Sunday, September 2, 2018

"A Caffeine Conundrum" by Angela Ruth Strong--Book Review


About the Book
Solving a murder mystery is harder when you don't trust your partner...or their taste in beverages.

Sassy city girl Tandy Brandt moves to the small town of Grace Springs to start a coffee shop, never imagining she'll be competing with local beauty queen Marissa Alexander and her dream of running a tea house. Unfortunately, the current store owner dies before selling the location to either of them, and they both become murder suspects.

The unlikely pair team up in an attempt to discover the real killer, though with the secrets in Tandy's past and Marissa's infamous clumsiness, they could be their own worst enemies. Despite their differences, they follow clues to question a sweet, apple pie baking antique store owner, a GQ Santa in the retirement center, and a hipster millionaire with no social skills. Will they be able to figure out whodunit and prove their innocence before one of them goes to jail...or worse? 


My Thoughts
"A Caffeine Conundrum" is the first in a new series called "CaFUNated Mystery". Tandy Brandt and Marissa Alexander are completely different than each other, but I found them both to be likable and believable. I could see the book play out in my mind as a movie and I often laughed at Marissa's clumsiness. As Tandy and Marissa team up to solve who committed murder, they get themselves into some scraps and go on adventures. The list of suspects is long and varied and they investigate them all. I think that the mystery was well done, although I did actually figure out "who done it" almost right away, but not because it was easy to figure out, but rather that I made a random guess and it turned out to be correct. I still didn't know the motivation behind the murder, though, so that was a surprise. I was pleased to see both of the main characters experience growth in their lives. There was a touch of romance included to make me like the book even more. I enjoyed all the pop culture references, but I'm not sure if someone younger than me (like my daughters) would get them all. I look forward to reading the next book book in the series and learning more about Tandy, Marissa, Connor, and Greg.



"A Caffeine Conundrum" is available in paperback:
  • Series: The CafFunated Myteries (Book 1)
  • Paperback: 276 pages
  • Publisher: Mountain Brook Ink (August 27, 2018)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1943959471
  • ISBN-13: 978-1943959471
  • Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.6 x 8.5 inches

and in Kindle edition: 
  • File Size: 3087 KB
  • Print Length: 227 pages
  • Publisher: Mountain Brook Ink (September 1, 2018)
  • Publication Date: September 1, 2018
  • Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B07FRXWSVM


I got a free copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own and given voluntarily. No compensation was received for my review.

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