Review: Well Read, Then Dead (A Read 'Em and Eat Mystery #1) by Terrie Farley Moran + Guest Post

Well Read, Then Dead (A Read 'Em and Eat Mystery #1) by Terrie Farley Moran

Published August 5th 2014 by Berkley

Paperback, 304 pages

Series: A Read 'Em and Eat Mystery

Genre: Cozy-Mystery

Source:  I got a copy of this book from the publisher  in exchange of an honest review.
Amazon | Goodreads

Summary from Goodreads

First in a new series!

Nestled in the barrier islands of Florida’s Gulf Coast, Fort Myers Beach is home to Mary “Sassy” Cabot and Bridget Mayfield—owners of the bookstore café, Read ’Em and Eat. But when they’re not dishing about books or serving up scones, Sassy and Bridgy are keeping tabs on hard-boiled murder.

Read ’Em and Eat is known for its delicious breakfast and lunch treats, along with quite a colorful clientele. If it’s not Rowena Gustavson loudly debating the merits of the current book club selection, it’s Miss Augusta Maddox lecturing tourists on rumors of sunken treasure among the islands. It’s no wonder Sassy’s favorite is Delia Batson, a regular at the Emily Dickinson table. Augusta’s cousin and best friend Delia is painfully shy—which makes the news of her murder all the more shocking.

No one is more distraught than Augusta, and Sassy wants to help any way she can. But Augusta doesn’t have time for sympathy. She wants Delia’s killer found—and she’s not taking no for an answer. Now Sassy is on the case, and she’d better act fast before there’s any more trouble in paradise.

Includes a buttermilk pie recipe!

Sassy Cabot and Bridget Mayfield are two best friends who are also the owners of a bookstore cafe called Read 'Em and Eat. Things are going great for the two till their head chef has an accident, breaks his leg and is out for surgery. Out comes Bridget's aunt, a characters on her own Ophie who takes over the kitchen and basically makes it her own.

Read 'Em and Eat has an interesting set of clientele, including two cousins Augusta and Delia. When Delia is found dead and murdered, Sassy has offered up to do anything she can in order to help Augusta in this time of grief and getting the funeral ready. But Augusta wants to find the murderer and it looks like she is pressing Sassy to do it.

Interesting start to a new series. I liked the characters, there were some good ones and other's made me cringe a little. Like Jocelyn, the pastor's wife. I thought her actions and words towards Sassy was uncalled for and honestly a really strange behavior for a pastor's wife.

I liked Skully the best and his hobby of creating  pieces using sea shells. Makes me want to pull out a bunch of sea shells I got from Florida 3 years ago and create something myself heh.

There are a couple of potential love interests for Sassy in the new series. One of them is a new comer, Frank Anthony. Everything is done subtle, so it be interesting to see how it all plays out.

What took a bit of a turn for me was the small lack of emotion. I for some reason had a hard time finding Sassy's reaction to Delia's death a little weird I guess, or maybe I'm just weird but it didn't work for me. Anyway, excited about this new series, would love to see how it keeps going!

Guest Post

If you were to step into the pages Well Read, Then Dead, Sassy Cabot or Bridgy Mayfield are likely to welcome you with a conversation that goes something like this…

“Welcome to the Read ’Em and Eat, your friendly neighborhood bookstore and café. Come in, sit down. That sound you hear? Why that’s the Gulf of Mexico lapping against the sugar-fine white sand of the immaculate beach that lines the entire west coast of our island, Estero Island, here in Fort Myers Beach.

Here’s a nice cold glass of sweet tea for you while you decide on a snack. We have Miss Marple Scones and Robert Frost Apple and Blueberry Tartlets. Aunt Ophie’s Buttermilk Pie is the special for today. Oh, you noticed the books? Sure, browse all you want. Interested in anything particular? We’re happy to order. If you like to talk about what you’ve read, here’s a list of our book clubs and what they are reading this month. They meet right here in that corner. Pretty isn’t it?

The Potluck Book Club? Oh, that’s a fun group. The books are food related, and we always serve free samples of the food associated with the book.”

The Read ’Em and Eat is where Island residents and tourists enjoy the relaxed and comfy atmosphere while eating a Swiss Family Robinson Cheeseburger or looking for the perfect beach book for an afternoon lounging in the sand. Nothing could spoil the peace and tranquility. Nothing, that is, except murder.

You can take a leisurely visit to southwest Florida and enjoy the Read ’Em and Eat, the quirky folks who stop by, and perhaps help catch a murderer. All you have to do is read Well Read, Then Dead.