I've looked at this mystery series for a while now, as it would sometimes come up in recommendations from Barnes & Nobles or Amazon. I finally got around to reading the first book in the series and I have to say that this first book is pretty good... but not necessarily what I'd normally consider a mystery. It's a cozy mystery, which eases up some of the expectations, but even by cozy mystery standards this wouldn't really be considered much of a big intricate mystery. 
 This is pretty much the only warning I'd really give anyone looking to read this book: it has nothing that the majority of readers would truly consider a mystery or at least what is traditionally considered to be a mystery. There are no murders, no peril, and nobody is ever in any true danger from anything more than an oatmeal cookie. (Once you read the book you'll understand how a cookie could be threatening in the right circumstances.) The only mystery here is Lori's hunt to discover part of Dimity's past. It's never one of those "OMG!" type of mysteries where you feel like you'll die if you don't find out right now, however. 
 No, this is predominantly a sweet little tale of a woman discovering that there is more to life than just existing. You can pretty much predict how things will turn out, but then like I said: this isn't really one of those intricate mysteries that go through multiple twists and turns. If you're fine with a book that's more of a slice of life than a traditional mystery, this really is a great treat that I'd heartily recommend. The setting and characters are so likable that you really don't mind that this bucks a lot of the traditional roles and expectations of the mystery genre. 
 In the end I loved this enough to where I immediately requested the next book in the series from my library as soon as I returned this one. I can easily see where this series has remained well loved and requested.