#Wavonne

[the-bookworm-cafe]

One of my favorite series! A.L. Herbert’s soul Food Series are 4 unique books that are just as good as single stand-alone books. Each book is about Halia growing her business into a national success as she nosily finds herself holding her own investigations as sudden deaths follow her and her cousin Wavonne. What started out as one crazy murder mystery adventure, the first book was so perfect it begged the question: “How on earth will the sequel work out?”

The first book: Murder With Fried Chicken and Waffles

A great introduction and world building as a believable slice-of-life story begins with a single, black woman owns and runs her own family restaurant. Late one night, Halia and Wavonne check on the restaurant before going home for the night and suddenly, gets engulfed into the middle of their investor's murder case!! The girls break the law by dragging his body out of the restaurant to avoid bad press, BUT due to a stupid action by Wavonne, Halia performs her own secret investigation to prove her cousin's innocence.

The second book: Murder with Macaroni and Cheese

An ooey gooey sequel to Murder with Fried Chicken and Waffles that starts off the series as a whole. Almost a year after Marcus Rand's murder inside Sweet Tea, Halia and Wavonne stumble upon a second murder after catering Halia's high school reunion party! Unlike the first book, A. L. Herbert takes his time to get to the murder mystery and instead, leads the first half of the book as world and character building as we follow Halia's family cater her own high school reunion, prepare herself for the big day, and deal with continuous high school drama and discrimination that never dies regardless of how old you get. What was a nice, stand-alone story building up to the murder, this time around, Halia and Wavonne do the right thing and call the police this time. Unfortunately for the police, Halia's controlling, boss-mode personality, makes her nosey on into the investigation, creating her own secret investigation once again!

Third book: Murder with Collard Greens and Hot Sauce

The beginning of Halia's TV presence, as a famous actress turned hair icon Monique hosts a cross country tour of her top selling hair salons. Halia and her family get swept into the lights and cameras, as a documentary crew follow Monique's every step. During a private party at Monique's new home, Halia witnesses Monique and her friend bickering in the corner after they all had to deal with Monique's drunk husband flirts with an even drunker Wavonne. Dragging a black out drunk Wavonne home, the family sees on the news the next morning that Monique had died after the party.

Fourth and Final Book: Murder with Honey Ham Biscuits

The last book in the series and probably the BEST book in the series. Is a massive send off for Halia's "celebrity chef" career, as Halia guest judge's a famous TV Cooking Competition. As they shoot the final episode of the season, a clueless or purposeful betrayal ends a contestant's life. With a couple solved murders under her belt Halia does everything she can to investigate herself, with or without the police's knowledge.

[readincolour]

Mahalia Watkins Soul Food Mysteries by A.L. Herbert

The Hallmark Channel and Jessica Fletcher (Murder, She Wrote) might have you convinced that cozy mysteries are strictly for and about white women. Dear readers, I'm here to tell you they are not! During my extended hiatus from blogging, I took the time to read a diverse array of books and discovered not only do I love cozy mysteries, there are a numbers of series featuring black protagonists, written by black authors.

Welcome to Mahalia's Sweet Tea--the finest soul food restaurant in Prince George's County, Maryland. In between preparing her famous cornbread and mashed potatoes so creamy "they'll make you want to slap your Momma," owner Halia Watkins is about to dip her spoon into a grisly mystery. . .

The titles are a bit kooky, but I love A.L. Herbert's Mahalia Watkins Soul Food Mysteries. While most cozies are set in small towns, Herbert sets hers in Washington DC and Prince George's County in Maryland. Halia, full-time restaurateur and part-time detective, and her quirky cousin Wavonne find themselves in a number of predicaments. And, as is usually the case, there's a police detective who hates their interference, but has to admit the cousins are pretty good at figuring things out. I love the realness of the characters: Halia is serious and focused on making her restaurant a success; younger cousin Wavonne is focused on designer clothes and snagging a rich man (providing well-timed comic relief; and Halia's mother, Celia, is focused on getting Halia married off so she can give her grandkids. One more thing to love about the series is the  recipes the author sprinkles throughout the book. They're not at the end of every chapter, so you don't feel like you're reading a cookbook, but there are enough recipes for you to know the author loves food and loves cooking. I'm dying to trip out a few of the recipes myself, the butter pecan cake in particular. Murder with Fried Chicken and Waffles and Murder with Macaroni and Cheese are out now. Murder with Collard Greens and Hot Sauce is out March 26 and I promise you're going to love it like a red velvet cupcake! February 06, 2019 at 11:00AM from ReadInColour.com http://bit.ly/2DbXxMC

