Sisters Bernie and Libby Simmons are reunited with a distant relative who wants them to cater a New Year’s Eve event—and help find a guilty party . . . It’s been years since Bernie and Libby’s parents became estranged from Ada Sinclair’s side of the family—though the reasons for the rift are lost to history. The sisters, however, are intrigued when Ada makes contact. She tells them about the … She tells them about the long-ago deaths of her father and his business partner, which happened within hours of each other—and were both ruled accidental.
Ada thinks otherwise—and has a plan. On New Year’s Eve, she’ll gather a group of guests and read from a diary she’s found in her mother’s attic that she thinks will expose the culprit. The Simmons sisters agree to provide refreshments for the bash, and when the night arrives, Ada’s ready to count down to a confession. But as midnight approaches, a guest drops dead. It looks like the menu tonight includes champagne and cyanide . . .
In the tumult, the diary disappears. When Ada is arrested for murder, she’ll have to hope that Bernie and Libby can provide a resolution before the clock runs out.
Includes Original Recipes for You to Try!
more
A fun culinary mystery! Bernie and Libby meet the dysfunctional family members on their mother’s side when one of them asks the girls to help her prove her father and his business partner were murdered ten years ago. They get involved despite their father disliking it and end up investigating two current murders as well. Delightful characters, an interesting storyline, and lots of great food mentioned. Looking forward to the next book in this series!!
Sisters Bernie and Libby Simmons are reunited with a distant relative, Ada. Years earlier Bernie and Libby’s parents had a following out with Ada’s side of the family. The sisters are excited to learn more about Ada and the rest of their lost relatives. Ada wants Bernie and Libby to help her with a New Year’s dinner so she can find out what happened to her father on New Year’s years earlier. But when history seems to have repeated itself when a guest drops dead. Ada is arrested for the murder so Bernie and Libby want to find a resolution to the deaths of the past and present.
I have read several of the books in this series. I haven’t read them all or necessarily in the order they were written. The books can be enjoyed as stand-alone mysteries although reading them in order will give you a better understanding of the character’s backstories. Most of the books are holiday-themed so I really enjoy reading them during the coinciding holiday season. The characters are relatable and great chemistry. The mystery moves at a fast pace with several red-herrings along the way. I was surprised by who turned out to be the murder.
I voluntarily agreed to read a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own and in no way have been influenced by anyone.
Caterers and Murder in New York
This was a very difficult book to read. It felt like walking into a room where everyone knows everybody and you know nobody. I never did get used to the writing style. I found nothing likable about any of the characters or situations. Perhaps this is just not my cup of tea. I received this ARC book for free from Net Galley and this is my honest review.
In this next book of the series Bernie and Libby learn that they have family from her mother’s side that they didn’t know about. When there cousin Ada contacts them wanting their help investigating the death of her father and his business part st that happened years ago. She doesn’t believe that either death was accidental and wants to prove.it to her family once and for all. She has them come to her mother’s home in New Year’s Eve to cater their dinner, while there Ada hopes they can find some clues that will help answer the question of what really happened to her father. When the count down ends with the death of a guest and Ada runs away the police are looking at her as being the culprit. Bernie and Libby decide to try and help her by continuing to investigate the older deaths as well as this new one. After another death occurs Ada is looking more and more like the killer in the police’s eyes. Bernie doesn’t see it and can’t leave a family member hanging in the wind even though she seems a bit crazy. Follow along as Bernie and Libby take in all the clues that pop up in their ivestigation, can they help Ada or will she end up in jail for murders she says she didn’t commit? This is a fun series, I enjoy the dynamic between the sisters and the relationship they have with their dad.
Series: A Mystery with Recipes – Book 15
Author: Isis Crawford
Genre: Cozy Mystery/ Culinary/Holiday
Publisher: Kensington Books
Page Count: 320
From Isis Crawford comes the 15th book in the “A Mystery with Recipes,” a holiday-themed cozy, A Catered New Year’s Eve published by Kensington Books.
Bernie and Libby are up to their usual antics once again. Even after being warned by their father, they decide to ignore his advice and get themselves involved with a side of their family that their mother banned from her life. And of course, it backfires on them in a big way. Namely, they end up investigating a murder when they should be working on their business and staying off the icy roads and putting themselves in dangerous situations. Between the bad weather, a family that appears to have nothing better to do than argue, and a few too many suspects, the girls have a difficult and dangerous time getting to the heart of the murder and their crazy relatives. They do find the killer but almost get themselves killed in the process.
