It’s Halloween in Weatherford, Texas—which means Phyllis Newsom is baking up a storm of yummy seasonal treats…but she’s about to get even busier unmasking a killer.
While Phyllis and her friend Carolyn are preparing for a baking contest, her housemate Sam adopts Buck, an adorable Dalmatian who was hit by a car. To thank local veterinarian Hank Baxter for helping the dog, Phyllis and Carolyn bake a batch of doggie treats for his other four-legged patients.
But when they arrive at the clinic, the vet is in the process of being arrested—for the murder of his wife! Convinced that the police are barking up the wrong tree and that someone’s been burying evidence, Sam begs Phyllis to help find the real killer. Joined by Buck, the friends engage in a dogged pursuit of the murderer, who will stop at nothing to muzzle them…permanently.
Includes Recipes
For fans of: Joanne Fluke
When Phyllis Newsom agrees to accompany her housemate, Sam Fletcher, to the animal shelter to help him pick out a dog, she has no idea the decision will lead to their involvement in yet another murder investigation. Where Phyllis is concerned, though, it’s starting to seem like all roads lead to her playing Miss Marple – whether she and her friends and family like it or not.
Trick or Deadly Treat is the ninth of Livia J. Washburn’s Fresh-Baked Mysteries, and if you ask me, it’s the perfect thing to read on a lazy fall afternoon. Like all of Washburn’s books, Trick or Deadly Treat is a gently paced, mild-mannered but incredibly satisfying whodunit. The mystery is simple yet well constructed, with plenty of subtle clues and viable suspects, and Phyllis and Sam make for intelligent and methodical detectives. There’s not much action or tension to speak of, but the characters are such good company I never felt the urge to skim, and Washburn wraps up things very neatly with a smart solution to her central mystery that’s completely unexpected and 100% earned.
The cast of Trick or Deadly Treat is small, but Washburn uses it to good effect. Sam and Phyllis essentially share the role of protagonist in this book, making Sam seem more intelligent and less like Phyllis’ lackey and rendering Phyllis less cold and judgmental. Housemates Eve and Carolyn are mostly relegated to the background this time around, but while I do miss the energy they bring to the group, I really enjoy the Tommy-and-Tuppence-esque partnership that develops between Sam and Phyllis in their absence. And the incredibly sweet relationship that forms between Sam and his newly adopted dog Buck is icing on the cake; if you can finish this book without being at least a little bit tempted to rescue an animal, you’re a stronger person than I.
Reviewed by Kat
This sounds good thanks for the review
Penney