By Cook or by Crook (A Five-Ingredient Mystery)
New Cozy Series
Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Kensington (November 4, 2014)
ISBN-13: 978-1617731389

Synopsis

Take one burned-out city girl. Add a crusty codger, a pinch of gossip, and a dash of romance. Stir in a generous helping of murder and you’ve got the ingredients for one truly delicious mystery…

Haunted by the car accident that ended her career as a cookbook publicist, Val Deniston has traded in the chaos of New York City for a quieter life near the Chesapeake Bay. Living with her curmudgeonly grandfather in the tourist town of Bayport is hardly glamorous, but she enjoys working at the Cool Down Café at the local fitness club, and she finally has time to work on her long-planned cookbook. But when one of the club’s patrons is found dead, she’ll have to cook up a scheme to find the killer.

Includes 8 five-ingredient recipes!

Review

I enjoyed this first book in a new series with recipes that only have 5 ingredients…my kind of recipe!  Not that I can’t handle recipes with more ingredients, but sometimes simplicity is best.

I liked all of the characters and have to say the author throws out some great red herrings because I was going down another path on who the killer might be…honestly never guessed who it was.  There are some other characters that I wonder how they factor into future books.  And of course there is Grandpa – the crusty codger.  He adds a lot of character to Val’s life that is for sure especially with the job he is hired for with the newspaper.  There is even a potential love interest for Val….have to have a love interest!

I think this will be another great cozy series, so check it out.

We give this 5 paws up

About The Author

Maya Corrigan lives near Washington, D.C., within easy driving distance of Maryland’s Eastern Shore, the setting for this series. She has taught courses in writing, detective fiction, and American literature at Georgetown University and NOVA community college. A winner of the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery and Suspense, she has published essays on drama and short stories under her full name of Mary Ann Corrigan.

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Tour Participants

November 4 – fuonlyknew – Review, Giveaway

November 5 – The Bookwyrm’s Hoard – Review, Guest Post, Giveaway

November 6 – Melina’s Book Blog – Review, Giveaway

November 7 – Mochas, Mysteries and Meows – Review, Guest Post, Giveaway

November 8 – StoreyBook Reviews – Review

November 9 – Chloe Gets A Clue – Interview

November 10 – Brooke Blogs – Review, Giveaway