A food and lifestyle blogger has a recipe for catching a killer in this cozy mystery series debut by the author of The Hidden Corpse. Hope Early’s schedule is already jam packed with recipe testing and shameless plugs for her food blog as she rushes off to attend a spring garden tour in the charming town of Jefferson, Connecticut. Unfortunately, it isn’t the perfectly arranged potted plants that … arranged potted plants that grab her attention—it’s the bloody body of reviled real estate agent Peaches McCoy . . .
Suspicion for the murder falls on McCoy’s real estate rival, Claire Dixon—Hope’s older sister. And tensions heat up when a second murder also points to Claire. Now Hope must set aside her burgeoning brand to prove her sister’s innocence. But the closer she gets to the truth, the closer she gets to a killer intent on making sure her life goes permanently out of style . . .
Includes Recipes from Hope’s Kitchen!more
The Uninvited Corpse by Debra Sennefelder is the first novel in Food Blogger Mysteries. Hope Early lives in a lovely farmhouse in Jefferson, Connecticut where she writes her blog, Hope at Home. Hope is off to attend Audrey Bloom’s book signing and garden tour. Claire, Hope’s sister and a local real estate agent, insists on coming with her in the hopes that Peaches McCoy will be attendance. Claire is upset that Peaches, a rival real estate agent, stole another listing from her and this one was for the controversial new Whitcomb development. The event is to promote Audrey’s new book. Hope, who just cannot help herself, is cleaning up after the guests. She goes into the study and finds it in a disarray with Peaches dead on the floor. Detective Sam Reid zeros in on Claire as the killer. With encouragement from her friends since she has always been good at solving mysteries, Hope delves into the case. The next night Hope receives a call from Vanessa stating she needs to talk to her right away. Hope arrives at Vanessa’s house to find the door open and Vanessa dead. What did Vanessa know that got her killed? Hope needs to expose the killer before Claire ends up doing twenty to life. Someone is unhappy with Hope’s snooping and attempts to put her out of commission. Can Hope reveal the killer before Claire is fitted for an orange jumpsuit?
The Uninvited Corpse is easy to read (I am starting with the positive aspects). I wish, though, that the author had taken the time to establish Hope’s background. We are told what happened to her recently and why she has moved to Jefferson to start over (several times), but I wanted to know more about her. The Uninvited Corpse starts off with the author introducing us to a plethora of characters. There was just one after another and it was difficult to keep them all straight. My favorite character is Jane Merrifield, a mystery writer. I wish the author had made her the main character (I really liked her). The book seemed disjointed/choppy. It lacked an ease and flow. There is the cliché nasty detective that frequently reminds Hope to quit investigating. As an investigator, Hope is severely lacking. She was good as a teen in solving mysteries as a part of a library group (which we are told many times), but that was in theory (like me solving cozy mysteries). Hope asks bad questions and lacks subtlety. She goes around antagonizing people all around the town (she was relentless). I am curious if anyone else wondered why Claire never had dinner with her kids? There was a repetition of information. The same details are mentioned repeatedly. And let me not forget the love triangle. Why do author’s keep putting love triangles in cozy mysteries? The mystery was simple and easily solved. The why takes longer to become apparent. When Hope is not out investigating, she is baking, painting, cooking, chatting, writing blog posts and cleaning (a bit obsessive about it). Since The Uninvited Corpse is the first book, I am hoping Debra Sennefelder will work out the kinks before the next Food Blogger Mystery. I am giving The Uninvited Corpse 3 out of 5 stars.
When Hope Early’s marriage breaks up she leaves her job as a magazine editor to take part in a baking reality show. From there she establishes a career as a food blogger and moves back to her hometown Jefferson, Connecticut. Reading about her blog updates and how she creates new recipes was a fun and new theme for a mystery. I was very happy to see that there were some of her delicious recipes added at the end.
