Published 2014

A great series for fans of cozy mysteries!

Summary

Erin owns a gourmet food store, The Merc, in Jewel Bay, Montana. Her goal is to make Jewel Bay a foodie destination. So when they are able to entice a national TV show, Food Preneurs, to come and film their local food festival she is incredibly excited…until the host turns out to be a major jerk and accidents start to happen and then people start to die.

My Thoughts

Budewitz’ writing is very engaging. Before I knew it she had me pulled into the story, trying to figure out who the murderer is. It has an excellent sense of place with interesting characters and a solid storyline.

The mystery was well-structured. There was a nicely sized pool of suspects. Not so many that I couldn’t remember who everyone was. She tossed in enough clues, red herrings and motives to keep me guessing and I only solved part of the mystery before it was revealed.

What else I liked

• The festival where it takes place is about locally grown and produced foods. It sounds amazing! I would absolutely attend even if I knew people were being killed off. The ice cream truck alone could make it worth the risk.

• Leslie Budewitz is always great at describing food. Her books always make me hungry! And she includes a lot of recipes at the end of the book.

• Erin is a very likable character. I love that she isn’t afraid to set very clear boundaries with friends, family, and the men she’s dating. That takes a healthy sense of self and Erin seems to have that. It doesn’t mean she doesn’t have doubts. She is human. But when she takes time and considers, she knows what it is she wants.

At one point, her sister Chiara tells Erin that “good men” will get protective and she should accept it. (Bad Advice, Chiara! Boo!) Erin mulls it over for a good amount of time, but ultimately decides if a man doesn’t understand who she is and accept her then he isn’t “the one”. (Wise choice, Erin! Yay!)

• The author paints such a lovely picture of Montana. I’ve never been there, but she lets me see it and what I see is beautiful!

What I didn’t like

• There was a minor story line continued from book 1 about a conflict between Erin and Kim, the police officer. A lot is hinted at, but not explained which was a bit frustrating since I didn’t remember what had actually happened.

• The deaths made me sad. (Just to clarify – in the real world I do think murders are bad and should make people sad.) Ideally when I’m reading cozy mysteries, I don’t want to be sad. I want my mind to engage in solving the puzzle and enjoying the place, characters and side stories, but I don’t want sad.

• The pacing seemed just a tad slow. It actually didn’t bother me, since I was caught up in the characters, Montana, and the food. Still I acknowledge that in some books this would bother me so I put it out there for others who are perhaps less distracted by s’mores.

Rating 4/5

I’ve added the next in the series to my TBR

About the Author

Photo Credit: Brenda Ahearn

Leslie Budewitz blends her passion for food, great mysteries, and the Northwest in two cozy mystery series, the Spice Shop mysteries set in Seattle’s Pike Place Market, and the Food Lovers’ Village mysteries, set in NW Montana. As Alicia Beckman, she writes moody suspense, beginning with BITTERROOT LAKE and continuing with BLIND FAITH. A three-time Agatha-Award winner (for Best Nonfiction, Best First Novel, and Best Short Story), she is a past president of Sisters in Crime and board member of Mystery Writers of America. She lives in NW Montana.

(From Leslie’s website https://www.lesliebudewitz.com/media)

You can learn more about Leslie on her website lesliebudewitz.com. She maintains a really entertaining blog there and you can sign up for her newsletter.

Leslie also writes on the Mystery Lovers Kitchen blog where you can find some pretty amazing recipes!

Cover art from Goodreads

My review for the next in the series is here – Butter Off Dead