Cobblered to Death

Cobblered to Death by Rosemarie Ross has readers enjoying the Pocono Mountains in May. Courtney Archer is the host of Cooking with the Farmer’s Daughter even though she has never stepped foot on a farm in her life. Courtney is now co-hosting The American Baking Battle on location while filming episodes of her own show. The one thing Courtney wishes is to present her real self to the audience, but her contract precludes her from revealing the truth. She finds it even more challenging working alongside Shannon Collins, host of Southern Comfort Foods, who is so genuine and extends friendship to Courtney. There is drama on the set between the baking contests and problems off screen thanks to contestant Mick who overheard a conversation between Courtney and her producer. Courtney sheds her worries while baking a cheery cobbler in a cast-iron pan for her show the next day. The next morning, she stops to pick it up and finds it on the floor alongside a very dead Mick. With Courtney in the hot seat as the police’s top suspect, she digs in to find the true culprit. Cobblered to Death is the debut of A Courtney Archer Mystery series. Courtney was a mixed bag for me. I liked her, but I also found her frustrating. If you are presenting yourself as a farmer’s daughter on air, would you not visit a farm and do research? I did not understand why the author has Courtney floundering after hosting the show for three years especially when Eric’s family owns a farm. I hope in the next book we get to know more about Courtney besides she likes to carve fruit, from Chicago, and dislikes lying to her viewers. I liked Courtney’s friend and producer, Eric Iverson. I found him friendly and caring. I also enjoyed the blossoming friendship between Courtney and Shannon Collins. Shannon was my favorite character in the story. There is baking galore for those readers who enjoy culinary cozies. I loved the descriptions of the red mixers on the lovely blue countertops (my two favorite colors). The mystery was lacking. It was obvious who would die and who would be blamed. I was easily able to solve this whodunit. There was an absence of suspects and pointed clues. I wanted less of Courtney upset about her situation (not being a farmer’s daughter, the clause in her contract) and a more solid mystery. There are two love interests for Courtney (of course). Cobblered to Death is what I call a light and breezy cozy mystery. Cobblered to Death is a new culinary cozy mystery with a crushing cherry cobbler, an abundance of baking, a complaining contestant, and a carking contract clause.

Cobblered to Death, the first installment in the Courtney Archer Mystery Series from Rosemarie Ross, will not disappoint you! The story takes place on the set of a reality network cooking show, with culinary expert Courtney Archer on the scene as a celebrity host. But things soon heat up when a dead body is discovered on the show’s set.
Rosemarie Ross has written a finely crafted puzzle for readers, and I was kept guessing until the end of the book. If you love cozy mysteries, this is a book for you to read.

Note: I received a copy of this book from the author for my impartial review.

I received a free copy from the publisher through Netgalley and voluntarily reviewed it.

I liked the set-up for this book with the baking show and I requested this one soon after I spotted it on Netgalley. It’s a fun cozy mystery set around a baking competition. However the mystery fell a bit flat and that among with a few other things prevented me from enjoying this one as much as I had hoped.

The mystery started off interesting, with one of the contestants found dead. He is hit upon the head with the main characters cast iron pan and cobbler. Which ofcourse makes the main character one of the suspects and she sets out to clear her name. The rest of the mystery just wasn’t as engaging to me. There’s two obvious unlikable characters who with their unlikable behavior hit a spot on the suspects list. But most of it was actually guessing. There just weren’t many clues to point to the murderer or suspects that got ruled out. And the reveal was just a bit anti-climactic, although there were a few interesting twist along the way, the overall mystery just fell flat to me. While I hadn’t predicted who the murderer was, I also wasn’t too surprised.

It made sense how the main character got involved, but I thought her actual involvement was still pretty mild. She mostly asks a few questions and researches things online. There aren’t many clues she finds in person. And while her producer kept warning her to keep her noose out of it, compared with some other cozy mysteries I thought she didn’t put herself in danger too much. Most of the time she was pretty smart about. Asking questions in public places or researching things from the safety from online. Most of the bigger clues and reveals are all kept to the end, which made the earlier part of the story feel a bit slow. I did guess the murderer wrong, but I think there aren’t many good clues to figure it out. Even the obvious suspects lack a clear motive. I liked how the detective on the case seemed capable enough and also was friendly enough to the main character.

