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Murder with Fried Chicken and Waffles
Murder with Fried Chicken and Waffles | A.L. Herbert
Welcome to Mahalia's Sweet Tea--the finest soul food restaurant in Prince George's County, Maryland. In between preparing her famous cornbread and mashed potatoes so creamy "they'll make you want to slap your Momma," owner Halia Watkins is about to dip her spoon into a grisly mystery. . . Halia Watkins has her hands full cooking, hosting, and keeping her boisterous young cousin, Wavonne, from getting too sassy with customers. Having fast-talking entrepreneur Marcus Rand turn up in her kitchen is annoying enough when he's alive--but finding his dead body face-down on her ceramic tile after hours is much worse. Marcus had his enemies, and the cast iron frying pan beside his corpse suggests that at last, his shady business deals went too far. Halia is desperate to keep Sweet Tea's name out of the sordid spotlight but her efforts only make Wavonne a prime suspect. Now Halia will have to serve up the real villain--before the killer returns for a second helping. . . Features delicious recipes from Mahalia's Sweet Tea, including Sour Cream Corn Bread and Sweet Corn Casserole!
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review
Mollyanna
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Mehso-so

This is a first in a series and it shows. Some of the actions of the main characters were questionable to say the least, but overall I enjoyed it. I will read the second book to see if there is some character development.

#SeriesLove2023 #diversecozy

TheSpineView Well done!📚📚📚 10mo
Mollyanna @TheSpineView Thank you 😊 10mo
Andrew65 Well done 👏👏👏 10mo
28 likes3 comments
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BookmarkTavern
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Mehso-so

Halia Watkins, chef/owner of soul food restaurant Sweet Tea, finds some trouble when her silent partner is murdered, & her cousin is the main suspect. What‘s a lady to do but investigate?

I wanted to like this more. The setting of a soul food restaurant was such a draw for me, but the characters felt like stereotypes, the plot was flat, & the narrator kept making really frustrating decisions. I did like the multiple red herrings. 🌕🌕🌗🌑🌑

72 likes1 comment
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DebinHawaii
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Mehso-so

Read for #DiverseCozy This was a so-so for me. I liked the main character Halia, the restaurant setting & of course, all the southern food mentions/recipes. I didn‘t like the way some of the characters were written—like Halia‘s cousin; more caricatures than feeling real & the dialogue felt awkward. In that regard, I wasn‘t shocked but still disappointed to learn from GoodReads that the author is not a black woman, but rather a white/Latin male. ⬇️

DebinHawaii …And, while most cozy sleuths tend to make bad choices that cause me to yell at them in my head, some of Halia‘s & her cousin‘s decisions were REALLY bad & had no repercussions at the end which was not realistic. Based on all that, but mainly the author switcheroo, I won‘t continue with this series.🤷🏻‍♀️ #diversecozy2023 #serieslove2023 (edited) 13mo
TheBookHippie Like the food! No to the book 🤣🤣😵‍💫 13mo
TheSpineView That's disappointing! Hopefully the next book will be better.🤞 13mo
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5feet.of.fury Ugh. I knew it was by a man but did not know he isn‘t Black. Womp Womp 13mo
kspenmoll I agree- well stated review! 13mo
Andrew65 Cozies seem to have a higher chance of being a so-so for me. Like with @TheBookHippie could eat that food! 13mo
67 likes6 comments
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kspenmoll
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#bookreport
Murder at the Serpentine Bridge is the only book I finished this week. Kept up with buddy reads: Murder with Fried Chicken & waffles #diversecozy,Whose Body? #goldenagecrimeclub ,Dearest Josephine, #sundaybuddyread. Just started A Deadly Affair #historicalmystery #kindleunlimited An Accidental Death, #audible

TheBookHippie ♥️ 14mo
50 likes1 stack add1 comment
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5feet.of.fury
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Pickpick

#diversecozy
I enjoyed this one.Halia & Wavonne make some.. appallingly questionable decisions, &there were SOME leaps in logic that had me rolling my eyes. but it was funny, the motivations were less superficial than some other cozies I‘ve read(which is not a lot of cozies admittedly)it didn‘t get lost in subplots-other than lengthy Soul Food descriptions, which didn‘t detract for me & I definitely saved a screen shot of the corn casserole recipe

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KathyWheeler
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Mehso-so

There was a lot I liked about this book and a lot I didn‘t. I had assumed A.L. Herbert was a Black woman because the mc is, but it‘s a pseudonym for Patrick Sanchez. There was too much restaurant detail in the book, and Halia‘s cousin, Wavonne, is a bit of a caricature, with her loud voice and lazy behavior. But the story is interesting enough. I might read a second one. #diversecozy #audiowalk

Suet624 Beautiful location photos. 14mo
KathyWheeler @Suet624 Thank you. This is a beautiful campus. 14mo
36 likes2 comments
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KathyWheeler
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I started this for #diversecozy and so far I‘m not sure if I‘ll like it. The first several chapters are all about the mc‘s restaurant and her recipes, but I‘m here for the murder, not the behind-the-scenes-at-the-restaurant stuff. I‘m happy to give it a chance though because I like the characters. I managed to get my walks in before the now daily rain. #audiowalk

24 likes1 stack add
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ShananigansReads
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ajmayorquin

There are so many things that should have landed the main character in jail but didn't. It was a good mystery but the way Halia went about doing things seems very unrealistic.

