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–Synopsis–

When Julia South receives an invitation to a lavish garden party at her estranged father’s manor, she expects an awkward family reunion, not murder. But the celebration takes a deadly turn when a guest is flung from an upstairs window. With rumours swirling, all eyes turn to Julia to investigate.

She finds herself embroiled in family drama, navigating a blossoming romance with Detective Inspector Barker Brown, and puzzling over her young lodger Jessie’s strange sleepwalking. Determined to uncover the truth, Julia pursues every clue, uncovering secrets that could destroy her family.

To crack the case before the killer strikes again, Julia must untangle a web of lies and deceit. But with members of her own family under suspicion, will she uncover a truth too painful to accept?

–Review–

To preface, this is the first review in which I am pretty critical about a book. I am not meaning anything I say as disrespectful to anyone, let alone the author. I have respect for anyone who has the gift and drive to write and publish a book, let alone a whole series.

The second installment in the Peridale Cafe Mystery series was unfortunately not as enjoyable to me as the first one. This time, the story is completely in Julia’s perspective which makes sense due to her romance with Barker taking even more of a backseat. I thought the characters in this book felt very one-dimensional particularly with Barker and pretty much every new character that is introduced this time around. The trope of Julia discovering leads just due to being in the right place at the most opportune time, was present again in this one. It is starting to become a whole genre in of itself lol

The baking aspect that I enjoyed so much in the previous book was downgraded this go around. It felt as though Jessie’s character was only created in order for the author to focus more heavily on the murder mystery plotline. That would not have bothered me nearly as much if Julia did not have such an emotional attachment to baking due to her deceased mother. It felt like that whole backstory including Julia’s established motivations for the cafe were thrown out the window (pun intended).

Julia, yet again taking the law into her own hands with the murder investigation, actually gets herself into some serious trouble with all her meddling; life threatening trouble and honestly, I did not feel the slightest bit sorry for her. Her attitude throughout this book was getting more and more ridiculous. She takes every opportunity to remind the reader how nosy and overbearing the community is but then has the audacity to invite herself into people’s homes and quite frankly, act as though she owns the place. She also chooses to be noncommittal about certain aspects involving her relationship with Barker and some aspects involving Jessie that ended up being kind of serious. Basically, Julia is beginning to rub me the wrong way.

I found that I cared less about the romantic subplot in this book. There is an attempt to develop Julia’s and Barker’s relationship but ultimately nothing changes. While still being glad they are taking their relationship slow, I was starting to get annoyed at how little Julia seems to care. She has yet to come clean to Barker that she is going through a divorce even though he asks her about any other potential relationships pretty directly. I began to question Julia’s intentions of even getting involved with Barker in the first place.

Speaking of Barker, I found him to be akin to a doormat in this one. Knowing he could literally lose his career if anyone found out about Julia’s vigilante habits, he sure was laid back about the whole ordeal. He seems to still care greatly about Julia even though she is stalling and not really committing to their relationship. It makes me feel sorry for him a bit. Also similar to the first book, it feels as though he clings to one or two clues and jumps to the conclusion of who he thinks committed the murder. This series is two for two of innocent people getting arrested for the murders they did not commit! He is starting to feel very unprofessional.

Jessie was another character that I did not care for too much. I understand she was homeless and has this tragic backstory but her ungrateful demeanor when it comes to Julia was ridiculous. This woman literally gave you a job and a place to sleep that wasn’t in a back alley and the sarcasm and her snootiness was almost unbearable. Her behavior towards Julia’s family was basically the same and it just came off as very disrespectful and I did not appreciate that.

I apologize for complaining this entire time so I will refocus on the positives.

The desserts that were being baked I enjoyed. It was refreshing to reconnect with the original in that regard. As well as the extra little bit of the town the reader got to experience. I love the idea of the town opening up more and more with each installment along with the introduction of new members of the community. The humor I thought was pretty decent throughout the book, even causing me to chuckle with some of the dialogue and internal thoughts of Julia. This sequel is still quite fast-paced so it is an easier read you could get through in one sitting. Another aspect I enjoyed was Julia’s relationship with her dad by the end of the book. Regardless of their rocky past, there seemed to be an attempt made by her father to reconnect and rekindle their relationship. That would be an aspect I would love to see further explored in the future books.

This review has felt more like a hit piece but honestly, I am going to have to take a break from continuing this series. I REALLY wanted to love this one like I did the first, but it felt like the same formula, with less reader intrigue and a disconnect from the story as a whole.

-About the Author-

Agatha lives in the North West English county of Lancashire with her two cuddly beagles and one cat.

When Agatha isn’t writing, she loves reading head-scratching mysteries and thrillers, coffee, baking, and exploring her local countryside on long dog walks.

From a young age, Agatha devoured the great British murder mystery books and television shows, ample inspiration for her Peridale Café and Claire’s Candles series. She loves writing about family women who juggle their ordinary village lives with the challenges of amateur sleuthing.

Add in some good food, close friends and family, cute pets, and plenty of twists and turns, and you have a classic Agatha Frost mystery.

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