[jennblogsbooks]

Happy Thirsty Thursday! . 🥐 . Confession time : the cover of MURDER WITH HONEY HAM BISCUITS by A.L. Herbert makes me so hungry! Just look at all that yummy food 🤤 If this book is half as good as that food looks I won’t be putting it down! . 🥐 . Thank you so @kensingtonbooks and @tlcbooktours for sending me a free e-copy! . 🥐 . When Halia is invited to serve as a guest judge on the popular cooking competition show Elite Chef, she's delighted to add some extra flavor to the mix. But as filming ramps up in Washington D.C., there are too many fiery personalities in the kitchen. Halia discovers that pulling off her small screen debut unscathed means contending with a longtime competing restaurant owner, an infamously crass hospitality mogul, and a group of cutthroat contestants vying for culinary glory . . . The competition sizzles with only a few finalists left standing--and goes cold when the gorgeous young frontrunner is found dead. As murder accusations are slathered over a recently eliminated contestant, Halia, with some bungling assistance from her wise-cracking cousin Wavonne slides into an investigation of their own. A little snooping reveals the victim burned lots of bridges, leaving a slew of alleged affairs and stolen recipes in her wake. With a fast-rising list of potential suspects, Halia must sort through mindboggling clues to fry the flaky culprit before someone else gets baked to a crisp . . . . 🥐 . #murderwithhoneyhambiscuits #alherbert #kensingtonbooks #tlcbooktours #booksandflowers #foodiemystery #culinarymysteries #coverlove #jennblogsbooks #bookstagram #Bibliophile #unitedbookstagram #bookobsessed #booksbooksbooks #lovetoread #allthebooks #bookphoto #booktography #bookflatlay #netgalley #ebooks #cozymystery #foodiefiction https://www.instagram.com/p/CDkdk57lUEq/?igshid=1vj6k0xgcuhv1

[readingactually]

Murder with Macaroni and Cheese (Mahalia Watkins Soul Food Mystery #2) by A.L. Herbert

Follow my blog with Bloglovin I have been searching for a good Cozy Mystery Series forever so I headed on over to my Library (virtual via Libby) and stumbled upon this book. I am so glad that I did because what a collection of characters and the recipes sound amazing! Who murdered Haila's former High School classmate Raynell Rollins? Who knows because the list is long! Raynell is not a nice lady in fact Raynell has a mean streak that has earned her a few enemies. I laughed at Wavonne, Haila's sassy , smart mouth cousin. Wavonne is my new favorite Cozy character, she is definitely a hoot! There were enough red herrings and plot twists to keep me reading way past my bedtime. The ending was a surprise , I was guessing right up until the killer was revealed. Read the full article

[ellesheltonwalczak]

Murder with Fried Chicken and Waffles (Mahalia Watkins Soul Food Mystery #1)