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ShananigansReads
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Pickpick

One of my targeted goals this year is more cozy mysteries by authors of color. That goal is what lead me to Herbert and I don‘t regret it a bit. The characters are lovable and funny. The mystery kept me on my toes and the recipes sounded delicious.

Susanita This is set not far from where I live, and she does a great job with the local touches. 2y
bthegood every time a book comes off my TBR I read one of your reviews and another one is added - make a great day 🙂 2y
ShananigansReads @bthegood that makes me smile 😃 2y
ShananigansReads @Susanita I felt the same. 2y
15 likes2 stack adds4 comments
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S3V3N
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Pickpick

I spent the weekend reading this one. It was pretty good. There were some unrealistic moves made in the storyline that could have ruined it for some people. I enjoyed it none the less.

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S3V3N
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@sharread I can‘t wait to start the book Murder With Fried Chicken and Waffles! You sent a lot of wonderful sweets and things. I never knew Werther‘s had caramel apple candy! Bless Her Dead Little Heart is an awesome title and I‘m looking forward to reading it too! #cozyswap Thank you!

sharread You're welcome. Happy reading. ❤ 3y
31 likes2 comments
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jploves2read
Pickpick

I thought that this was pretty good. A classic who done it. I wish the twist was a bit twistier but overall it was good. The characters had me laughing a bit but I don‘t tend to gravitate to things too over the top (Wavonne) so I didn‘t love her character or the fact that she didn‘t mature. It was interesting enough for me want to read the rest of the series so I rated it as a pick. Overall I will rate it a 3.5/5.

Reggie Are you using Wavonne for wimp in Spanish? 4y
jploves2read @Reggie nope. That‘s a name of a character. Is that Spanish for wimp? I took French in school. 🤷🏾‍♀️🙂 4y
Reggie My bad, I thought you were trying to say scaredy cat l in Spanish, lol, which I thought was juevon, but that is not even scaredy cat in Spanish so never mind. I just asked family and they had to remind me I don‘t speak Spanish. Lol 4y
5 likes3 comments
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TheBookHippie
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It's been a long week....#chickenandwaffles

MaGoose My sentiments exact! Looks delicious. 6y
69 likes2 comments
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balletbookworm
Panpan

While this mystery had a clever reveal, the characterizations of the main character and other women in the book feel stereotypical and repetitive (ie the cousin is repeatedly described as lazy and is also The Sassy Black Lady). There are also some really dumb and unnecessary plot decisions. The author is also fond of expositional infodumps - also, written by a guy, so this won‘t work for Reading Women 2018 tasks.

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Susanita
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It‘s a double shot of #waffles today! If you‘re still looking for a #cozymystery to read for #Booked2018 look no further. Fun characters, good local color, and recipes! There‘s at least one sequel...

MrsMalaprop Also fits the Day 11 #MarchMunchies #waffles prompt @jenniferw88 😁. 6y
34 likes2 stack adds3 comments
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TLVZ721
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Pickpick

If you are looking for a fun cozy mystery with soul food recipes, look no further. This was a fast-paced read. I picked this up after I heard it was based in my own home state (Maryland) and it stars a restaurant owner that made my mouth water with her food descriptions and kept me guessing and second-guessing the suspects she investigated. I would read more by this local author. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

MrBook Great review! 6y
TLVZ721 Thank you, @MrBook ! 😊📚 6y
Mommamanzi These are my fav type of books! 6y
See All 6 Comments
TLVZ721 @Mommamanzi , do you mean cozy mysteries? I‘m admittedly late to the game on them but I have really enjoyed the ones I‘ve read so far! Any suggestions? 6y
Mommamanzi Yep! I love them so much I actually started a cozy and coffee book club. Lots of fun! If you ever need a recommendation just let me know! 6y
TLVZ721 Sounds great! I‘ll take any recommendations you‘ve got! 😊 6y
6 likes6 comments
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AmberJoy
Pickpick

It was pretty cute and I love Halia and wavonne's voice. The recipes look good too. If you're a fan of Joanne Fluke you'll like this series too. I actually read this and giggled