Review of When the Grits Hit the Fan by Maddie Day

‘When the Grits Hit the Fan’ is everything that I would anticipate in a cozy mystery from this author and more. It is fun, intriguing, and fraught with suspense. There is a full, unique cast of characters and suspects. The setting is in the upper Midwest, with rich descriptions of the surrounding areas that made me homesick. It is third in the Country Store Mysteries Series and can be read as a stand-alone. One thing I appreciated in this novel is how the author includes more of the history of the building that houses Pan’s ‘N Pancakes. Even though South Lick is fictional, I liked how the author inserted a Carnegie library and its design as is prevalent in Indiana. There are wonderful-sounding breakfast dishes that almost made my mouth water! Foodies will love the included recipes. I feel as if I got to know the primary characters better in this novel, in particular Robbie (owner of Pans ‘N Pancakes), Danna (Robbie’s right hand person), and Abe (Robbie’s boyfriend). Birdy, the black and white cat who chose Robbie as her person, is more of a presence in this novel yet I would love to see her become more of a close companion. Robbie is mature for her age, with wisdom beyond her years and the ability to ask questions and put the answers together to find the solution. Her strength in demo-ing second floor walls parallels her strength of character. The plot is complex, with additional mysteries that may or may not be related to the murder occurring in the early chapters. The murder victim had very few people who actually liked him, complicating the investigation by the State Police. Robbie knows their first suspect, Lou, is not the killer, as the two women are friends; the accusation from a relative of the deceased was simply not true. The stunning surprises Robbie finds add fascinating and frightening suspense. The pace steadily increases as the mysteries grow more puzzling; I like one of Robbie’s methods of finding solutions! Discovering who the bad guy/ gal is was a challenge! I was surprised to learn who it was, as I had already guessed at and discarded the person as innocent. Overall, I very much enjoyed this novel and highly recommend ‘When the Grits Hit the Fan’ to cozy mystery fans who enjoy intriguing, well-crafted mysteries that include a bit of history and tasty regional and Italian foods. With a grateful heart, I received an Advance Reader’s Copy of this book and as a courtesy, I am posting my honest review.