In this third book in the Spice Isle Bakery series, Lynds and family are again embroiled in solving a murder. When the lead singer of a popular local band falls down a flight of stairs, suspicions of foul play are in the forefront. The Little Caribbean community is again rife with gossip, and the bakery run by Lynds and family is the hub of the discussions. Lynds teams up with her local law enforcement and romantic flame (maybe) to uncover the solution to the mysterious death. Of course, granny and Mommy and Daddy, plus brother Dev and assorted relatives get involved too.

The story moves along slowly for most of the book, with a quick conclusion to the crime at the end. Although it is part of the series, it can be read as a stand alone. The characters, especially the grandma, are the highlights of the story.

This book provides readers with a glimpse into the Caribbean cultures, with foodie and fashion information, as well as physical descriptions of the people in the book. For readers who become frustrated with this level of detail, give this one a miss. Readers unfamiliar with Caribbean culture will probably find the unique terms related to food and the speech patterns to be puzzling. This book would benefit from a glossary. The recipes at the end add nothing to the story, and seem irrelevant.

I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The ideas expressed here are my own.

I really enjoy this series and I so hope it continues. It was so good and this book was the best in the series yet!!! I loved it!! I was absolutely thrilled from the start of the book and I was hooked on it all the way through the end. 5 star read for me!!!
I just reviewed Coconut Drop Dead by Olivia Matthews. #CoconutDropDead #NetGalley
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I enjoyed this addition to the series but maybe just a tiny bit less than the others. I will keep saying how much I absolutely love that the main character kick boxes and is such a strong female! The mystery of this one was really good too.

When a new book from a favorite series is released, it feels like a family reunion. In Olivia Matthews' series, Spice Isle Bakery Mysteries, the main character Lyndsay Murray works along side her family every day and her extended family is often present for dinners and celebrations. When the Caribbean American heritage Festival occurs a few months after Lyndsay's bakery opens, she is thrilled to learn that their application has been accepted for their participation. Having put the misfortunes of the previous two books behind them, the Murray family is prepared to wow the community with their food. As bad luck would have it, someone dies nearby and Lyndsay feels obligated to investigate. She is surprised when her crush, the local investigator, asks her to work with him to discover the truth. This force proximity provides lots of chemistry. Matthews has added another endearing mystery to her list.

This is becoming one of my favorite cozy mystery families, and it was nice to see that for once the family wasn’t accused of murder. My only issue is that the book had some delicious recipes at the end but it didn’t have a coconut drop recipe, and now u have to go find where to get one.

Coconut Drop Dead is the third book in the Spice Isle Bakery mystery series. This is quickly becoming one of my favorite cozy mystery series primarily for the characters and the setting. I would recommend this book for those interested in reading a cozy mystery that centers around family, a neighborhood with a great cast of characters, and delicious food.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #StMartin's for the ARC of the new Spice Isle Bakery Mystery, #CoconutDropDead. At the time, I hadn't realized that this was a series - and Coconut Drop Dead can be read without reading the prior books, though I would guess it would help to have some of the context for relationships.

Overall, this was a fairly standard cozy revolving around ethnic food. It has some humor and is free from most swearing and there's no sexual content (for those that dislike those things). The characters felt bland to me. There is clearly to be a romantic interest between Lyndsay and the police officer, but there's no real chemistry in their dialogue. The mystery was fairly simplistic - a popular singer dies at the bottom of a staircase during the Caribbean festival. It becomes clear that she was pushed to her death. There are a decent array of suspects - her band mates, her manager, the new boyfriend, the festival coordinator, etc.

I realize that cozy mysteries are not by their nature very realistic, but the characters, dialogue, and plot twists felt generic. I was hoping for more in depth West Indian culture / food and some small attempts at police procedure. The solution was reasonable and made sense, but was... well.. boring. I honestly had to go back to the ending to remember who-dun-it. Coconut Drop Dead was an easy, pleasant read - there was nothing wrong with this story, but nothing really stood out for me either. Even the food descriptions, something I'm normally very into, were lackluster.

I absolutely adore this series. It so much fun and brings a different vibe than most cozies, which I deeply appreciate. The Caribbean festival, teased since early on, was so fun to experience on the page. I like how Matthews used this book to start Lyndsay’s transition toward sleuthing on broader cases - there are only so many times you can have a close family member accused of a crime before it gets weird. The mystery kept me guessing and was throughly enjoyable to read. I’ll be anxiously awaiting book 4!

The third installment in the series which I really enjoy. A mystery of trying to find out who killed the lead singer of a band. The family is determined to bring justice to the community. I enjoy this series and would recommend it to others.

Lyndsay Murray is thrilled that her family bakery, Spice Isle Bakery, is a vendor at Brooklyn’s annual Caribbean American Heritage Festival, but things turn sour when Camille, the lead singer of an up-and-coming reggae band, is found dead. The police think that it was just a tragic accident, but Lyndsay’s cousin was close to Camille and thinks otherwise. And now Lyndsay is back to investigating a murder to ensure that a killer is brought to justice.

This is the third book in the Spice Isle Bakery Mysteries series and, at this point, I would probably keep my distance from Lyndsay Murray. Poor thing has been accused of murder, her mother has been accused of murder, and now someone close to her family is found dead. Despite it all, Lyndsay keeps her head up and doesn’t let thing get her down for too long.

