Book Review: Rubbed Out by: Riley Adams

Even Lulu Taylor proprietress of Aunt Pat's Barbeque restaurant in the heart of Memphis, Tennessee needs to get out of the kitchen now and then. But at the Rock and Ribs festival, she finds more than a taste of trouble...


Reuben Shaw rubs a lot of people the wrong way including Lulu's best friend, Cherry, who has the misfortune of being in the booth next to his  at the festival. The pigheaded pit master thinks he's a shoo-in to win the barbeque competition, but he spends more time stirring up trouble than seasonsing his spare ribs. Hours after she gets into a quarrel with him, Cherry finds Shaw dead with a butcher knife in his chest. Now it's her turn to get grilled by the police. Lulu sets out to clear her friends name and finds Shaw had more secrets than his barbeque recipe. She'll need to act fast, because the real killer will spare no one... including Lulu. 

Mrs. Lulu, Cherry and the Graces are back at it again with some seriously good BBQ and top notch mystery sleuthing! This time things heat up when one of the competitors at the world famous "Rock and Ribs" BBQ competition and festival gets stabbed, and it's up to the gang at Aunt Pats to find out who did it! This mystery will keep you guessing and your mouth watering with all the mention of great food!

Book Reivew: Hickory Smoked Homicide (A Memphis BBQ Mystery) By: Riley Adams

Welcome to Aunt Pat's barbeque restaurant-family run and located in the heart of Memphis, Tennessee. Named in honor of Lulu Taylor's great aunt, the restaurant on Beale Street dishes out the best that barbeque has to offer. But sometimes even the best food can bring out the worst in people...

Since she runs the hottest barbeque joint in town, Lulu Taylor knows pretty much everyone in Memphis who loves their ribs sweet and their corn bread spicy. But one person she'd rather not know is Tristan Pembroke, a snooty pageant coach with a mean streak longer than a line outside Aunt Pat's. When she finds Tristan's dead body stuffed in a closet at a party, the police are suspicious-especially since Lulu's developed a taste for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Caught in a situation stickier than molasses, Lulu must clear her name, or risk getting fried!

With every book I read, I like this series more and more. This one really had me guessing till the end. There were so many good character's who could have "done it", and every time I thought I had someone pegged... there popped up another clue to make me wanna second guess someone else! Great thrilling and suspenseful ending as well. This is the third book in the Memphis BBQ Mystery Series by Riley Adams and I am growing to love the friends and family that gather around ole Aunt Pat's, I hope Riley Adams continues to write this series because now I am definitely hooked! :)

Book Review: Finger Lickin' Dead by: Riley Adams

Welcome to Aunt Pat's barbeque restaurant family run and located in the heart of Memphis, Tennessee. Named in honor of Lulu Taylor's great aunt, the restaurant on Beale Street is famous for its ribs and spicy corn bread, but sometimes Southern comfort food can come with a side of murder...

When an anonymous food critic blasts several local restaurants-including Aunt Pat's with bad reviews, Lulu and her most loyal customers are burning mad, espeically when they discover Eppie Currian is the pen name of their friend Evelyn's cheating boyfriend. When "Eppie" gets his own fatal review, the list of suspects is long: two fuming ex-wives, an irate former restaurant owner, and even someone from Aunt Pat's own kitchen. Now, to catch the real killer, Lulu is going to have to put down her barbeque tongs before her loved ones get sentenced to a strict diet of prison food.

I was actually surprised at how much I liked this book. I have to admit, I was really apprehensive about reading it since I didn't really like the first book in the series. I felt this time around the gang at Aunt Pat's made me feel welcome and had more of a "family" feel to the mystery versus the cheesy and cliche feeling I got from the previous book. I liked the plot, I liked the characters, I even liked the side romance between Lulu's grandson Derrick and Peggy Sue's granddaughter Peaches. The only criticism I can offer is maybe a less predictable character as the murder? I am glad thought that I gave this series a second chance, it has made me feel much better about Riley Adam's books. I am also excited to read the next book in the series, and to see where the series will go with the new changes going on at Aunt Pat's.

Book Review: Delicious and Suspicious by Riley Adams

Welcome to Aunt Pat's barbeque restaurant-family run and located in the heart of Memphis, Tennessee. Named in honor of Lulu Taylor's great aunt, the restaurant is known for its ribs and spicy corn bread, but now the Taylor family will be known for murder-unless Lulu can clear their name... Rebecca Adrian came to Memphis to suss out the best local BBQ for prominent Cooking Channel show. Trouble is, Rebecca doesn't live long enough to mention a bad review. A mystery ingredient has killed her-and now all the fingers are pointing to Aunt Pat's restaurant. Horrified that her family is being accused of murder, Lulu fires up her investigative skills to solve the crime before someone else gets skewered...

I was very disappointed in this book, it was an extremely slow read for me.In fact I was about a third of he way through it when I just had to push my way through the rest of it, to just get to the end and say I finished it. I haven't felt that way about a book in a long time. It just had too many characters to keep up with, it was difficult to remember who was related to whom and what interactions they had with each other. I also felt like there were too many points of view from the characters, I understand that the author was trying to get everyone's two cents put in, but it just made it very confusing. I felt the plot was a little lacking also and that there could have been a better ending. I had very high hopes for this book but was seriously let down, It will take alot of convincing to pick up another one of Riley Adams books next time. Honestly... the best part about this book is the recipes in the back... to me it really wasn't worth the time. :(