Stake & Eggs (A Cackleberry Club Mystery)
Childs’ Cackleberry Club series stars three fortysomething widows, Suzanne, Petra, and Toni, who run a café. In the latest outing, a bank manager is decapitated during the small town’s winter festival after running into a wire stretched across the path behind the café. Several of the women’s friends who are struggling for money become suspects, and Suzanne tries to find answers, butting heads with the sheriff in the process. A homeless teen, a spouse with secrets, and candidates for the now-open bank-manager position all provide clues. The food and party descriptions are as appealing as the mystery plot. Childs, who also writes a scrapbooking series and a series set in a tea shop, keeps all three going strong with engaging characters, clever settings, and crisp writing. Katherine Hall Page fans should add all of Childs’ series to their must-read lists. --Amy Alessio