The Purple Blame Game By Joanna Campbell Slan
Genre: Cozy Mystery
*ੈ✩‧👩🏻🍳*Recipe*👩🏻🍳*ੈ✩‧
Purple, Blame, Game and My Favorite Blackberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake
By Joanna Campbell Slan
One of the things I love most about writing the Kiki Lowenstein mysteries is creating a world readers want to step into. Sure, there’s usually a murder somewhere nearby, but there’s also coffee brewing, yarn piled on tables, dogs wandering through the room, and something delicious waiting in the kitchen.
In Purple, Blame, Game, Kiki’s craft store becomes a gathering place for crocheters, volunteers, busy women, and plenty of gossip. Add Mardi Gras decorations, stress, social media drama, and one very opinionated group of crafters, and you’ve got the perfect recipe for chaos.
Which got me thinking about actual recipes.
If I were attending one of Kiki’s crochet classes, this is exactly the sort of thing I’d hope to find waiting near the coffee pot: Blackberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake. It’s rich without being too sweet, easy to transport to gatherings, and the deep purple-blackberries feel wonderfully appropriate for a book called Purple, Blame, Game.
Best of all? It tastes even better the next morning with coffee and a good mystery novel.
Blackberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake
Ingredients
Cake
1 box yellow cake mix
1 package (3.4 oz.) instant vanilla pudding mix
4 eggs
¾ cup vegetable oil
¾ cup milk
Cream Cheese Layer
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
¼ cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
Berry Layer
2 cups blackberries (fresh or frozen)
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
Optional Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
2–3 tablespoons milk
Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×13 baking dish.
In a large bowl, combine cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, oil, and milk. Beat until smooth.
Spread about two-thirds of the batter into the prepared pan.
In another bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, egg, and vanilla until creamy. Spread gently over batter.
Toss blackberries with sugar and cornstarch. Scatter over cream cheese layer.
Drop remaining batter by spoonfuls over the berries.
Bake 40–45 minutes or until golden brown and set in the center.
Cool slightly. Drizzle with glaze if desired.
Serve with strong coffee, good friends, and preferably no murders nearby.
Though in Kiki’s world, there are no guarantees!
About the Book
No good deed goes unpunished…
Kiki Lowenstein is used to juggling crafts, customers, and chaos—but she never expected her latest charity project to lead to murder.
When Kiki offers free crochet classes to make stuffed animals for hospitalized children, the project seems like the perfect way to give back. But tensions quickly rise among her students, and a heated confrontation sparks rumors, accusations, and a social media frenzy that threatens to destroy lives.
Then everything takes a deadly turn.
On a foggy Mardi Gras morning, Kiki discovers the body of Celeste Harrow behind her store.
Suddenly, Kiki is caught in a tangled web of secrets, lies, and motives. The victim had made enemies. Plenty of them. And now, Kiki must figure out who turned a good deed into a deadly game—before suspicion lands squarely on her.
With her business at risk, her family in the spotlight, and a determined detective asking hard questions, Kiki must rely on her instincts (and a little help from her friends) to uncover the truth.
Because in this cozy mystery, nothing is as harmless as it seems…
About the Author
Joanna Campbell Slan is a New York Times, USA Today, and Amazon bestselling author of nearly 80 books, known for her page-turning cozy mysteries and emotionally rich women’s fiction. Her stories blend amateur sleuths, strong female friendships, humor, and heart—earning praise from Publishers Weekly as “a cut above the usual craft-themed cozy.”
Best known for her long-running Kiki Lowenstein Mystery Series (Agatha Award finalist), Joanna creates unforgettable characters who grow, adapt, and triumph. Her popular Cara Mia Delgatto Mysteries, set on Florida’s Treasure Coast, and her award-winning Jane Eyre Chronicles—recipient of the Daphne du Maurier Award for Literary Excellence—showcase her range across contemporary, historical, and literary-inspired suspense.In addition to fiction, Joanna is an internationally recognized teacher and author of nonfiction books on public speaking and crafting. Her work has been praised by top communication experts, and she has contributed to the beloved Chicken Soup for the Soul series.
A native Floridian, Joanna lives on Florida’s Treasure Coast, where she draws inspiration from coastal life, creativity, and her passion for crafts like Zentangle®, crochet, and upcycling.
Her mission: to make the world a better place—one story at a time..
Links To The Purple Blame Game
Giveaway!
$15 Amazon Gift Certificate – 2 Digital Copies – US ONLY About Purple, Blame, Game
Tour Participants
June 3 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read – SPOTLIGHT
June 4 – Books1987 – SPOTLIGHT
June 5 – Jody’s Bookish Haven – SPOTLIGHT
June 6 – Books, Ramblings, and Tea – SPOTLIGHT
June 7 – Sarandipity’s – CHARACTER GUEST POST
June 8 – Reading Is My SuperPower – AUTHOR GUEST POST
June 9 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – CHARACTER GUEST POST
June 10 – Sarcastically Yours, Jen – RECIPE
June 11 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
June 12 – deal sharing aunt – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
June 13 – Boys’ Mom Reads! – SPOTLIGHT
June 14 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
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June 15 – Salty Inspirations – CHARACTER GUEST POST
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