Tired, wornout plot with a West Indian twist. Nothing new or unusual in this book. Trite characters, weak plot and ridiculous police action. After only one encounter with brusque, bully baker Claudio Fabrizi, Lyndsay Murray is questioned by the police after Claudio is found dead. I don't recommend it.

Thank you NetGalley, Olivia Matthews and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of Against the Currant. This is my personal review.
Against the Currant is the first book in a new cozy series - A Spice Isle Bakery Mystery. I am always looking for new cozy series to read and really was looking forward to this one.
Lyndsay Murray is opening Spice Isle Bakery in the community she loves. She has a big problem on her hands with another bakery owner in the same neighborhood. He makes it well known he is happy about her bakery. Then the worst thing happens when he turns up dead. Lyndsay is the main suspect. This leaves it up to her to prove she is innocent.
The mystery was for me dull, and it did not give me the twists and turns I wanted. I like trying to figure out the guilty person, but this cozy did not have the zing I like.
I knew I had to read to the end to find out who really was guilty.
I am hoping the next in the series is more of what I want in a mystery

Against The Currant is a debut cozy mystery about Lindsey and her family's Caribbean bakery. The family ties are strong and the mystery is good. At the bakery's grand opening a competitor, Claudio, causes a scene and then Claudio ends up dead. Lindsey is the prime suspect. She begins to investigate to clear her name. One of the Detectives on the case is Bryce who Lindsey had a crush on in high school. The characters are likable and the mystery kept me guessing until the end. The pace is good and there is enough going on to keep the reader's attention. An enjoyable cozy mystery! #AgainstTheCurrant #NetGalley

Against the Currant was such a delightful read. The mystery was paced well and successfully kept me on my toes throughout. What made Against the Currant so enjoyable, though, was the specificity Matthews brought to the characters and setting. I loved the close-knit community/family dynamic, and Granny’s comments had me dying laughing. The recipes included at the end were icing on the cake—I can’t wait to channel Lyndsay’s newfound confidence and bake some currant rolls of my own :)

Thank you to NetGalley and to St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an ARC of Against the Currant in exchange for an honest review.

This is my first time reading a book by Olivia Matthews, and I am impressed. I felt like I had traveled to Brooklyn, NY, and could visualize the Caribbean culture that is described. I have a better appreciation for the cultural nuances woven into this cozy mystery. Lyndsay Murray and her family are likeable characters that developed in my mind as I read the book. The protagonist and her family own Spice Isle Bakery, which is an interesting setting, and I would love to find such a bakery in real life during a visit to this NY neighborhood. I liked the plot, and felt it was plausible and intriguing. I look forward to reading another cozy adventure featuring Lindsay, her family and cast of characters in the Little Caribbean area of Brooklyn. I recommend this book to cozy mystery fans.

Thank you, St., Martin's Press and Net Galley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book.

When Lyndsay's family opens Little Spice Bakery it seems like her dreams have come true until opening day and an altercation with another local baker, Claudio, wrecks the day. When Claudio is found murdered the next days all eyes turn to Lyndsay. This is an enjoyable cozy mystery not only with a good story and characters but also introduces you to West Indian culture as known in Brooklyn. An enjoyable read!
#AgainsttheCurrant#NetGalley#St.Martin'sPress

This was a delightful cozy mystery. It was very light on romance, which I wasn't expecting from someone who writes romance under another name, but I could see the set up for a future romance. I loved the entire family and Lyndsay is a great protagonist. She's got a lot of room for growth in future books. This did leave the story a little slow, but not badly so. I loved that it actually dealt with the reality of the way that a Black immigrant family was likely to interact with the police - and they with her..

I look forward to reading more of the series.

Lyndsay Murray's dream of opening a family bakery in the Little Caribbean neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York has come true. But the soft opening of Spice Isle Bakery is tainted by disgruntled bakery owner Claudio Fabrizi's threats to shut them down. When Claudio is murdered at his bakery with a serrated bread knife & Lyndsay's distinctive charm bracelet is found at the scene. Lyndsay is frustrated by the inactions of the NYPD detectives in looking for another suspect besides herself & decides to do her own sleuthing to clear her name & save the bakery.

