Chef Angie Turner of The County Seat—Idaho’s finest farm-to-table restaurant—is preparing a private dinner in the mountains during ski season, but the trip’s about to go downhill . . . It’s a rockin’ New Year for Angie and her crew as they cater a bash for a famous band—and as a bonus, they’ll get to stay at the singer’s Sun Valley house for a whole week once the party’s over. But there are … party’s over. But there are hints of discord, and the event hits a sour note when one of the musicians is found with a drumstick in his chest.
Is this a case of creative differences turned lethal or is there another motive at play? Angie’s jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire as she and her fellow foodies try to solve the case before the killer comes out for an encore . . .
Praise for Lynn Cahoon’s Tourist Trap Mysteries
“Murder, dirty politics, pirate lore, and a hot police detective: Guidebook to Murder has it all! A cozy lover’s dream come true.”
—Susan McBride, author of The Debutante Dropout Mysteries
“Lynn Cahoon has created an absorbing, good fun mystery in Mission to Murder.”
—Fresh Fiction
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I have to limit myself on picking books with adorable dogs on the cover as my TBR list is getting out of control. LOL. For the third time this week I have added another series to read for 2020.
The novella does include a recipe for NYE Sweet and Sour Chestnuts. Sounds very yummy.
I received a complimentary copy from the publisher, Kensington (Lyrical Press), through NetGalley. Any and all opinions expressed in the above review are entirely my own.
Have a Deadly New Year by Lynn Cahoon is the fourth A Farm-to-Fork Mystery. Angie Turners, chef and co-owner of County Seat, along with Felicia Williams and the rest of their staff are at Cliff Henry’s house in Sun Valley. Cliff is the lead singer of the newly reunited band, Postal Mutiny. County Seat has been hired to cater a party that evening, and they get the opportunity stay at the cabin until New Year’s Day. During this retreat, Angie wants them to work on new recipes for the upcoming season. Angie’s plans fly out the window when band member, Dane is found dead at the dining room table the next morning with a drumstick protruding from his chest. Sheriff Pearson suspects it is an accidental death from Dane overindulging in alcohol until the test results come in. Unfortunately, Angie and the gang are stuck at the house with a blizzard raging outside and a killer on the loose inside. The group from the County Seat attempt to identify the guilty party in between whipping up delectable meals. The mystery was simple with little investigation (seemed like Angie was avoiding it). The focus of the book was on food and not murder. Avid cozy mystery readers should have no problem pinpointing the guilty party before the first course is served. I suggest reading Who Moved My Goat Cheese? Before reading Have a Deadly New Year. As it is a novella, you do not get the opportunity to know the characters or their background. I found the story to be disappointing and not like Lynn Cahoon’s A Tourist Trap Mystery series. The characters felt flat and so did the story. I felt Have a Deadly New Year was a miss and not in tune with the other books in A Farm-to-Fork Mystery series. This will not keep me from reading the next A Farm-to-Fork Mystery this spring titled Deep Fried Revenge.
During the holiday rush sometimes finding time to sit down and read is tough to accomplish. So this novella, fitting in between #3 One Potato, Two Potato, Dead and #4 Deep Fried Revenge (coming out on April 7, 2020) is the perfect size. At 88 pages it’s a fast but very satisfying mystery.
Angie has seen her restaurant do well for the year and now she and her partner, Felicia are going to end the year with a catering gig for one of Felicia’s college friends. The location is a cabin hideaway and music is provided by their rock band. Too bad the menu soon includes a murder. One of the band members is found skewered by a drum stick. What a nasty way to usher out the old year and welcome in the new one. When the snow falls and prevents them from leaving it’s very clear that there is a killer at the party and the suspect list is rather limited. Time for Angie, Felicia and the rest of the catering crew to figure out who dunnit before the year ends.
The mystery was just right with some humor and the series usual great cast of characters. It’s fine as a stand alone. I already have #4 on my must read list for next year.
Have a Deadly New Year brings a fun traditional touch to a great contemporary series.
A culinary catering job for a celebrity friend of Felicia’s is suppose to turn into a retreat, instead, it turns into a traditional cozy mystery. It isn’t any fun for Angie and the crew, but it makes great reading. Have a Deadly New Year is a winning stand-alone novella for fans of the series and those new to Farm-to-Fork. I love Lynn Cahoon’s between-the-numbers visits with the characters I enjoy so much and they tell a full story.
Angie and her crew are looking forward to a week-long winter retreat. The only thing they have to do first is provide a gourmet dinner for 30 people, which includes one of Felicia’s (Angie’s business partner) long time friends and rock musician, Cliff, who also owns the house they are all staying in. Things seem to be going ok until the next morning when they discover one of the band members with a drum stick in his chest.
Angie’s investigative skills will be put to the test trying to solve this mystery before anyone else is attacked.
I love Angie, Felicia, and all the County Seat restaurant crew. The series is fun with interesting characters and storylines.
Have a Deadly New Year by Lynn Cahoon is a novella, part of the Farm-to-Fork series featuring Angie and Felicia and the gang from The County Seat, Idaho’s finest farm-to-table restaurant. This time they are catering and then spending a week developing new menu items for the restaurant. Felicia had set up this gig with an old friend, Cliff Henry, the lead singer for Postal Mutiny, a band about to make its reappearance after a breakup several years earlier. One dinner for 30 and they were done, the guests would leave, and the gorgeous cabin would be theirs for a week. Retreat, her they come! That is until one of the members of the band ends up dead with a drumstick through his chest. They all need to stay put as there is a major blizzard and a child is lost so the authorities are prioritizing and looking for the child before investigating the murder. Makes sense.
There are lots of variables here and lots of personalities. The band didn’t always get along and the dead buy was writing and expose…something no one was very excited about. All The County Seat folks wanted was to solve Dane’s murder and get on with it, but that didn’t look like it was going to happen. Then, Bailey, Cliff’s girl, goes missing in the middle of the night. Can thins get worse? Rock and Roll bands can be difficult, and that’s the truth. This was a pretty good locked door mystery that involved mostly the band, but really everyone in the cabin. I enjoyed it. You will, too. I recommend it.
I received a free ARC of Have a Deadly New Year from Netgalley. #netgalley #haveadeadlynewyear