Monthly Sub-Genre Challenge: What Type Are You? May 2018

Each month a randomly selected sub-genre of Mystery and Suspense will appear. We want you to discuss your favorite books and make recommendations. You may choose books to read in this sub-genre and post comments or reviews about the books read. Even a sentence or two will do!

The sub-genre for the month of May 2018 is...Culinary Mystery

This may be a real challenge for most of us this month since the Culinary Mystery is a theme within the “Cozy Mystery sub-genre” – a style that I don’t think many of us read. These food-themed stories feature protagonists in the culinary industry who become unexpectedly embroiled in a crime. From baked goods to haute cuisine, these books offer something for every palate.

Following is a list of links to help you with your selections:

1. https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/culinary-mystery
   
2. https://www.cozy-mystery.com/blog/cozy-mystery-authors-with-culinary-themes-part...
   
3. http://cozy-mysteries-unlimited.com/culinary-list
   
4. https://strandmag.com/top-ten-culinary-mysteries/
   
5. https://www.ebscohost.com/novelist/novelist-special/culinary-mysteries-taking-a-...
   
6. https://www.stopyourekillingme.com/JobCats/Food_Drink.html
   
7. https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/food-mystery
   
8. https://www.barnesandnoble.com/b/books/cozy-mysteries-amateur-sleuths/cooking-my...
   
9. https://www.bookbub.com/blog/2016/09/26/cozy-mysteries-about-food
   
10. https://www.bookish.com/articles/murder-on-the-menu-a-feast-of-cozy-food-mysteri...

Happy Reading ❤

Oh, I'm sure I have a few on my tbr that would fit this. I occasionally read cozies!

Maybe not as many as I thought, but I have this one I was going to try:

Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder / Joanne Fluke

This may help those of us that don't usually read this genre find a "new friend". Joanne Fluke has a lot of these types...my mother reads her books. She also reads a lot of the one that are on the lists that Brenda provided. Good job, Brenda, of pulling me out of my comfortable 'rut":)

https://www.cozy-mystery.com/blog/mysteries-with-recipes-and-recipe-books-by-mys...

I like the occasional cozy also. I have one on my TBR that fits. It's Roast Mortem by Cleo Coyle. It's a coffeehouse mystery with recipes for coffee. This will be the first I've read from this author but I hope I like it. I think I"ll at least enjoy the talk about coffee!

I haven’t read one in forever, but next up in Diane Mott Davidson’s Goldi Schulz series would be Sticks & Scones.

Roast Mortem by Cleo Coyle
3★

When the firefighters of Ladder Company 189 pull Clare's friends out of a blazing cafe, she happily comes to their rescue. As a favor to the men, she visits their firehouse kitchen to teach them the finer points of operating their newly donated expresso machine. But more than their coffee turns out to be hot. Somebody's torching cafes around the city, and firefighters are beginning to die in suspicious ways.

The main characters were likable but there were so many characters to keep track of that it wasn’t always clear who was who. There was a lot of explaining the various characters’ possible motives throughout the book too. It just seemed too crowded. There was some interesting information about handling coffee beans and making espresso. Overall, just mildly interesting to me.

The Wedding Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke
Hannah Swanson series Book #3
3★

Everyone in Lake Eden, Minnesota, may have had their doubts, but at long last, Hannah Swensen is getting married! Hannah is thrilled to be marrying Ross Barton, her college crush. And her excitement only grows when she learns he’ll be able to join her on her trip to New York City for the Food Channel’s dessert chef contest. They get a taste of the Big Apple before Hannah wins the Hometown Challenge and the producers bring all the contestants to Lake Eden to tape the remainder of the show. It’s nerve-wracking enough being judged by Alain Duquesne, a celebrity chef with a nasty reputation. But it’s even more chilling to find him stabbed to death in the Lake Eden Inn’s walk-in cooler—before he’s even had a chance to taste Hannah’s Butterscotch Sugar Cookies! Now Hannah has not only lost her advantage, she’ll have to solve a mystery with more layers than a five-tiered wedding cake.

I don't care for cozies but I read the book for a challenge. As far as the mystery goes, it was okay. Those that like this genre will probably eat it up...no pun intended. I just don't understand the amateur sleuth attitude. Do they actually think they are the only ones capable of solving the case and act as if the police don't exist? Mostly they investigate between taking cookies out of the oven...in this case a five tier wedding cake.

Jeez! I completely forgot to post my May book here! I did read Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder

Going to find my review so I can post it...

Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder / Joanna Fluke
3.5 stars

Hannah owns a cookie shop and when one of her delivery guys turns up shot in the alley behind, she helps out her brother-in-law, a cop, with the investigation.

I mostly enjoyed it. You could tell it was written a while back (published in 2000 – I actually though a little earlier while reading), as the technology is not up-to-date. My ebook had an extra novella (that I quite liked!) tacked on at the end that had more current technology – it was written in 2006. There are many cookie recipes at the end of some of the chapters (I think every chapter in the novella had one). You could probably make an entire cookie recipe book out of just the recipes included! I liked the characters and the small town feel. After the main novel, I wasn’t sure if I would continue the series, but after reading the novella, I decided that I would.