Customer Reviews

Cooking Up Murder (A Cooking Class Mystery)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

To help her best friend Annie Capshaw recover from her recent divorce (her husband ran off with the dry cleaner) Eve DeCateur signs them up for a ten day cooking class. Annie is skeptical, she can't heat water without burning it, but when she gets a look at hunky cooking instructor Jim MacDonald, she decides to stick around, even though she is convinced he only has eyes for the beautiful Eve. On the first night of classes, Annie and Eve see a classmate arguing with a man and threatening to kill him and later that night they stumble across the dying man. Initially they think he had a heart attack, but when they find out he was poisoned, they suspect their classmate Beyla, who denies knowing the man. Eve and Annie try to convince Tyler Cooper, a policeman who just happens to be Eve's ex-fiancé, that Beyla is the murderer, but he thinks Eve is trying to mess up his case and doesn't believe them, so they decide to investigate the murder themselves. They have plenty to investigate besides the murder: why did Beyla's classmate John lie about being with her the night of the murder? What was Monsieur Lavoie tossing into the dumpster? Why did Beyla's stove blow up during class and who left the note saying "you are next"? Who is the mysterious Alba Stru? What's in the computer disc Beyla is searching for? Will Annie ever learn to cook?

"Cooking Up Murder" by Miranda Bliss is the delightful first entry in what looks like it will be a fun cozy mystery series. Annie is a well-written heroine - insecure about herself after her husband left her and insecure about her looks compared to Eve - she is stuck in a rut. Eve is also well written. Although she easily could have been an unlikable caricature - blonde, beautiful with a surgically enhanced figure who has been engaged six times - but Bliss makes her a likable, sympathetic character who is deeper than she initially appears. I could picture Jim as I was reading the book - I'd take a cooking class too if all the instructors were that yummy! There's a nice sense of humor throughout the book and Bliss has a nice way with words that is evident in sentences such as "I chewed over the thought and I have to admit, I didn't like the way it tasted." Much of the humor comes from Annie and Eve who will remind readers of Lucy Ricardo and Ethel Mertz as they blunder into situations. They are far too trusting and tell strangers far too much information, which is part of the fun since they really are complete amateurs. The mystery itself is well plotted and even though there aren't many suspects, there are a couple of unexpected twists at the end of the book that made the mystery even better. Like many other culinary mysteries, there are recipes at the end of the book - make sure you read the last one!

"Cooking up Murder" is a nice cozy mystery.

Thirty-five-year-old Annie Capshaw, and her ex-beauty queen best friend, Eve DeCateur, have been bosom buddies since they were in diapers. So it's no surprise that when one of them decides to take a cooking class, the other will quickly follow suit. Which is exactly how Eve, and the reluctant Annie, find themselves spending every night - aside from Sundays - surrounded by other amateur chefs in Clarendon's trendy Tres Bonne Cuisine, as they maneuver their way through cooking with a little guidance from a scrumptious Scotsman chef named Jim, who looks as yummy as the homemade concoctions he whips up in no time at all. However, from day one not all is right at Tres Bonne, for Eve and Annie catch one of their fellow students - an elegant Romanian woman named Beyla - fighting with a hefty guy. A hefty guy whose dead body they stumble over - literally - in the parking lot soon after. When Eve realizes that her ex-fiance, Tyler, is working the case, and refuses to accept any testimony made from the lifelong pals, she gets angry. Now, enlisting Annie's help, she decides that she'll prove Tyler wrong, and solve the case before he even begins finding clues. But as Annie and Eve begin moving further into their investigation, it is obvious that the once reluctant Annie is really getting into this amateur detective gig, and is even more determined than Eve to uncover the killer, and figure out why, exactly, Beyla is acting so strangely. When anonymous threats begin coming in, however, Annie and Eve begin to question whether or not they've bitten off more than they can chew, and it's up to them to put the flame out on this case, before someone else ends up dead.