Her friend and author Audrey Bloom has a garden tour at her home to celebrate the release of her new gardening book. The event comes to a murderous ending when the body of a realtor is found in her house.
Hope starts investigating when her sister Claire becomes the main suspect. Her way of interrogating suspects made me cringe and laugh at the same time. She sure knows how to alienate the town folks…
It was a very good start to a new series and I am looking forward to the next installment.
I requested this book from NetGalley and am thankful that Kensington and the author provided me with an advance copy.
Dollycas’s Thoughts
I know from experience blogging isn’t easy but Hope Early has her foodie/lifestyle blog well under control and making money. That is until she finds the body of local real estate agent Peaches McCoy in the middle of a spring garden tour. Peaches wasn’t even invited to this party, how did she end up pushing up daisies? Unfortunately, her sister, Claire, also a local real estate agent, tagged along to the event with Hope. Due to her rivalry with the victim, she quickly becomes the prime murder suspect. When another murder is committed, Hope’s only hope is to dig into the murders herself because her sister isn’t taking the police’s investigation seriously. While fielding offers to appear on more reality television and trying to keep up with her recipes and blog, she now finds herself following a murderer and getting so close she may be the next dead body they dig up.
The author has got this series off to a great start.
Due to the garden party setting readers are introduced to a lot of characters all at once but soon we are given enough information to keep them all straight. Hope and her sister are nothing alike. Hope is a hard worker, recently divorced and trying to make a success out of her 15 minutes of reality show fame. Many say she should have won that baking show. Claire who probably works hard too, is not very likable, kind of irritating, but Hope loves her and the relationship for them is normal. Hope’s best friend just happens to be the chief of police but that may develop into something more in the future. The secondary cast started to really come alive as the story continued.
The plot is full of red herrings. Almost everyone at the party had an opportunity to kill Peaches, but others could have entered the garden without being seen, so the suspect list is pretty long. The story flows at a nice pace as readers follow along with Hope and her investigation. I had a theory about the guilty party a bit before Hope but the reveal still was a bit of surprise.
I liked the way the story ended with Hope’s housewarming party with an unexpected guest. No corpse this time.
I am looking forward to the next book in this series. I am excited for Hope’s story to continue and maybe Claire will be a little more likable The author has laid a nice foundation and left plenty of room for her characters to evolve as the series continues.
Hope’s schedule is crazy with recipe testing and shameless plugs for her food blog. Unfortunately, she has to attend the spring garden tour in the charming town of Jefferson, Connecticut. However, it isn’t the perfectly arranged potted plants that grab her attention; it’s the bloody body of loathed real estate agent Peaches McCoy.
Someone on the tour committed murder and for some reason Hope’s older sister, Claire Dixon, who, at best, saw Peaches as a professional rival is the number one suspect. When another murder occurs, suspicion lands squarely on Claire’s shoulders. Now, with two murders and all evidence pointing to Claire, Hope must set aside her burgeoning brand to prove her sister’s innocence. But the closer she gets to unveiling the killer, the closer she gets to someone intent on making sure she doesn’t uncover the truth at any cost.
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Series: Food Blogger Mystery
Author: Debra Sennefelder
Genre: Cozy Mystery/Culinary
Publisher: Kensington
The Uninvited Corpse is a delectable mystery filled with wonderful food, the occasional insufferable character and a killer set on making sure that Hope’s sister pays the ultimate price for a crime she didn’t commit. For the killer’s plan to succeed, Hope must be taken out of the picture.
Hope is a woman set on helping her sister whether she likes it or not. Even when she promises that she will stay out of the investigation, Hope lands smack in the middle of everything. It seems that she keeps finding bodies everywhere she goes. All Hope really wants is to get back to her blog and her recipes, but her love of her sister makes it impossible to leave the investigation in the hands of the local police.
Hope is a very relevant character in today’s world of social media and blogging. She is also a great example of what can happen when a person has time on their hands. Even though she is busy, she manages to stick her nose in the wrong places and almost gets it cut off. She is a modern woman with modern insights, and a lovely character the reader will enjoy getting to know.
