Tag:

Culinary

Review

The Pumpkin Vice Cafe

by Danise Hoover

Lovely fall weather is giving way to a picturesque early November snow as baker Juliet, or Jules, who’s about ready to deliver her twin babies, is needed to help with friend Lance’s wedding. Though wedding planning is usually fraught, this one is really starting out as a doozie, as the first choice for planner, Maci, seems to flake out at appointments. Imperious and somewhat nasty planner Tippy is there to take over, but arguments and trouble follow, as does finding Tippy’s body in a rocky stream in the local park. Things are not as they seem, and Jules and Lance are determined to find the answers. All this occurs interspersed with Jules baking amazing and mouthwateringly described goodies (don’t read this while hungry), and friendly interactions with staff, family and locals. Each of the suspects is thoroughly vetted by our amateurs, and as expected, truth is found. This classic food-driven cozy that’s warm, inviting, and highly caloric is easy to enjoy.—Danise Hoover

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Review

Savvy Summers and the Po’Boy Perils

by Brian Kenney

There’s a lot going on in Jackson-Opoku’s latest book, the successor to her debut, Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato Crimes. But one topic is totally overwhelming, and that’s food. A longtime chef, Savvy owns a cafe in Chicago that draws plenty of patrons seeking her delectable, comfortable soul food. But Savvy is a bit restless, and when a long-term friend hires her to cater a company luncheon featuring Creole classics (po’boys, bread pudding…I just can’t stop) at a nearby office, the chef takes the job, only to find someone dead in the company’s conference room. Once again, Savvy has to manage her role as murder investigator while still keeping her cafe afloat. What’s really fun about Jackson-Opoku’s books is the richness of detail—with references to poetry, fiction, and song scattered throughout the text—as well as reports from friends and family. We’re fortunate to have a great new series to enjoy.—Brian Kenney

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Review

Murder at First Slice

by Brian Kenney

Book of the Week March 26, 2026

Dogs and drama, detectives and divas. There is a whole lot going on in this, the fifth in Burns’s Baker Street series. But despite all the balls she has in the air, it looks like the wedding of Maddy (bride-to-be, social media queen, beloved daughter, full-time baker, dog parent to an adored 200 lb. English mastiff) and veterinarian Michael will go off without a hitch. Scores of people are arriving in New Bison, Michigan to celebrate the event, although a few participants have come just to complain about or to one another. This would include two cousins who always clash, Dorothy (pure negativity) and Hannah (whom most people believe is incapable of killing). But then Dorothy is found dead, her body left outside the bakery. And Hannah is discovered standing over her, the alleged murder weapon, a bloodied rolling pin, in hand. What is going on here? To get to the bottom of it all, Maddy calls in the Baker Street Irregulars, a group of non-professionals who excel at helping the police solve crimes. A fun, high-energy narrative that does a brilliant job of illuminating life in small-town America.—Brian Kenney

 

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Review

Murder Most Delicious

by Henrietta Thornton

Someone with no taste seems like the last person who would enjoy Paris, but Olivia Beech has a good reason for a trip. She’s a master sommelier—a highly expert wine taster—whose sense of taste has been destroyed by COVID. Before this catastrophe, she was a rising star in the wine world, and, trying to maintain her New York Michelin-star-restaurant career using only her sense of smell and the help of a trusted coworker, she has kept her malady secret. But the problem was revealed and Olivia was humiliated, and now she’s trying for a job at a Paris bistro. There’s only one problem: her arrival sees the poisoning death of the chef who might hire her, and she’s the main suspect. Thus starts a delightful mystery set in a cozy Paris neighborhood that houses friends for decades. They have formed a quirky neighborhood watch and are determined to find the killer, bringing Olivia into their kindly fold. The clever storytelling and vibrant language that Postel-Vinay brings to the books that she writes as Danielle Trussoni are here on clear display, along with intriguing glimpses of the high-end wine and perfume worlds. Lovers of European-trip books and friends solving mysteries à la Richard Osman’s The Thursday Murder Club will especially enjoy this whodunit.—Henrietta Thornton

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Review

The Bush Tea Murder

by Brian Kenney

St. Thomas makes a perfect environment for a mystery: rich in history and culture with plenty of family drama to go around and some longtime friendships to rely upon. Culinary journalist Naomi Sinclair spends most of her time off-island, although St. Thomas, and a budding romance, keep tugging at her to come home and invest herself full-time in the island. ”Thing about history, Naomi—about any kind of story—is that how it’s told matters,” she is reminded by her former Foods and Nutrition teacher, Mrs. LaPlace. But even if Naomi returns to St. Thomas regularly, she doesn’t expect she will be returning to unleash one troubling case after another, culminating in a story of murder. Fans of Joanne Fluke, Vivian Chien, and Mia P. Manansala will delight in this mystery-plus-food concoction.