I have become obsessed with watching the FOOD NETWORK, and am literally Rachael Ray's biggest fan. And while my cooking skills leave much to be desired, I still find world of chef-dom to be enthralling. So when I stumbled upon Miranda Bliss' COOKING UP MURDER, I knew it was the book for me. Within these pages, Bliss has created a sizzling tale starring a delectable duo, whose contrasting personalities mesh together to create the ultimate detective team. Annie is level-headed and hilarious. Her self-deprecating personality, and conflicts within herself regarding the opposite sex, her going-nowhere job, and hair emergencies produce a nice side-story to the mystery; while her sidekick, Eve, is more cool and collected. With a flair for fashion, men, and jumping the gun, Eve is a self-confident - and slightly self-absorbed - pal, who helps balance Annie's obsessive tendencies. While the two seem like people from two different sides of the spectrum, their friendship is one people dream about, that will strongly appeal to readers. A spicy concoction that leaves you hungry for seconds!

Erika Sorocco

The last year has not been a good one for thirty-five years old Arlington, Virginia bank teller Anne Capshaw. Her husband of eight years left her for the bimbo who works at the dry cleaners and her self-esteem is at an all time low. Her cooking skills, never much to begin with, hit rock bottom when she tries to boil water and ruins the pot. Her best friend Eve enrolls both of them at a cooking class at the upscale Tres Bonne Cuisine. On the first night of class, Annie and Eve witness an argument between fellow student Beyla and a man named Drago.

Later that night when they return to the classroom to find the watch Eve left behind they discover Drago's dead body in the parking lot. They call the police; the girlfriend of Eve's former boyfriend is the responding officer. Beyla denies ever knowing Drago even though they both witnessed the fight and locate a picture in the newspaper of them together. When Eve's ex-fiancé talks to the class to find out if they know anything he also tells Eve to butt out of the investigation because he believe Beyla didn't know the murdered victim. That is enough to propel Annie and Eve into high gear not realizing that will put their lives in danger.

This charming serio-comic amateur sleuth investigation is the first cooking class mystery and readers will love it due in part to the protagonists, who are great friends and surprisingly realistic detectives. They follow the clues where they take them and although the pair takes chances, they are calculated ones so the audience believes they could do such an investigation. Miranda Bliss lives up to her surname as she writes a blissful who-done-it that is filled with some very funny scenes and characters who care about each other.

Harriet Klausner

Annie and Eve are two of the most opposite people that you will meet - Annie, the sensible and "cute" one, Eve, the outgoing, bold and "gorgeous" one. The two are best friends and have been for a very long time.
Annie is going through a tough time, after her self-esteem gets ripped to shreds by her ex-husband, who decided to toss their marriage aside for the dry cleaning woman. Eve has just gotten out of a relationship with a cop, who decided he would rather date another cop. Eve decides to sign herself and Annie up for a cooking class, thinking this will help Annie get out more and do something fun. Little does Annie know that the instructor, Jim, is about to add some massive sizzle to her life. Not only that, but both Annie and Eve are about to get their first taste of detective work.
After their first cooking class, Eve realizes she forgot her watch in the classroom. They go back to retrieve it and when they do, they witness one of their classmates in a heated "discussion" with a man that Annie had had a very brief encounter with before class.
Not long after, Annie and Eve come across this same man as he lies dying in a dark alley. The police come to investigate the murder, including Eve's ex-boyfriend's newest fling.
This sets Eve off into the investigative mode, to prove to her ex that she can one up him and put the pieces of this mystery together to solve the crime. She finally convinces Annie that they should play detective and find the murderer.
Annie soon becomes intrigued with the case and finds several leads and bits of evidence. Little does she know that her and Eve are closing in on the answers to the crime. Soon, however, Annie begins to worry that her life may be in danger.
Cooking Up Murder is the first in "A Cooking Class Mystery" series. This was a fun and enjoyable read. I am anxious to read the second in the series "Murder On the Menu" to see what trouble Annie and Eve get into again. Great cozy, with a few recipes to add to the mix!

I enjoyed this book. I liked the story, the progressive of the book, and I liked most of the characters (especially Jim...the saucy Scottish cooking instructor). The ending wasn't a completely obvious, but I wasn't blown away either. There was also no serious danger throughout most of the novel either, until the tail end.

