Connie Archer Books In Order

Publication Order of Soup Lover's Mystery Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Connie Archer is an American author best known for her Cozy Mystery novels.

+Biography

Connie Archer was born in New England. She has often spoken fondly of her hometown, the years she spent ice skating on the ponds in her neighborhood and clamming on the beach at Cape Cod.

Connie Archer’s literary interests were sparked at a fairly young age. She first encountered Caesar’s Gallic War Journals as a School girl, spending many a year wading through these writings even while consuming the 12 books of the Aeneid.

Connie’s various childhood activities included summers spent performing in a Children’s Theatre troupe that traversed the Boston Suburbs, holding performances in Children’s Hospitals.

In College, Connie Archer initially majored in Biology. However, she eventually changed her tune, turning her attention towards the arts and earning a degree in English Literature.

Following her graduation, the novelist pursued various careers, trying her hand at many different jobs, at one time working as a cocktail waitress, lab technician and a dinner theater actress to mention but a few.

Connie is best known for her Soup Lover’s Mystery series of novels. Connie based Snowflake, the primary setting of her series, on the real town of Snowflake in Arizona.

Connie Archer’s works are very neat and orderly, typical of the average village mystery. They always feature a select cast of characters that, while maintaining the image of idyllic village life, must contend with the darker elements churning underneath their quiet world.

Whenever she is asked to describe how she creates her stories, Connie always emphasizes the importance of relationships in her creative process. Often driven to write by a single kernel of an idea that piques her interest emotionally, Connie isn’t averse to using the news as her source of inspiration, the various murders, and mysteries inundating daily News proving too inspirational for someone as creative as Connie Archer.

Asked about her interest in the genre, Connie has admitted to loving mysteries as long as she can remember, spending many an hour of her childhood reading the likes of Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden, eventually graduating to Dorothy Sayers, Henning Mankell, and even Sherlock Holmes.

+A Spoonful of Murder

Snowflake, Vermont has always enjoyed the winter season, when tourists descend on the town, hitting the ski slopes.

For Lucky Jamieson, it isn’t until she inherits her parent’s Soup Shop that she begins to take stock of her life. She cannot decide whether she should take upon herself the task of running a restaurant business. And how about her Parent’s house? Should she sell it, or would she be better off moving in herself?

The fact that her Grandfather Jack has begun showing signs of Alzheimer’s isn’t helping matters.

Difficult as her decisions might be, though, Lucky is forced to push them aside for the moment when a blonde tourist is found dead, frozen, behind the Soup Shop. Things take an even more complicated turn when Sage Dubois, her Soup Chef, is arrested by the police.

With suspicion and speculation running amok, Lucky must find the person responsible for icing the tourist if she’s to save her employee and her new business.

Cozy mysteries that center around food rarely entertain, and this is usually because of the inappropriate amount of time authors often assign to the food element of their stories. As such, Connie Archer’s first novel in the series will surprise a number of readers.

Connie manages to hook the interest of her readers from the very beginning, and it is worth noting just how well written the novel is.

A Spoonful of Murder introduces Lucky Jamieson as she finds herself at a difficult crossroad. Her parents recently died tragically, and she must take steps to pick up the pieces they left. Her attempts to determine the best course of her life and that of her grandfather are interrupted by a murder that throws her Soup Chef in the cross hairs of the Police.

Connie’s decision to make Lucky’s restaurant the center of the town pays off quite well, the setting becoming a tool through which readers can meet different characters and enjoy the interactions that make the cast so interesting.

There is a warm and cozy element that shines through every page of the novel, Connie Archer only providing enough detail to engage readers, but without inundating them with information.

Lucky is easily likable as a protagonist, especially when she puts her detective hat on and begins following the clues towards the real killer. Connie vividly represents her struggle to juggle the various elements in her lap even while trying to bring a killer to justice.

The mystery is strong on its own and readers can look forward to numerous unexpected surprises.

A Spoonful or Murder makes a notable effort to set up the world of Connie Archer’s popular series.

+A Broth of Betrayal

When summer finally comes to Snowflake, Vermont, the town flocks to Lucky Jamieson’s ‘By the Spoonful’ for the chilled soups and salads Lucky’s is known for.

When a skeleton is discovered at the construction site of an Ugly Car Wash at the center of Snowflake’s Village Green, the protestors determined to put a stop of the endeavor find their efforts interrupted. The fact that the skeleton might date back to the Revolutionary War attracts a lot of interest.

While the remains pose more of a historical mystery, the death of Harry Hodges, an auto mechanic whose corpse is found in his shop, bodes a far more present danger.

Lucky Jamieson wastes no time in putting her wits to the case, especially when her friend, Elizabeth, the town’s mayor, goes missing. Straining the patience of Nate of Edgerton, the Chief of Police, Lucky will stop at nothing to uncover the identity of the killer and find her friend.

A Broth of Betrayal is the perfect sequel to ‘A Spoonful of Murder’. Just as engaging as its predecessor, the novel finds Lucky mired in murder once again, the stakes taking on a personal nature when her friend disappears.

A Broth of Betrayal is well written, the story flowing smoothly and at a steady pace. There is an obvious effort to expand the town of Snowflake, Connie Archer showing us more of the world she began in ‘A Spoonful of Betrayal’.

Boasting a decent level of suspense and featuring numerous interesting interactions between the characters, the novel’s bittersweet ending should impress most mystery fans.