Egg Shooters

This is a cozy mystery, and this is the 9th book in the Cackleberry Club series. I have not read books 1 to 8 in this series. I have to say I enjoyed the mystery in this book, but I do not care about the characters. I really love books that has really good character developed and characters I really end up caring about. I found this book just ok. I did really like the narrator of this audiobook. I was kindly provided an e-audiobook of this book by the publisher (Dreamscape Media and Berkley Books) or author (Laura Childs) via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review about how I feel about this book, and I want to send a big Thank you to them for that. This book is schedule to be release on January 26-2021.

Childs, the author of the popular Tea Shop and Scrapbooking series pens another entry into her Cackleberry Club series. This time, Suzanne is in the right place at the right time when she manages to cosh a gunman over the head with a thermos of chili after he shoots two people in the local emergency room. That’s the good news, the bad news is that he escaped, leaving the Cackleberry Club members to find the gunman. Boyce does a fine job delivering this story, I just have a hard time connecting with this particular series. Maybe it’s because Childs’s other books have such fabulous locations that the sense of place is stronger in her other series. This is a perfectly nice cozy mystery, just not one that would go on my must read list

This was my first novel by Laura Childs, I enjoyed her style of writing, I'm always a fan of a good cozy mystery. The narrator was enjoyable and added depth to the novel.

Unknowing cougar catches killer the Childs' way

I never read a fiction story - never-the-less a cozy mystery -where the protagonist is ugly.
And in the case of cozy mysteries, not only is the heroine a spunky, independent, adventurous fireball, she's - mostly shes - irresistible and often, as is the case here, a cougar.
Grrraaarrr.
Suzanne Dietz finds herself as the object of a teenager's sweet affection while simultaneously engaged, and staring down the barrel of a handgun before this story ends.
Egg Shooters, is Laura Child's 9th book in her Cackleberry Club Mystery series, and I have to admit, it cracked me up.
Our attractive, spunky, quick-thinking protagonist finds herself getting hot and spicy as this story begins at her local hospital emergency room with a pharmacy robbery and an attempted hasty retreat.
Even though Suzanne is at the hospital to deliver her homemade chili dinner to her fiance Dr. Sam Hazlet, our heroine throws the chili at the murderer who just killed a hospital security guard and is focused on killing an emergency room employee.
Of course, the killer scrambles out the door and sets this egg-centric story into motion.
I LOVE Laura Childs' books. This is not my first rodeo with this author. I will read anything with her name on it. Childs keeps readers guessing until the story's end and thinks of imaginative, creative ways to fry the bad guy and tie the novel's multiple plots into a satisfying end.
As I often do, I listened to this story on audio and found the narrator's voice - and voices - hauntingly similar to the main character in a Monica Harris cozy mystery series.
But that's the problem with narration. Once an artist is branded to a particular character, it's hard to break out and create a series of different voices for another cozy family.
I did spend far more time than I should have thinking about how that poor narrator was branded to another cozy family. But, in the end, it doesn't really matter because the storyline takes center stage.
Egg Shooters is not my first rodeo in the Cackleberry Club Mystery series and I admire Childs' ability to carry these storylines through a novel set.
I got so excited when I saw this book was available for review, and just as excited to know another egg-cellent book was on its way.

ml@michellelovato.com BoutiqueBooks@hotmail.com

Happy are those who respect the Lord and obey him. You will enjoy what you work for, and you will be blessed with good things. Psalm 128: 1-2

What a fun audio book. Will listen to it again. Loved the plot twists, the red herrings, And everything about it. The hummer was great also. Kudos to the author and looking forward to listening and reading more of her books.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the AAC. This is actually my first book in this series. What a fun cozy mystery. The narrator did a great job telling the story with each character having their own voice. Will definitely check out the other books in this series.

Audio books depend not only on engaging writing, but also on the narrator. This one was a quick cozy mystery and I really had no idea who did it before the reveal. A hospital shooting and pharmacy thefts plague a small town, and the endearing character Suzanne works both on her own and with local law enforcement to solve the crimes. I enjoyed the narrator's portrayal of the characters.

I was very confused with all the characters. When there are so many needing different voices audio I think that is hard on a narrator and isn't the best way to go.

A very well written cozy mystery. Great plot and character dynamics. I received an advance ebook from the publisher and Netgalley and this is my unbiased review.