I did like the food theme and the baking contest focus. I also like how the set-up for book 2 is done at the end of this book. I had mistakenly believed the main character would be one of the contestants, but she is actually the host. So there isn’t as much of her actually cooking and baking things as I had hoped. We mostly see the contestants do some baking and descriptions of what they have mad,e but not much of the actual baking. The contest itself also was less interesting as we don’t get to know a lot about most contestants, so it’s hard to get invested in who does well, who is send home and who wins.

Courtney was a decent main character. I liked how she handled things. Her curiosity into the murder made sense. I also liked how she wanted to come clean to her fans about her not being a farmer’s daughter, but I have to admit I didn’t really care about the whole drama/ trouble surrounding her not being a farmer’s daughter, but having to pretend she did. There wasn’t much that made me really like her though, there just wasn’t much that really made her stand out somehow.

There are some side characters, but few who are really interesting. It was a bit difficult at the start to remember who was who as there are a lot of characters and not many of them really show a lot of personality of things to distinguish them form one another at first, but as the story progressed this resolved itself when you get to know the characters a bit better.

It was nice to see Courtney struck up a friendship with Shannon, although I didn’t really feel like we got to know her much, it was clear these two quickly considered each other friends. Courtney also is pretty close to her producer Eric. And then there is Drake, the owner of the security company. Courtney has an eye on him, but is he interested in her or only because she’s a suspect? The other host, judge and the contestants all stay to the background a bit, although there are some interesting scenes of glimpses into their personalities at times.

The setting at the castle for the filming was interesting. It was a bit of a locked room mystery feel as you know someone who was there is the murderer and one of the characters there has done it. It also was nice to get a bit of a feel for the setting and surrounding area. And it was fun to read about a show like this being filmed.

To summarize: this cozy mystery has a fun theme with a cooking/ baking show. I liked the food theme and seeing the show being filmed. The mystery fell a bit flat for me, with there being only a few obvious suspects and very few clues. The biggest clues and reveals all come at the end of the story. I had guessed wrong who the murderer was, but then again with very few clues to go on I just guessed on someone. I liked Courtney well enough, but I never fully cared about her and what she was going through. I liked how she handled most of the investigating in a relatively smart manner. I didn’t really care for the whole drama around her not being a farmer’s daughter and her having to pretend she is, while actually wanting to reveal her secret. I was a bit surprised at the start of the book that Courtney wasn’t a contestant as I had expected, but the host of the show instead, so there was less actual baking she did than I has expected. There is a hint of romance and a few side characters that play a role in the story as well. The castle setting for the filming was interesting and gave the mystery a bit of a locked room vibe. All in all a fun food themed cozy mystery, but it fell a bit flat for me.

Cobblered to Death by Rosemarie Ross is an enjoyable new entry into the culinary cozy mystery genre.

Ms. Ross’ writing flows smoothly and her descriptive writing made it easy to imagine how this reality show was being taped. Courtney, Shannon and Eric are all likable characters who are developed slowly throughout the story. The plot definitely had a few twists and turns but only a few suspects to consider as the story progressed. I never guessed who was behind the murder until the reveal which is the way I like my mysteries.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book from Kensington via NetGalley. All of the above opinions are my own.

Synopsis:

Out of the frying pan, into the fire . . .

Courtney Archer is known for hosting the show Cooking with the Farmer’s Daughter . . . despite the fact that she’s actually a pediatrician’s daughter. Now she’s signed on for a role on The American Baking Battle. On this reality show, she can start developing a more authentic image for herself—and as a bonus, the usual backstabbing and manufactured drama isn’t part of the Baking Battle script. But genuine drama is heating up behind the scenes . . .

