Review + Tour GIVEAWAY: Southern Sass and Killer Cravings by Kate Young

Southern Sass and Killer Cravings
By Kate Young
Marygene Brown Mysteries #1
Kensington, 2019


Summary

Life has always been sweet on Georgia’s Peach Cove Island, but a case of murder has Marygene Brown down in the pits...

For generations, the women of the Brown family on Peach Cove Island have been known for their Southern sass and sweet homemade desserts at their beloved Peach Diner. Since their mother’s passing two years ago, Marygene has been stuck in Atlanta while her sister Jena Lynn has been running the family business. Now Marygene has left her husband and returned to her hometown, where she can almost feel Mama’s presence.

But all is not peachy back home. Marygene has barely tied on an apron when a diner regular drops dead at the counter. When it turns out the old man’s been poisoned, Jena Lynn is led away in handcuffs and the family eatery is closed. Now, to save her sister and the diner, Marygene must find the real killer. With some startling assistance from her Mama’s spirit, Marygene will be serving up a special order of just desserts...

Includes Seven Recipes from Marygene’s Kitchen!

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My thoughts

Southern Sass and Killer Cravings by Kate Young is a delightfully funny cozy mystery full of the southern charm and sass promised in the title. The writing is conversational and flows at a steady pace. I’m sure I had a smile on my face much of the time and I enjoyed this story very much.

Southern fiction is one of my favorite genres, and that this story is set on an island off the coast of Georgia, my home state, is icing on the cake. From Peach Cove island to the characters – immediate family, extended family and friends – the southern ambiance is spot on.

It was strange how something you’d run from your

entire life could feel like a comfy fit in the end.

The story opens as Marygene returns home after walking out of an abusive marriage, and family relationships quick come into play. There’s even a slight supernatural element as the deceased Mama shows up with warnings occasionally, but it works well with this story. And the family restaurant, The Peach Diner! I’d love to visit and enjoy some of its appealing dishes, especially after Marygene had doctored them up with her talent for knowing exactly what they needed.

There’s good character depth and a complexity to the mystery itself that I loved. It wasn’t so much about trying to figure out the murder’s identity, although I was never sure until the end, but rather the gradual revealing of how and why that made for captivating reading. I love these characters and the Peach Cove setting, and look forward to more adventures in this series.

The only element that detracted from an otherwise engaging read was the unnecessary use of profanity.

I received a copy of this book through Great Escapes. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

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Kate Young writes humorous southern mystery novels. She is a member of Sisters in Crime and the Guppy Chapter. 

Kate lives in a small town in Georgia with her husband, three kids, and Shih Tzu. When she is not writing her own books, she’s reading or cooking.

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GIVEAWAY

A PRE-ORDER CONTEST with fabulous prizes – a Coach Bag with matching wristlet and $120 in gift cards plus autographed copies of the book (total value of $550)!

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Kate Young's Giveaway