Mini Book Review: The Crepes of Wrath by Sarah Fox

Title: The Crepes of Wrath (A Pancake House Mystery #1)
Author: Sarah Fox
Genres: Mystery| Cozy
Print length: 240 pages
Publisher: Alibi
Publication date: August 16, 2016
Source: NetGalley
Format: e-galley
Author website: http://www.authorsarahfox.com/

In the debut of a delightful cozy mystery series, Sarah Fox introduces a charming new heroine who finds herself in a sticky situation: stacking pancakes, pouring coffee, and investigating murder. 

When Marley McKinney’s aging cousin, Jimmy, is hospitalized with pneumonia, she agrees to help run his pancake house while he recovers. With its rustic interior and syrupy scent, the Flip Side Pancake House is just as she pictured it—and the surly chef is a wizard with crêpes. Marley expects to spend a leisurely week or two in Wildwood Cove, the quaint, coastal community where she used to spend her summers, but then Cousin Jimmy is found murdered, sprawled on the rocks beneath a nearby cliff. 

After she stumbles across evidence of stolen goods in Jimmy’s workshop, Marley is determined to find out what’s really going on in the not-so-quiet town of Wildwood Cove. With help from her childhood crush and her adopted cat, Flapjack, Marley sinks her teeth into the investigation. But if she’s not careful, she’s going to get burned by a killer who’s only interested in serving up trouble. Goodreads

My Review: A very fun and easy read. I love the setting, particularly the Flip Side Pancake House, and there's a decent cast of characters. I'm not particularly enamored of either of Marley's potential love interests, but I'm very happy to see a protagonist that doesn't make the usual "Too Stupid To Live" mistakes that you see way too often (I'm looking at you, Hannah Swensen). I also enjoyed that she had some difficult, real-life decisions to make.

The story is definitely flawed, with a few things that don't quite add up, but it's a strong enough first book that I'd like to read more.

Rating: 4/5

Thirsty Thursdays and Hungry Hearts #6 - The Crepes of Wrath by Sarah Fox

Hosted by Lexxie @ (un)Conventional Bookviews

Thirsty Thursdays & Hungry Hearts is a weekly meme where I share super tasty quotes from my weekly reads.

This week's selection is from The Crepes of Wrath by Sarah Fox. 

Marley McKinney is having a hell of a week. Soon after her cousin Jimmy, owner of The Flip Side Pancake House, is murdered, she arrives at the pancake house to get some work done and is interrupted by a late-night intruder. She escapes to a nearby friend's home and returns with the police. Her intruder was obviously looking for something, as the office is completely trashed when they check the premises.

She now has the tiresome and emotionally exhausting task of sorting through the office debris. But to get through this, she needs a good meal...

I perked up a bit after sipping strong tea while getting ready to open The Flip Side for its Sunday morning customers, but the tangled mystery occupying my mind didn’t release its grip on my thoughts. When the brunch crowd thinned out, I escaped to the office and resumed the task of cleaning up the mess of papers the intruder had left behind. 

Although I made good progress with sorting through the jumble and returning piles of documents to the filing cabinet, I still didn’t find any clues pointing to the reason for the search of the office. After more than an hour of working away in the back room, Leigh appeared at the open door, bearing a plate of asparagus mushroom crêpes. 

“Ivan sent these along with orders to eat up,” she said as she set the plate on the desk. “He thinks you look like you need some good fuel today.” 

“He said that?” I sank into the desk chair and the delicious aroma of the savory crêpes wafted up to meet my nose. 

“Actually, all he said was ‘make sure she eats them,’ but I’ve learned to read between his sparse lines over the years.” 

“Eating them won’t be a problem.” I’d already picked up the knife and fork Leigh had brought with the plate. “How are things out there? Do you need my help?” 

“Business is steady but not too busy at the moment. I can take care of it.” 

“Thanks, Leigh,” I said as she left the office. 

As she disappeared around the corner, I took my first bite of the asparagus mushroom crêpes and savored it before chewing and swallowing. Ivan really did have a gift. His dishes were never anything but scrumptious, and somehow he’d known exactly what I needed. By the time I’d cleaned the plate, I’d gained some much-needed energy. After delivering my plate and cutlery to the kitchen and thanking Ivan for the delicious meal, I donned my apron and joined Leigh out front.

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I love crepes. I love mushrooms. And asparagus is my favorite vegetable. I think I know what I'm making for lunch on Sunday...

Do you guys prefer sweet or savory crepes?