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Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
Raisin The Dead is the 2nd book in the Bread and Batter Mystery Series by Karoline Barrett. Even though I have not read the first book in the series, I didn't feel at all lost or that I was missing information from the first book.
Molly, co-owner of the bakery, Bread and Batter, is surprised to find her mother, Anne, on the front page of the local paper. There's a picture of her in a romantic restaurant with a member of the library advisory board, Philip Baldeli. Anne, who is the library director, has been working on an expansion project for the library which has the town divided. What's even more surprising, and most troubling, is that a few days later, Philip turns up dead and Anne becomes a 'person of interest' in the case.
Molly's love interest, Detective Sean Corsino, is in a difficult position. He's involved with the daughter of the person he must begin investigating. But he's determined to keep everything professional and by the book. Molly is determined to help clear her mother's name, even if she's getting nowhere pumping Sean for information or not. She must ramp up her investigation when Sean is injured on the job. Can Molly and her business partner, Olivia, find the clues they need to finally clear Anne?
A lot of the book is focusing on the romance between Molly and Sean and the difficulties they encounter. Sean's ex sister-in-law is in town and causing trouble between them (she's the twin sister of his deceased wife) and he needs to interview Molly's mother as a person of interest in the murder. To me, it focused a bit too much on the romance and not enough on the mystery. Some people like a bit more romance in their cozies and if that's something you enjoy then I believe this book is for you! She didn't seem to spend much time in her bakery which really could be a source of information and gossip from the folks in town while providing some character development for secondary characters for upcoming books.
I really wanted to like this book more than I do. Don't get me wrong, I did like it, I needed a bit more mystery though. There are some fun characters and good moments in the book, but there are parts of Molly's character I just didn't like. I think I would class this more of a romance with a bit of mystery rather than a full out cozy, but that's just my opinion. It's still a good story with some very enjoyable characters and I really like their town, Destiny. I haven't given up on this series by any means, I plan on reading the first in the series and the next to see what develops next for these characters.
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