We are now up to Book 16 in the marvellous Little Duck Pond Cafe series, with A Summer of Surprises by Rosie Green. I am loving being back in Sunnybrook!When Ruby Watkiss lands a job at the True Loaf Bakery, she
feels as if the sun has finally come out. Having been through a traumatic time
that wrecked her confidence levels, it’s a joy to be working for Ellie, and now
all Ruby wants is to lead a quiet life and support her mum in getting the help
she needs.
But life, it seems, has other plans for Ruby.
Working alongside the bafflingly rude Hudson Holmes would be
bad enough – but then odd things start happening. It seems that someone is out
to sabotage the café and bakery, and to her horror, Ruby finds the finger
pointing at her.
Desperate to prove her innocence, she teams up with the most
unlikely person in order to get to the bottom of what’s going on. Tailing
suspects and hiding in bushes isn’t something she ever imagined she’d be doing,
although her partner in mystery-solving seems the perfect man for the job. Can
they clear Ruby’s name by discovering the real culprit?
With all the drama afoot, at least there’s no time for
romance. Because that’s the very last thing on Ruby’s mind these days. Or is
it…?
My Thoughts
One of the reasons why this series feels fresh and interesting is because each story introduces some new characters who all have their own story to tell. Add to them the joy of meeting up with some familiar faces and you sink down into the new story, confident that you have a treat in store. This story merges Ellie's story with Ruby's. Ruby is the newest recruit to Ellie's workforce. You have sympathy for her from the start as she finds herself put into a difficult situation.
There is the hint of a cosy mystery about this story as Ruby meets Hudson Holmes and they find they have a mystery to uncover. I enjoyed their growing friendship and the dynamic between the two. There are one ot two red herrings to uncover and Ruby turns out to have a very surprising past. Warm, welcoming, delightful- just what I'm looking for from this series!
In short: The series continues...
About the Author
Rosie has been scribbling stories ever since she was little. Back then, they were rip-roaring adventure tales with a
young heroine in perilous danger of falling off a cliff or being tied up by
'the baddies'.
Thankfully, Rosie has moved on somewhat, and now much
prefers to write romantic comedies that melt your heart and make you smile,
with really not much perilous danger involved at all - unless you count the
heroine losing her heart in love.
Her series of novellas is centred around life in a village
cafe. The latest, ‘Sweet Pastries & Sourdough', is out now.
Look out for more Little Duck Pond Café tales in 2021!
You can read my review of more of this series here:
| A Cornish Summer Holiday | Lucy's Great Escape | Sweet Pastries and Sourdough
Follow the rest of the tour!
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