I absolutely loved every page and every character - well, not the villain, obviously. It was gentle, but also exciting and thrilling in parts.

I was getting major Like Water for Chocolate Vibes, but better, if that makes sense. I truly loved this story and I cannot wait to read the others. It's almost made me want to give up the dream of alpaca farming in the outer Hebrides...and go sheep farming in the Karoo.
But you know, with out the murders and better wifi and maybe air-conditioning.

EDIT!
I do just want to say that I got really excited at the thought of the tv series. I couldn't wait for the characters to come to life. But I feel I must add that as a South African I am incredibly offended by Acorn Tv or whoever produced it. Why did they feel the need to make Tannie Maria a Scot?

Now please do not misunderstand me, I do not have anything against the Scots I think they're great.

But FFS the story is about a Karoo town TANNIE. Not a Scot who moved to the Karoo and now solves murders.

I find this problematic for a few reasons (and I shall list them now):

1) ANY one who has ever been to or come from a small town knows that outsiders are treated with suspicion and so the thought of a Scot getting involved in the lives of the people of Ladismith is laughable.
2) Why exactly did they change her nationality? Was it because the accent would be too hard to understand? I'm sorry I have seen MANY, many serials where the characters spoke in dialect and I have NOT had a problem following the story or the dialogue. Essentially what the producers are saying is that the story is great but not good enough to be true to the characters and the story. Oh and your accent sucks so we'll change that too.

Surely the number of expats who are living internationally (Perth, Brisbane, London, Auckland the list can go on) matter? Sure people are not still so freaking sensitive to the accents from S. Africa that they had to water the characters down and quite frankly lose something that made the story so brilliant?

I saw this book recommendation from Diane in Denmark and it's South African so I had to read it. It's amazing how small the world is.

Three ladies running a local newspaper is what a booklover's dreams are made of.

I have baked each day I've read this book. The food is described in such mouthwatering detail that I have been taking pleasure in all my meals and my waistline already shows it in just three days.

The story developed quickly and not how I predicted so I enjoyed every surprise. I thought a cosy mystery was an oxymoron but this really is a feel good whodunit.

There are some humourous scenes I'd love to see on a big screen. The 'fight/interrogation scene' had me laughing out loud.

Quite a few of the chapters end on cliffhangers making it hard to put the book down.

Even the romance isn't very typical. Cringe-worthy. I wanted to look away so had to read with one eye closed.

Overall, a lovely enjoyable read.

8.5/10

Meh. It was okay. I can't give it three stars for average because I'm not interested enough to finish it.

Very enjoyable and entertaining; rich and warm writing with great characters and beautifully described scenery and wonderful sounding recipes.
I'm hoping that this will be a long series, as there's so much room for more adventures.
This is definitely going to be one for fans of Alexander McCall Smith and M.C Beaton - I'll be recommending this to my customers.
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was the perfect read to follow my last book (heavy, difficult content). Andrew creates lovable characters, especially her food-loving, advice-giving, mystery-solving protagonist. A good summer read.

Very sweet and wholesome for a murder mystery! And the recipes have been recorded to give a try in the future. A slow start but by the end I was thoroughly entertained!

Tannie Maria is a South African woman who answers letters to the lovelorn, with advice and recipes. When a murder occurs, Maria and her fellow Gazette staff, Hattie and Jessie, become involved at the displeasure of the local police. A great new series if you love something different with a taste of another culture.

It unfortunately became less interesting with time and when she started using a racial slur pretty extensively I decided I was done.