Dru Ann, thanks so much for inviting me over to meet your friends! What a great group you have here. Let me introduce myself to everybody.
My name is Robbie Jordan, and I’m twenty-eight. I own Pans ‘N Pancakes, a country store breakfast and lunch restaurant in South Lick, Indiana. I’m the chef and proprietor, but I’m also a pretty good carpenter and did most of the renovations on the building myself.
My boyfriend is Abe O’Neill. He’s a couple of years older than me and is a lineman for the electric company. I don’t have any children—yet—but he has a thirteen year old son named Sean.
Birdy is my tuxedo cat. He found me and moved in, and we’re both delighted with the arrangement, although he’s supposed to stay out of the store when the restaurant is open. The Board of Health gets kind of snippy about things like that.
South Lick, where my store is, is a sweet town in Brown County, a hilly artsy county. I’m lucky to have an apartment attached to the back of the building, so I have a thirty-second commute to work. I love sitting in my kitchen, having coffee at the table my mom made with the morning light streaming in and Birdy on my lap. Otherwise I’m mostly in the store, where I also sell antique cookware. And since it’s a breakfast restaurant, it’s a good thing I’m a morning person!
One of my best friends is Lou Shermer. She’s a grad student at Indiana University in the next county. We’re both serous bicyclists, but she’s more of an all-round athlete than I am.
Somehow over the past couple of years I’ve come in contact with more than one murder, and I’ve learned I’m not bad at figuring out what happened, even though I’m not a law-enforcement professional. I’m good at solving puzzles, and isn’t a mystery just another kind of puzzle? My seventy-something Aunt Adele, as tough and dear a lady as you’ll ever meet, sometimes sleuths with me when she’s not tending her sheep or hanging out with her own boyfriend, Samuel. I’ve become friendly with South Lick’s second-in-command, Lieutenant Buck Bird, who often talks over cases with me.
What’s that? What do I like to eat? After a day spent cooking for locals, tourists, and academics, my favorite meal is one I don’t have to cook myself! Luckily Abe is great amateur chef, so I’m in good shape eating at his house. For dessert I’ll take anything with triple dark chocolate.
I’m originally a Californian, which is where my late mom (sniff) raised me, just the two of us. Now that I live far from any ocean, if I get free time the only place I want to be is on the beach in Santa Barbara. Now I also have a fondness for Pisa, Italy, where my father lives. I got my Mediterranean skin from him, and I love to wear rich bright colors like magenta and sunflower yellow.
Who do I like to read? I haven’t had time to read many novels lately, but I recently blasted through a fun book on the history of crossword puzzles. (Yes, I do mine in ink.) I don’t really watch sports, either, except for the Tour de France. I do love to relax watching old black and white movies. The romance, the dancing, all great. The ever-present cigarettes? Not so much!
On a typical day I’m prepping breakfast by six in the morning, because we open at seven. I cook, take orders, and bus table with my two assistants until three. We clean up and they go home. I usually go out for a hard hilly bike ride after that to relax. After I clean myself up, I have a drink and play with Birdy. Do a puzzle and eat dinner—sometimes with Abe, sometimes with Adele, sometimes alone—and hit the sack early, because tomorrow morning will be here before I know it. My place is popular, I’m living my dream, and I’m happy. As long as I don’t find any more dead bodies, that is.
I’m looking for some new soups to serve at the restaurant. What’s your favorite? My author is giving away a signed copy of Death Over Easy to one commenter. U.S. entries only, please. The giveaway ends August 1, 2018. Good luck everyone!
You can read about Robbie in Death Over Easy, the fifth book in the “Country Store” mystery series, coming July 31, 2018. The first book in the series is Flipped For Murder.
Restaurateur Robbie Jordan is ready for the boost in business a local music festival brings to South Lick, Indiana, but the beloved event strikes a sour note when one of the musicians is murdered . . .
June’s annual Brown County Bluegrass Festival at the Bill Monroe Music Park in neighboring Beanblossom is always a hit for Robbie’s country store and café, Pans ‘N Pancakes. This year, Robbie is even more excited, because she’s launching a new bed and breakfast above her shop. A few festival musicians will be among Robbie’s first guests, along with her father, Roberto, and his wife, Maria. But the celebration is cut short when a performer is found choked to death by a banjo string. Now all the banjo players are featured in a different kind of lineup. To clear their names, Robbie must pair up with an unexpected partner to pick at the clues and find the plucky killer before he can conduct an encore performance . . .
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About the author
Agatha- and Macavity-nominated Edith Maxwell writes the Quaker Midwife Mysteries, the Local Foods Mysteries, and award-winning short crime fiction. As Maddie Day she writes the popular Country Store Mysteries, with Death Over Easy releasing in July, and a new 2019 series set on Cape Cod. Maxwell is president of Sisters in Crime New England and lives north of Boston with her beau, two elderly cats, and an impressive array of garden statuary. Visit Edith at edithmaxwell.com.
All comments are welcomed.
Two of my favorite soups are chicken noodle soup on crack and ham and potato soup. I can send the recipes if you want them.
Yum!
My favorite soups are chicken noodle and tomato.
Reliable standbys!
Crack chicken soup is really good. Also a good hamburger soup or taco soup.Thank you for the opportunity.
Crack soup? What is that?
