In Cruel Candy by Mildred Abbott, Winifred (Fred) Page moves to the town of Estes Park, Colorado, where her mother and step-father live, to restart her life and open a bookstore called The Cozy Corgi, named after her dog, Watson. As she arrives in town, she meets Opal and Lois, the sisters with candy shops on either side of her new bookstore, formerly a taxidermist shop. The next morning, Fred goes to explore the premises of her new shop, and Watson leads her to a body, that of Opal, surrounded on the ground by candies. This, therefore, is Fred’s introduction to both murder and the handsome Sergeant Branson Wexler.
While the police are searching the shop, they make a startling discovery: The entire basement is filled with marijuana being grown. Soon, Fred’s step-father, Barry Adams, gets detained by Sgt. Wexler on suspicion of murder. He has been consuming edibles, marijuana- laced food, and Opal supplied them for a while. While pot is legal to use in Colorado, it is not legal in Estes Park to sell it, making Opal’s trade illicit. As the police hold Barry for the 24 hours they are allowed to do so without proving cause, Fred determines to follow in her the footsteps of her late father, a drug police detective killed on the job several years earlier, and clear the name of her step- father.
Cruel Candy proved to be a cute little book. It seems from reviews on Amazon to have been a great introduction to cozy mysteries for many readers, which I really appreciate. The more lovers of my favorite genre who exist, the more good books we can hope to have written and published, as well as put on audio. It did feel a little light in the plot to me, as someone who has listened to hundreds of cozy mysteries. However, I enjoyed the unique introduction of the issue of marijuana, especially now that it is legal in some states, including my own of California. I can’t recall a single cozy mystery out of those hundreds that incorporates issues related to pot, so I appreciate the freshness of that aspect of the book.
I enjoyed the characters in the book. Fred’s hippy step- father was humorous but still seemed to be a genuine person and not a caricature. Fred’s new friend, Katie, has dimensions to her that I enjoyed as well. Further, we see the hope for the badly- hurt- in- love Fred to find a truly good man in Branson, if he will just let up on her step- father. And of course, Watson serves as the perfect “Watson” to Fred’s Holmes, except that he can’t recount their adventures as a true Watson should. He has a real independent streak, not being cuddly unless he is the one to seek out affection, but he goes everywhere with Fred and goes crazy at the slightest mention of the word “treat.”
Angie Hickman performs the audio edition of Cruel Candy. I felt that her voice was too young to suit the character of 38- year- old Fred, who narrates the book. That said, she used strong expressions and good voices for the men, though some of the women’s voices came across as too shrill in Hickman’s high- pitched voice.
In general, I enjoyed Cruel Candy, which ended up with a satisfying conclusion to the mystery, especially in Fred’s way of dealing with it. I would have liked a little more depth to the mystery plot, giving us more suspects and red herrings, but for a first book, this was fun. I give the book four stars and the recording three.
Disclaimer: I received this book for free through Audiobook BOOK, but that had no influence on the content of my review.