Deep Fried Death is the twelfth book in the A Country Store Mystery series by Maddie Day.

Robbie and her employees, Danna and Turner, built a rustic outhouse mounted on two wheels. They entered it in an outhouse race at the Abe Martin, a Hooiser cartoon character from a hundred years ago, Festival on Memorial Day. Danna will be riding in the outhouse, but first, she and Turner start to push the outhouse to the starting line when they bump into a curb. The door on the outhouse pops open, and a body falls out along with a skillet. The body is quickly identified as Evermina Martin, and the skillet is quickly determined to be the murder weapon. Evermina owns the restaurant across from Robbi’s Pans ‘N Pancakes, and her fondest wish was to put Robbie out of business. At first, the police are interested in Robbie. Still, when Robbie’s brother-in-law comes under suspicion, she decides that even with her being with child, she will cut back on her involvement but will do some investigation. Robbie will discover several subjects that she will need to investigate.

I love this series; it has wonderful, engaging, and well-developed characters. I particularly liked that Robbie took into consideration her pregnancy and stayed away from putting her life and her future baby’s life in danger. Of course, Buck is there with his “down home” witticisms. Even his cousin, Wanda, had a few of her own to contribute. The story is well-written and plotted. I feel I am there with the characters in each book in the series. The story has enough twists and turns that I kept guessing until the end who the killer was.

Delicious-sounding recipes are also included in the book.

I’m looking forward to the next book in this fun series. ( )

I haven't read other books in this series before. It can be read as a stand alone though you might understand some of the relationships more if you've read earlier books in the series. This was a Kenzington Cozies Club award.

The title: the author states in an author note at the beginning of the book that the title has little to do with the plot but that they just loved the title so much they used it. The book contains both a deep fryer (restaurant grade) and a death (murder) but the two are not related.

The cover is also a bit misleading. There is an outhouse NashCar race planned and Pans 'N Pancakes did create an entry, however, their entry never got to race down the race hill. Nor were any cats involved at the staging grounds for the race or during the race. (Apparently the NashCar race is a real event, though this book's relation of it does not guarantee it is an accurate representation of the real one.)

The overall plot was interesting and kept me reading. I didn't guess who the murderer was (but that's my norm, and if you usually can, your experience may vary.) ( )

Deep Fried Death by Maddie Day takes us back to South Lick, Indiana where Robbie Jordan and her employees are shocked when a dead body tumbles out of the Pans ‘N Pancakes Outhouse Race Festival entry. I found Deep Fried Death to be easy to read. Robbie and Abe are expecting their first child. Morning sickness is plaguing Robbie (saltines are her friend). Pans ‘N Pancakes is busy from opening to closing. We get to hear about food prep, cooking food, food ordering, and the descriptions of finished meals. The mystery is simple. Robbie does little sleuthing. I thought the family connection would have Robbie eager to investigate. I believe more time was devoted to the restaurant’s new deep frier than to the whodunit. I was surprised at how Robbie treated law enforcement when they showed up at the restaurant to ask questions. Deep Fried Death is the twelfth A Country Store Mystery. This story can be read as a standalone since the author provides the necessary background information for new readers. Deep Fried Death lacked depth and I felt the mystery was shoved into the background (I wanted less food and more mystery). Deep Fried Death is an easygoing story with an outhouse race, a murdered restauranter, a power problem, saltine crumbs, a deep frier delivery, and flavorsome food. ( )

small-business, small-town, local-law-enforcement, recipes, restaurant, amateur-sleuth, cozy-mystery, murder-investigation, pregnancy, wedding-anniversary****

A number of universities have bed races, Wisconsin had a coffin race this past Halloween, but this creative mind had an outhouse race in southern Indiana! Robbie and Abe own and operate a country store named Pans 'n Pancakes with lodgings upstairs for a few guests. A corpse fell out of their entry (outhouse) at the beginning of the race, and that made for a whole lot of trouble for several residents. Great characters and a cohesive mystery plot are the best assets. Add in the concerns and lingo of the characters which are classic small town everywhere, the problems of the small business owner (who is the central character) and a lot of witticisms. Great but quick read!
I requested and received a free e-book copy from Kensington Books/Kensington Cozies via NetGalley. Thank you! ( )

Maddie Day's Country Store Mystery series is my favorite cozy series and, once again, this 12th installment does not disappoint. In fact, it's probably one of my favorite books in the series.

Here, Robbie, the owner of South Lick Indiana's country diner, Pans and Pancakes, along with her employees, are preparing for the outhouse race on the raceday, when the dead body of a rival diner owner falls out of the Pans and Pancakes outhouse.

Surprisingly, Robbie takes a very cautious approach and tries not to get involved but, as always, she does.

A very enjoyable mystery with terrific characters. A top notch cozy.

Highly recommended!!

(I received a copy of this book, from the publisher, in exchange for a fair and honest review.) ( )