Charred Book Review: Café Comfort and Smoldering Secrets

Some books practically ask you to put the kettle on before opening the first page. Charred: A Whipped and Sipped Mystery by G.P. Gottlieb belongs beside a warm mug, something sweet, and an afternoon with nowhere urgent to be.

This was such a cute, fun read. I love the idea of slipping into a café mystery where comforting food and familiar faces share space with suspicious behavior. There is something wonderfully inviting about that combination, even when murder interrupts the menu.

Here at Nevermore Lane, I find magic in ordinary rituals, including the simple pleasure of getting lost in a story. This third installment in the Whipped and Sipped Cozy Mystery Series brings that cozy feeling together with secrets that refuse to stay quiet.

Charred’s Mystery Begins with a Suspicious Fire

Café owner Alene Baron joins her friend Kacey and Kacey’s boyfriend, Kofi, to search a burned property for salvaged wood. Their outing becomes considerably more complicated when a body turns up.

Suddenly, soot is the least of their worries. Questions about arson turn a questionable excursion into something potentially dangerous.

That setup gives the mystery an appealing tension. A seemingly small decision places people Alene cares about uncomfortably close to a much bigger problem.

Alene Baron Faces Friendship and Family Secrets

Alene’s predicament goes beyond identifying a killer. She must navigate the uncomfortable space between protecting her friends and telling her partner, homicide detective Frank Shaw, the truth.

That emotional complication gives the story more texture than a simple search for clues. Loyalty can be comforting, but it can also make honesty difficult.

With her children, father, café responsibilities, and worried friends in the picture, Alene has plenty competing for her attention. The everyday concerns help keep the mystery connected to recognizable human relationships.

The Whipped and Sipped Café Offers Cozy Comfort

The café atmosphere is a lovely counterbalance to the suspicious fire and unsettling discoveries. Food provides a comforting thread through a story filled with uncertainty.

For me, that is part of the appeal of a culinary mystery. A book can invite curiosity about a crime while also making room for the familiar pleasures of coffee and baking.

The included recipes extend that invitation beyond the story. They offer another way to linger in the Whipped and Sipped world after the mystery ends.

Charred Blends Chicago Atmosphere with Cozy Mystery

The Chicago setting brings neighborhood connections into focus. This is a cozy mystery rooted in an urban community rather than a secluded village.

Its pandemic backdrop adds another layer of uncertainty. Everyday life already feels unsettled before the investigation introduces more questions.

That contrast makes the premise especially interesting: people are trying to maintain ordinary routines while extraordinary trouble unfolds nearby. Comfort and unease occupy the same space.

More Cozy Book Reviews at Nevermore Lane

My lasting impression of Charred is simple: a cute, fun reading escape with café charm and plenty of intrigue.

Its blend of relationships, food, and mystery fits beautifully into a quiet reading afternoon.

Explore more bookish posts on Nevermore Lane, and join me for coffee. There is always room for another story at the table.

Like what you read? Drop me a line – let’s chat over virtual coffee.

~ Chrystal

CHARRED

by G.P. Gottlieb

October 5 – 30, 2026 Virtual Book Tour

Synopsis:

A WHIPPED & SIPPED MYSTERY

Alene Baron is already juggling frustrated employees, closed schools, and a beggar who harasses customers outside her café. Then two dead bodies are discovered in the charred remains of buildings owned by the husband of her pastry chef, Ruthie Rosin. The mystery deepens when both victims are found wearing jackets stamped with the name, “Rosin,” and crumbled in the pockets are the Whipped & Sipped café’s distinctive wrappers. As if that weren’t enough, Alene’s uncle, a convicted felon who vanished 22 years ago, suddenly appears in Chicago. With suspicion and chaos mounting, it’s all too much for the owner of the Whipped & Sipped Café.

Praise for Charred: A Whipped and Sipped Mystery:

“Peopled with tons of quirky characters and loaded with family drama, Charred is so much more than the average cozy culinary mystery.”
~ Donna Thompson

“The Whipped and Sipped Mystery Series is a delectable treat.”
~ Julie Ditton

“Gottlieb packs a lot into this third book Charred… murder, arson, identity theft, gambling, kidnapping, destruction of property, tax evasion, uncovering a hidden basement under the cafe with tins with treasures in them, family drama, secrets, the pandemic, trying to stay healthy, learning how to live a new life in semi-quarantine….”
~ Missi Martin (Stockwell)

Charred “had just enough flavor to make it delicious, and just enough mystery to keep me guessing the whole way through!”
~ Bettybee306

