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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Have a Deadly New Year is the 4th book in the Farm-to-Fork Mystery series by Lynn Cahoon. It is more of a long short story or a novella, and it might not be the actual 4th book since it’s intended to be a fun caper around the holidays this year before the next full-length mystery comes out in early 2020. I am psyched given Lynn Cahoon published the title of the upcoming release just this week! But let’s focus on this one first…
The series takes place in Idaho. Angie runs a new restaurant that has taken off in the last year. She’s shut down the place for the week between Christmas and New Years for a few parties and events that will bring in more income. One includes catering an event for her bestie’s former college friends, who are in a rock band. During the event, one of the band members is bludgeoned to death. There are 4 to 5 suspects, and everything moves quickly since it’s a short novella. In the end, the culprit confesses before Angie has a chance to decide whom she thinks is guilty.
When I first read the story, I hadn’t realized it was intended to be an in-between novella… once I realized that, I was much happier with the product. As always, it’s written well and full of great characters, dialog, and humor. I didn’t expect the big reveal to happen as it did, and while it was a good one, I thought it was a little too quick and didn’t pack as much of a punch as it could’ve. Still, the characters are incredibly well developed for less than a thousand Kindle lines (~75 pages). I loved visiting some of the restaurant’s cooking staff, as their relationships are one of the best parts of this series.
It’s served its purpose well… I can’t wait to read the full-length novella coming out in 2020. Thanks for the opportunity to visit the characters again for a mini-mystery.
I love this series so much and I am so sad that this book was really a novella – I wanted SO much more of Angie and her crew, but am happy we got this while we wait for the next book!!
This was an interesting story that shows what entitlement can do to you [though not everyone who is entitled ends up murdered] and how difficult, even when you are in the food business, to deal with them. I felt bad for Felicia as she is brought back to a world she had left behind and has to see what life might have been for her if she had done what her parent’s dictated.
A quick read, I am looking forward to the next full-length book!!
Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books/Lyrical Press for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review
I enjoyed this Holiday Novella. Angie and her staff are catering a private New Year Dinner for a Rock N’ Roll band at a singer’s house in Sun Valley. When the band leaves the next morning for LA they will get to stay at the house and enjoy a week’s retreat. During the dinner all is not well between the band members. Most of the party goers choose to leave early. The next morning there is a snow storm and a dead body. The sheriff has a missing child to find so it is up to them to solve the crime and stay safe. The story is short and it moves along quickly. The mystery was OK but there were not many suspects and it was easy to solve. I did like the characters and country house setting. I will be reading more in this series. Enjoy this fun Holiday novella.
This series takes place in Idaho where
Chef Angie Turner runs her restaurant,
The County Seat. Felicia runs the front
part of the restaurant. Felicia has
arranged for the staff to cater an event
In the mountain residence of an once
famous rock band trying to set up their
come back. Felicia went to school with
one of the leads in the band.
Angie closes down the restaurant for a
week. In return for catering the events,
Angie, Felicia plus the restaurant staff
will be able to stay at the mountain home
for a week. Angie will use this time for
a retreat to create a winter menu.
The characters, both the main ones and
the supporting ones were multifaceted,
complex, colorful and intriguing.
This provided the reader with a myriad of
suspects.
This is a fast paced murder novella with
suspense plus unexpected twists and turns.
This is book # 3.5 in the Farm-to-Fork Mystery
series. It is a short novella set around New
Years. It can be read as a stand alone.
I volunteered to read Have a Deadly New Year.
Thanks to Lyrical Underground and Kensington
Books via Net Gallery for the opportunity. My
opinion is voluntary and my own.
A recipe for NYE Sweet and Sour Chestnuts is
included at the end.
