a good intro to a cozy mystery series. “Just Add Water” has a splendid array of quirky characters, the central one is fond of espousing French phrases to add a bit of drama and enthusiasm to her dialogue. That little feature serves to add to the humor that peppers the writing of author Jinx Schwartz; if only she’d refrained from using expletives 😕



Schwartz doesn’t devote a lot of time to solving the mystery in this book and it really didn’t bother me. More time is spent getting to know Hetta (the star of this series), her supporting cast, and setting up the groundwork for the future as well as revealing the limited history. I enjoy getting to know characters in this relaxed manner, especially when I like them and intend to read multiple volumes; such is the case with Hetta Coffey.



There was a mystery, it did get solved and it had a few twists and turns. The violence was not gratuitous or descriptive and there was no offensive sexual content. The language will be a problem for some folks but in all honesty, it’s not very bad. There are a total of 6-8 expletives and 1 f-bomb in the entire book. I don’t really sit and count them, but it was distracting as it just didn’t fit the situation or character. THAT is what bugs me more than it’s appearance. Argh🙉🙃🙄❗️That frustrating issue aside, this was an enjoyable afternoon with what I’m sure will become new friends . I’ve got 2-3 other books in the series to read in the not too distant future. On to the next📚