If Fried Chicken Could Fly by Paige Shelton

If Fried Chicken Could Fly (Country Cooking School Mystery, #1)

by Paige Shelton

At Gram's Country Cooking School, Betts and Gram are helping students prepare the perfect dishes for the Southern Missouri Show-Down, the cook-off that draws the first of the summer visitors. Everything is going smoothly until they discover the body of local theater owner Everett Morningside in the school's supply closet, and Everett's widow points an accusatory finger at Gram. Now, Betts has to dig deep into Broken Rope's history to find the modern-day killer-before the last piece of chicken is served...

Reviewed by MurderByDeath on

4 of 5 stars

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I didn't have high expectations for this book - the synopsis didn't grab me. But I was pleasantly surprised once I started reading and didn't stop until I was through. It's a ghost story! It's a good first start to a new series, although I didn't warm up to the main character a whole lot. But I had the same problem with this authors other series, the Farm Fresh Mysteries. I've just recently read the third in that series and found the characters much more likeable and 3 dimensional than I found them to be in the first two. So I am confident this series' character development will evolve as well. I'm hoping for a bit more humour and a tiny bit less earnestness.

The plot of the murder was good, and I really enjoyed how it was all tied in with the ghost story. I especially enjoyed the friendship between the ghost and the main character, Bettes. I didn't guess the murderer ahead of time, but I don't recall there being a whole lot of clues either. Overall, I really enjoyed the book and I'm really looking forward to the next one.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 8 January, 2012: Finished reading
  • 8 January, 2012: Reviewed