The Myster Writers of America Cookbook, edited by Kate White

This cookbook is a collection of the favorite recipes of some well-known mystery writers.  The hardbound book is very nice and even has a ribbon bookmark.  The photo doesn't do it justice! Each recipe begins with a short note from the author that explains the origin of the recipe or just some personal information.

The recipes are a wonderful variety of recipes from gourmet to family fare.  The first recipe I tried was Gillian Flynn’s Beef Skillet Fiesta. She started her paragraph with “Be warned: I am no gourmet.”  Her recipe was certainly not gourmet, but it was just what I was looking for that night.  It was a good, easy, fast, and delicious family meal.  This cookbook is now filled with bits of paper making all of the recipes I want to try. Not ever recipe has a photo, but quite a few have nice full-page photos. This one has earned a place on my permanent cookbook shelf.

Breaker's Reef by Terri Blackstock

I wish I had known that this was book 4 of a series. I found the characters confusing because I did not know the history behind them. 

The story was too predictable. The more the finger pointed to a suspect the more sure I was that it was a false lead.   

The relationships were nice, but I just couldn’t connect with any of the characters. Not a bad read, just not her best.

Fribbet the Frog and the Tadpoles by Carole P. Roman

In this Captain No Beard story my favorite character, Fribbet the Frog, has a problem. He is crying his eyes out, and he has the weight of the world on his shoulders. The rest of the crew tries to understand his problem and help him through it.  Fribbet feels left out because Mom and Dad are busy with all of the new tadpoles, but the crew helps him learn all about being a big brother.

The Captain No Beard stories are the imaginary adventures of Alexander and his friends. They are fun, educational and teach children about friendships and caring relationships. This is another great addition to the series.