This is the first book in the Cape Bay Cafe series, and it definitely falls into the cozy murder mystery category. It introduces us to Francesca Amaro, who, following a broken engagement and the death of her mother, has moved back to the sleepy seaside town of Cape Bay, Massachusetts, from her high powered life in New York. Francesca runs the Antonia’s Coffee Shop – previously run by her grandparents and then her mother – which serves the best coffee in town.
When Mr Cardosi, the father of her childhood friend Matt, is murdered, Francesca and Matt set out to solve the crime and bring the perpetrator to justice. Along the way there are hints of romance, a colourful cast of local characters, and lots of talk of sweet treats!
I listened to this as an audiobook, narrated by Marguerite Gavin, who did a great job. The story is told in the first person and while the romance part is fairly predictable, the mystery part did keep me guessing and there were plenty of red herrings. I really enjoyed listening to this story. I had to suspend my disbelief quite a lot, as Francesca had a habit of jumping to conclusions based on very little, but both she and Matt were very likeable characters, and sometimes you need something that just makes you smile and is easy to listen to. Coming in at under 5 hours, it’s probably half the length of an average novel, and for this reason, once we have been introduced to Francesca and her background, the story rattles along at a nice pace.
If you are a fan of the genre, I highly recommend giving this book a try, and I look forward to reading the next one in the series.
Between the Pages 
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