This series is like a little piece of candy - an enjoyable treat between heavier books. I always enjoy the characters and the mystery (which I never seem to guess). My only criticism is that the main character drives a MINI Cooper and unless she upgraded to the larger 4-door models, no one is jumping into the backseat as a surprise. 😂 I’ve owned multiple models of MINIs and it’s just not possible in the hardtop model which is what I think that character drives. Nitpicky, I know but a detail easily verified.

I really enjoyed the murder in this instalment of the series. I had so many questions and I was right to have them. I enjoyed the characters but because this was a high school reunion there were too many to keep track of, especially in the high school past and the present.

This is one of my favorite cozy series. I've read them all and enjoyed them all.

Here comes the but: I seriously wanted to reach into the book and deck Angie at the beginning. Mel was bullied relentlessly in high school, but Angie has her sights set on the three of them going to their 15th high school reunion (and baking 500 cupcakes for the event). Despite the fact that Mel vociferously objects, Angie manipulates her into saying yes. That's the only way to state it - straight out manipulation. I couldn't figure out why they couldn't just bake cupcakes for the event, and stay home. But Angie orders it, so tough luck Mel. She was such a bitch at the beginning. No other way to put it.

In addition, as Angie and Tate have been married for six minutes, it's time to start a family. And Tate won't let Angie do anything to hurt the maybe, possibly pregnant Angie. Multiple times he told her she needed to be careful when she wasn't doing a damn thing. I can't believe her character would be okay with being ordered around by her husband, especially when she fights her brothers so hard when they attempt to protect her. I found myself rolling my eyes way to much at the two of them.

Regardless, the mystery was hard to anticipate and despite the fact that the victim was an absolutely horrible human being, I still cared who killed her. I'll read the next one, but this one left me a bit annoyed.

I binged this series earlier this year because it had been on my TBR pile for too long. Once I started I just couldn't help but read the entire series. When book 11 was released earlier this month, I couldn't wait to finish other reading commitments so I could sit down and devour this latest installment. I love these characters. The friendship between Mel, Angie and Tate continues to evolve and grow as they do both personally and professionally. The dialogue has the witty banter that we have come to expect from this series along with the movie line game that I find fun. The plot was fast past and the author provides plenty of clues, suspects and twists that kept me engaged and turning pages. There were some good secondary characters in the story this time and I wouldn't mind see a future guest appearance by some of them.

This was a terrific addition to the series and I am hooked. The author has created some wonderful characters who continue to grow and evolve with the series along with engaging mysteries. I am looking forward to more books in the series.