Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Berkley (2015), 304 pages
Description
It's almost May, and some of the local ladies have organized a pagan celebration in the woods to welcome spring. But the evening goes terribly wrong when one of the attendees winds up dead, apparently poisoned by an herbal concoction prepared by Lucky's grandfather, Jack. Lucky's sure her grandfather could not have made such a tragic mistake. But before she can clear him of suspicion, her best friend, Sophie, is diverted from planning her wedding to By the Spoonful chef Sage DuBois when she finds a dead man floating in the creek on her property. Now it's up to Lucky to get both Sophie and Jack out of hot water before a killer stirs up more trouble...
User reviews
LibraryThing member LisaKsBookReviews
Connie Archer’s Soup Lovers Mystery series is one of my favorites. I always look forward to a new book in this series and couldn’t wait to get my hands on LADLE TO THE GRAVE. I was not disappointed.
The story wasted no time getting started, with the victim dying within the first few pages.
Lucky, her grandfather Jack, and the Spoonful had so much going on in this book! Jack is a possible suspect in the death, though not by something he did intentionally, Sophia and Sage have their wedding coming up, Lucky is trying to help Jack, and Sophia and Sage and finds herself in yet another mysterious situation! I don’t know how author Connie Archer kept everything straight!
I was so proud of myself for guessing “whodunit”. But in the middle of patting myself on the back as I read, I found I was dead wrong.
Have tissues ready around page 146 with issues dealing with Lucky’s grandfather Jack. Jack is my favorite character in this series, and I have to tell you, my heart was breaking! I am not ashamed to admit that I cried like a baby!
LADLE TO THE GRAVE was just as wonderful as the first three books in this series. No, wait. Scratch that. LADLE TO THE GRAVE was even MORE wonderful than the first three titles. And I look forward to many more installments to come.
As if the wonderful story telling isn’t enough, Mr. Archer also includes yummy recipes!
If you already love this series, you’re not going to be disappointed. If you haven’t read this series, please do! You will fall in love with the characters, the location, and with author Connie Archer herself!
The story wasted no time getting started, with the victim dying within the first few pages.
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Naturally, I figured the rest of the book would be devoted to finding out what happened, and it was. But that death in the beginning was just the start to an amazing, head spinning ride. Lucky, her grandfather Jack, and the Spoonful had so much going on in this book! Jack is a possible suspect in the death, though not by something he did intentionally, Sophia and Sage have their wedding coming up, Lucky is trying to help Jack, and Sophia and Sage and finds herself in yet another mysterious situation! I don’t know how author Connie Archer kept everything straight!
I was so proud of myself for guessing “whodunit”. But in the middle of patting myself on the back as I read, I found I was dead wrong.
Have tissues ready around page 146 with issues dealing with Lucky’s grandfather Jack. Jack is my favorite character in this series, and I have to tell you, my heart was breaking! I am not ashamed to admit that I cried like a baby!
LADLE TO THE GRAVE was just as wonderful as the first three books in this series. No, wait. Scratch that. LADLE TO THE GRAVE was even MORE wonderful than the first three titles. And I look forward to many more installments to come.
As if the wonderful story telling isn’t enough, Mr. Archer also includes yummy recipes!
If you already love this series, you’re not going to be disappointed. If you haven’t read this series, please do! You will fall in love with the characters, the location, and with author Connie Archer herself!
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LibraryThing member laura-thomas
I sure do enjoy cozy mysteries and I have a new one to share today.
When I first started reading this, mention of a pagan ritual had me going back to the cover on my Kindle to be sure I was reading the right book. Several local women have formed a coven and are performing the ritual of spring, the
This is where Lucky, owner of By The Spoonful, a popular soup cafe, enters the story, as her grandfather, Jack, was the one who gathered the herbs and spices for the brew. She begins her own investigation to clear his name after he comes under suspicion of foul play.
As if that’s not enough, her best friend, Sophie, and her fiance, Sage, an employee at the soup shop, are planning their wedding and when the two women are visiting the site of Sophie’s future home, they stumble upon a man drowned in the stream that runs through the property.
As the bodies pile up and light of suspicion is cast upon family and loved ones, Sophie places herself in the middle of the investigation and paints a dangerous target on herself. It’s only a matter of time before things start boiling over.
There’s more than one plot to follow in this story, but the author kept it flowing smoothly. I don’t usually get caught by surprise in a cozy, but there were two big ones for me in this book. One made me cry. And one set me back as I realized I hadn’t solved this mystery. This kept me on my toes and emotionally engaged.
One part that had me chuckling was the wedding. Sophie and Sage are planning a small, private one. But the town folk are bombarding Lucky about what to buy the couple and when their invitations will arrive. I was anticipating a big pickle about this and wasn’t disappointed.