During a film shoot in the scenic Pocono Mountains, Courtney has to juggle career commitments like pots on a six-burner stove. Adding to the stress is Mick, a contestant who finds out about her fake farm-girl story. Determined to succeed at her new gig, she whips up a cherry cobbler in a cast-iron fry pan one evening and leaves it out to cool. But the next morning, it’s Mick’s body that’s cooling—right next to Courtney’s pan, now classified as a murder weapon . . . (Goodreads)

Review:

The premise of this book is a good one, a baking competition. It reminded me of a cooking show that is currently on television, The Great British Bake Off. It was great to see some of the behind the scenes that go into making such a show. It showed a different type of cooking cozy and I enjoyed that.

The characters are well rounded and well developed. Courtney is smart and a hard worker and it seems as though she is good at gathering information. That comes in handy when someone in the set is killed. The co-hosts and the contestants added a realistic feel to the book.

The writing style flows smoothly and the book is an easy read. The author is very talented in her descriptive writing and the descriptions pulled me into the story from the very beginning. The mystery was well plotted but I do think there could have been more suspects to consider. That is only my opinion and others might not agree with me.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well crafted cozy mystery. And if you like cooking competitions like I do, you should pick up this book.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher, Kensington Books, and NetGalley, which I greatly appreciate.

I really enjoyed this book and look forward to the next in series. It was a fun behind-the-scenes look at cooking shows and competitions, and the characters were all so different and interesting. The story moved along at a nice pace and the humor, red herrings and twisty plot kept my attention to the end.

I received an advanced copy via NetGalley and this is my honest review.

Cobblered to Death by Rosemarie Ross is the first in the Courtney Archer mystery series. This is an enjoyable, easy to read cozy mystery.
Courtney is the host of the popular cooking show, Cooking With the Farmers Daughter, and is currently co-hosting a reality cooking contest on location in the Pocono Mountains. She also is using the set to film her series. But is she really a farmers daughter?
When things heat up on the set, between the contestants, she starts to notice some animosity between Mick and one of the judges. Then when Mick turns up dead on the set, the murder weapon is an iron skillet belonging to Courtney with a cherry cobbler baked in it, she is named one of the people of interest. In addition, her secret may be coming out.
Ross gives you plenty of twists and turns to have you guessing until the end. The setting and characters are relatable and likeable.
I was given an ARC by NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review.

Courtney Archer has become known to her fans from the TV cooking show, The Farmer’s Daughter. Just one catch – she is actually the daughter of a doctor from Chicago. She hates keeping this secret, but is even more worried when her secret is discovered. The man who makes the discovery is Mick, one of the contestants on The American Baking Battle, a new show that Courtney is co-hosting. Courtney isn’t the only one having issues with Mick. Still, Courtney doesn’t expect to find his dead body on the second day of filming. Worse yet, Mick was hit over the head with a pan of Courtney’s cherry cobbler. Who killed him?

This book started out well, and I was quickly hooked. The setting is a lot of fun, and the characters are wonderful. I was drawn to Courtney and wanted her to succeed. I enjoyed watching her friendship with another character grow, and her producer is a strong character as well. The plot started out strongly, setting up suspects and the victim before killing Mick off. Unfortunately, there weren’t enough suspects to sustain it, and the twists and clues were fewer than they needed to be in favor of time spent on the set of the baking show watching everything being filmed. I suspect the characters and setting will be strong enough to draw people to this new series, but I hope the plots get stronger as the series progresses.

This was fun to read!
I was kept guessing who the murderer was throughout. As I read more and got to know the characters, I was able to relate to Courtney and her stress of keeping her secret safe. It was nice to see the friendship between Courtney and Shannon form, as well as the possibility of more adventures in future books featuring the two. I’m curious to see what will happen with Eric and Courtney’s relationship in the future and if it will ruin their working relationship. Since I just finished watching the finale of the Great British Bake Off and was starting to miss the show, this book filled in quite nicely. It was great to have a story of the behind the scenes action featuring the hosts and judges. I can’t wait for the next book.