Catered Book Club Murder
If anything can be said about the endearingly predictable Margo Hemsley, it’s that she always serves elaborate desserts at her mystery book club meetings. That’s why everyone fears the worst after she doesn’t pick up her order from Bernie and Libby and skips out on the monthly gathering. The Simmons sisters can’t imagine their acquaintance vanishing like a character from one of her favorite novels, at least not willingly. They jump into the investigation before they are even asked.
When the search ends with the discovery of a dead body, Bernie and Libby agree to help the nine remaining book club members prove their friend was murdered. But a speed read through Margo’s background reveals there was more to the victim than harmless hobbies and frumpy cardigans would suggest. As the sleuthing sisters unearth scandalous secrets about the book club members, they’ll have to determine who was connected to Margo’s shady dealings–and who sent her to an early grave.
Series: A Mystery With Recipes – Book #16
Author: Isis Crawford
Genre/Category – Cozy – Amateur Sleuth/Culinary
Publisher: Kensington Books
Page Count: 336
Rating: 
I adore Bernie and Libby and have for a long time. However, I have found fault with books in this series from time to time. Unfortunately, the Catered Book Club Murder is no exception. The main characters were, as usual, sticking their nose where it didn’t belong, not being careful, and with Bernie, letting her ego take control. And that is the crux of the issue I have found throughout the series. Bernie’s ego is just too much to bear. Her belief in and subsequent reckless actions that she is somehow better than, and more qualified than, an actual detective in conducting a murder investigation simply because she is the daughter of a retired cop is grating and unrealistic. The food played little part in the story but should have been a prominent feature.
The mystery in this new book was easy to figure out but had enough action and red herrings to keep many readers interested. The suspects are very similar. Their motives are almost identical. This made it hard to like any of them or empathize with them. The actual killer was good but not exceptional. The motive, like with the other suspects, is not original or unexpected. The police investigation seemed to be non-existent until the end of the book, and even then didn’t play a huge role.
In general, Catered Book Club Murder was a quick read, with moments of intrigue and heartfelt emotion but simply was not overly exciting. I still like Bernie and Libby, but after sixteen books, I guess I feel they should have grown and matured. It’s too bad that they seem to have stayed the same, even when faced with circumstances that should have changed them to be more cautious and less egotistical. I would like to have had more cooking and more about the food and desserts, and their father should have been more involved in the investigation. A little less breaking the law would be nice. If this series continues, I hope to see some changes with the main characters that will widen their world and make life more entertaining for them and the reader.
If you like the “ A Mystery With Recipes” series, you may enjoy Daryl Wood Gerber’s cookbook based amateur investigation series “A Cookbook Nook Mystery” or perhaps Julie Anne Lindsey’s apple cider inspired “A Cider Shop Mystery”.
About the Author:
Isis Crawford was born in Egypt to parents who were in the diplomatic corps. When she was five, her family returned to the States, where her mother opened a restaurant in Upper Westchester County, and her father became a university professor. Since then, Isis has combined her parents’ love of food and travel by running a catering service and penning numerous travel-related articles about places ranging from Omsk to Paraguay.
Before she became Isis Crawford (named incidentally for her cat), she was Barbara Block and still is. Like Isis, she ran a catering business, which also specialized in desserts. Unlike Isis, she co-owned a pizza shop as well. Barbara is married and has three sons. She lives in Upstate New York, having relocated from New York City.
Represented by: The Evan Marshall Agency.
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