I wanted to like this mystery but the pacing of the story was off and I had difficulty in reading the book. . The interactions between Lyndsay, her lawyer brother Dev, their anxious parents, granny & cousin were good, and the Grenadian baked goods and hot meals served at the bakery were a nice touch. 3.5 stars.

I received a digital ARC from Netgalley and St. Martin's Press. My opinions are my own.

Bestselling author Olivia Matthews is a veteran romance author writing under several different pen names, has created a new culinary mystery series, and the first installment is Against the Currant: A Spice Isle Bakery Mystery. This is a fun novel, and captures the ambiance of the Caribbean culture and Little Caribbean in Brooklyn, New York. Lyndsay has just opened her new bakery with her family, and on opening day, Claudio Fabrizi, who owns a bakery nearby and has a reputation of being a bully, comes in and threatens her for being competition to his bakery. When he is found murdered the next day, Lyndsay becomes the main suspect in the murder, and her family must get together to find the real murderer before Lyndsay goes to jail.

The protagonist, Lyndsay Murray, is very likeable and well-developed, and the supporting characters (except the murderer, of course) are delightful. Although having characters in their late 20s and early 30s calling their parents “mommy” and “daddy” seems a bit juvenile – maybe they refer to their parents like that in the Caribbean, it is irritating all the same. However, readers will fall in love with the characters anyway and although all readers won’t be from the Caribbean, they will enjoy the cultural aspect of this fun cozy.

Matthews does an excellent job of weaving a good plot; it is well-organized and flows, with ups and downs as well as a bit of danger for the main characters. The food references are mouthwatering, and although there are two recipes for desserts served at the bakery/café, readers will want more, especially for the main dishes.

Readers will definitely want to finish this before the second installment is released; hopefully it will also include mouthwatering recipes as this one does. Culinary mystery fans will enjoy this series.


Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

Against the Currant by Olivia Matthews is the coziest of mysteries full of family, delicious treats in the family’s new bakery & of course, a crime to solve along the way. This is book #1 in A Spice Isle Bakery Mystery series & a wonderful start to a series for which I am now eager to return to.

This book revolves around Lyndsay Murray & her family opening up her childhood dream bakery in Little Caribbean, Brooklyn, New York called Spice Isle Bakery. This exciting business adventure is a way to honor her Grenadian roots while also giving back to the community. However, Lyndsay didn’t plan for the rival bakery owner from blocks away that had been causing her grief to wind up dead shortly after opening her dream. The police seem keen to pin this on Lyndsay thanks to their public argument. Lyndsay can’t watch her dreams wash down the drain, so she dons her detective cap & gets to work. As Lyndsay tries to balance her new business, overprotective family, nosy reporters along with an array of suspects, there’s an entering adventure to watch unfold in currant time.

I was absolutely charmed with their family unit & loved the way they supported each other. I also loved how close-knit both the immediate & extended family was. The importance of family was interwoven into the story in a way that was heartwarming to witness. This was also just an absolutely lovely cozy mystery with an superbly fast pace that kept me guessing until the end.

I would also love to go to this bakery in real life. This was such a lovely start & setting. Between the family members & friends, there’s so much potential for both mayhem & romance & I cannot wait to dive back in.

Massive thanks to NetGalley & St. Martin’s Press for the arc, which I voluntarily read & reviewed. All thoughts & opinions are my own.

Trigger warnings: This book mentions &/or contains murder, overdose, violence, guns & gambling.

I will post this on social media closer to publish date & add links once I do.

Interesting premise that the book didn’t quite live up to.

Lyndsay, with lots of help from her family, is opening the Spice Isle Bakery in Little Caribbean, Brooklyn, New York. The only problem is the owner of the bakery across the street doesn’t want them there, continually threatening them while the preparing for the soft launch. When he’s found dead the day before the launch, Lyndsay’s the prime suspect. In order to clear her name, she decides to investigate.

