Final Sentence (Cookbook Nook Mystery, #1)

by Daryl Wood Gerber

FIRST IN THE COOKBOOK NOOK MYSTERY SERIES!

In need of a change, Jenna Hart leaves the high-pressure world of advertising to help her aunt, Vera, open a culinary bookshop and café. Back with her family in Crystal Cove, California, Jenna seems to have all the right ingredients for a fresh start—until someone adds a dash of murder.
 
As a marketing expert, Jenna wants to make sure the grand opening of the Cookbook Nook draws a crowd, and no one is better at getting attention than her old college roommate, celebrity chef Desiree Divine. But when Desiree arrives in quiet Crystal Cove to do a cookbook signing, the diva stirs up more trouble than business…especially when she turns up dead.
 
Known for stealing husbands and burning bridges, Desiree left behind plenty of suspects—including Jenna. Though the celebrity’s life always appeared to be an open book, Jenna will have to read between the lines in order to clear her name, and catch a killer before another body is served cold.

Includes recipes!

• ISBN10: 0425258041
• ISBN13: 9780425258040
• Publish Date: 2 July 2013
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: Berkley Publishing Corporation,U.S.
• Format: Paperback (US Mass Market)
• Pages: 304
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780425258040

Reviews

[MurderByDeath]

I'm wavering between 3 and 4 stars after reading this first instalment of a new series, so we'll go with 3.5. The beginning started off clunky for me - I really struggled the first few chapters to figure out the characters' voices and as a result, the dialogue really didn't flow at all. And the first half of the book was overly peppered (ha! cooking reference!) with specific examples of how Jenna was an ace marketing executive in her previous career. These stuck out and felt horribly awkward to me and were quite a turn-off. But about half to 2/3 of the way through the book, the story found it's groove, the dialogue started flowing better, the awkward horn-blowing stopped and I found myself really interested in the book. I'm withholding judgement on the characters until the next book, as their personalities didn't feel established. The two exceptions being Rhett and Tigger - both charmers from the get-go! Oh, and someone needed to drown Pepper before the book even started.

The plot of the murder mystery was well done: some symbolism, a few red-herrings, lots of suspects. I wasn't able to guess the murderer until the author wanted me to - right along with Jenna.

I'll also say that I found there to be too much internal dialogue, but I think that's just my personal cross to bear since I think just about every book has too much internal dialogue. :)

I'll be looking for the next book to see where things go from here.