A deft touch with characterization, plenty of suspects, and a nostalgic look at the Catskills in the 1950s add up to a fun...
This follow-up to Elizabeth Grady’s exciting debut in Deadly Summer Nights (2021) returns to Haggerman’s Catskill Resort, which Elizabeth is desperate to turn into a success during the height of the Borscht Belt’s popularity as a summer haven for New Yorkers.
The finances of Elizabeth’s famous mother, former dancer Olivia Peters, depend on Haggerman’s, which Elizabeth manages as Olivia thrills the guests with an occasional appearance. A welcome infusion of cash and cachet arrives with a Hollywood movie shoot. Gloria Grant, one of the stars and an old friend of Olivia’s, stays with her; the rest of the cast and crew opt for the larger, better-known Kennelwood Hotel. Despite irascible director Elias Theropodous’ temper tantrums, things go smoothly enough despite all the behind-the-scenes backbiting and romances—until Elias dies in the hospital after attending a dinner party at Haggerman’s, sparking rumors that something he ate there made him sick. Only the fact that no one else has taken ill helps Elizabeth keep her kitchen open and the police at bay. Feeling that she has no choice, Elizabeth, who’s worried that her friend Velvet will get seduced by the production’s handsome male lead, finds time for some serious detective work, getting a friendly reporter to do research for her while he covers the crime. Elias had plenty of enemies, and it’s quite a challenge for Elizabeth to continue running the resort while hunting a killer.
A deft touch with characterization, plenty of suspects, and a nostalgic look at the Catskills in the 1950s add up to a fun read.Pub Date: March 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-33439-3
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: Dec. 14, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Lots of recipes, household tips, quaint locals, and sometimes sharp squabbles—but the big story here is bling.
The DIY Festival Sophie Winston’s been asked to plan for Alexandria’s Old Town goes off the rails when someone starts killing off her neighbors.
It would be hard to imagine a more inoffensive victim than Lark Bickford, but the widowed socialite takes a fatal tumble that looks very suspicious only a day after returning from a guided tour of Portugal. Her family members are instantly scandalized—not that she may have been murdered (her body has barely cooled when they start selling off her period furniture and pricey china), but that her will includes a spendthrift trust that will keep her grown children, Bennett and Paisley, and Paisley’s husband, self-styled advice guru Frank Eames, from liquidating the rest of her assets any time soon. Even more dismaying is the news that the trustee is Humphrey Brown, the secret lover whom a neighbor spotted leaving her house shortly before her corpse was discovered. The family’s outrage is soon complicated by the remarkably similar death of Dulci Chapman, art therapist–turned–food blogger, who’d taken the same guided tour as Lark. So had assistant medical examiner Dr. Peter Chryssos, Sophie’s friend Nina Reid Norwood, and Sophie’s ex-husband, Mars Winston. Wonder how safe they are? In between complimenting most of the DIY exhibitors and fielding Greer Shacklesworth’s endless complaints, the unflappable Sophie asks everyone who’ll listen what the design Lark scrawled as she was dying might have meant.
Lots of recipes, household tips, quaint locals, and sometimes sharp squabbles—but the big story here is bling.Pub Date: May 25, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-4967-3273-6
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Kensington
Review Posted Online: March 30, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The appended specialty grilled cheese recipes and a hint of romance add spice to a promising new series.
Eschewing her beloved cats, last seen in The Girl With the Kitten Tattoo (2020), Reilly debuts a cheesy new series.
After the death of her husband, Carly Hale returns to her charming Vermont hometown and opens her dream restaurant devoted to all things grilled cheese. All goes well until her new landlord, Lyle Bagley, gives her notice that he plans to turn her shop into a boutique run by his girlfriend, Tiffany. When Tiffany finds Lyle dead in the alley behind the restaurant, Carly’s an obvious suspect, but there are many others who hated Lyle. Unfortunately, one of them is Carly’s valued worker, Suzanne, whose dicey position makes Carly decide to do a bit of sleuthing. The police chief is an old family friend who takes time from a rash of high-end burglaries to warn Carly to be careful. It turns out that Lyle was a dishonest slum landlord whose adoring secretary did his bidding and that his half brother, who’s still furious over not getting their father’s Cadillac, is back in town. The editor of the town’s free weekly newspaper, whom Carly once babysat, wants her to team up with him to find the killer. Getting help from friends who go all the way back to high school, Carly apparently spooks the culprit, whose threatening notes suggest that she may be slated to be the next victim.
The appended specialty grilled cheese recipes and a hint of romance add spice to a promising new series.Pub Date: Jan. 25, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-72823-832-6
Page Count: 280
Publisher: Poisoned Pen
Review Posted Online: Sept. 28, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
