Fruit Cake and Fear by Agatha Frost
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
*~~*ARC kindly provided by the author to me in exchange for an honest review *~~*
The 8th book in the BESTSELLING Peridale Cafe Cozy Mystery series!
A storm hits Peridale with disastrous effects. Barker’s cottage is destroyed, forcing him to move in with Julia, but she has more to worry about than him leaving his socks around and not putting the toilet seat up. Julia is shocked when the storm also uncovers a secret basement underneath her cafe and even more shocked when she finds the body of a teenage girl who has been missing for twenty years.
The cold case team rushes in, pushing Julia out of her cafe and leaving her to unravel the truth of the past one thread at a time. When she realises the girl, Astrid, was the daughter of Evelyn, the eccentric B&B owner, Julia vows to piece together the events that led to Astrid being trapped in a basement for decades. How did the girl die, and more importantly who killed her? Julia hunts for clues to a case the village had almost forgotten about so she can bring Evelyn the peace she deserves, but will she be able to do it in time before somebody she loves suffers a similar fate?
Book 8 in the Peridale Cafe Cozy Mystery series! Can be read as a standalone but will be enjoyed more as part of the series. A light, cozy mystery read with a cat loving and cafe-owning amateur female sleuth, in a small village setting with quirky characters. Written in British English. No cliffhanger, swearing, gore or graphic scenes!
Julia’s birthday could be a nice thing; baking for her beloved ones, celebrating and have a great time. The fact that her birthday is overshaddowed by a literally storm which creates a mess she discovers a hidden basement under her café. Curious but also wondering she explores the depths, and the revealings aren’t pleasant.
Julia and Jesse don’t have easy times in the latest Peridale Cafe Cozy Mystery book, not only is the discovery of the female body in the basement a shocking news, the fact that Barker has to move in to the two women is not an overly joy.
The crime case around the young girl, Astrid, was really great told and again the reader got a solid investigation. The twist in the case, the revealings and the hidden secrets of character you knew from other books give the thrill, they also show the dark sides of the character.
Although it’s a pretty disturbing and tragic case the book is filled with the well-known humor, the wit and the banter. The fact that Barker has to move to Julia’s house isn’t a start of a honeymoon season. Jesse isn’t happy with the new arrangements though she likes Barker and even Julia has hard times endure her lover and boyfriend.
I really liked the bonds which were strengthen, the interactions were charming.
At the end there was a shocking twist in the book but the crime case could be solved and the danger could be prevented.
Again a great, solid read. Julia, Jessie and Barker grow more and more into a family and the end of the book was kinda surprising but also pretty sweet. :3 5 out of 5 stars for this. 🙂
Mikku-chan 