My name is Robbie Jordan, and I’m a puzzle addict. There. I said it! I know the average citizen wouldn’t think such an addiction should present much of a problem. And it’s true, a normal day in my life involves a lot more than puzzles. I’m the proprietor and chef-in-chief for a country store breakfast and lunch restaurant, so I spend many hours every day prepping, cooking, and schmoozing with my customers.
After the store closes I like to head out and cycle the heck out of the hills and hollows of Brown County in the southern tier of Indiana. The hills are nearly mountains, so it’s a great way to stay fit and push out mental goblins at the same time.
But when I get home and cleaned up? I like nothing more than a few fingers of bourbon, my favorite puzzle pen, tuxedo cat Birdy on my lap, and the hardest crossword puzzle I can find. So maybe that’s why, when my aunt found a guy nobody but his daughter seemed to like dead behind the maple sugar shack, I couldn’t help but get involved. Because solving a homicide is a lot like solving a puzzle. Except it’s way, way more dangerous.
Sometimes I even create my own crossword just to help me think through the killing. In the current case, though, I didn’t have a minute free. Brown County looks a lot like Vermont, and produces every bit as good of maple syrup as our sister state in the Northeast. The murder happened right smack in the middle of the Maple Syrup Festival, and South Lick was full of tourists and locals alike, exactly what the organizers hoped for. Because, like in Vermont, March is more mud season than tourist season.
I’ll let you read the book for yourself. My author said not to give anything away! But if you happen to have a blank New York Times Sunday crossword puzzle book languishing on your coffee table, send it to me care of Pans ‘N Pancakes, South Lick, Indiana. I’ll make good use of it.
So readers, who else loves puzzles? What kind? And if not, what don’t you like about them?
You can read more about Robbie in Biscuits and Slashed Browns, the fourth book in the “Country Store” mystery series, coming January 30, 2018.
For country-store owner Robbie Jordan, the National Maple Syrup Festival is a sweet escape from late-winter in South Lick, Indiana—until murder saps the life out of the celebration . . .
As Robbie arranges a breakfast-themed cook-off at Pans ‘N Pancakes, visitors pour into Brown County for the annual maple extravaganza. Unfortunately, that includes Professor Connolly, a know-it-all academic from Boston who makes enemies everywhere he goes—and this time, bad manners prove deadly. Soon after clashing with several scientists at a maple tree panel, the professor is found dead outside a sugar shack, stabbed to death by a local restaurateur’s knife. When an innocent woman gets dragged into the investigation and a biologist mysteriously disappears, Robbie drops her winning maple biscuits to search for answers. But can she help police crack the case before another victim is caught in a sticky situation with a killer?
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Giveaway: Leave a comment below for your chance to win a signed copy of Biscuits and Slashed Browns. U.S. entries only, please. The giveaway ends January 29, 2018. Good luck everyone!
About the author
Agatha- and Macavity-nominated author Edith Maxwell writes the Quaker Midwife Mysteries and the Local Foods Mysteries; as Maddie Day she writes the Country Store Mysteries and the Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries. Her award-winning short crime fiction has appeared in more than a dozen juried anthologies and journals. She is President of Sisters in Crime New England.
A fourth-generation Californian and former tech writer, farmer, and doula, Maxwell now writes, cooks, gardens (and wastes time as a Facebook addict) north of Boston with her beau and three cats. She blogs at Wicked Cozy Authors, Killer Characters, and with the Midnight Ink authors. Find her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and at her gorgeous newly rehabbed web site, edithmaxwell.com.
All comments are welcomed.
looks like a great book I love the cover thank you for sharing
Shared on Twitter https://mobile.twitter.com/LindaMoffitt02/status/956870275634745346
Thanks, Linda!
I had no idea that Indiana produced maple syrup. My husband loves anything maple flavored and it seems that every time he finds something here in Texas, they quit making it. Ha! Good luck with the new book! Sounds fun!
Thanks so much, Kay. Yes, maple syrup is a thing in Brown County.
I like crossword puzzles and I’d like to try maple biscuits. Thanks!
The biscuits are yummy, Donna!
I like jigsaw puzzles, word search puzzles and crossword puzzles! Your series is on my TBR list as I love culinary cozies!