Other characters in this book are remarkably average or outrageous but highly entertaining. When the killer is revealed, it will shock and surprise many. Readers will not quite believe the solution, but once they look at the subtle hints, they will accept that it is the only logical conclusion.
Although the location of the story is not described in depth, there is enough detail to add to the enjoyment of the plot and give the reader a clear idea of what the town of Jefferson and its resident are like when murder comes to town.
This series is destined to be popular, entertaining, and will give the reader hours of pleasure for a long time to come. The recipes in the back of the book are tantalizing and will make anyone want to try their hand at cooking, baking or just eating every dish. The Uninvited Corpse is highly recommended for anyone who likes their heroines stubborn, bold and persistent under demanding conditions.
Food and lifestyle blogger Hope Early is settling back into her home town of Jefferson, Connecticut, and she is enjoying reconnecting with family and friends. One chance to do that is at her friend’s garden party to celebrate that friend’s new gardening book. However, Peaches McCoy, an ambitious real estate agent, crashes the party. Peaches isn’t well liked in town, but Hope is surprised to find Peaches’ body before the event is over. With the police zeroing in on Hope’s sister, Hope sets out to find the real killer. Can she do it?
This book doesn’t waste much time before jumping into the garden party. That’s both good and bad since it means it isn’t long before Peaches dies, but it also means we meet the suspects and series regulars in a hurry. It took me a little time to keep them all straight, but as their personalities came through, I was able to remember who they all were. The plot does slow down in the second half, but everything comes together for a great climax. This looks like the start of a fun series.
THE UNINVITED CORPSE by Debra Sennefelder
The First Food Blogger Mystery
Peaches McCoy wasn’t the only uninvited guest to attend Audrey Bloom’s garden tour and book signing, after all Claire talked her sister, Hope, into bringing her along. But Peaches was the one most of the other guests disliked and Peaches was the one who became the corpse. With the detective in charge honing on on Claire as the killer, Hope feels she has no choice but to save her sister and figure out who killed Peaches herself.
THE UNINVITED CORPSE introduces us to Hope Early, a former magazine editor who claimed her 15 minutes of fame as runner up on a reality baking show. Now she’s returned home to Connecticut where she’s working as a food blogger. Hope is tenacious, if somewhat of a wimp. Unsure whether to risk exploring her feelings for her old friend, the current chief of police, she’s certain to pick up after you and try to fix things. It’s this maternal instinct and desire make everything just right that drives Hope to get involved with the murder investigation, despite being warned off by the police. She’s also urged on by two likable characters, Jane and Drew. Most of the characters are not very likeable, however, this does make for some very good suspects and villains, but it also made me wish Claire would be found guilty!
Despite not having an affinity towards most of the characters, I did enjoy the book. Debra Sennefelder was able to draw me into her world with vivid descriptions and excellent pacing.
FTC Disclosure – The publisher sent me a digital ARC provided through NetGalley, in the hopes I would review it.
The Uninvited Corpse is one of a handful of books that I could hardly wait to read – based solely on the title and cover art – and it did not disappoint! After her divorce and her stint on a reality cooking show, food blogger Hope Early has returned home to northwestern Connecticut where she spends her days working on her blog, feeding her chickens, and renovating her farmhouse. Her idyllic life is thrown into turmoil when her sister Claire’s rival real estate agent, Peaches McCoy (the aforementioned uninvited corpse in the title), is found murdered at a garden party they were all attending. Fast forward to another murder close to home for Hope, and backwards to one in the past, and Hope has her hands full trying to clear her sister’s name and save her own life after someone tries to kill her, too! Interesting characters abound, and there’re more than one potential love interest for our heroine, plus author Debra Sennefelder has included several very yummy sounding recipes featured in the book! A+ to this debut effort!