Series:
Kielbasa Queen (Book 2)
Lydia Wienewski has opened her Polish-American cafe and
bakery on the shore of Lake Erie, but her idyllic new venture is shattered when
the low tide leads to a terrible discovery.
July, 1982. Lydia Wienewski's dream has finally come
true: Lydia's Lakeside Cafe and Bakery, selling delicious Polish-American fare
on the shore of Lake Erie, is now open and her fortunes are looking up. Even
her old nemesis and tutor, the irascible Madame Delphine, has made time to
sample Lydia's delectable pierogi, with some of her students in tow.
But when Lydia finds Madame Delphine dead in the water,
her lakeside dream turns into a nightmare. Was it a bizarre suicide, or brutal
murder? As Lydia and Grandma Mary investigate, they discover that there was
more to Madame Delphine than meets the eye, and quickly find themselves drawn
into an increasingly perilous situation! Can they uncover the truth about
Madame Delphine's untimely death?
This was a fun, cozy mystery that hooked me quickly and kept
me intrigued to the end. The scene is Buffalo, New York, in the early 1980s,
and a Polish-American café owner who stumbles over her second dead body in a
few months. Though I haven't (yet) read the first book in the series, enough
backstory is provided for the references to make sense.
Lydia returned to her home and family in Buffalo after leaving
pastry school in Ottawa over differences with her instructor, Madame Delphine.
She splits her time between helping her father with his butcher business and
running her newly opened café and bakery, with little left to spend with her
boyfriend, Stanley. I like Lydia's close relationship with her family; the
love, respect, and support are clearly there.
The story begins with an unexpected visit from Madame
Delphine and others from the pastry school. Lydia is wary, as they did not part
on the best terms. But the visit is surprisingly cordial, with both admitting
to mistakes made. I liked the prospect of a friendly and professional relationship
between the two former adversaries. Matters become complicated the next morning
when Lydia discovers Madame's dead body in the lake behind the café.
I enjoyed Lydia and Grandma's investigation into the
murder. Though the local cop writes it off as a suicide, Lydia is sure it was
murder and sets out to prove it. The clues are few and far between, and there
is a wide range of suspects, from Delphine's husband or son to students from
the pastry school. Despite warnings from the local cop to stay out of it, Lydia
is determined to solve the mystery before it impacts her business. I liked following
her thought processes, though sometimes they led her to take risky chances. The
final confrontation was well done, with enough intensity to keep me on the edge
of my seat until it was over.
The story's characters were well-portrayed and unique
enough to keep them straight. Lydia was fervently family-oriented but also
looking for her place separate from them. She has her moments of unlikeable
behavior, but it is easy to see the changes she undergoes during the book. Her
boyfriend, Stanley, is a law student who is as busy as she is. I liked how they
worked at their relationship. I loved his support and protectiveness as she got
more involved in the investigation. I adored Grandma Mary. She reminds me a lot
of Grandma Mazur in the Stephanie Plum books. She is feisty and outspoken, making
me laugh at some of her comments.
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