Saturday, January 11, 2020

#Book #Review ~ Pop Goes the Murder (Popcorn Shop Mystery, Book #2) by Kristi Abbott ~ #CozyMystery @EileenRendahl @Berkley


Book Details:

Series: A Popcorn Shop Mystery (Book 2)
Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Berkley
Publish Date: January 3, 2017
ISBN-10: 0425280926
ISBN-13: 978-0425280928
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2QIK2Mv

About the Book:

Gourmet popcorn entrepreneur Rebecca Anderson and her poodle, Sprocket, are back on the case, in the second Popcorn Shop Mystery from the author of Kernel of Truth.

Despite Rebecca Anderson’s best efforts to distance herself from her ex-husband, the guy keeps popping up. When Antoine offers to feature her breakfast bars and popcorn fudge on his popular cooking show, she suspects he’s once again trying to butter her up—but the TV exposure for her gourmet popcorn shop, POPS, is too good to turn down.

Things take a shocking turn when the crew comes to Grand Lake to film in her shop, and Rebecca discovers Antoine’s assistant electrocuted in a hotel bathtub. Now the police want Antoine to come clean. Her ex may be a pain, but he’s no killer. So Rebecca decides to bag the real culprit. If she isn’t careful, however, she may be the next one getting burned.


Rebecca cannot seem to shake her ex-husband. She left California for Ohio, providing a very large chunk of the U.S. between them. Unfortunately, he just can’t leave her alone. He shows up in Ohio wanting to feature her popcorn shop on his wildly popular cooking show. Of course, Antoine has ulterior motives, but Rebecca would be remiss in her duties if she let such a fantastic opportunity for her shop and her town slip through her fingers.

When the crew lands in Ohio to begin setting up for the filming, Antoine’s right-hand woman, Melanie, is found dead in the tub in her hotel room. Antoine is implicated, and eventually, arrested for Melanie’s death. Antoine may be a lot of things, but Rebecca knows a murderer is not one of them. She takes it upon herself to figure out who had it in for Melanie and was willing to let Antoine take the fall for the murder.

With a lot of hard work and effort, Rebecca turns up several potential suspects that keeps the reader guessing around every turn. Even with all the potential suspects and their solid means and motives, I still figured out who was responsible for Melanie’s murder long before the climactic scene dramatic reveal. The knowledge didn't detract from the story at all.

The world building is wonderful, and I felt like I was in the story. The author continues character development, providing more details about Rebecca, Garrett, Antoine, Dan, and Haley. Rebecca is becoming more comfortable, has wonderful friends, and a great boyfriend. The absolute last thing she needs is her ex-husband following her around, or the death of one of his crew members to prolong his stay. That sounds a bit insensitive to the death of Melanie and that is unintentional. Rebecca’s insistence on helping prove Antoine’s innocence goes beyond the normal expectations of former spouses.

I enjoyed Pop Goes the Murder. The characters are fun, the mystery is creative, and I love the small-town setting and Rebecca’s popcorn shop.

My review copy came from my public library’s interlibrary loan program.

My Rating:


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