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Murder on the Menu by Fiona Leitch | Book Review

Apr. 28, 2022

If cozy mystery is your cup of tea then this is certainly the book that you want to read. It is everything you could want in a cozy mystery while being fun at the same time.

Murder on the Menu by Fiona Leitch | Book Reviewfive-stars
Murder on the Menu by Fiona Leitch
Series: Nosey Parker #1
Genres: Cozy Mystery

The first book in a NEW cosy mystery series!
Still spinning from the hustle and bustle of city life, Jodie ‘Nosey’ Parker is glad to be back in the Cornish village she calls home. Having quit the Met Police in search of something less dangerous, the change of pace means she can finally start her dream catering company and raise her daughter, Daisy, somewhere safer.

But there’s nothing like having your first job back at home to be catering an ex-boyfriend’s wedding to remind you of just how small your village is. And when the bride, Cheryl, vanishes Jodie is drawn into the investigation, realising that life in the countryside might not be as quaint as she remembers…

With a missing bride on their hands, there is murder and mayhem around every corner but surely saving the day will be a piece of cake for this not-so-amateur sleuth?

The first book in the Murder on the Menu cosy mystery series. Can be read as a standalone. A humorous cosy mystery with a British female sleuth in a small village. Includes one of Jodie's Tried and Tested Recipes! Written in British English. Mild profanity and peril.

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I received this book for free from in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.


Review


I will say that I moved this book to the back of my reading pile a number of times. I have no idea why, other than I felt like I couldn’t get into it. Despite the fact that I hadn’t even read a single page, I was captivated by it. When I finally sat down to read it, while I was waiting in the heart clinic, no less, I loved it from beginning to end. This was exactly what I needed in the middle of the seriousness of those visits. I needed to laugh and just feel good. If I could give this book more stars, I would.

Along with her 12-year-old daughter, Jodie, she has returned to her home town in a Cornish village. Once a police officer in London, she begins a new job running a catering service out of her van. The van she calls the “gimpmobile,” which I just love. I mean, come on, people! I mean, my first car was called the “pitmobile” because it was the pits! She gets her first gig catering her old friend Tony’s wedding. Her former nickname of “Nosey Parker” comes out in full force once a murder happens and she just can’t seem to help solving it. She was a cop, after all. 

All of the secondary characters were so wonderful that they brought so much to the story. Even the gimpmobile adds a charm and a bit of fun that I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. I can’t wait for the next book in this series to come out. 

five-stars

About Fiona Leitch

Fiona Leitch is a writer with a chequered past. She’s written for football and motoring magazines, DJ’ed at illegal raves and is a stalwart of the low budget TV commercial, even appearing as the Australasian face of a cleaning product called ‘Sod Off’. After living in London and Cornwall she’s finally settled in sunny New Zealand, where she enjoys scaring her cats by trying out dialogue on them. She spends her days dreaming of retiring to a crumbling Venetian palazzo, walking on the windswept beaches of West Auckland, and writing funny, flawed but awesome female characters.

The first book in her ‘Nosey Parker’ series of cozy mysteries set in Cornwall will be published by One More Chapter in January 2021, with books 2 and 3 following in February and March.

Her debut novel ‘Dead in Venice’ was published by Audible in 2018 as one of their Crime Grant finalists. Fiona also writes screenplays and was a finalist in the Athena Film Festival Writers Lab, co-run by Meryl Streep’s IRIS company.

Fiona is represented by Lina Langlee at the North Literary Agency.

Website | Goodreads | Amazon

Category: Review Tags: NetGalley

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Bea LaRocca says

    April 28, 2022 at 12:46 pm

    Thank you for sharing your awesome review of Murder on the Menu, I like the cover and synopsis and I am looking forward to reading this cozy mystery myself

    Reply
  2. Piroska says

    April 28, 2022 at 3:55 pm

    Thanks for the review! This book sounds like a fun read. Love the cover!

    Reply
  3. heather says

    April 28, 2022 at 4:21 pm

    I really enjoyed reading this review and this sounds like a fun read and one I would really enjoy reading this summer while I am on vacation.

    Reply
  4. Eva Millien says

    April 28, 2022 at 4:26 pm

    Murder on the Menu sounds like a thrilling mystery, thanks for sharing your review and have an awesome day!

    Reply
  5. bn100 says

    April 28, 2022 at 9:03 pm

    sounds thrilling

    Reply
  6. CB says

    April 28, 2022 at 10:55 pm

    Really enjoyed your synopsis of Murder on the Menu – what a title! I am in need of a light read that will give me a laugh and this sounds like just that.

    Reply
  7. Judy Thomas says

    April 29, 2022 at 6:53 am

    I love a fun mystery. Thanks for sharing this.

    Reply
  8. Audrey Stewart says

    April 29, 2022 at 9:15 am

    Fiona Leitch is a new author to me and I look forward to reading her books. I saw some really good ones on Goodreads.

    Reply
  9. Adriane says

    April 30, 2022 at 1:31 am

    A British cozy with cake on the cover? yes please

    Reply
  10. Susan Smith says

    April 30, 2022 at 12:31 pm

    This sounds like a great book. I enjoy reading mysteries. Cute cover too!

    Reply
  11. Kari B says

    May 2, 2022 at 7:18 am

    Sounds like a fun mystery to read, with an exciting lead character.

    Reply
  12. Shirley O says

    May 6, 2022 at 11:11 am

    Thank you for sharing your review! Murder on the Menu sounds like an interesting read and I love the cover.

    Reply
  13. vennesa k says

    May 8, 2022 at 1:03 pm

    My mom got me hooked on this. So much fun to read.

    Reply
  14. Jay Jeworski says

    May 8, 2022 at 1:30 pm

    This looks like a really fun read.

    Reply
    • Anita C says

      May 10, 2022 at 4:11 pm

      I’ve never read a cozy mystery before. This sounds like a good book to read for my first

      Reply
  15. Linda says

    May 12, 2022 at 1:41 am

    I love a cozy mystery, especially one with food involved.

    Reply
  16. Nichole says

    May 13, 2022 at 9:57 am

    Thank you for the fabulous review. It sounds like a book I would enjoy reading.

    Reply
  17. Rachel Rinna says

    May 18, 2022 at 11:25 pm

    My sons name is Parker and this just added to the fact that the word nosey was on all my report cards.

    I love a cozy mystery!!! ❤
    Jodie ‘Nosey’ Parker is glad to be back in the Cornish village she calls home – A humorous cosy mystery with a British female sleuth in a small village. 

    I also love stand alone, but follows a series.

    Reply
  18. Antoinette M says

    May 22, 2022 at 8:25 pm

    I like the cover. Sounds like a great cozy!

    Reply
  19. xjanelx78 says

    July 25, 2022 at 11:05 am

    Really nice cover and excerpt, looking forward to reading this!

    Reply
  20. Aline Azevedo says

    February 13, 2023 at 6:04 pm

    Not my type of read, but I loved how sincere your review was!

    Reply
  21. Elizabeth says

    March 30, 2023 at 12:38 pm

    The author’s bio sounds like it would make a fun memoir!

    Reply

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