Book 89, 2020

Bittersweet Betrayal by Stephanie Damore

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



This morning, I read an ebook novella, Bittersweet Betrayal, by Stephanie Damore. It's the first in her "Spirited Sweets" mystery series, featuring young widow, Claire, and her ghostly husband, Nick.

Ever since Nick was killed in an auto accident, Claire has lost her baking mojo. As a result, her bakery is suffering, and she's struggling to make ends meet. Just when Claire thinks things can't get any worse, the ghost of Nick's grandmother appears. Adele never liked Claire and made no secret of it. By the time Nick puts in an appearance, Adele has disappeared. Nick goes to her house and finds her dead on the floor. Claire knows she can't leave Adele lying there, so she packs up some of her baked goods on the pretense of paying a visit to her grandmother-in-law.

Nick's abrasive cousin, Andrew, answers the door, and he and Claire "discover" Adele dead in her parlor. When the police speculate she may have died by poison, Andrew deliberately eats one of the nibbles on Adele's tea tray. He immediately gets sick and is whisked off to the hospital. In the meantime, Claire takes Adele's cat, Milo, home with her, knowing no one else in the family cares for the cat.

Now it's up to Claire, with help from Nick and Adele, to determine who, among Adele's cantankerous family, wanted the old woman dead.

This was a short, lite read. I enjoyed Claire's character; I didn't have much opportunity to get a feel for anyone else except, perhaps, for Adele. It seemed several family members had motive to want to hasten Adele's demise, and there was a nifty twist at the end.

Favorite line: It would make carrying Milo around much easier, if not also cement my place as the village fruit loop.

I'd like to give this 3 1/2 stars. I'll settle for giving it 3. It was good, but unremarkable.