Of Laura Childs' three series, this is my favorite. The characters are great, the setting is inviting (although I always think it's so cold there!), and the murders/investigation are more plausible. I loved this latest installment. The story was fast paced and kept you involved. Suzanne and her friends are smart and don't do too many things that might get them killed. A good addition to the series.

I received an advanced copy from #Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* interesting egg themed series ill give it that, however like many cozy mysteries the MCs are very judgmental, ignorant and frankly, bullies, framed in a very "oh but everyone still loves them!" kind of way, i get being suspicious of people but they crossed the line into super judgmental, like thats the kind of stuff that leads people to not wanting to recover bc whats the point if everyone just sees you as a criminal anyways no matter how hard you try. and like i said i get the point but they went over board. same with the fireworks. who. the. f. would do that.... like i know she wasnt trying to harm him but like basically laughing at him after? im 24 and thats not funny even if the person wasnt having a war flashback. the more i think of those incidents the less i like this book but granted they werent the main point of the book still going to give it 3 stars.

Suzanne, co-owner of the Cackleberry Club, is taking dinner to her fiance at the hospital when a masked gunman barrels down the hall toward her. He kills the security guard and shoots the receptionist, before Suzanne throws a thermos of chili at him and he takes off. She runs outside after him, but doesn't see or hear anyone running. Suzanne takes it upon herself to figure out who the gunman is, to her own peril.

I have read one other book in the series and enjoyed it, but I feel this was rather lacking. The story starts off very quickly - we are in the hospital with Suzanne right away, facing the masked man. No lead up, just BAM! Which is fine!

But I feel like the book was lacking. Every time I turned around, Suzanne was assuming something and I didn't see where she was coming from. She KNEW the gunman was robbing the pharmacy (a good guess, but in a town with little crime, why would that be her first thought?). She KNEW the cute "boy" from the church was leaving her roses (3 people own the cafe...why did the anonymous rose have to be for her from him?). She KNEW that the house with the cop cars present had to be there due to the shooting at the hospital. I just felt that the audiobook was abridged because it seemed some things were missing. Maybe that was just me. I also wasn't very fond of the characters. Suzanne seemed rather conceited. Toni seemed a flake. And Petra was the church-going uber religious one that was supposed to balance it all out. Maybe if I'd read more in the series, I would've liked it more.

I did enjoy the narration, and felt that she did a good job of changing characters. However that might have been the best part of this book.

A cozy mystery that is action packed right from the start with multiple crimes happening that may or may not be connected, the fabulous cast of characters led by a main character that is intelligent, witty and a strong female is just what you need to pick up for your next entertaining read! While you could absolutely read this book as a stand alone, you would be missing out on tons of back story and entertainment so I really recommend starting with the first book in the series. The excellent news is that the entire series is available via audio book and the narrator does an excellent job of taking the author's well written plot and superbly created characters to the next level and helping breathe life into them! I will now be impatiently awaiting the next book in the series!

This is a light cozy mystery that can be read in a day. It’s pretty predictable, and none of the characters are very complex, but that’s actually the charm of a series like this one. An easy, fun read.

Cute sweet cozy mystery. I jumped in here and hadn't read/listened to the earlier books and while I could have used some more background on characters, it was easy to follow along and enjoy

Laura Childs is the author of three mystery series; one features Theodosia Browning and her tea shop; another is set in New Orleans and has a scrapbook theme, while Egg Shooters is a Cackleberry Club mystery. To be honest, the tea shop stories are my favorite.

In Egg Shooters, one of the three protagonists is at a hospital to visit her doctor fiance when a shooting takes place. The gunman escapes after killing a security card. Suzanne survives and, in the way of amateur detectives, wants to find out what happened. She is helped by friends Toni and Petra.

The narration of the audio book is good. Ms. Boyce has different tones and accents for each of the main characters. The story itself did not completely capture my attention however, Still, for readers who love cozy mysteries, this one may be worth a try.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title. All opinions are my own.

I must confess I am a lover of Laura Child’s cozy mysteries and this one did not disappoint. The audiobook way well read with enough differentiation in the voices to be pleasant without being annoying and as always Ms. Child’s characters were entertaining and enjoyable. I am one who likes to try and figure out “who-done-it” before the end and this one kept me guessing! If you enjoy small-town cozies, this one is a keeper!

