Format: Kindle, 428 pages
Release Date: February 20, 2022
Publisher: Independently published
Source: Amazon
Genre: Cozy Mystery / Contemporary
A month ago, I quit my job and finally left my commitment-phobe boyfriend (seriously Steve, seven years is long enough to know if I’m the one). Then I moved back to my hometown of Cockamamie, Tennessee, to take care of my newly widowed Aunt Deidre.
Somehow,
I’ve stumbled my way into a murder investigation. Like literally. I
tripped. And now the detective thinks I might be the murderer. Okay, so I
told the newly deceased old fart off, but he deserved it. That doesn’t
mean I’m the killer.
And the idiot detective? Sure, he’s
insanely hot, but it just so happens he’s the grandson of my
grandmother’s nemesis. I’m sure he’s holding thatt against me.
My best friend thinks Detective Noah Langley should be holding his body against me, but I wouldn’t consider it if he was the last man on earth.
So
now my life’s a complicated mess. I need to clear my name, make sure my
aunt with dementia doesn’t wander off again, and find the killer since
the Cockamamie taxpayers seem to be wasting their money on Detective
Langley’s salary.
Oh, and I really need a job.
Blind Bake is the first installment in author Denise Grover Swank's Maddie Baker Mystery series. In this book, the author has two main characters: 34-year-old Maddie Baker, and 37-year-old Detective Noah Langley. A month ago, Maddie, who used to be a librarian at a Middle School, returned to her hometown of Cockamamie, Tennessee (not a real town) where she left 18 years ago after her mother was brutally murdered by an unknown suspect.
Two months ago, Maddie's Uncle died and she moved in with her Aunt Deidre who is suffering from early state Dementia and can't be left alone. Maddie needs an
income to pay her bills so she is working as a barista at the local
coffee shop and also working in her off hours as an Uber driver. One night, Maddie picks up a passenger who is not only rude, but also carrying a smelly paper bag. After a verbal tirade for the way he treated her, Maddie has no idea that her life is going to change.
Detective Noah Langley is looking for a new start after having his life nearly cut short in Memphis. He was a successful detective in the city, known for his dedication and closing his cases. But a bad judgment call ended up with him suffering a bullet wound. Noah's experience has made him a bit jaded, and nervous that he might have to reach for his gun again in order to stop someone. Noah is known for closing cases and solving mysteries, which is exactly what they need in this Cockamamie town which is apparently filled with corrupt and incompetent cops.
Just as he is settling in, he is lead detective in a murder case for a man known as Martin Schroeder. The same man who Maddie gave a ride to. The same man she argued with. Noah becomes interested in Maddie after it appears that she is not only involved somehow, but she seems to be everywhere where Noah's investigation happens to take him. For Maddie, the case brings back really awful memories of her own mother’s murder eighteen years ago, a murder that was never solved. Both Noah and Maddie are searching for the answers and not only to the murder of Martin Schroeder.
*Overall, this is an entertaining story. I liked Maddie, and I wanted to hug her at the same time. She has known loss like few of us will ever experience. She tried to change her life, only to have to return home where she runs into one of the persons who tried hard to ruin her back in High School. Getting caught up in a murder investigation would have scared most people, but Maddie stands and delivers one of the best scenes in the book when she teaches Noah a thing or two about self-defense. She also reaches out to the homeless community with kindness. Something that melted my heart. I liked Noah, and I could understand how he ran cold at times. I liked his partner Lance Forrester as well. They make a great team, and Lance isn't afraid of getting a shot or two in on Noah, especially when it comes to Maddie. As for the mystery as to whom was responsible for Andrea Baker's murder, we will have to wait until the author is ready to reveal the persons identity.
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