My real issues with it was with the main character. Her flaws made her a bit more realistic, but also a drag to read about for the first third of the book. After going through a divorce, Annie Capshaw has lost all her lust for life and love. She has no faith in herself and really it's just depressing. Then, you find out that her divorce was over a year ago. I get that she should be a little heart broken at that point, but she's portrayed in a way that makes you think it was a very recent development - weeks ago. They way she sits on the couch all day eating peanut butter and chocolate and not wanting to go anywhere with her very vivacious friend. Which brings up my second issue. I can believe these two are friends, but best friends? Unlikely. The beauty queen and the girl with no self esteem? mmm...it's not really believable, but they do treat each other like best friends. Although bringing a friend with no cooking skills to an intermediate cooking class? not really considerate. Annie's lack of cooking skills is just ridiculously overdone. It is my firm belief that given enough practice, anyone can boil water without burning the pan. Annie doesn't even master that skill, let along any of the high end meals that she attempts in the class. Eve can get a little annoying too. With a severe lack of brain power trying to solve a mystery and throwing all the details around like it's chocolate - not great investigator qualities.

The best part of the book starts when things start heating up between Jim and Annie in the kitchen and Annie starts to gain some confidence. IT affects everything in her life but especially the vigor that she starts going about their investigation. Not to mention the chemistry between the two is written extremely well, but not in a way that makes you uncomfortable.

All of that said, after Annie got over her confidence back and really started being positive about a thing or two, i enjoyed the book. I even bought the next two in the series. I like Bliss's writing style and I like how her story progressed. I just started the second and I'm hoping Annie proves to be worth it.

Annie Capshaw is recovering from her very recent divorce. Her best friend Eve DeCateur is determined to cheer Annie up and get her out of her apartment. Eve signs them up for a series of cooking classes but on their first night they find a man dying in an alley after just witnessing him arguing with Beyla, another student in the cooking class. Eve is convinced it was murder and she and Annie begin their own, dangerous investigation.
my review: This was a fun, light-hearted mystery. Not only is Annie a terrible cook, but she and Eve are a bit bumbling at murder investigations. But they are an amusing team as they try to follow suspects and talk too much about their suspicions to the wrong people.
Jim is their Scottish cooking instructor and Annie finds him much more inviting than the food she is trying to cook.
I liked that this was a buddy mystery, as Annie or Eve on their own would not have been nearly as much fun. It is comically painful at times to wait for them to catch up with what the reader already knows, but the author did put a couple of twists in for the ending. And there are recipes at the end! I will definitely check out Annie and Eve as they solve their next murder.

my rating 3.5/5

I loved this book! It kept you interested throughout the entire book. The characters are so quirky you can't help but love them to the very last page! I'm already on the second book and the others are already ordered!

Yeah...a cozy mystery I enjoyed. "Cute" Annie and her sexy friend Eve join a cooking class, basically as a distraction from Annie's divorce becoming finalized. Not only are they enjoying the class and their 'hottie' teacher but they find themselves embroiled in a mystery or two along the way. I suspected the killer long before it was revealed and the 'red herring' was obviously that, but this was still a fun read, lighthearted but not complete fluff (but just fluffy enough). This is what I personally craved to read after a recent dry spot with mysteries. I can't rate this as a four, but it was closer to a three and a half then a three star. I would be more than happy to read the next offerings in this series. I am curious to see who they continue being "cooking class" mysteries when they finished the course as I finished mine with this book. An extra mention: This cover is adorable.

Annie and Eve have been best friends since childhood. After Annie's divorce, Eve treats her to a ten-day cooking course -- which appears to be a good idea, since Annie can't cook (and Eve isn't much better). The first night, the two friends see a fellow student arguing with a mysterious man... who dies shortly thereafter.

It's a good premise for a cozy mystery, and it works. This is a book that you don't have to take seriously, but you can easily enjoy while you're reading it. The characters manage to be both well-drawn and lightweight, so they're easy to accept in the way you agree to believe in the characters of a romantic comedy movie. If this book were a movie, in fact, it's the sort that would star Meg Ryan -- perky, cute, funny, but not dumb.

You definitely do *not* need to be a foodie to enjoy this mystery. The cooking instruction is minimal, and poor Annie's culinary skill doesn't improve much. Even the recipes included at the back of the book are fairly light stuff.

Still, this book made me chuckle, and I enjoyed the ride. That's what I was looking for, and that's what I got.

Hurray! It's been a long time since I've thoroughly enjoyed a book where it wasn't obvious "who-done-it" early on. What a fun read that kept me guessing until the end. Thank you Ms. Bliss!!