Lyndsay’s close-knit family is incredibly warm and inviting, allowing readers to feel like they have a safe home even if just for a little while. They believe in Lyndsay fully and, even when they are meddling, everything they do is out of love for each other. This story is very much a cozy mystery, but it does also have some tense moments that get the blood pumping and the anxiety rising (but it doesn't last long).

Oh man, and the food! This may be a book about a murder, but Matthews also finds a way to highlight all the excellent food that Spice Isle features. It made me want to book a flight and head to Brooklyn to visit Little Caribbean immediately!

Disclaimer: I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher for free and have voluntarily written this review.

Coconut Drop Dead is the third book in the Spice Isle Bakery cozy mystery series. Lyndsay and her family are once again pulled into helping to investigate a murder that has happened within their tight knit community. Unlike the first two novels no one from the Murray family is being accused of murder, but the family is still involved and it created a nice segway for the author to continue having Lyndsay and her family to keep helping the police to solve murders. This series has continued to be a pleasure to read. The bakery is regularly described by the delicious smells of warm baked goods and spices creating such an inviting atmosphere mixed in with the thrill of the murder mystery that can only be solved with the help of Lyndsay Murray, especially because the police continue to be pretty incompetent. Lyndsay has continuous character growth throughout the series and I look forward to reading about what she and her family get mixed up in next. As usual the end of the book has some recipes for treats being sold in the bakery and I made the coconut pudding which was a delicious and easy recipe to follow.

Coconut Drop Dead (Spice Isle Bakery Mysteries Book 3) by Olivia Matthews
Love this series, love this author --- Brooklyn foodie cozy mystery? Yes, please!! Caribbean foodm reggae music, and murder make for a fantastic book #3 in this can't-miss series.

Very enjoyable read! I'm really hoping this series continues! This was a fun mystery, I'm happy Bryce and and Lyndsay were able to work together on this. I hope to see more of this in future books

Fun and cute book to read. Love the diversity and the food in the book. It would have been great if they had included a recipe or two

Unlike other cozies, this could definitely not be read out of order. A lot of things didn't make sense because I haven't read the books that came before it. It was a little slow but overall an okay mystery.

A solid 3.5 stars for me. Lyndsay and her family are running their bakery, Spice Isle Bakery, when she is asked to help find out who killed a famous Caribbean music artist. This time, neither she nor her family as suspects but they all are just as involved in this mystery. Lyndsay teams up with Detective Bryce on this one, and there is a thaw that develops in their relationship during the course of the investigation.

Like with the previous books, some information is repeated more than once and it's not necessary or critical to the story. However, I do think the writing style has improved with each book and I'm looking forward to the next installment.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

I have been provided with a review copy of Coconut Drop Dead from NetGalley for an impartial review. I just really enjoyed this story and I just didn’t want it to end. I just lost myself in and I just couldn’t get enough of these interesting characters. I can’t wait to see what’s next from this author.

I loved jumping back into this series and very hopeful to see how Lyndsay and her family has banded together and solved another case serving delicious goods from their family restaurant bakery Spice Isle.

I enjoyed this book way more than I expected‼️ It’s book 3 in the Spice Isle Bakery Mysteries and I plan to go back and read the other two. It was such a cute little murder mystery lol I know that sounds crazy.

But that’s the vibe we get from Spice Isle Bakery’s co-owner Lyndsay Murray baker by day detective by night (not really lol). When someone close to her loses a friend during the Brooklyn annual Caribbean American Heritage Festival and suspects foul play Lyndsay doesn’t hesitate to jump on the case. Didn’t seem like local authorities were gonna crack the case open without her help.

What made this one fun and adventurous was the constant guessing game, having a baker solve a murder lol, and how the mystery was well-drawn out. There were so many possible suspects that could have wanted Camille dead for one reason or another. So, when the killer was finally revealed I thought their motive could’ve been better.

Nonetheless the character development was great. Loved the close relationship between the Murray family. Seems like there could’ve been some chemistry between Detective Bryce Jackson and Lyndsay but neither acted upon it so I’m wondering if we’ll get a book 4.

Overall, this was a cozy read the pacing was fair I was able to read it pretty quickly. The authors writing was very descriptive and vivid really brought the book to life also loved the recipes thrown in. Special thanks to the author & @minotaur_books for my gifted copy‼️

Olivia Matthews does an amazing job capturing the community vibe of a small, successful Caribbean bakery in Brooklyn's Little Caribbean neighbourhood. You can almost smell and taste the pastries that the family works together to make.

This is the third in the Spice Isle Bakery series, but I read it as a stand-alone, and didn't feel like I was missing a lot of pieces. There is enough reference to what has happened before to help newbies figure out what's going on.

Lyndsay, the likeable (but driven) main character is hoping that being part of a local festival will be exactly what the family business needs to shake off the last shadows of previous encounters with murder investigations. Unfortunately, when a beloved local celebrity ends up dead at the festival, Lyndsay and her family are drawn in again.

This was a well-plotted cozy, with lots of input from the different family members, and lots of understanding for the roles that different generations play in a community space. The slow-burn romance between Lyndsay and a detective with great legs (in his shorts) probably needs to figure out if it's going anywhere, but other than that minor quibble, this was an enjoyable read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur books for the e-arc.