Tuesday, May 31, 2022

Review: Spilled Milk (Barks & Beans Cafe Cozy Mystery #4) by Heather Day Gilbert

About the Book
Welcome to the Barks & Beans Cafe, a quaint place where folks pet shelter dogs while enjoying a cup of java...and where murder sometimes pays a visit.

The fall flea market has arrived in Macy's small mountain town, and she's taking a day off work to check out the local wares. As she and her Great Dane, Coal, wander through the booths, Macy's more than a little taken aback to discover that her enigmatic tattooed barista, Kylie, is selling antique weapons at the event.

She's even more shocked when Coal sniffs out a dead body...and the man appears to have been struck down by one of Kylie's swords.

As rumors begin to circulate, the Barks & Beans Cafe also takes a hit. Customers are reluctant to order their mochas from a murderess. Macy stands by her employee, but even she believes there's a whole lot more to Kylie's history than the woman lets on. To make matters worse, Macy's brother Bo is out of the country, leaving the cafe's future in her hands.

And then her ex-husband Jake shows up, begging to make amends.

With the past rearing its ugly head, Macy has to ignore Jake's distractions, appease the angst of her nervous customers, and convince Kylie to trust her, all before an elusive killer strikes again.

Join siblings Macy and Bo Hatfield as they sniff out crimes in their hometown...with plenty of dogs along for the ride! The Barks & Beans Cafe cozy mystery series features a small town, an amateur sleuth, and no swearing or graphic scenes.


MY THOUGHTS

I started reading this immediately after finishing the previous book. I rarely do that. I usually need to switch up genres after every book, but I can't get enough of this series. I kinda wish I could live in these books, lol. The characters, the dogs, the whole atmosphere is just so great! Plus, it's so much fun trying to solve the mysteries right alongside Macy.

This story's intriguing mystery found Kylie, one of the Barks & Beans employees, as the prime suspect. And I've gotta say, I was so surprised by the reveal. I really enjoyed getting to know Kylie better too. She's been pretty closed off, so it was nice to see her open up some more.

I did miss Bo in this book. For the majority of the time, he's off tending to something else. Something very important, but I did miss him, all the same. Other than that, this was another fantastic addition to the series and I'm looking forward to checking out the next book.

FOUR STARS

4 comments:

  1. A flea market, antique weapons and dogs! All fun things in my book. I need to ask my library to buy this series. :)

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    1. I hope your library is able to get it! It's such a fun series! :)

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  2. I have several of he books that I want to read but have not read her yet! I need to remedy that soon!

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    1. I think you'll really enjoy her books. I've loved everything I've read by her. :)

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