I have mixed feelings about this book. Parts were really enjoyable - the setting, the Caribbean influences - but other parts were annoying. She constantly refers to her parents as ‘Mommy’ and ‘Daddy’ which makes her seem very young - like a toddler or first grader. In contrast, her brother calls them ‘Mom and Dad’. There are constant references to how she was bullied in high school that several years ago. She keeps talking about being shy and an introvert, but then does things that contradicts it like going to the club and signing up for the exhibition. A few of these references would be fine, but there were too many - as I said, it was too repetitious and dragged the story down.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley.com and voluntarily chose to review.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this. Lyndsay is estatic about the opening of her families bakery. When a man is found dead, Lyndsay becomes a suspect because she had an argument with him the day before. This book was an ok read.

This was a fun cozy mystery that was a depart from the usual small town setting, yet still maintained the vibe of close knit community and family! I loved the characters and their relationships to each other…as well as the mouth-watering descriptions of food! The mystery kept me guessing and I was never bored. I look forward to the next book in this series!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read this book. There were parts of it I really enjoyed like the close knit family, the Brooklyn neighborhood, especially the descriptions of foods that were mostly unfamiliar to me, even the descriptions of clothes. I did find that the story was a little slow to develop. I think the author is on to some good characters. I found Lyndsay a bit frustrating but loved Granny. I think this cloud develop into a really good series.

Ok… a roller coaster of thoughts were had!

1) Sense of time is off. Impossible to open the bakery, go to police station, get interviewed, drive back and talk with family at bakery and only 30 mns went by.
2) I’ve never heard a grown woman call her parents Mommy and Daddy so many times ever. Maybe it’s cultural though?
3) Ina scene where the main character and her cousin go meet with a possible suspect, her name goes from Lyndsay Murray to Lyndsay Donovan. Random name change or forgotten name change?
4)The portrayal of Lyndsay as an introvert is iffy. Her idea of unwinding and relaxing is a good book and hot ginger tea. Then why does she agree to go dancing? An introvert would want to throw up before willingly agreeing to go to a club.
5) Long sentences for nothing. “Dev arrived early to help with the baking” is as good if not better than “Dev arrived early to help Mommy, Daddy and Granny with the baking”.
6) A cozy mystery talking about real important matters, like if the NYPD would put that much effort into a homicide investigation of a Black woman who is suspected of murder!!!!
7) Was refreshing to read a cozy mystery where the main character isn’t in cahoots with the cops and where she is a person of colour!

Lyndsay Murray opens Spice Isle Bakery with the help of her family, and when her main competitor is murdered, she becomes the main suspect. I loved the community feel, the close-knit family, and learning about a culture I know little about. The plot was slow to develop and a bit repetitive, but the charming atmosphere and likeable characters made it worthwhile for me to stick with it and finish. Hopefully this is just the first in the series and the author will continue to develop the characters.

Every chapter of this book made me crave every single food described. I absolutely loved hearing about the food and drinks I've never seen or tried and I really think it helped immerse you in the family dynamic and their culture. The mystery that comes along with it was a great bonus because I wouldn't necessarily come out of this and think it fits great into that specific genre. There was so much detail in every other aspect that it felt more like the who did it scenario was a side quest or little adventure she happens to take and not necessarily the main plot point. But that's not to say I didn't absolutely enjoy it and thought it was a refreshing take. Our main character was likable and while the end results were slightly predictable it felt satisfying still to find out.

I really wanted to love this - an own voices culinary cozy set in NY. Umm, yes please!

Unfortunately it was a little too boring and I didn't really like the main character Lyndsay. She was a little wishy washy about wanting to investigate and then her rationale [which took forever to get through] seemed a little silly. This and many more reasons made just want to DNF this. Yes, she was trying to get us to like her by showing how friendly she is to customers but it didn't help her sleuthing or give us any further insight into the investigation or the plot.

And cancer? I'm pretty sure no one picks up a cozy mystery to read about cancer.

Quite the mystery to be solved. This one wasn't easy to figure out but it kept my mind going trying to figure it out. Great story line.

Really enjoyed this book. So nice to see a non traditional culture being represented. I learned quite a lot. Currant buns sound delicious. It was great to see all the support Lyndsey got from her family both in opening the bakery and in defending herself against possible murder charges. Wanted to keep reading to find out what happened. Looking forward to another one. 😀