Book 38, 2024

[chez_jae]

Partners in Lime by Bree Baker

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



I powered through the rest of my "spare" book last night, eschewing my regular book to finish it. Not because it was great, but because I just wanted it to be over. The book was Partners in Lime by Bree Baker, and it's the 6th in her "Seaside Cafe" mystery series. This is the first in the series I've read, and only after I'd started it did I realize I actually have the first book loaded on my Kindle. I r stoopid. Narrative is in first-person pov of the main character, Everly Swan.

Things are going well for Everly. Her iced tea shop is doing well, she's dating Detective Grady Hays, and the mayor is working to get some surfing events to the local town of Charm to boost tourism. When one of the surfers is killed, seemingly with a theater prop that Everly's friend, Matt, was using, Everly takes it upon herself to prove Matt's innocence. Her amateur investigation vexes Grady, but Everly will not be dissuaded. She knows she's getting close to the truth when her own life is threatened.

Um...I did not connect with Everly at all. I didn't even like her. Grady literally begged her to back off (apparently she's been threatened and harmed before in her sleuthing), but she refused. She actually told him that she intended to continue because she enjoys sleuthing. I'd put her in the top three most obnoxious heroine/amateur sleuths that I have personally read about. Her investigation was over the top ridiculous. I'm not sure how I'd feel about Everly if I'd begun reading this series in order. Maybe I'd like her more. I don't know.

Favorite line: "When in doubt, spike the dessert."

Characterizations were good, the plot was interesting, and I enjoyed the setting. Nothing spectacular leaped out at me, and I may have given this an average score (as an average cozy mystery), but my dislike of the main character has me knocking one star off. Two, it is.


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, bed & breakfast? Yes, she runs a tea shop/cafe
2. Does the mc live at her (or his) place of occupation? Yes
3. Is the love interest involved in law enforcement? (Police officer, sheriff, detective, PI, FBI) Yes (although I understand she had at least one other boyfriend earlier in the series)
4. Does the mc have a dog/cat as a pet? Yes, she has a cat
5. Is the mc's BFF either a gay guy or a ditzy/zany woman? No
6. Did the mc find the body? No
7. Did the mc wind up in mortal danger at the end of the book? Yes
8. Is the mc's mother either: dead, absent, far removed, ditzy and dithering, or overbearing/disapproving/meddling? Yes
9. If mother is dead/absent, does the mc have another mother-figure (grandmother, aunt, mom's friend, or an older friend)? Yes, her great-aunts
10. Is the mc child-free? (Either no children or else grown children--i.e. no small children to look after) Yes