What is a cozy mystery? It’s not only, or necessarily what it implies, which may be the reader huddled on the couch, in front of a fireplace or wherever she feels most comfortable during the “lazy” hours of the day reading about murder in a quaint village or small town. Part of that is correct. It usually takes place in a small village or town-making it more believable that all the characters know one another. For example Murder with Fried Chicken and Waffales takes place in Prince George’s County Maryland. Usually the sleuth, a woman, and an amateur has a day job, such as the protagonist here, Mahalia (AKA: Halia) Watkins A successful restauranteur, who happens to have a frequent dinning guest who just happens to be a police officer. That is another cozy mystery characteristic, the sleuth as some type of connection to the police department. You may be asking, “If it checks all the boxes, what makes it a big deal, if at all?” In my cozy mystery world this book is a big deal, for a few reasons. Firstly, it has been the first cozy that I’ve read where the main characters, and most of the secondary characters are black Americans. The book shows the diversity of not only the individuals, but also the culture itself, and the similarities. So often, black Americans are painted in one particular way. Just like the dominate culture, that is not true. Secondly, the actions of the characters do not go where you think they may go. Despite my love for cozies, I can usually foresee the protagonists next move. But A.L. Herbet does a good job at making alternative and unseen detours that throw the reader off keeping you intrigued about what is next. Finally, my favorite part of the book is the co-sleuth, Wavonne. Halia the very educated, self motivated entrepreneur, who is perpetually single is juxtaposed to her much younger cousin who cares about clothes, money, men and hardly working. Wavonne’s dialogue had me laughing out loud. A.L. Herbert managed to create the comedic aspect within the cozy genre mystery, of the comedian and straight woman. It plays very well. However, like other cozy mysteries it does not meet the apex of great literature. At times, I could have done away with all the narrative detail about the protagonist Halia’s background and work in her restaurant Sweet Tea, despite it being the main backdrop for the book. Nonetheless, I still gave it five stars, a rarity for this consistent cozy mystery reader. I’ve never found a mystery character as funny as Wavonne. So for that simple reason plus the other three above, you should read this book. 

[the-bookworm-cafe]

A. L. Herbert Murder with Honey Ham Biscuit Series

A. L. Herbert's final book: Murder with Honey Ham Biscuits

The final book in the series, and possibly my favorite book, is the perfect send off for our female crime solving hobbyist: Halia Watkins. What starts off as a normal Saturday lunch rush a strange assistant barges in with a TV Offer that will be filming the very next day! Halia gets the offer of a lifetime to be a local, celebrity judge for a well known cooking competition. As she gets teamed up with one of the top 3 contestants, she suggests making a unique form of Honey Ham Biscuits. After clueless accidents, or....purposeful sabotage.....her contestant lost the round and the saboteur was found dead in her bed....

[the-bookworm-cafe]

Book Review- A. L. Herbert Murder with Macaroni and Cheese Series

Murder with Macaroni and Cheese By A. L. Herbert

A. L. Herbert's second book in the Mahalia Watkins Soul Food Series. Mahalia and Wavonne return in this second book as Halia cater's and prepares for her own High School Reunion. Unlike the first book this one tells a whole story about all of her past high school friends, their new lives, preparing for the event themselves and the normal high school drama no adult REALLY grows out of. The snobby, real estate agent, rich, Miss-Beauty-Pageant-Sterotype promised to pay Sweet Tea Catering the morning AFTER the reunion.

As a savvy, head-strong business owner, Halia and Wavonne go to the agent's house for their paycheck, but when they get there they knock on her door to find the door unlocked and opened. They let themselves in, looking for the Head of the Reunion Committee, when they suddenly STEP into a pool of blood filled carpet.

Like normal people would react, they scream at the sight and they're mind is blown that this has happened to them twice in 1 year! They do what they are supposed to do and call the police. With a taste of crime solving from the first book, Halia can't help but be a little nosy this time around, dying to help the police solve another mystery. Halia and Wavonne do their own investigation....

[the-bookworm-cafe]

Book Review-A.L. Herbert Murdered with Fried Chicken and Waffles series

Murdered with Fried Chicken and Waffles by A. L. Herbert

This book is the first of A. L. Herbert's Mahalia Watkins Soul Food Mystery Series. Picture it: You own a small, local, restaurant. You struggled for years to break free of the rat race and open your own restaurant. It was your life goal and dream and you did it! You were a nobody server that helped a young eyed salesman pay the bill so he could look good in front of his own clients. Years later, no tips, no thank you to this day, you have a business proposal itching to be seen. The salesman is now great at his job, loaded with money, and owes you a favor. Blackmailing him into investing into your dream works out and you are now the proud, yet tired owner of Sweet Tea! Halfway to paying off the investor's loan, the new restaurant has all the local hype pinned under it's thumb. Things are looking awesome! It's not a luxurious job, on most days it just pays the bills, but it is yours and it is your love, your life, your baby. You would murder someone to protect your brand's name. As quickly as this introduction to the story happens, Halia Watkins and her cousin Wavonne are standing in a closed Sweet Tea, with the investor laying on the floor with a deadly head wound and a heavy, cast-iron skillet laying on the floor.....

