Sweet Comfort

Oh, Kimberly Fish, you have done it again! You won me over with Anna and Jack in Comfort Zone, and now you have stolen my heart completely with Gloria and Mason in Sweet Comfort.

Gloria Bachman moved to Comfort, Texas, after retiring from her banking career. She lives fairly independently, and she likes it that way. Though she's a woman of a certain age, she doesn't limit herself to what's expected, and she's excited about her new business venture with her younger friend, Kali Hamilton. They're opening a chocolate shop selling Kali's handmade chocolates. Never mind that grumpy Ted Bodine insists they name the shop after him before he'll agree to lease the shop's new locale to them, Gloria can't wait to get started.

Then Mason Lassiter, a wealthy CEO (who may or may not have killed his wife if you pay any attention to the press), shows up in Comfort. Gloria can't quite figure what he's doing there. She doesn't reckon he'll stay long, and she certainly doesn't reckon she needs to do anything about this unexpected (and unwanted, she tells herself) attraction she feels for him. She doesn't need a man in her life.

When Ted turns up dead in the front yard of one of the Bunco ladies, will the chocolate shop still open? What will happen to the lease? Gloria wants to help the woman who's suspected, but she also wants to look out for her business interests. She uses her skills to start sorting things out.

I'm not sure what's more intriguing – the mystery of who killed Ted and why, or the machinations Gloria goes through to avoid letting any kind of inkling of feelings for Mason develop. She is bound and determined that she will not let herself like him. She can resist him. She thinks she can resist friendship, too. She doesn't want to get in with the Bunco ladies or the Knitters' Club. She's got trust issues, given her past. But Comfort is a little town with a big heart, and Gloria learns that she does have friends, even when she thought she'd been keeping herself closed off.

Kimberly Fish weaves a magical tale. She populates her town with characters mild and wild. The mystery is compelling, and seeing the romance blossom between Gloria and Mason is so much fun! Comfort is the kind of place I'd like to go visit. Maybe one of these days I will. (I hope there really is a chocolate shop there!)

I highly recommend Sweet Comfort for anyone who loves a good mystery, a slow-burn second-chance romance, strong female characters, and a delightful small-town setting. Five stars from me!