Southern Sass and Killer Cravings (Marygene Brown #1) by Kate Young

Life has always been sweet on Georgia’s Peach Cove Island, but a case of murder has Marygene Brown down in the pits . . .

For generations, the women of the Brown family on Peach Cove Island have been known for their Southern sass and sweet homemade desserts at their beloved Peach Diner. Since their mother's passing two years ago, Marygene has been stuck in Atlanta while her sister Jena Lynn has been running the family business. Now Marygene has left her husband and returned to her hometown, where she can almost feel Mama's presence.

But all is not peachy back home. Marygene has barely tied on an apron when a diner regular drops dead at the counter. When it turns out the old man's been poisoned, Jena Lynn is led away in handcuffs and the family eatery is closed. Now, to save her sister and the diner, Marygene must find the real killer. With some startling assistance from her Mama's spirit, Marygene will be serving up a special order of just desserts . . .

Includes Seven Recipes from Marygene’s Kitchen!  (Summary via Goodreads)


You know a book is good when you are in the middle of reading it and you are already getting your thoughts in order to write your review.  And that is exactly what happened while I was reading Southern Sass and Killing Cravings by Kate Young !!

I instantly fell in love with Marygene Brown, her family and friends, and her hometown !!  As soon as you open up the book and start reading the story you will be hooked.  

The story starts with Marygene moving back to her hometown after leaving her abusive husband....kind of with her tail between her legs because when she left it wasn't on great terms with her sister.  Her sister Jena Lynn has been running their family business, The Peach Diner, since their mama died and Marygene comes back home to help with the diner.  Unfortunately before she can unpack and settle in to her mama's house an elderly local man drops dead in the diner !  Before he breathes his last breath, however, he hands Marygene a piece of paper with some letters and numbers written on it and tells her not to trust anyone.  Well.... with her father as the sheriff and her ex-boyfriend one of the deputies, that is going to be almost impossible to do.  Oh and Marygene's mother is kind of stuck between here and the afterlife and only Marygene can see her......

There were times while reading Southern Sass and Killer Cravings that I laughed out loud and then there were times I was on the edge of my seat holding my breathe.  Both of these constitute a good read in my book.  There is so much for a reader to love about this book....from the family dymanics to the friendships and relationships to the town and the shops to the way the townspeople talk and some of the sayings they have to the murders and the story surrounding them....something for all readers !!!

I thoroughly loved this first book in this new series by Young and look forward to spending more time with Marygene and her quaint little town.  I cannot wait to see what develops......


Review by Missi M.