Customer Reviews

Murder on the Menu: A Cooking Class Mystery

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

 

 

This book is prefect for the beach or just the weekend at home.Its a book that gets the actionand stays with it. Its not full of bad words or talks about blood and guts,it just tells a story of friends who finds a mystery.I liked it and read the next book.

Even though thirty-five-year-old Annie Capshaw, and her drop dead gorgeous Southern belle best friend, Eve DeCateur spent six days a week taking cooking classes at the trendy Tres Bonne Cuisine in Clarendon a few months ago, neither of them learned much about whipping up exquisite meals. Instead, they were schooled in something much different: murder. After solving their first case, and hooking up with their cooking school teacher, the hunky Scotsman Jim, however, they're prepared to take on a new bit of the food industry: running a restaurant.

After a failed marriage, Annie Capshaw feels that she is done with men. The constant presence of wonder chef Jim, however, has left her wondering if it's time for a change of heart. But there's little room for romance now that Jim has undertaken a new endeavor...opening up and running a restaurant called Bellywasher's. Luckily, Jim hasn't forgotten about Annie or her bombshell best friend, Eve DeCateur. Eve has been generously handed the position of hostess, and Annie has been graciously bestowed the honor of running everything behind-the-scenes - from balancing the books, making sure there's never a shortage of celery, and keeping on top of the decorating scheme. Things are slow going at first, with just a few customers appearing every now and then; but when a rave review appears in a local newspaper, things change - and fast. Suddenly Bellywasher's is the new place to be, and customers are lining up in droves just to get a seat. Of course, these aren't your typical customers. These are the elite of Washington. People with money to burn, and secrets oozing out of their pores. When Annie and Eve find their friend Sarah dead in her bathtub, the two know that something smells a little fishy. Sarah - a staff member for a powerful congressman contemplating running for Vice President of the United States - had everything to live for, and couldn't have been happier, and the two refuse to accept her death as a suicide. When the police refuse to acknowledge their reasoning, however, Annie and Eve decide to take matters into their own hands. With a new furry friend in tow, the two begin delving into the world of high-priced players, political aficionados, and more secrets than you could ever have imagined. But if they want to come out of this investigation alive, Annie and Eve will have to get out of the kitchen, before things really begin to heat up.

After reading Miranda Bliss' COOKING UP MURDER, I realized that it was absolutely impossible not to fall in love with the oft-times self-deprecating, narcissistic Annie Capshaw and the bell-of-the-ball, beauty queen Eve DeCateur, and found myself scouring the shelves for MURDER ON THE MENU. I couldn't be happier with the result. MURDER ON THE MENU possesses all of the charm of COOKING UP MURDER, with a few new twists and turns, and a little more insight into what makes Eve and Annie tick. Annie and Eve are such fun, fabulous characters, whose personalities are wonderful contrasts to one another - Eve is carefree and bubbly, while Annie is a nervous worrywart. Together they create a delectable duo whom you can't help but eat up with a spoon. The presence of Jim, and his Scottish roots add a little gritty nature to the storyline; while the whole political, secretive backdrop is a nice touch that schools readers in the way of the world. Bliss does a wonderful job of incorporating facts about running a restaurant into the book, and tying the tale up in a way that leaves you eager to find out what will happen next. Sizzling, spicy, tasty - this is one sequel that will leave you hungry for more!

Erika Sorocco
Freelance Reviewer

Cute, loveable cozy with fun characters. Enough drama to keep you interested but not too much to put you off. Book 2 in the series.

The concept is there, but this is like if Bratz dolls were solving mysteries. Very shallow characters.

In this second book of the series, Annie Capshaw, along with her best friend Eve, is helping to run Bellywashers, a restaurant owned by her former cooking class instructor, Jim. Eve runs into an old friend, Sarah who works for a Senator with ambitions to be the next President. Annie and Eve go to Sarah's apartment to meet for dinner and find her dead in the bathtub, an apparent suicide. But Eve doesn't believe it and eventually persuades Annie to investigate with her.

This is a fun cozy series. I always love when they involve food and murder. Annie is very cautious and Eve is over-the-top so they make for a nice combo. One thing I especially like is that there are a lot of suspects to choose from. Some cozies only have a couple and it makes it too obvious who the killer is.

Cozies make for great summer reading, so check out this series.

my rating 3/5

The cons...Much like the first novel, Annie is self deprecating and not at all good at cooking. While best friend Eve is busy being wrapped up in boys and the affairs she has with them, oh and her new pooch - so much so that she starts to become exceedingly annoying. I still really don't believe in their friendship - just because you tell me it's there doesn't make it believable. The best character in the series, Jim, Annie's love interest is mostly absent from the book in all ways except as the owner of the new restaurant. There are large time gaps in a few places making the plot scattered and the book ends very abruptly.

The pros ... The writing style is cute, cozy and a good read for before bed. It's a quick read and you'll enjoy the story. It's not raunchy and the characters - even though slightly over-developed, are likable. You want them to win and succeed. Annie also have a visible personal growth throughout the story and you'll enjoy rooting for her as she gets further and further into the case.

The bottom line ... a good book that I enjoyed reading, but I don't think I'll be re-reading it anytime soon.

This was a well-written,light hearted, romantic murder mystery. Well done. I will admit that I came into the series in the latest books and liked them so much I ordered the beginning ones to catch up with the characters.

I was not disappointed. Annie Capshaw and her best friend, Eve have gone to work in a restaurant with their former cooking instructor. This gave the book a fresh location and path to wonderful storylines. The murder is set away from the restaurant at a friends' apartment.

Eve gains a dog and Annie helps solve another murder.

I really enjoyed the banter and action.

"Murder on the Menu" is the delightful follow up to the first Cooking School Mystery "Cooking Up Murder" by Miranda Bliss. As with the first book, the series strength lies with its fun main characters, Annie and Eve. Eve especially is a delight here as teh beautiful, somewhat dingy blonde barbie doll who falls in love and creates havoc with a rare breed and expensive dog. The murder of that dog's owner is teh primary plot line here. Apparently Eve's friend Sarah has been making some big bucks...bigger than her salary working for a DC senator. When Sarah is found dead of an apparent suicide, Annie and Eve set off to prove this suicide isn't what it seems. The girls have to doge some "bullets" after the killer finds out they are onto his (or her) trail and soon they are neck deep into political corruption and adultrous affairs. While the mystery wasn't too easy to solve, it was just as much fun to follow Annie and Eve's antics. The mystery isn't very deep or involved and the story sometimes moved a tad slow for my liking, cozy mystery fans should find something to enjoy here.

not really stand alone. i accidentally skipped one and spent the whole time going what did i miss. i like the girls alough they are a bit busybodyish. but its a fun style of writing

I really liked this book. It has so many twists and turns that really keeps you guessing. Just when you think you have the mystery figured out, something else pops up that makes you change your mind. The ending is pretty abrubt which was a little disappointing, but other than that this is a great book for anyone who likes the cozy mystery genre.