Cozy Mystery Review: Coconut Drop Dead | Olivia Matthews | Spice Isle Bakery Mystery #3

The Spice Isle Bakery Mystery series by Olivia Matthews is a cozy mystery series set in Little Caribbean, Brooklyn, New York and centers around Lyndsay Murray and her Caribbean American family. Lyndsay co-owns Spice Island Bakery and does a little bit of detective work on the side. Coconut Drop Dead is a perfect blend of culture, warmth, and mystery and I loved learning about the traditions and cuisine of the Caribbean community!

About the Book | Coconut Drop Dead

The case in Olivia Matthews’s Coconut Drop Dead is going to be a tough nut to crack.

Brooklyn’s annual Caribbean American Heritage Festival is finally here, and Spice Isle Bakery is thrilled to be one of the event’s food vendors. After all, the Murrays have been attending the festival for years. Co-owner Lyndsay Murray hopes their West Indian pastries and finger foods draw people back to the bakery in Little Caribbean. She’s looking forward to having fun, connecting with customers, and celebrating with her family.

The day’s festivities are cut short when Camille, lead singer of an up-and-coming reggae band, dies. The police think it may be a tragic accident. But Lyndsay’s cousin Manny was close to Camille, and he believes someone cut her life short. Now Manny needs Lyndsay’s help to make sure a killer faces the music. (Synopsis from Goodreads)

Review | Coconut Drop Dead

This is the third book in the Spice Isle Bakery Mystery series and I think it is easy for readers to start with this book even if they haven’t read the others. I thought this was the best yet in this series and Matthews does a wonderful job of building the characters and community around the West Indian bakery.

The Murray family has been attending the Caribbean American Heritage Festival for years, but this will be the first year their business Spice Isle Bakery will be a food vendor at the event. This is a great investment in their business as they’ll reach even more people, though one or two of their most loyal customers are a bit put out that the bakery will be closed for one day (luckily Lyndsay smooths this over with a few freebies).

Lyndsay’s booth is busy all day and people are enjoying the food and live music. But the festivities are cut short when Camille—the lead singer of a popular reggae band and Lyndsay’s cousin Manny’s girlfriend—falls to her death. As if the death weren’t tragic enough, Manny is convinced Camille was pushed and the fall wasn’t an accident, it was murder. Lyndsay and her family agree that she should do her best to help, especially since the police don’t seem to be investigating Camille’s death as quickly as they’d hoped.

Lyndsay is a wonderful main character. I find her to be confident, humble, slightly stubborn, and kind. Throughout the book there are tons of tidbits about the food, culture, and heritage of the Murray family and the people in Little Caribbean. Lyndsay is very close to her family and I thought it was interesting to learn that they discuss decisions such as helping to investigate Camille’s death as a family. The characters aren’t over-the-top as some cozy mystery series tend towards. They feel authentic. For instance, I could picture Lyndsay’s grandmother crocheting Afghan squares in the corner all year long because she wants to make sure everyone in her life gets a handmaid gift for Christmas (the book takes place in July so this quirk was particularly funny). The customers at the bakery felt like the sort of community members that are nearly extended family because of their shared culture (and tendency to overstep boundaries on occasion).

The mystery is interesting and there were plenty of suspects for Lyndsay to try to get information from. She has an attraction to Detective Bryce Jackson, who went to school with her and is quite attractive, though she hasn’t warmed up to him since he investigated some of her family members in recent cases. Bryce is clearly interested in Lyndsay and it was a fun side story that didn’t detract from the main mystery.

The food and culture are the stars of this book. I have a little bit of experience eating Caribbean food, but there were many dishes in Coconut Drop Dead that I hadn’t heard of or tried. I’m going to need to try a few of the recipes and find a good local restaurant to go to after reading this mystery! I loved the characters, the humor that Matthews brought to her book, and the vibrance of the story, settings, and community.

Thank you to Minotaur Books for my copy. Opinions are my own.

About the Author | Olivia Matthews

Olivia Matthews is a pen name for Patricia Sargeant. Under the name Olivia Matthews, Patricia publishes several mystery series, including the Spice Isle Bakery Mysteries, the Peach Coast Library Mysteries, and the Sister Lou Mysteries.

Patricia Sargeant is the national best-selling, award-winning author of more than 20 novels. Her work has been featured in national publications such as Publishers Weekly, USA Today, Kirkus Reviews, Suspense Magazine, Mystery Scene Magazine, Library Journal and RT Book Reviews. She’s also been interviewed on podcasts including Destination Mystery with Laura Brennan, Conversations LIVE! with Cyrus Webb, Read You Later with Lasheera Lee and Katara’s Café with Katara Johnson.

Patricia has been a keynote speaker and presenter at various events. She’s conducted numerous writing craft workshops for writers groups and book conferences, and offers online fiction writing courses. Visit her The Write Spot website for details. To contact Patricia about attending your event, email her at BooksByPatricia@yahoo.com.

Patricia loves to hear from readers. You can email her at BooksByPatricia@yahoo.com