I have read several books in this series; this is the first holiday-themed one. I want to say that the series has improved. But the truth is, it hasn’t. The main characters of Bernie and Libby are not likable; they are immature, and spend most of their time bickering and ignoring facts. The investigation they conduct is laughable. There is little to no evidence trail to follow. The only character that is remotely interesting is their father, and the only one with real investigative know how to boot. The fact that these two women are out in the middle of snowstorms racing around in a van that barely runs, and driving on slick roads chasing phantom SUV’s, and that they do not seem to have any self-preservation is entirely unbelievable. The emphasize in the plot is not the murder, motive, or suspects but appears to be one-upping each other, rebelling against common sense, and a fear of black ice.
The holiday theme is more-or-less non-existent. The few twists and turns never go anywhere, and most of the suggested clues are never fully explained. Unfortunately, I could not enjoy A Catered New Year’s Eve.
Bernie and Libby are sleuthing sisters who also run a catering business and (I think) work in a restaurant? I’m not completely sure about the restaurant. After doing a DNA test, they connect with a cousin, Ada, who convinces them to cater a family New Year’s Eve party. Sean, Bernie and Libby’s dad, tries to convince them otherwise, saying that that branch of the family is less than honest—or sane. They go anyway and meet their relatives…who aren’t happy to see them. It’s also the tenth anniversary of Ada’s dad’s death. While the police chalked it up to accidental, Ada has always believed he was murdered and she’s out to prove it. Unfortunately, a family friend in attendance ends up being murdered and Ada is the prime suspect. It’s up to Bernie and Libby to find out who the real killer is.
This was a challenging book for me to read. It’s almost all ping-pong dialogue with very little setting details. Other than it’s freezing, snowing, and they drive around in a less-than-reliable van, there’s not much else in the way of description. We don’t even know exactly where they are (somewhere along the Hudson River) until chapter thirteen. Point of View is all over the place with multiple people so you’re not even sure who the main character is supposed to be. The sisters do nothing but snipe at each other and argue about what to do—mostly with Bernie winning. They remind me of a couple of old biddies who have nothing better to do than argue. Their father, Sean, seems to have a Blofeld complex (James Bond character who always had a cat) in that he’s always petting one. Sean, Bernie, and Libby keep chasing down clues to the murderer, but ex-cop Sean seems to be the one who puts it all together. So I’m not sure who the sleuths are supposed to be. Also, the girls go through the dead woman’s house looking for clues and find one, but wouldn’t the police have already done that? There are just too many things here that don’t make sense to me.
Things I liked: The story has an interesting premise and the ending is satisfying. And the recipes are good!
Things I didn’t like: the ping-pong dialogue with no relief; multiple POVs in the same scene; no descriptions (I don’t even know what the girls look like); the incongruities with police procedures (the police would have gone to the dead woman’s house). Half the time, I couldn’t figure out what anyone was doing—and I read cozy mysteries on a regular basis (at least two a week). So I’m not new to the genre.
Recommendations: I know this is the next book in an on-going series, but honestly, there is nothing here for me to recommend. Maybe I’d like it better if I’d read the earlier ones, but this needed a heavier hand in the editing. If you’re okay with multiple POVs, head-hopping all over the place, ping-pong dialogue, then maybe you’ll like this. As for me, though I hate to say it, it’s a no for me. I am sorry.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Sisters Libby and Bernie are contacted by their cousin Ada Sinclair, who wants their help to investigate the suspicious deaths of her father and his business partner which occurred ten years ago. She invites the sisters into her home to cater a New Year ‘s Eve party in the hopes that they will uncover the truth. At first, the sisters don’t take her too seriously, but when two people are found dead in suspicious circumstances, the sisters realize that maybe Ada isn’t paranoid after all. Maybe there really is something sinister going on in the Sinclair family. A Catered New Year’s Eve is the 15th book in the series and can be read as a stand-alone. The plot was intriguing, with an entire family of suspects to keep readers in suspense. However, the characters lacked depth and I struggled to connect with them. The mystery did manage to keep me interested and I really liked the way everything was wrapped up. Overall, this a fun, easy to read cozy and I enjoyed my time with it. But I really don’t see myself picking up any more books in this series. I just didn’t care for any of the main characters and the writing style was not my cup of tea. Thank you to Kensington Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review