I enjoyed her stories from home, the glimpses into her extended family history, and of course, the descriptions of food.

Loved that she had a supporting family who stuck by her—and each other—no matter what. I'm excited to see more of that in this series.

One line that really struck me, as a Black woman, was when one of the detectives asked Lyndsay why she thinks someone is trying to frame her for murder. And she said because they don't expect the NYPD to put much effort into the investigation of a Black woman suspected of murder. I mean. My breath hitched when I read it. LOL, I'm being dramatic. But seriously, I'd been thinking that while reading, so it was reassuring to have it acknowledged by Lyndsay in the text.

The reveal of the killer and motive was unsatisfying and a bit of a let down. Once revealed I thought, "that's it?" I wasn't all that shocked by the reveal, and I actually predicted it, which was surprising to me because I'm usually not good at guessing. The motive wasn't all that interesting, and the planning that went into it was so week and just not well thought out at all. Also, it seems that incompetent detectives are the norm for these mysteries (I've only read a few others, but I'm sensing a pattern!). I guess that's where the amateur sleuth comes in to save the day. I couldn't help from rolling my eyes every time the detectives appeared in the story.

This was entertaining and fun. I enjoyed reading the second half in bed each night at the end of a week-long work event. Definitely added to the cozy atmosphere.

Also now I want to try a currant roll!

[CW: bullying, murder, suicide]

Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for the eArc in exchange for my honest review.

This was such a cute cozy amateur sleuth read! I absolutely loved learning the culture and how the family rallied around Lyndsay. I’d love to read more of the spice isle bakery!