I love a good cozy mystery series. This time it's candy! And who doesn't love candy. Abby is a funny, likeable character with just a bit of ditz. This mystery was straightforwards and typical of a cozy - it was very fun. 4 stars. ( )

Not my favorite Sammi Carter but still very enjoyable! A fun mystery! ( )

Abby is quite fun, next one please. ( )

Candy store owner Abby Shaw already has her hands full running the Divinity Candy Shop - trying to make it profitable as well as having the upstairs renovated - so the last thing she needs is trouble with the annual arts festival. But there is plenty of trouble - the mayor has let go Meena Driggs who was running the festival and appointed troublemaker Felicity Asbury in charge. Felicity ruffles plenty of feathers and nobody is terribly surprised when Felicity is found murdered in Divinity's parking lot. Unfortunately, the location of Felicity's body makes Abby the number one suspect and she has to find the real killer in order to clear her name and keep the candy shop open.

"Peppermint Twisted" is the nicely done third entry in Sammi Carter's delightful candy shop cozy mystery series. The setting is a good one - not only the candy shop where Carter gives readers a glimpse into how a candy store is operated, but the town of Paradise itself where everybody knows everybody else and nothing stays secret for very long. The mystery itself is well written and plotted, with plenty of suspects, and while I did figure out who the killer was there was still a twist that I didn't see coming. But while the mystery was well done, what really makes the book work so well is the character of Abby and her family dynamics. She is struggling to run the candy shop while avoiding the interference of relatives (which adds some humor to the mystery). It is her complex relationship with her brother Wyatt that makes this book so strong. Both of them are struggling with issues they had as kids and while they both love each other, neither is willing to admit it. Their relationship alone makes this series worth reading.

"Peppermint Twisted" is a nicely done cozy mystery. ( )

It's that time of the year again. Time for the annual arts festival and Felicity Asbury, wealthy and as nasty as one can be, becomes the festival director. The participants of the festival are up in arms about it. Not much later Felicity is found dead in the parking lot of Divinity, Abby Shaw's candy shop. Evidence points to Abby as the suspect and she gets to work to clear her name.

Some authors will start right off with a murder and we never get to know the victim. Not the case here. There is an entertaining scene where readers are introduced to Felicity. The author did a great job making me hate her, so when she turned up dead, well, I can't say that I would miss her! I have read the two previous books in the series and I loved them. Abby was likable from the very start. She is smart and has common sense. I have to say I was disappointed with her in this one. She immediately dug into the investigation. I had a problem with the way she went about it. She was overly aggressive to the point of harassment. Then she couldn't figure out why no one wanted to talk to her. This attitude went on through most of the book. Thankfully, somewhere towards the end, she settled down and became the Abby that I was familiar with and liked in the previous two books. I was also saddened that Jawarksi, Abby's kinda boyfriend and a detective with the Paradise Police Department, was mostly absent from this one. There is a small B story which involves him, but that is pretty much it. The chemistry seemed to be missing this time.

I hope it doesn't sound like I didn't enjoy this book because I did. The story was a good one. I couldn't figure out who did it or why, and I was satisfied with the conclusion. I look forward to the next in the series. I just hope that we don't have to wait for it as long as we did this one.

As with the previous two books in the series
Candy Apple Dead
and
Chocolate Dipped Death
recipes that are mentioned in the book are included at the end.

These books are written in first person. ( )