delightful cozy, the first of a series that I hope to enjoy more of. ( )

When Rebecca is making caramel topping one morning, she hears someone screaming and runs next door to find her friend Coco's niece Jessica. When Rebecca investigates further, she sees that Coco is dead. Now Rebecca wants to find who killed her friend, and why. But doing so could put her in more danger than she realizes...

I really wanted to like this book, I really did. It had a different premise and I liked that. The first sentence should have been a precursor to the rest of the book. But it wasn't. I just didn't think much after that was believable.

First, this is a cozy mystery, and this woman swears like a sailor. I know it doesn't bother some people, but I really don't care for cozies where the protagonist is throwing out cuss words like yesterday's trash. Personal opinion, people.

I also didn't understand a popcorn shop that was open for breakfast. Who buys popcorn for breakfast? What popcorn shop sells coffee? They sell specialized popcorn and sodas. That's pretty much it. And if I found one that did sell coffee, I sure wouldn't eat there. A substantial breakfast is so much better for you than a sweet popcorn bar. I really can't imagine - unless there's no diners in this town - that it would be as popular as indicated. Popcorn shops are specialized shops, not restaurants. Then, have you ever eaten a popcorn ball? They're nasty, sticky things and you're picking popcorn out of your teeth constantly. I would have believed it if she sold specialized cones, tins, or bags of popcorn instead - because that's what popcorn shops sell.

Then, when the rumor started that she killed Coco, this town was awfully quick to believe it. I would hope that if it came down to it, they'd try her in another city, because she sure couldn't get a fair shake here. What happened to innocent until proven guilty? I guess if she hadn't done stupid things, it might have been easier on her, but since I didn't like her anyway - she was snarky and nasty - it really didn't matter. Her husband probably didn't pay any attention to her because of the snark. Who wants to spend time around someone like that? I sure don't.

But the last was the animal cruelty. I don't believe in it, and I certainly don't believe it's necessary in a cozy. It wasn't necessary here. There are several other ways that the scene could have been handled without the animal cruelty. I will never read a book by an author who does this without a very good reason - and there wasn't one here.

In the end, we already knew who killed Coco practically from the beginning, and throughout the book it was proven time and again, so no surprise there. Unfortunately, there just wasn't a lot for me to recommend this book. I won't be reading this author again. Sorry. ( )

I adore the dog, Sprocket...he is a hoot. The heroine is interesting and her problems with her town is a new twist. It looks like I have a new series to follow. I can practically smell the carmel and popcorn and fudge ( )

Rebecca Anderson left the small town of Grand Lake, Ohio in highschool and never looked back, that is until she divorced her celebrity chef husband. She returned with her tail between her legs and moved into the garage apartment of her sister and BFF Dan. Her mentor, the person she worked for in highschool, and the one person who welcomed her back, Cordelia (Coco) Bittles, helped her to open her own popcorn shop. When Coco's body is discovered in her shop by he niece, Jessica, she screams so loud that Rebecca runs over to see what is going on. Rebecca can not let this go without sticking her nose in and helping to find the killer.

Rebecca and Jessica have had a rough relationship since childhood with Jessica causing problems and Rebecca taking the blame for it. It seems everyone in town thinks Jessica is an angel, with only Rebecca and a few others understanding that Jessica is not as she seems. We meet Dan, Rebecca's best friend since grade school and brother in law, who is also the town's sheriff. He has to make difficult decisions about arresting Rebecca when the situation gets tough. Dan's friend, Garrett, is Rebecca's attorney and potential love interest. Remaining family and friends plus the local shop keepers all help to round out a great story. We can't forget Rebecca's poodle, Sprocket, who plays a large part in the investigation as well.

Jessica plans to sell her aunt's store and secret fudge recipe in secret. Rebecca is determined to prove that Coco and her were planning to start a new business and that Coco was planning to change her will as well as trying to figure out who killed Coco. Rebecca's investigation ends her up in trouble and she has to call on Garrett for help. Some of the situations are pretty funny, but everytime something happens, more townspeople support Jessica with Rebecca losing business and friends. I figured out who the killer was pretty early on and even though I thought I couldn't be correct, I was. That is the reason why I only gave the book 3 stars. I kept thinking, how can the police be that dumb. There are recipes at the back of the book that might be worth a try if you like popcorn.
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Rebecca Anderson's returned to her hometown of Grand Lake, Ohio after a failed marriage to a celebrity chef. She has opened Pop a popcorn shop with the help of her mentor Coco Bittles. When Coco's body is discovered in her shop by her niece, Jessica and then by Rebecca, it begins the investigation into finding Coco's killer.

Each of the characters is well thought out and introduced in a memorable way. As is too often in a lot of other books the characters seem to be thrown at the reader and you then have a hard time figuring out who they are and how they seem to relate to the story. That's not the case with this book. We learn information including tidbits from their past about each character, which helps to see them as they are today.

Rebecca and Jessica have a rough relationship that goes back to childhood with Jessica creating havoc and Rebecca taking all the blame for it. We meet Dan, Rebecca's best friend and brother in law who is also happens to be the town's sheriff. He has to make a very difficult decisions about arresting Rebecca, when the situation calls for it. Dan's friend, Garrett, is Rebecca's attorney and potential love interest. Rebecca's poodle Sprocket also plays a big part in the investigation. Rebecca's remaining family and friends and other towns people all help to round out a great story.

Jessica is very determined to prove that Rebecca killed Coco so she can steal secret fudge recipe. Rebecca in turn wants to prove that she and Coco were going in on a joint business plan that wouldn't include Jessica, while trying to find the real murderer of Coco.
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