by Cynthia Chow

Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win a copy of Pop Goes the Murder. We also have a link to order it from Amazon, and from an indie bookstore where a portion goes to help support KRL.

Even before Antoine Belanger fled for his life and abandoned Rebecca Anderson to face down a murderer on her own, she was not exactly thrilled to have her ex-husband back in her life. In an attempt to get back in Rebecca’s good graces, the host of Cooking the Belanger Way is featuring her Grand Lake, Ohio, POPS popcorn shop’s breakfast bars and fudge on his television show. Before the segment can be filmed, Rebecca discovers his assistant Melanie—essentially Rebecca’s younger, prettier, doppelgänger —electrocuted to death in a hotel bathtub. Although Rebecca’s brother-in-law Sheriff Dan Cooper initially suspects it to a result of suicide, her continual questions soon have it declared as a murder. Unfortunately, the following investigation also leads towards evidence implicating Antoine and his eventual arrest.

Already feeling responsible for the filming and the reason Melanie is in Grand Lake in the first place, Rebecca takes on another heap of guilt for her questions that landed Antoine in jail. Rebecca may believe him to be a charming food snob intent on manipulating his way back into her life, but Antoine certainly isn’t a murderer. So despite Dan’s warnings and her own boyfriend Garrett Mills’ jealousy, Rebecca begins tracking down the suspicious lurkers, hiring a ruthlessly competitive attorney, and dodging Antoine’s devoted Belanger Bunnies. Perhaps just as challenging will be coping with her very pregnant sister, whose nesting phase, and organization plans would put a general to shame. Being accessible 24/7 by cell phone may prove as challenging to Rebecca as being forced to make polite small talk with the customers she would rather just get out the door.

It shouldn’t be too surprising that while this is only the second in the Popcorn Shop Mystery series, Kristi Abbott is the author of many novels written as Eileen Rendahl and Eileen Carr. Her writing is uniquely clever and funny, with much of the humor deriving from Rebecca’s observations of absurd humor nature. While mystery aficionados may pinpoint the culprit before the conclusion, there are so many red herrings and false leads that one can never be sure. Rebecca is an unceasingly entertaining and spunky heroine, acting out of overly responsible feelings of guilt. As Rebecca herself admits, her problems generally start with knowing that it’s a bad idea, but doing it anyway. The laughs are clever and often sneak out of nowhere, making this a thrilling and wonderful way to start off the new year.

To enter to win a copy of Pop Goes the Murder, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “pop,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen January 21, 2017. U.S. residents only. If entering via email please include your mailing address, and if via comment please include your email address.

Check out other mystery articles, reviews, book giveaways & short stories in our mystery section.

Click on this link to purchase this book & a portion goes to help support KRL & an indie bookstore Mysterious Galaxy:

Pop Goes the Murder

You can use this link to purchase the book on Amazon. If you have ad blocker on you may not see the link:

Cynthia Chow is the branch manager of Kaneohe Public Library on the island of Oahu. She balances a librarian lifestyle of cardigans and hair buns with a passion for motorcycle riding and regrettable tattoos (sorry, Mom).

Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.