Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite

Croissant Carnage: A Lacey Greene Mystery is a sleuth mystery novel written by Jennifer Ito. Lacey Greene hadn’t had much success with romantic relationships in the past, but the brevity of her most recent one was a new low for her. After only six weeks, Brian, a newcomer to her small hometown of Jackson Peak, California, barged into A Sweet Spot, Lacey’s bakery and her pride and joy, and publicly announced that he never wanted to see or hear from her again. Lacey’s hurt pride and embarrassment was mingled with a bit of rueful confusion -- it hadn’t been all that much of a torrid romance, just a few dates and text messages. Her best friend, Kat, was there to suggest the perfect way to forget the whole situation, and the two of them found their way that evening to Wild Bill’s, a local watering hole and the purveyor of pitchers of margaritas, Kat’s recommended cure-all. The public rejection still did smart a bit as Jackson Peak was the kind of town where everyone instantly knew what was going on. The margaritas helped quite a bit, almost as much as Lacey’s first impressions about the hot guy who had overheard their conversation and interjected his own opinion on Lacey’s datability. As Lacey drifted off to sleep that night, she couldn’t help but picture him again in her mind. When she woke the next morning, her hangover spoke to the wisdom of that stranger in having suggested that she stop at one pitcher, but what Lacey discovered when she went to open her bakery put all thoughts of hangovers out of her mind.

Jennifer Ito’s sleuth mystery novel, Croissant Carnage: A Lacey Greene Mystery, is a suspenseful cozy mystery that pits Lacey against an unknown and violent stalker while she copes with the attentions of two hot and hunky men. There’s a delicious humor in the fact that the woman who had always had bad luck with men suddenly found herself with a surfeit of gorgeous and muscular men, who have taken it on themselves to guard her day and night. I particularly enjoyed the Central California setting of this novel as well as those scenes set in Lacey’s bakery -- even if they did make me start craving Lacey’s signature chocolate chip cookies. Croissant Carnage is well-written, and Ito’s characters are authentic and intriguing. While there’s a lot of heat generated between Lacey and her two admirers, readers who are leery of steamy romancing need not worry. Croissant Carnage: A Lacey Greene Mystery is most highly recommended.