Book 35, 2021

[chez_jae]

Town in a Blueberry Jam by B.B. Haywood

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



It took me until past bedtime, but I did finish reading Town in a Blueberry Jam last night. It's the first book in author BB Haywood's "Candy Holliday" mystery series. Story is told in third person pov, and it's mostly from the mc's perspective.

After her marriage and career imploded, Candy joins her father on the small blueberry farm he bought in Cape Willington, ME. With the town gearing up for its annual blueberry festival, Candy has her hands full baking delicious treats and creating other blueberry goodies to sell. She tries not to dwell on the suspicious death of the town's aging playboy, but when the newly-crowned Blueberry Queen, Sapphire Vine, is murdered and a local handyman is arrested, Candy can't help but get involved. She doesn't believe Ray would harm anyone, much less commit murder. Sapphire wrote the gossip column in the community's paper, and after the editor asks Candy to take it over, she gets access to Sapphire's files. What Candy learns is that Sapphire had a knack for digging up dirt on people, but is there something in those files worth killing for?

While I enjoyed this story, I didn't find it engrossing. Candy is likable enough, but I was somewhat put off by her "investigation", which included actual breaking and entering to snoop. I don't feel that the author gave the reader (or Candy!) a fair shot at solving the mystery; it sort of surprised us all at the end. What really annoyed me, however, was that the first chapter was of Jock (the playboy) falling to his death. Yes, the entire chapter was devoted to Jock falling to his death. Did he fall from the Space Station? Because it sure seemed he had a lot of time to think about his life and his life choices as he fell to his death. I wanted to toss an anvil on him just to speed things up a bit. Sheesh.

Favorite lines:
♦ ...a blueberry tablecloth she'd bought at the L.L. Bean store in Freeport.
We have an LL Bean store in Freeport?! Ha ha!
♦ "Got attacked by a goat with a tennis-shoe fetish."
♦ "I'd ask how the diet's going, but I guess you're off it already."
♦ "I've got a Hogwarts headache right now."
♦ "We should get out more often. Burgle a few houses, steal a car or two--you know, girl stuff."

I'm wavering on a score for this one, since I can't give it the 3 1/2 it deserves. Therefore, it gets the "Cozy Mystery Trope Test"!


1. Does the mc work at/as one of the following: baker/bakery/sweet shop/tea shop/coffee shop, library/librarian, antique/vintage shop, book store, fashion/boutique? NO, she works on a blueberry farm
2. Does the mc live at her (or his) place of occupation? YES, she lives on the farm
3. Is the love interest involved in law enforcement? (Police officer, sheriff, detective, PI, FBI) NO--the closest to a love interest was Ben, the newspaper editor
4. Does the mc have a dog/cat as a pet? NO, she had no pets
5. Is the mc's BFF either a gay guy or a ditzy/zany woman? NO, although Maggie joined her in some madcap adventures
6. Did the mc find the body? NO (Glory be!) Candy didn't find either body.
7. Did the mc wind up in mortal danger at the end of the book? YES, she was chased by the murderer who was wielding a gun.
8. Is the mc's mother either: dead, absent, far removed, ditzy and dithering, or overbearing/disapproving/meddling? YES, her mother is dead.
9. If mother is dead/absent, does the mc have another mother-figure (grandmother, aunt, mom's friend, or an older friend)? NO, there was no 'mother figure'.
10. Is the mc child-free? (Either no children or else grown children--i.e. no small children to look after) YES, she had no bananas. I mean, she had no children.

Since the majority of the answers were "No", I'll bump the score up to a four.