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Review

The Bush Tea Murder

by Brian Kenney

St. Thomas makes a perfect environment for a mystery: rich in history and culture with plenty of family drama to go around and some longtime friendships to rely upon. Culinary journalist Naomi Sinclair spends most of her time off-island, although St. Thomas, and a budding romance, keep tugging at her to come home and invest herself full-time in the island. ”Thing about history, Naomi—about any kind of story—is that how it’s told matters,” she is reminded by her former Foods and Nutrition teacher, Mrs. LaPlace. But even if Naomi returns to St. Thomas regularly, she doesn’t expect she will be returning to unleash one troubling case after another, culminating in a story of murder. Fans of Joanne Fluke, Vivian Chien, and Mia P. Manansala will delight in this mystery-plus-food concoction.

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Review

At Death’s Dough

by Danise Hoover

As Geneva Bay, WI is mostly a summer resort, making ends meet for the town’s small businesses in the winter is no easy task. Delilah and Son, gourmet pizza establishment, is no exception. The history of the place as a vacation spot for the Chicago mob is a mixed blessing, but when the Chamber of Commerce comes up with a “Gangsters of Geneva Bay” map and self-guided tour, Delilah is sort of obliged to sign on, even though it upsets cop boyfriend Calvin Capone, who does his best to play down his nominal connection to the mob. That she and her Aunt Biz discover frozen human remains while ice fishing only makes things worse. We have local and mob history combined with the overflow of ugly divorces, bad police work, family feuds, and a juicy bit of danger to liven the plot, along with trying to make sure that Valentines Day reservations will make up for the rest of the slow month to make this a fun addition to an entertaining series. And of course there are recipes at the end.

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Review

Molten Death

by Danise Hoover

Kristen and Valerie, long a couple, are in Hawaii on vacation, partly to help Valerie come to terms with her brother’s death. They are staying with Isaac, who’s a surfer buddy of Leslie’s, a high-school science teacher, and a lifelong resident of the islands. During an early morning excursion to see the glowing lava rolling down the landscape, Valerie sees a boot in the lava and realizes that there is a leg attached. It is quickly consumed by the lava, and as she is the only witness, all doubt the truth of what she has seen. The police report goes nowhere, so Valerie takes on the task of finding the identity of both the victim and the killer herself. With the luck and determination of the amateur, and the friendly and open nature of Hawaiians, allowing for a few glitches, she succeeds. This is a Hawaii we seldom see in TV police dramas. The locals speak a pidgin dialect, the importance of which is carefully explained by Isaac, and the customs and practices date back centuries. The landscape is of course dramatic and beautiful and the descriptions of food and produce mouthwatering. There are recipes for some of the dishes at the end, and a glossary of words and phrases. This is billed as the first in a series, so expect more to come from our interesting characters.

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Review

Sleep In Heavenly Pizza

by Brian Kenney

Settle in for a truly wonderful read as Geneva Bay, Wisconsin prepares for the holidays. For pizza chef Delilah
O’Leary, and her crew, a glitzy Chrismukkah catering gig in one of the local mansions gets things started, but when Delilah’s family shows up out of the blue with their own set of hostilities and anxiety-producing behavior in tow, things take a decidedly unpleasant turn. And any hopes that the next day’s annual snow-sculpting championship will cheer everyone up—Delilah attends with now-boyfriend Detective Calvin Capone (yes, that Capone family)—are dashed when a corpse is found frozen in the ice. Quigley employs a large cast of characters, from the formerly incarcerated and now dishwasher “Rabbit” (where did he disappear to?) to Sonya, Delilah’s bestie who helps Delilah sort out her relationship with Capone, to Delilah’s grumpy sister Shea, who most definitely has something up her sleeve. The miracle is that we can follow each character with ease, their identities are so well drawn, while caring about each of them. Add to this a bucketful of red herrings sure to send readers in a dozen different directions. Fire up the pizza, cue Mariah Carey, and make sure the cat is comfortable: cozies just don’t get better than this.

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Review

Knife Skills for Beginners

by Brian Kenney

Cooking as entertainment, from reality shows to competitions to documentaries, couldn’t be more popular, and Murrin’s decision to set Knife Skills in the heart of a London cooking school is a smart one. Located in an old mansion in the super-posh Belgravia neighborhood, the school—which is residential—offers week-long classes for small groups of a dozen or so. The students, a bit of an odd crew, are super excited at meeting their instructor Christian Wager—he’s sort of a Gordon Ramsay type. When Christian shows up, one arm in a cast, and announces that he’s passing the class on to his good buddy Paul Delamare, the class groans in disappointment. Paul isn’t a celebrity like Christian, but he’s a darn good chef, and slowly the class warms up to him. Until there’s a murder as gruesome as you can imagine (hint: cleaver) and the class rather ghoulishly wants to continue the course—corpse be damned!—and with Paul the number-one suspect. From here, the book spirals out—there are red herrings galore, and nearly everyone seems to be a suspect at one point or another. Lots of fun to be had, especially with the characters Murrin creates.

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