Well-paced cozy with Caribbean flavor
Against the Currant: A Spice Isle Bakery Mystery by Olivia Matthews
Against the Current is the first book in Olivia Matthews’ Spice Isle Bakery series. Lyndsay Murray opens a bakery in her Little Caribbean neighborhood in Brooklyn. Her family plays a critical role in the book and the bakery, where they offer support and even roll up their sleeves and pitch in to help her get her new venture in town. Her goods are primarily based on recipes from her family’s native Grenada, and she attracts a clientele of people of West Indian heritage and those who love her unique flavor profiles.
Her venture seems doomed from the start, with local bakery owner Claudio Fabrizi claiming she is encroaching on his territory and swearing to force her out of business. He comes to the Spice Isle Bakery on opening day, spoiling the mood with his bloviating. Lyndsay loses her temper and gives back as good as she gets in front of her many patrons. They cheered her in the moment, but when Claudio turns up dead the next day, she’s the easiest place for the police to lay blame. She has little choice but to take it upon herself to clear her name.
Against the Current is well-paced and keeps the reader interested and engaged all the way through. The characters are likable and well-rounded. I enjoyed getting to know a little bit about the culture and cuisine of a region quite different from my own heritage.
I look forward to reading more in the series, and I’d recommend the book to anyone who loves cozies and is looking for something a bit different.
I received this advanced reader copy of Against the Currant from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.
Publisher’s Description
In Olivia Matthews’s Against the Currant, the first Spice Isle Bakery Mystery, investigating a murder was never supposed to be on the menu…
Little Caribbean, Brooklyn, New York: Lyndsay Murray is opening Spice Isle Bakery with her family, and it’s everything she’s ever wanted. The West Indian bakery is her way to give back to the community she loves, stay connected to her Grenadian roots, and work side-by-side with her family. The only thing getting a rise out of Lyndsay is Claudio Fabrizi, a disgruntled fellow bakery owner who does not want any competition.
On opening day, he comes into the bakery threatening to shut them down. Fed up, Lyndsay takes him to task in front of what seems to be the whole neighborhood. So when Claudio turns up dead a day later—murdered—Lyndsay is, unfortunately, the prime suspect. To get the scent of suspicion off her and her bakery, Lyndsay has to prove she’s innocent—under the watchful eyes of her overprotective brother, anxious parents, and meddlesome extended family—what could go wrong?
