Spring has sprung in the charming tourist town of Fredericksburg, Texas, and one of the tastiest attractions is a trip to Tally’s Old Tyme Sweets—until a bizarre burglary leaves a bitter aftertaste . . .
Tally Holt is thrilled to see her new replicas of vintage sweets displayed in the window of Bella’s Baskets, a gift basket shop owned by her friend, Yolanda Bella. There’s just one problem—the creations appear to be melting. The ladies assume the culprit is the broiling heat of the Texas sun—until that night, the store window is smashed, and there’s only one thing missing: the replicas.
Tally is positively stumped. Clearly, the useless fake candies are more special than she bargained for—but why? When a rash of seemingly unrelated burglaries sweeps through the area, Tally is determined to sleuth out the answer—and stop a thief from killing more than the town’s appetite . . .
It wasn't until I started reading this that I realized this was book 3 and I haven't read the other 2 books. So I would say it would've helped a bit to read the earlier books, but only to help understand and "know" the characters, but it didn't hinder being able to follow along with the events in this book.
But all that aside, this was an enjoyable and light cozy mystery. I enjoyed the plot; smuggling and burglary isn't one I usually see in a cozy, so it was a nice change and added lots of intrigue. The change in viewpoints wasn't confusing at all, I didn't find it difficult to switch between Tally and Yo, as it was very well delinated and the "tone" did change well enough that you could tell them apart.
What I liked best is you knew the who but not the how, so it was great fun following Yolanda and Tilly as they followed the clues and the ending made for a satisfying read.
I'll go back and read the first two books at some point, and I'm looking forward to spending more time in Fredricksburg, TX with the gang.
Thank you to Netgalley and Kensington book for an advance copy to read and review.
Reading updates
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Started reading
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15 April, 2021:
Finished reading
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15 April, 2021:
Reviewed