“This series is right up my alley, and if you love cozy mysteries with a little romance and baked goods, it will be right up your alley, too! … This is a five-star book in a very neat little package!”
~ Suzie Mumba

Book Details:

Genre: Cozy Culinary Mystery
Published by: Anamcara Press
Publication Date: May 30, 2026
Number of Pages: 260 pages, Paperback
ISBN: 9781960462824 (ISBN10: 1960462822)
Series: A Whipped & Sipped Mystery, Book 3
Book Links: Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads | BookBub | Anamcara Press

The Whipped & Sipped Mystery Series

Smothered: A Whipped and Sipped Mystery, 2

Battered

Smothered

Read an excerpt:

It was warming up inside the car. Alene searched for Kacey and Kofi through the car window and the construction fence, but there was a jungle of trees and bushes lining the sidewalk. The post-fire building site was probably soggy and disgusting. If only she’d thought of bringing an old blanket to protect the back seat from burnt wood.

Kacey startled Alene by opening the passenger door and jumping back in. “He doesn’t need my help,” Kacey said as she used her shirt to clean her glasses. “We were looking for a way to get into the site and my glasses got too smudged for me to see. I’ll stay in here with you.”

Kofi had probably circled the tall fence surrounding piles of wet, muddy, and burned wood, trying to get inside. Moments later, they heard an owl hoot, and Kacey whispered it was Kofi letting them know that he’d gotten past the fence. What if tromping through the remains of the fire exposed Kofi to toxic materials? He wore gloves and a mask, but it wasn’t an N95 with protection against particulates. If paper masks didn’t protect against airborne particulates, how could they protect against a cunning virus?

The sun had risen, but a scrim of humidity diffused the light. Alene thought she saw Kofi alternating between moving and crouching. She figured he was trying to be invisible. He was lanky, his legs bulging with muscles from years of riding his bicycle for miles through and around the city. They both lost sight of him for about ten minutes, but suddenly he rushed back to the car and jumped into the back seat. He hadn’t taken a single piece of wood. “How was it?” Kacey asked.

Alene heard Kofi’s jagged breathing and turned around to watch him pull off his gloves and hat. “It was, um, weird and chilly,” he said, haltingly. “And there wasn’t anything I could use.” His focus was sideways, out the window, and he seemed tense. Alene turned away, imagining one of Frank’s police friends driving by and stopping to ask what she was doing. They drove home in silence and trudged to the elevators. Kofi, usually cheerful after an expedition to find materials, was unreadable and oddly stone-faced as he thanked Alene for the ride. Kacey mouthed her thanks as she unlocked her door, and Alene held her hand to her ear in a sign for Kacey to call later.

Alene unlocked her own door, wondering why Kofi hadn’t found even one usable piece of wood. Before she could take off her jacket, her phone rang.

“Kofi wants you to promise not to tell Frank about this morning,” Kacey said in a whisper. It seemed unnecessary; it wasn’t as if Kofi had started the fire, and Frank was a homicide detective, not a cop on the lookout for arsonists.

“I can’t promise that. We tell each other everything,” said Alene, “But there’s nothing to tell, because Kofi came up empty.”

“He’s worried that someone saw us there and the police will get him for trespassing,” said Kacey. Alene could hear her sniffling.

Alene had already frittered away forty-five minutes driving them over there and waiting for Kofi to hunt for wood. “Come on, Kacey,” she said. “We didn’t see anyone, and no one saw us.”

“But are you going to tell Frank that we were there?” Kacey asked.

“Kacey, Frank would never do anything to hurt me or the people I love.” Being with Kacey had always required patience. “And I’m driving the getaway car, so if we were committing a crime, I’d be just as guilty.”

Kacey said, “I hope you’re right.” She sounded more than a little paranoid.

***

Author Bio:

G.P. Gottlieb is the author of the Whipped & Sipped Mysteries (Battered, Smothered, and Charred, Anamcara Press). She is on the board of Sisters in Crime Chicagoland and a member of SinC Colorado, MWA, and Blackbird Writers. As host of New Books in Literature, a podcast channel on the New Books Network, she has interviewed over 280 authors.

Catch Up With G.P. Gottlieb:

gpgottlieb.com
Substack
Amazon Author Profile
Goodreads – G.P. Gottlieb
BookBub – @gpgottlieb
Instagram – @whippedsipped
Threads – @whippedsipped
X – @GottliebGp
BlueSky – @gpgottlieb.bsky.social
Facebook – @authorgottlieb

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