This is a book that's part of a series, set in a small midwestern town restaurant. One of the owners, Suzanne, is witness to a gunman robbing the hospital pharmacy and killing a security guard. She gets involved in solving the case, along with her two colleagues at the restaurant. She seems to be, unlike many cozy heroines, fully approved to do so by the town sheriff, which seems a bit odd. This series is supposed to appeal to those who like food, as well as those who are interested in cozy mysteries. However, I found parts of it to be a bit far-fetched and the characters were not all that interesting, rather stereotypical.

I really liked the beginning of this new book in the Cackleberry Club series as it pulled you right into the action that happens when Suzanne is at the hospital delivering a meal to her fiance and encounters a masked gunman. The actions starts quickly with two shootings one of which is fatal. This is the first time I have listened to an audio book from this series and I have to say it changes the feel of the story for me. The characters seemed less diverse when I read this series but listening to it magnified the character traits from the three main characters Suzanne, The character development at the end of the story in the at risk youth was heart warming as was Suzanne's change in feeling toward him. This was an enjoyable audio book.

It has been a few years since the last Cackleberry Club story, but these ladies were as fun and fresh as always. This is the ninth book in the series and even though each mystery is self-contained, you will enjoy this story more if you are familiar with the characters and the journey they have taken together. Egg Shooters starts off with a bang literally, with the shooting at the hospital. He kills the security guard and shoots the receptionist, before Suzanne throws a thermos of chili at him and he takes off. Suzanne chases him, but he has disappeared. Where did he go? It seems like he was robbing the pharmacy and a nurse in that area is also injured. The wife of the victim has asked Suzanne to help solve the crime, so what can she do?

This series has a great cast of characters led by a main character that is intelligent, witty and a strong female protagonist. Suzanne and Toni get into several scrapes while Petra cooks up a storm in the kitchen for the Cackleberry Cafe. I love Sheriff Dougie. I love his "southernisms" and his laid back personality, even though he is pretty smart. The setting is wonderful and I love the quirky town and secondary characters. This story was face paced and well-plotted. Suzanne had some great intuition in this one as she put together motives and suspects. Suzanne's investigation in this one was a bit different from others in this series, as there was a lot of turmoil and emotional distress caused by her questioning and accusations. Once again, there is danger and Suzanne takes some chances that were ill advised, but she comes through unscathed. There are a few side stories in this one, but they all come together in the end with the exciting reveal. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Susan Boyce, a voice actress who narrates a lot of cozy mysteries. She is a narrator who I listen to quite a bit. She does a great job on the voices and expression in the story. She makes books I listen to very enjoyable. I enjoyed this one and recommend this series to those who enjoy cozy mysteries.

I have been a long time fan of Laura Childs and her Indigo Tea Shop series, the Cackleberry Club series is a new one for me and I am pleasantly surprised as to how different this series and the cast of characters are from the tea shop. Suzanne is so level headed, Toni made me laugh, Petra keeps them straight, Sheriff Doogie might be getting slower but he doesn't miss a beat. The narrator did an awesome job with the different voices for each character, I especially liked the Toni character voice. The story starts off with heart stopping action followed by a mysterious secret admirer, and ending with savory foods from the Cackleberry Club Parisian Night meal. Definetly a few red herrings and a well structured story plus I learned what an egg shooter is and morrell mushrooms.

Suzanne makes a trip to the hospital to bring some dinner for her fiancé Sam, when a man comes shooting. Now the ladies of the Cackleberry Club Cafè are putting their mystery solving skills to the test and trying not to be killed themselves. It's a fun easy ride, with a good bit of humor added in.

Egg Shooters by Laura Childs is the 9th book in the Cackleberry Club, and I enjoyed it. I have enjoyed Ms. Childs' Tea Shop Mysteries for years, but had not read this series yet. I believe I would have enjoyed this book more if I have read the previous books, but I kept up pretty well. Suzanne Dietz, co-owner of the Cackleberry Club Cafe takes dinner to her doctor fiance, when the hospital is robbed, and the guard is murdered. Suzanne and the other two owners of Cakleberry are on the case. The three women who own the cafe are so different, but each delightful in their own way. I highly recommend this book to cozy mystery lovers. I am going to read book one next and catch up on this series. I enjoy the narrator, her voice was pleasant and easy to listen to.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.