I like French onion and split pea. Also New England clam chowder. Would like to read some of Edith Maxwell’s books.
Love split pea!
My favorite is French Onion. I caramelize the onions in the crockpot.
Good idea, Gram.
My favorite cafe serves soups that are so good. They include creamy mushroom soup with rice, tomato basil soup, broccoli and cheese soup, and Greek lemon chicken with rice soup.
Avgolemono? Love it
Love Robbie Jordan and can’t wait for the opportunity to read more about her adventures in “Death Over Easy”. Aunt Adele is a hoot and I’d gladly adopt her as my aunt. What’s not to love about Abe O’Neill? A man that loves to cook and does so is one to hang on to. I did with my guy and now we’ve been married 35 years. 🙂
My favorite soup has to be homemade vegetable beef soup. Not only will it warm my tummy but it warms my heart with sweet memories of my Mom’s soup. Although she taught me how to make it and I do make it often, it never quite tastes the same. I think it was Mom’s secret ingredient she added – love. Miss her terribly and miss how her soup tasted.
Thanks for the wonderful chance to win a copy of “Death Over Easy”!
Thanks, Kay! You got a keeper, for sure.
Oh, good soup is much like a hug. Frankly, I rarely come across a soup I don’t like. Many of the standards are lovely to me like beef (or mushroom) barley, broccoli cheddar, or cioppino, navy bean, and gazpacho
Mushroom barley sounds delicious.
I really have enjoyed this series.
Thanks, Dixie!
I love Italian wedding soup! Also broccoli cheddar is another favorite.
I like Italian wedding soup, too
Oyster stew is my favorite soup.
I have never had that, Doward.
I love broccoli cheese soup and I recently found a new recipe for cheeseburger soup that I’m really enjoying. I can’t wait to read this book! This is one of my favorite series.
Cheeseburger soup? Do tell!
I would have to say Chicken and Noodles, with homemade egg noodles, nice thick noodles. This sounds like a yummy cozy, thank you for the chance to win a copy.
wfnren at aol dot com
Yum!
Great intro to Robbie for those that don’t know her yet! I love a good Chicken Wild Rice Soup, the creamy kind! Thanks for the chance to win!
Love wild rice.
Old fashioned homemade tomato.
Sounds great, Sally.
Favorite soup? German potato salad soup. I’m not sure if my grandmother made that up for us or if it is a real soup! Thanks for a chance to win a copy of Death Over Easy!
I can imagine that, Barbara.
It’s hard to pick one favorite soup but I love minestrone, beef barley, and cream of tomato soup.
Minestrone – comfort food!
I have a favorite soup that my kids like so much they steal it from my freezer when they’re too lazy to cook. We call it Chulent Soup. This term is from a Sabbath dish which is a dish that takes a long time to make.
I make Shawarma from turkey thighs. I save the bones and scraps till I have a couple of gal bags full. Make a stock. after straining it you add diced carrots, parsnips and onions. I use half a bag of barley, red kidney beans, white beans and pink beans. Let it simmer for a few hours and you end up with a rich hearty soup. Oh, I forgot to mention. I make it 12-14 qts at a time in my big pot.
I think of Shawarma as marinated lamb kabobs – interesting approach!
Miso soup is like a hug in a bowl and also Avelomongo the chicken lemon rice soup
My favorite soup is baked potato soup. I am not a fan of tomato soup.
I’ve never had that, Dianne.
My husband makes the best tomato dill! I also really like minestrone and oyster stew.
Tomato dill sounds great, Gloria.
I love tomato basil, beef veggie barley, and any fresh veggie soup with a light tomato base. Thanks for the chance to win. Love this series
Potato soup is a childhood favorite… but I just recently made Lasagna soup and my husband said, “hands down favorite!” Definitely was good.
My childhood favorite (which evokes so many memories) is Potato Soup. Recently, I made Lasagna Soup to which my husband says is his hands down favorite! Definitely a good one.
Thanks, Kay!
Summer vegetable soup served at Westminster Oaks Retirement Village in Tallahassee, FL.
Sounds like a great read! I live an hour and a half from Brown Co, Indiana and it’s gorgeous!
My favorite soup is my mom’s recipe for homemade chicken noodle soup.
My favorite soup is homemade baked potato soup with cheddar cheese, bacon and broccoli. It is yummy!
I like broccoli cheddar soup! Yummy!!
I’m not a big soup fan but do love a good tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich.
Cream of leek. Cream of Cauliflower. So good on cold day!!!
My favorite soups to make are Minestroni with mini meatballs (or hamburger), my easy hamburger/tomato/macaroni soup, my cabbage soup with kielbasa, my potato leek soup and my three or four onion French onion soup. I love lobster bisque but only make it every few years if lobsters are a good buy.
I’d love love love to win this book. Thank you for the chance.
Cynthia B.
I love broccoli cheddar soup.
I started reading this series last week and am up to number 3 now, so I’ve got my fingers crossed to win the newest in the series! I’ve really been enjoying reading about Robbie and her friends. I would have to say that my favorite soup is potato, with kielbasa stew being a close second.
I love this series!! Definitely want to read this one.
Oh…I forgot. I love chicken noodle soup, but also kale soup with sausage, noodles and white beans. Yum!
**** WINNER ****
Death Over Easy is Renee Wiswell
Congratulations!