I enjoyed all of the colorful characters and a few became near and dear to me. A few others felt familiar, as I’m from a small town, much like Snowflake, where everybody knows everybody, and there are those few people that seem to be everywhere at once and know everything.
Even though this is the fourth book in the series. I easily got familiar with the characters and references to previous events had me curious to go back and read the series from the beginning. It’s always fun to begin at the beginning and find out how and why the characters ended up where they are.
A fun cozy and a series I”ll be following. I hope you give it a try.
When I first started reading this, mention of a pagan ritual had me going back to the cover on my Kindle to be sure I was reading the right book. Several local women have formed a coven and are performing the ritual of spring, the
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Beltaine, when one of their members dies after drinking a potion.This is where Lucky, owner of By The Spoonful, a popular soup cafe, enters the story, as her grandfather, Jack, was the one who gathered the herbs and spices for the brew. She begins her own investigation to clear his name after he comes under suspicion of foul play.
As if that’s not enough, her best friend, Sophie, and her fiance, Sage, an employee at the soup shop, are planning their wedding and when the two women are visiting the site of Sophie’s future home, they stumble upon a man drowned in the stream that runs through the property.
As the bodies pile up and light of suspicion is cast upon family and loved ones, Sophie places herself in the middle of the investigation and paints a dangerous target on herself. It’s only a matter of time before things start boiling over.
There’s more than one plot to follow in this story, but the author kept it flowing smoothly. I don’t usually get caught by surprise in a cozy, but there were two big ones for me in this book. One made me cry. And one set me back as I realized I hadn’t solved this mystery. This kept me on my toes and emotionally engaged.
One part that had me chuckling was the wedding. Sophie and Sage are planning a small, private one. But the town folk are bombarding Lucky about what to buy the couple and when their invitations will arrive. I was anticipating a big pickle about this and wasn’t disappointed.
I enjoyed all of the colorful characters and a few became near and dear to me. A few others felt familiar, as I’m from a small town, much like Snowflake, where everybody knows everybody, and there are those few people that seem to be everywhere at once and know everything.
Even though this is the fourth book in the series. I easily got familiar with the characters and references to previous events had me curious to go back and read the series from the beginning. It’s always fun to begin at the beginning and find out how and why the characters ended up where they are.
A fun cozy and a series I”ll be following. I hope you give it a try.
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LibraryThing member ethel55
There were two murderous storylines for one great story. Between a poisoning and a dead body, Lucky Jamieson’s dedication to finding the real culprit to clear her grandfather Jack’s name was refreshingly well done. Most of the sleuthing took place in a very natural manner and since she has an
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‘in’ with the local doc, interpreting things like autopsies speeds along. The sweet wedding plans that run throughout the story for Sophie and Sage’s supposedly small and private wedding were a fun respite from Lucky’s sleuthing. This is a fun series set in Snowflake, Vermont and although there are many soup recipes at the end, not too much of the action took place in the restaurant this time. This series is a favorite of a friend of mine, so I hurried up and read this so I would be ready for the new story that releases next month. Show Less
LibraryThing member anissaannalise
This fourth installment of the Soup Lover's Mysteries had a death after a draught of May wine with wider and even more dangerous implications, the wedding of Sophie and Sage, a dead faceless dude in a creek and the reveal of a murder and cover up long ago. It's a lot and more or less comes off
As in the other books, the recipes mentioned throughout sound more enticing than those in the back of the book but I was drawn to a few in the back of the book and plan to make them. Recommended for fans of the series or to casual pick ups (this doesn't need to be read sequentially as there's so much restatement, new readers will catch up; to readers of the series, this lends itself to a bit of skimming.)
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well. There are some worthy red herrings but unless one has picked this up without reading the others in the series, you know fairly well who the culprits won't be. The most boring romance in a book series ever seemed a bit less focused on this time and I was grateful. On the up side, all the other relationships between Lucky and the other characters are so well done and worth following.As in the other books, the recipes mentioned throughout sound more enticing than those in the back of the book but I was drawn to a few in the back of the book and plan to make them. Recommended for fans of the series or to casual pick ups (this doesn't need to be read sequentially as there's so much restatement, new readers will catch up; to readers of the series, this lends itself to a bit of skimming.)
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Language
Original language
English
Physical description
304 p.; 6.75 inches
ISBN
0425273113 / 9780425273111
Local notes
In this cozy murder mystery, the victim (of poisoning) is an attendee of a May Day celebration. The series' protagonist, Lucky (Laetitia) Jamieson, owns a soup restaurant in a small New England town. Neither she nor her close friends and co-workers are Pagan, but they are not critical of the May Day rites.