Macarons Can Be Murder is the first book in a -very- light cozy romance mystery by Rose Betancourt. Released 11th July 2023 by Crooked Lane, it's 288 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.
This reads more like a romance-y drama filled light novel than a well constructed mystery (even for a cozy). The characterizations are two dimensional and mostly superficial. The main character's name (Marcie Beaucoup) is cringeworthy, and definitely reads like the pun occurred to the author who proceeded to write a whole series around it. The secondary characters are tacked on and just show up and disappear when their scenes are done. The action and plot developments were strongly foreshadowed and there are few twists and turns to the denouement.
The writing is uneven, and the dialogue is a bit rough, but as a
first novel, and series starter, it's possibly worth a look
for fans of very light cozies who don't mind insta-love and MC mooning like a love-struck 13 year old.
The unabridged audiobook has a run time of 7 hours 6 minutes and is capably read by Nan McNamara. She has a well modulated alto voice and delineates the characters accurately. Sound and production quality are high throughout the read.
Three stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
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