Killer Crab Cakes

by Livia J. Washburn

Book Overview

In this bake-off, people get knocked off. The irresistible new entry in the national bestselling series. When Phyllis's cousin asks her to look after her Oak Knoll bed-and-breakfast for a few weeks, Phyllis jumps at the chance'mostly because the inn is located close to the annual Rockport, Texas, Just Desserts competition. Determined to beat her friendly rival and enjoy some peaceful downtime with her boyfriend Sam, Phyllis concocts the ultimate sweet...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0451228367
• ISBN13: 9780451228369
• Release Date: September 2009
• Publisher: Berkley / Nal
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.3" x 8.0"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Super!!!!

I loved it she is an amazing author she takes me right into the story. If you have stress read these books stress gone.

Entertaining Cozy

Phyllis Newsome has been asked to temporarily take over her cousin's bed and breakfast for a few weeks, so she and her fellow retired teachers are now running The Oak Knoll Bed 'n Breakfast.Phyllis and crew are eagerly looking forward to getting some rest and to entering a baking contest. Unfortunately, the boarders in the bed and breakfast start to die. Phyllis is worried for her cousin's B & B and is convinced the police are not looking in the right direction or at the right suspect. So she and her companion Sam along with her crew jump in to solve the mystery. Liva Washborn has written an interesting cozy filled with the subtle humor, a solid mystery, great characters and good recipes. This is the fourth book in the series and hopefully we will join Phyllis, Sam and her friends many more times in the future.

I want to go there, again

Where has Livia Washburn been all my life? I've just discovered another favorite author. This was a good book with real, heartfelt characters. I should have seen the ending coming, but was surprised by 'whodunnit'. Cozy mysteries and B & B inns just go together! Ms Washburn has a knack for putting you on the spot, not just watching the action, but feeling like you're in the action. Well done!

entertaining whodunit

Her cousin Dorothy asks retired teacher Phyllis Newsom to manage her Oak Knoll Bed and breakfast in Fulton, Texas while she and her husband are in Dallas for the birth of their grandchild, the widow considers saying no as she knows nothing about a B & B. However Dorothy mentions the annual Rockport Just Desserts Competition so Phyllis says yes. Three other retired teachers, Sam Fletcher, Carolyn Wilbarger and Eve Turner join Carolyn j in the cooking contest, as she and Phyllis always enjoy competing against one another. Sam and Phyllis go fishing off the nearby pier. Already there is grouchy B & B guest Ed McKenna. Sam taps Ed on the back and the man tumbles into the water. Ed jumps in immediately and though he struggles gets Ed to the shore. However Ed is dead and later the autopsy affirms he was murdered. Assistant Police of Chief Abby Clifton and Police Chief Dale Clifton suspect Sam and when more murders come to the Oak Knoll B & B now being notoriously dubbed "The Murder House"; Phyliss, who vowed no murder investigations by her on this trip, begins to investigate. The fourth Newsom amateur sleuth (see A PEACH OF A MURDER and THE CHRISTMAS COOKIE KILLER) is a wonder "fresh baked" mystery as Phyllis tries to stay out of the latest SLICE OF MURDER, but cannot as Sam is the prime suspect. KILLER CRAB CAKES is an entertaining whodunit starting with Sam's gentle pat on the back that has the related cops hone in on him and the other retires. With light bantering and recipes as Phyllis and Carolyn compete in a heated cooking rivalry between BFFs, fans will enjoy Livia J. Washburn's latest culinary homicide investigation. Harriet Klausner

Typical Small-town Cozy Mystery

When Phyllis Newsom agrees to oversee her cousin's bed and breakfast for a couple of weeks due to a family emergency, she decides to use the opportunity as a getaway and to enter the local Just Desserts competition in nearby Rockport, Texas. Accompanied by several friends, including her boyfriend, Sam, and Carolyn, her chief rival in local cooking competitions, Phyllis enjoys her time near the Gulf Coast. That is, until the death of one of the guests turns into murder. She trys to stay out of the way figuring she has had enough of murder investigations in her hometown. However, when a second guest is killed, Phyllis decides to jump into the investigation in spite of the opposition from the local Chief of Police. After all, her cousin's livelihood is at stake. Killer Crab Cakes by Livia J. Washburn is an interesting cozy mystery set in SE Texas. Washburn follows the genre formula with ease, including mixing murder and mayhem with subtle humor. She manages to keep the killer a secret until near the end, although looking back one can see an occasional clue or two. As with most cozy's that have a food-related theme, there are a good number of recipes gathered together at the end of the book. This is the fourth Fresh-Baked Murder mystery, and it is a good one. Previous investigations are alluded to, and readers who read this book first may want to go back to the beginning to understand the relationships. Otherwise, Killer Crab Cakes is entertaining and worth the read.