I guessed the killer after a little more then 1/4 of the novel but I really enjoyed the story.

Character List
Toni - skinny hips, wearing an AC/DC concert Tshirt and tight jeans, her reddish blond frizzled hair pulled on top of her head like a show pony. Toni was pretty hot stuff. Toni, as waitress supreme, Toni led the book club on Tuesday nights.

Petra was short-order cook, Petra taught Hooked on Wool classes, Petra was smart, intuitive, and a calming influence. With her bright brown eyes and kindly, square jawed face, she was always quick with a smile. And though her body was full figured, it was still curvy in all the right places.
Husband Donny in nursing home

Suzanne Deitz, as one part inventory manager, one part marketing guru, and one part majordomo, ran herd on the rest of the place.
Walter husband dead


Mike Mullen, their neighbor down the road who owned a herd, cheddar cheese produced by

Bobby Waite came ambling in. Bobby was Kindred’s most popular attorney

Kindred, with its dairy farms, boutique cheese makers, and organic farms

Teddy Harlingen was a World War II vet, Teddy’s mind had slipped a few cogs
Son Garland

Sheriff Roy Doogie, look of earnestness on his doughy face.

Vern Manchester. Vern was a local real estate developer

Junior Garrett Toni yelled back at the husband she hadn’t seen hide nor hair of in three whole months.

Charlie Pepper, one of her egg producers

Gene Oandle is on the phone.” Gene was the head reporter, the only reporter really, for Kindred’s weekly paper, the Bugle.

Root 66 Hair Salon. It was run by Gregg and Brett, two gay guys

Melissa Langston hurrying toward her. Known to everyone as Missy, she was Bobby Waite’s administrative assistant and a member of the town council

Ozzie Driesden was the local undertaker, Missy’s sweetheart.

Carmen Copeland, who was a very successful romance writer., Bobby's wife,

Heather King’s gonna do Mystery Book Club in the Knitting Nest. Anyway, once discussions are under way

religious commune out on Sinkhole Road? Neukommen Following? The man who heads it, Claes Elam

Joey Ewald showing up to bus tables. Joey, who had a screaming eagle tattoo and more silver in his pierced ears

Dale Huffington was a behemoth of a man, one of the locals who worked at the Jasper Creek Prison

Lester Drummond, the prison warden

Tom Lyons, assistant state attorney general.” ( )

I've enjoyed other series written by this author. This series--well, let's just say that if another book in the series happened to cross my path, I would read it, but I won't put effort out to find the next book in the series to read.

I never felt like I got to know any of the 3 ladies who make up the core of the Cackleberry Club. With such an eclectic mix of ideas under the same roof, it probably would have made more sense to give each of the 3 ladies a different passion and indicate that their friendship made them all agree to help each other out with their ventures. For example, have one be the main driving force behind the restaurant/tea room (and recipes and cake contest and baked goods sales) with the others helping out. Have another be an avid knitter/crocheter/crafter and be in charge of the yarn area (and the one wanting to use the unused nook for displaying local crafts). Have the third be an avid reader and be the driving force behind the book nook area.

As it was, all three seemed stretched too thin with all these enterprises. Suzanne seems constantly getting pulled off the busy restaurant floor to go ring up customers in the book or yarn shops. It's a wonder she has time to investigate murders, a commune, her late husband's supposed kickbacks, and all the rest.

Suzanne seems to be the building/land owner, the one who sources their local suppliers, and the one who decides what to order for the book area as well as arranging that area. Petra seems to be the one most often in the restaurant kitchen cooking (though all 3 show up in the kitchen from time to time) but yet all 3 seem to contribute recipes. (To me it would make more sense to usually have Petra coming up with the recipes with occasional tweaks suggested by the others and perhaps an occasional recipe contributed by the other two women or by a customer or by the culinary student they have on staff.) I haven't quite figured out Toni yet.

All three women seemed to blend together for me. Suzanne was more forefront in this book, so I do remember that she's widowed and that her late husband was a doctor. One of the other two is married to Junior (but I couldn't tell you which one off the top of my head, just like I couldn't tell you which one was talking about yarn.)

I can certainly appreciate the drive to keep a business afloat. We aren't really told much about the rest of the town. Are there other businesses? Do any of them compete with Cackleberry Club? Where do residents buy groceries? Is it in town or do they have to go to another town or do all of them do local sourcing like Suzanne does? Is there another bookstore or craft store in town? If not, perhaps the Cackleberry Club is trying to serve a purpose for Kindred residents by having a little bit of everything or by having a place for locals to sell things like baked goods, jellies, crafts, etc.

The book starts with Suzanne finding the first victim, literally with egg on his face, and ends with a figurative egg on the face when a woman who requested Suzanne leave a board position and snarkily remarks an apology probably won't be forthcoming ends up being the spouse of the real kickback taker.

The included recipes aren't ones I'd try since I'm not an egg fan. The spinach strawberry salad sounded good but I'd have to make some substitutions for the dressing for the salad if I was ever to try making it. ( )

I really liked this book. Suzanne Deitz is a recent widow. She turned the local service station into "The Cackleberry Club". It is restaurant, book store, knitting store, meeting place in the community. Together with Toni and Petra, they run the place. Suzanne's lawyer, Bobby Waite, stops by one morning for her to sign some documents and is found by Suzanne later in the day, shot dead in his car in her parking lot. The next day, she stumbles into a car chase where another local is killed. Sherriff Doogie starts to investigate and riles up a lot of the townspeople. As the investigation continues, Suzanne finds out that Bobby's office has been broken into and 3 files, one on her husband, one the local cult and the last a woman named Lidia, have been stolen. Suzanne begins to investigate and gets involved in a rescue of a cult member. Meanwhile, the town council, led by the mayor inform Suzanne that her late husband was involved in a 4 million dollar kickback when the prison was built in their county. Suzanne now has 3 separate investigations going on that she seems to think are all tied together. Some twists and turns, lots of down home cooking and small town comraderie. I am definitely going to read the next one in this series. ( )

Sometimes you find a book that really speaks to you, and this is one of those. Suzanne, Toni, and Petra are three unique ladies, who are so different, but yet so alike who are desperately looking for new beginnings. They combine their skills, talents, hopes, and dreams by opening their own cafe the Cackleberry Club. When someone is murdered and their livelihood, the cafe, is threatened the ladies are looking for a killer. Enter a religious cult and Suzanne's past, the element for disaster is impending. The events that transpire provide an exciting read. This trio of ladies and supporting cast will have you begging for the next book.
( )

This book was okay. I felt like a lot was crammed into this story and I wonder if all the Cackleberry books will be the same. ( )