Robbie Jordan has agreed to let producer Tara O’Hara Moore host her cooking competition show at Pans ‘N Pancakes. It is St. Patrick’s Day which has the restaurant decked out in green shamrocks. The crew is ready to begin filming, but Tara has failed to arrive. Robbie goes upstairs to check on Tara with Buck and they find the producer dead in her room. Tara was murdered and Robbie has a restaurant full of suspects. Four Leaf Cleaver by Maddie Day is the eleventh A Country Store Mystery. It can be read as a standalone for those new to the series. I like Maddie Day’s writing style. It is casual (like a group of friends chatting) which makes her stories easy to read. Robbie Jordan is enjoying married life. She loves her husband, Abe and her stepson, Sean. Several women in Robbie’s circle announce they are pregnant. Robbie is happy for her friends, but she is sad as well. Robbie and Abe have been trying to get pregnant without success. The mystery was appealing. I knew who committed the crime, but I did not know why until later in the story. I like how the cleaver worked into the mystery. There were several suspects because the victim was not liked. Robbie asks questions and observes. She shares her insights with Lt. Buck Bird and the detective on the case. Buck gets some good news. He has come a long way since the first investigation. I enjoyed the side story lines. It was great to catch up with the characters. The ending will leave fans of the series smiling. The food cooked in Pans ‘N Pancakes and during the contest will have your mouthwatering. I agree with the patrons that the asparagus omelet should not be repeated. Four Leaf Cleaver is an appetizing tale with a cooking competition, a cleaver as a clue, a surplus of suspects, a dour detective, a profusion of pregnancies, tasty repasts, and an awful asparagus omelet. ( )

Four Leaf Cleaver is Maddie Day's eleventh book in the A Country Store Mysteries series.

Robbie Jordan’s Pans ‘N Pancakes, her restaurant/country store, is hosting a televised cookoff called Holiday Hot-Off, a St. Patrick's Day-themed event. Robbie hasn’t seen any of the other telecasts, but she figures that the show will probably bring new customers to her restaurant. Eight contestants will be vying for the top prize, and one of those is Robbie’s husband, Abe. The criteria for the cook-off are that dishes must be ready to serve in an hour and use Hoosier Brewing Company’s Irish stout, the cook-off’s sponsor. On the first day, as the contestants are getting set up, the show’s producer, Tara, her assistant, Jaden, and camerawoman, Vin, are busy setting up the shots they want to use. Robbie finds all of this fascinating but notices Tara seems brash to her crew and some of the contestants.

The crew and contestants are ready to begin but have not seen Tara. Tara stays in a B&B room upstairs, and Robbie heads to check on Tara. Robbie finds Tara’s body savagely attacked. Robbie finds a meat cleaver with a four-leaf clover on its handle near Tara’s lifeless body. There is no shortage of suspects. Has her ex-husband killed her, thereby seeking revenge for getting his restaurant? Maybe Jaden or Vin have had enough of her mistreatment or the contestant that claims she had stolen one of his recipes.

I love this series. The characters are well-developed, believable, and entertaining. I particularly enjoy Lt, Bird and his use of the local dialect, but this book it proved to be a little light. A couple of Robbie’s friends will have babies, and Robbie is wondering if she will ever become pregnant. The story is well-written, plotted, and moves at a quick pace. There were enough twists and turns that I kept guessing about the killer near the end of the book.

Delicious-sounding recipes are included at the end of the book.

I’m looking forward to the next book in this wonderful series. ( )

This was a great story! I would have given four and a half stars if that was an option. I have read a few books in the Country Store Mystery series, but this could easily be read as a standalone mystery. The story is set in South Lick, Indiana, and being a fellow Hoosier, it was fun to read about real towns in our southwest that I am familiar with.

This story is about Robbie Jordan's shop Pans "N Pancakes. The shop has been selected as the location for a cook off for a popular holiday cooking show. The holiday is St. Patrick's Day and every recipe has to use the Hoosier Brewing Company's stout beer as an ingredient. The show's producer and star is found dead the morning of the filming, and it turns out no one is too upset about her death.

Robbie, of course begins in her own way to investigate the murder and becomes a target herself.

I enjoyed this story and think anyone who likes a good cozy mystery will, too! I received an advance reader copy from #NetGalley and the publishers for my honest opinion. ( )

Robbie Jordan, owner and chief chef at restaurant Pans ‘N Pancakes, is fully occupied preparing for a big cooking competition “Holiday Hot-Off" produced by the notorious Tara Moore, in addition to the celebration of Saint Patrick’s Day!

However, overnight, the community of South Lick is shocked to the core by the death of Tara, murdered actually!

FOUR LEAF CLEAVER is my first read of Country Store Mystery series and I truly enjoyed it!

Maddie Day has cleverly crafted this splendid cozy mystery FOUR LEAF CLEAVER imbued with unexpected twists and turns! I highly recommend it to any reader who loves to savor deliciously cozy mystery. ( )

recipes, murder, murder-investigation, restaurant, Indiana, small-business, small-town, law-enforcement, cozy-mystery, amateur-sleuth, witty****

Robbie and Abe own and operate a country store named Pans 'n Pancakes with lodgings upstairs for a few guests. They have been tagged to host a cooking show that will be sold to TV. Instead, the instigator who seems to be universally disliked/hated) is found murdered in her room upstairs. Enter the local law plus the state investigator. The sleuthing is murky and the friend interactions are fun.
Great characters and a cohesive mystery plot are the best assets. Add in the concerns and lingo of the characters which are classic small town everywhere, the problems of the small business owner who is the central character, and a lot of witticisms. Great but quick read!
I requested and received a free e-book copy from Kensington Books/Kensington Cozies via NetGalley. Thank you! ( )