You can't have a growing restaurant with that kind of bad press involved. Especially when money would be lost closing the store possibly as long as a police investigation.

Halia and Wavonne move the body out and far away from the crime scene they had walked in on. As Halia opens the story the next morning, acting normal, thinking of how to get their stories straight with alibis.....Wavonne walks into Sweet Tea with a new bag, new heels, a new wig, new makeup, a whole new look. Paid by a stolen dead man's credit card.

Now, thanks to her cousin's clueless actions, Mahalia has to clear their names and find the true murderer before the Sales clerk gives a description of who was using Marcus's card....

A. L. Herbert has a special talent when it comes to explaining the "who done it". This book is the first of 4 books that follow Mahalia and Wavonne clear their names, solve random murders, and grow Sweet Tea into a growing brand.

[readingactually]

Murder with Macaroni and Cheese (Mahalia Watkins Soul Food Mystery #2) by A.L. Herbert

I have been searching for a good Cozy Mystery Series forever so I headed on over to my Library (virtual via Libby) and stumbled upon this book. I am so glad that I did because what a collection of characters and the recipes sound amazing! Who murdered Haila's former High School classmate Raynell Rollins? Who knows because the list is long! Raynell is not a nice lady in fact Raynell has a mean streak that has earned her a few enemies. I laughed at Wavonne, Haila's sassy , smart mouth cousin. Wavonne is my new favorite Cozy character, she is definitely a hoot! There were enough red herrings and plot twists to keep me reading way past my bedtime. The ending was a surprise , I was guessing right up until the killer was revealed. Read the full article

[readingactually]

Murder with Macaroni and Cheese (Mahalia Watkins Soul Food Mystery #2) by A.L. Herbert

Follow my blog with Bloglovin I have been searching for a good Cozy Mystery Series forever so I headed on over to my Library (virtual via Libby) and stumbled upon this book. I am so glad that I did because what a collection of characters and the recipes sound amazing! Who murdered Haila's former High School classmate Raynell Rollins? Who knows because the list is long! Raynell is not a nice lady in fact Raynell has a mean streak that has earned her a few enemies. I laughed at Wavonne, Haila's sassy , smart mouth cousin. Wavonne is my new favorite Cozy character, she is definitely a hoot! There were enough red herrings and plot twists to keep me reading way past my bedtime. The ending was a surprise , I was guessing right up until the killer was revealed. Read the full article

[readingactually]

Murder with Macaroni and Cheese (Mahalia Watkins Soul Food Mystery #2) by A.L. Herbert

Follow my blog with Bloglovin I have been searching for a good Cozy Mystery Series forever so I headed on over to my Library (virtual via Libby) and stumbled upon this book. I am so glad that I did because what a collection of characters and the recipes sound amazing! Who murdered Haila's former High School classmate Raynell Rollins? Who knows because the list is long! Raynell is not a nice lady in fact Raynell has a mean streak that has earned her a few enemies. I laughed at Wavonne, Haila's sassy , smart mouth cousin. Wavonne is my new favorite Cozy character, she is definitely a hoot! There were enough red herrings and plot twists to keep me reading way past my bedtime. The ending was a surprise , I was guessing right up until the killer was revealed. Read the full article

[readincolour]