I’m not a big crossword puzzle fan but I do like Sudoku puzzles and other number puzzles. I think I just don’t have the attention span for crossword puzzles. I’m looking forward to reading this book!
And I can’t even look at Sudoku without my eyes crossing!
I love this series and all the others that the author writes. Now I need some maple syrup & biscuits. LOL
Thanks so much, Doward!
I love crossword puzzles, anytime I set down I pick my crossword book up and try to get one page done before I get up.
It keeps the brain sharp, doesn’t it,Terry? I usually work on one with my lunch.
Thanks for this delightful feature and wonderful giveaway. A unique series.
You are welcome, Anne, and thank you!
This is a very enjoyable series! Can’t wait for Biscuits and Slashed Browns to be released. Thanks for the chance to win a signed copy!
Thanks so much, Linda. Four more days!
I didn’t know that Indiana produced maple syrup. I’m not very good with crossword puzzles, but I enjoy Sudoku puzzles. This is a wonderful series.
Thanks, Peggy! I cannot do Sudoku to save my life.
I always get do hungry when I read this series. I swear, sometimes I drool. Thanksfor the opportunity!
Love puzzle series! I’m glad to find a new one.
Thanks, Meg! My lunch today was a recipe trial for the sixth book in the series, Strangled Eggs and Ham. ;^)
I love this series! and I’m looking forward to the next book in the series. Thank You Edith Maxwell for wring such a wonderful series. Best Wishes Mary
My mother loved cross word puzzles.
Me, not so much. Too much of a chance to fail!
She’d catch me, though. Out of nowhere I’d hear, “What’s a 7 letter word for____?” I’d begin racking my brain. 7 letter? hm…”Mom! No! Don’t ask me!”
I have not read anything by this author yet. But I love books that have anything to do with food. This looks great.
I love this series!
I love this country store series. Really looking forward to reading this newest installment!!
I love this series and am looking forward to this next installment. I enjoy puzzles and maple syrup – so this book is up my alley!! Thanks for a chance to win!!
I love crosswords. And I am looking forward to the new book, thanks!
I love puzzles! I used to do them with my grandma and my great uncle. Now I work on them, when I can, with my daughter.
I like crossword puzzles and word searches. Do enjoy puzzles (with pieces), but it has been a long time since I have done one! Love this series. Already pre-ordered
I’m not really into puzzles. Maybe because a lot of my job tasks are similar to puzzles?
Love maple syrup!Looking forward to reading the series.
I am horrible at puzzles, I can do sudoku and 1000 piece puzzles but anything with cross word puzzles im out. lol.
Sounds like an interesting book!
I like puzzles too. Jigsaw puzzles, word puzzles, mysteries, and even crosswords although I am not that good at them. About anything but sudoku…that just never makes sense to me. 🙂
This book by Edith was already on my list, and reading this post makes me want to read it even more!
Wow, thanks everyone for your comments and support! I have run out of daylight to respond to each one of you, but please know I appreciate your being here to hear about my book.
Edith writes the best books doesn’t she? Ours is a big jigsaw puzzle family and lots of games that involve puzzles. As to maple syrup, we love it being New Englanders where it is always available. We enjoy everything made with maple syrup too. Looking forward to reading Biscuits and Slashed Browns. Congratulations Edith. Wishing you the best of everything.
Cynthia
Great title and cover. Thanks for the opportunity.
I love search a word and soduko puzzles. I absolutely love this series.
Love puzzles (and maple syrup), but I still have no idea how sudoku works. I prefer logic and puzzle video games, such as the Professor Layton series. So much fun 😊
Love the sound of this book. Thanks for the chance.
Marilyn ewatvess@yahoo.com
I like jigsaw puzzles, word searches and some crossword puzzles. Love your creative titles and look forward to reading Biscuits and Slashed Browns.
This book looks so good. Would love to read it. Thanks for a chance at the giveaway!
I like crossword puzzles. Usually the ones in People Magazine.
count me in on this giveaway!!
thank you!!
**** WINNER ****
Biscuits and Slashed Browns is Marla Husovsky
Congratulations!
Thank you Dru! I can’t wait to receive my new book!