Pudding Up with Murder

Lilah Drake creates delectable meals and allows her clients to call them their own. The fact that she cooks them is kept strictly confidential. When she and her furry companion, Mick, are invited to the birthday party of a millionaire who ends up in her rice pudding, she is stunned.

Lilah cooks up a sweet new cinnamon rice pudding casserole for the birthday party of Marcus Cantwell, a wealthy man with three ex-wives and five grown kids. When he’s found face down in her casserole, Lilah can’t believe it is happening again. She, along with her boyfriend, Detective Jay Parker, set out to locate the killer.

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Series: An Undercover Dish Mystery – Book #3
Author: Julia Buckley
Genre: Cozy Mystery/Culinary
Publisher: Berkley

Rating:

Julia Buckley’s third addition to her “An Undercover Dish Mystery” series, Pudding Up with Murder, is a wonderful happy adventure with delicious ideas. It fits in well with the other books in the series, The Big Chili and Cheddar Off Dead, but can easily stand alone. The writing is smooth, the plot executed with flair and polish. The story is fast-paced and keeps the reader guessing until the last minute. There are plenty of clues along the way, but finding them may be a bit of a challenge.

The character of Lilah is enchanting. She is stubborn and nosy but also loving and kind. Her love interest, Jay, is a fine specimen of a man, but like Lilah, a bit hard-headed with trust issues. They are perfect for each other but take their time revealing their feelings to one another.

Love is in the air, and many of the supporting characters are getting engaged and planning a wedding. Lilah helps things along with two of the couples by interfering, which is something she is almost as good at as she is cooking. All the characters are well-rounded with individual personalities that are easily relatable. The Victim is not as likable as the other characters, but the reader will find that they feel sorry for him and his family, but also the killer in the end.

Lilah’s furry companion Mick is adorable and seems almost like another human character. There are times when she speaks to him that the reader truly expects Mick to answer her. But Mick is more than just a quiet companion; he is also a protective friend and shows his true colors when Lilah needs him the most.

Pudding Up with Murder is a wonderful read and is highly recommended. If the reader enjoys fantastic food, unparalleled mystery with suspects that could be your next-door neighbors, children that are beyond delightful, and twists and turns until the very end, they will appreciate the nuances of this book and the entire series.