New Books Coming Your Way, March 26, 2019

Professor Chandra Follows His Bliss by Rajeev Balasubramanyam 368 p.; Fiction Professor Chandra is an internationally renowned economist; divorced father of three (quite frankly, baffling) children; recent victim of a bicycle hit-and-run—but so much more than the sum of his parts. In the moments after the accident, Professor Chandra doesn’t see his life flash before his eyes, but his life’s work. He’s just narrowly missed the Nobel Prize (again), and even though he knows he should get straight back to his pie charts, his doctor has other ideas. All this work. All this success. All this stress. It’s killing him. He needs to take a break, start enjoying himself. In short, says his doctor, Professor Chandra should just follow his bliss. He doesn’t know it yet but he’s about to embark on the trip of a lifetime. What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Blacker: A Memoir in Essays by Damon Young 320 p.; Memoir For Damon Young, existing while Black is an extreme sport. The act of possessing black skin while searching for space to breathe in America is enough to induce a ceaseless state of angst where questions such as “How should I react here, as a professional black person?” and “Will this white person’s potato salad kill me?” are forever relevant. What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Blacker chronicles Young’s efforts to survive while battling and making sense of the various neuroses his country has given him. It’s a condition that’s sometimes stretched to absurd limits, provoking the angst that made him question if he was any good at the “being straight” thing, as if his sexual orientation was something he could practice and get better at, like a crossover dribble move or knitting; creating the farce where, as a teen, he wished for a white person to call him a racial slur just so he could fight him and have a great story about it; and generating the surreality of watching gentrification transform his Pittsburgh neighborhood from predominantly Black to “Portlandia … but with Pierogies.” And, at its most devastating, it provides him reason to believe that his mother would be alive today if she were white. Murder with Collard Greens and Hot Sauce by A.L. Herbert 288 p.; Mystery When the chicest hair convention of the year gets cooking in town, so does business at Mahalia’s Sweet Tea. Halia can barely handle the influx of customers looking to satisfy their appetites after spending the day surrounded by outrageous runway styles. As buzz builds around beauty mogul and pop culture icon Monique Dupree, collard greens start moving out of the kitchen faster than models strutting down the catwalk… But the glitz fades the moment Monique is found shot to death. Turns out, the glamorous entrepreneur’s vanity empire was stained by bitter rivalries, explosive affairs, and backstabbers scheming for fame and fortune. With more suspects than ingredients listed on a bottle of deep conditioner, Halia and her cousin Wavonne rush to discover who pulled the trigger—before the conniving culprit dishes another deadly surprise… Zora and Langston: A Story of Friendship and Betrayal by Yuval Taylor 304 p.; Literary They were best friends. They were collaborators, literary gadflies, and champions of the common people. They were the leading lights of the Harlem Renaissance. Zora Neale Hurston, the author of Their Eyes Were Watching God, and Langston Hughes, the author of “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” and “Let America Be America Again,” first met in 1925, at a great gathering of black and white literati, and they fascinated each other. They traveled together in Hurston’s dilapidated car through the rural South collecting folklore, worked on the play Mule Bone, and wrote scores of loving letters. They even had the same patron: Charlotte Osgood Mason, a wealthy white woman who insisted on being called “Godmother.” Paying them lavishly while trying to control their work, Mason may have been the spark for their bitter and passionate falling-out. Was the split inevitable when Hughes decided to be financially independent of his patron? Was Hurston jealous of the young woman employed as their typist? Or was the rupture over the authorship of Mule Bone? Yuval Taylor answers these questions while illuminating Hurston’s and Hughes’s lives, work, competitiveness, and ambition, uncovering little-known details. The Other Americans by Laila Lalami 320 p.; Fiction Late one spring night, Driss Guerraoui, a Moroccan immigrant living in California, is walking across a darkened intersection when he is killed by a speeding car. The repercussions of his death bring together a diverse cast of characters: Guerraoui’s daughter Nora, a jazz composer who returns to the small town in the Mojave she thought she’d left for good; his widow, Maryam, who still pines after her life in the old country; Efraín, an undocumented witness whose fear of deportation prevents him from coming forward; Jeremy, an old friend of Nora’s and an Iraq War veteran; Coleman, a detective who is slowly discovering her son’s secrets; Anderson, a neighbor trying to reconnect with his family; and the murdered man himself. As the characters—deeply divided by race, religion, and class—tell their stories, connections among them emerge, even as Driss’s family confronts its secrets, a town faces its hypocrisies, and love, messy and unpredictable, is born. March 22, 2019 at 11:00AM from ReadInColour.com https://ift.tt/2OseQyl