An Eggnog to Die For (A Cape Cod Foodie Mystery) by Amy Pershing

About An Eggnog to Die For

An Eggnog to Die For (A Cape Cod Foodie Mystery) 

Cozy Mystery 2nd in Series Setting - Cape Cod, Massachusetts Publisher ‏ : ‎ Berkley (November 9, 2021) Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 320 pages ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0593199162 ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593199169 Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08VRGNFST

Professional foodie Samantha Barnes has a simple Christmas list: a quiet holiday at home with her dog and a certain handsome harbormaster; no embarrassing viral videos; and no finding dead bodies. Unfortunately, she’s got family visiting, she’s spending a lot of time in front of the camera, and she’s just stumbled over the lifeless body of the town’s Santa Claus.

Plus, Sam’s plans for Christmas Eve are getting complicated. There’s the great eggnog debate among her very opinionated guests. There’s the “all edible” Christmas tree to decorate. And there’s her Feast of the Five Fishes prepare. Nonetheless, Sam finds herself once again in the role of sleuth. She needs to find out who slayed this Santa—but can she pull off a perfect feast and nab a killer?

 What I Thought:

This is the second in the Cape Cod Foodie Mystery Series. We again visit Cape Cod and Sam Barnes and her endearing friends. Sam is a restaurant reviewer for the Cape Cod Clarion. If that does not keep Sam busy enough, it is the holiday season and Sam's parents are in town, besides getting ready for the "all edible" Christmas Tree and the Feast of the Five Fishes. When Sam is reviewing a new restaurant, "Ginger Jar" she stumbles over the body of the town Santa. Of course, Sam has to investigate with the help of her friends, including her love interest, Harbor Master Jason. This was a good cozy set during the holiday season. The author did a good job describing all of the Holiday celebrations taking place on Cape Cod. Sam is a very likable character and her do Diogi just adds to the charm of the book. This was  great cozy with many red herrings that kept me guessing to the very end. There, of course, is a little romantic twist to the book with Sam and Jason's relationship. Even though this is a book in a series, it could be read as a stand alone and the reader would not be lost. I look forward to more in this series.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. 

About Amy Pershing

Amy Pershing, who spent every summer of her childhood on Cape Cod, was an editor, a restaurant reviewer and a journalist before leading employee communications at a global bank. A few years ago she waved goodbye to Wall Street to write full time. An Eggnog to Die For is the second of the Cape Cod Foodie mysteries featuring Samantha Barnes, a disgraced but resilient ex-chef who retreats home to Cape Cod where she finds herself juggling a new job as the local paper’s “Cape Cod Foodie,” a complicated love life, a posse of just-slightly-odd friends, a falling-down house, a ginormous puppy and a propensity for falling over dead bodies. Kirkus Reviews gave An Eggnog to Die For a starred review, saying, "A delightful sleuth, a complex mystery, and lovingly described cuisine: a winner for both foodies and mystery mavens." A Side of Murder, the first of the Cape Cod Foodie mysteries, which Elizabeth Gilbert called “the freshest, funniest mystery I have ever read,” was the first book in the series. The third, Murder Is No Picnic, will be published in May 2022.

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It's Beginning to Look a Lot like Murder

 

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Murder (A Catering Hall Mystery) by Maria DiRico

About It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Murder

 

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Murder (A Catering Hall Mystery) Cozy Mystery 3rd in Series Publisher ‏ : ‎ Kensington Cozies (October 26, 2021) Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 288 pages ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1496725360 ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1496725363 Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08VFBT9B2

Astoria, Queens, is decorated within an inch of its life for the Christmas season, and Mia Carina is juggling her job at the Belle View catering hall with a case of murder . . .

 

Mia’s busy with a full schedule of events at the family business—among them an over-the-top Nativity-themed first birthday party and a Sweet Sixteen for a teen drama queen. But her personal life is even more challenging. Her estranged mother has returned—and her lifelong friend Jamie has discovered a shocking secret about his past. He’s so angry that he starts hanging out with Lorenzo, who claims to be his long-lost brother—even after it becomes clear that Lorenzo’s story is as fake as a plastic Christmas tree.

 

Then a body turns up among the elves in a Santa’s-workshop lawn display, and amateur sleuth Mia has a buffet of suspects to choose from. Amid the holiday celebrations, she intends to find out who’s the guilty party . . .

 

Italian recipes included!

What I Thought:

This is the third in the Catering Hall Mystery Series set in Astoria Queens. This series features Mia and her somewhat shady family, her brother is serving a jail sentence, her mother took off long ago, and her dad well... Then there is Nonna who is just Nonna. It is the holiday season and Mia has her hands full at Belle View catering with an over the top Nativity themed first birthday party and a sweet sixteen for a complete drama queen. There is also the neighborhood holiday decorating competition. On top of all this, Mia's estranged mother shows back up and her friend Jamie discovers a shocking secret. If all that is not enough, a dead body shows up in the holiday decorations. Of course Mia has to investigate. This cozy will leave you chuckling at times over the antics of the Boldano family. I like the setting and the premise of this series. I think visiting Queens at Christmastime would be awesome and Maria did a good job describing everything, I felt I was actually there Mia is a great heroine who keeps things interesting in this series. This one flowed well and kept me guessing till the very end. The victim had upset so many people, it was hard to pin point who the killer actually was. I really enjoy cozies where I cannot figure out the killer till the reveal. There is a little romance in this one, but not in a sappy way. I look forward to more in this series.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. 

 

About Maria DiRico

Maria DiRico is the pseudonym for Ellen Byron, author of the award winning, USA Today bestselling Cajun Country Mysteries. Born in Queens, New York, she is first-generation Italian-American on her mother's side and the granddaughter of a low-level Jewish mobster on her father's side. She grew up visiting the Astoria Manor and Grand Bay Marina catering halls, which were run by her Italian mother's family in Queens and have become the inspiration for her Catering Hall Mystery Series. DiRico has been a writer-producer for hit television series like Wings and Just Shoot Me, and her first play, Graceland, appears in the Best Short Plays collection. She's a freelance journalist, with over 200 articles published in national magazines, and previously worked as a cater-waiter for Martha Stewart, a credit she never tires of sharing. A native New Yorker who attended Tulane University, Ellen lives in Los Angeles with her husband, daughter, and two rescue dogs.

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