Angie and her staff are excited to cater a sit down meal for a famous band and their people. The main band member has offered them up his house for a week after the party. Angie plans to spend that week working on new menu items, letting her crew have some relaxation time and enjoying the time off. Things are going well until right before dessert the band member get into an argument and everyone leaves, going their own way. Angie, excited about the out week is disheartened when one of her crew members finds a band member dead, a drumstick protruding from his chest. Who hates the man enough to kill him in such a way. Things aren’t going the way Angie had hoped, they are stuck at the house with the band and their people while the police investigate. It doesn’t help when the weather turns bad and the police aren’t able to come to the house, who wants to be stranded in a house with a murderer. Angie keeps her crew together hoping to keep them safe until the police can find the killer. Will every one make it out safely or will the weather give the murderer a chance to kill again. This is a fun series with a great cast of characters and it always includes a fun mystery to follow and try to figure out!
This is a short novella that gives readers a quick visit with Angie Turner and the rest of the characters from the Farm-to-Fork Mystery series. This was a quick, fun, enjoyable read. In my opinion, Ms. Cahoon writes terrific novellas for her series. She has created such wonderful characters that I enjoy any chance I get to visit with them. Angie and her employees are hired to cater an event for an old friend of Felicia’s who also happens to be a famous rock star. Unfortunately, murder just seems to follow Angie. The characters in this story are all well rounded and diverse which adds to the enjoyment. Ms. Cahoon continues to develop and grow them even with the limited amount of space the novella provides. The mystery was well done. Given that there were not a lot of people around when the murder was committed, the small suspect pool does not detract from the readers attempt to guess the killer’s identity and motive.
I enjoy all of Ms. Cahoon’s cozy mystery series and will be back for more in this one. I voluntarily read a digital ARC provided to me by the publisher, Kensington, through Netgalley.
The Farm to Fork cozy mystery series is one of my favorites, love this author!
Love this author
”Have a Deadly New Year“ A novella from the Farm to Fork series by Lynn Cahoon, is a fast, enjoyable read.
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 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 . . .
There were plenty of suspects and plenty of twists and turns to keep me wanting to find out what will happen next. The book is engaging from start to finish, grabbing you from the very beginning.
I would recommend this novella to all my friends that enjoy cozy mysteries.
I am looking forward to the next book in this series.
I requested and received an Advanced Readers Copy from Kensington Publishers and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Have a Deadly New Year earn 5/5 Drum Solos…Easy Entertaining Fun!
Felicia contracted a well-paying catering gig for an old school chum and rock legend Cliff Henry with a bonus for The County Seat restaurant crew to have the run of his over-the-top Sun Valley residence an extra week for a business retreat and maybe some R&R, too. It also gives Felicia an opportunity to show off and prove “what an amazing woman she’d turned out to be.” Cliff Henry has gotten the band back together to celebrate their upcoming contract for a reunion, but everyone’s attitude make this gathering an “8” on the awkward meter. It rockets to a “10+” when one band member with whom Cliff has argued, is found stabbed with a drumstick. Worse, yet, there’s a storm delaying the police’s arrival trapping them in the house with a killer!
Drum roll, please! I highly recommend Lynn Cahoon’s new novella with a clever drama keeping me guessing with several viable suspects, and the connection with Felicia makes it personal. With several main characters having equal importance, it is understandable that Lynn used the third-person narrative. Although I miss the “I” insights, she did an excellent job with descriptive language, dialogue that illustrates well the tone and personalities, humor, and a realism to the reactions and investigative techniques that I enjoy. I like these shorter cozies, easy and to the point reads, but I found I missed some of the details, depth, and side story excursions, and the big, perilous reveal usually found in the full-length version was just a confession. Personally, I am a “spud,”, born in Idaho with immediate family connections to all things Boise, so those references are beyond enjoyable. Lynn Cahoon is a master at putting her characters into short holiday mysteries…so ring in the new year with her, Angie, Felicia, and The County Seat crew! Two bonuses are included: an easy-to-make appetizer recipe for NYE Sweet and Sour Chestnuts with a spiced up sauce, and a sneak peek of the full-length book four, “Deep Fried Revenge.” Oh, I’m hooked!
Have A Deadly New Year
Farm To Fork Novella
Lynn Cahoon
5 Stars
Description:
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 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
Review:
Any time I get to spend with Angie and her friends is time well spent. Her and her coworkers get along so well, they are like a family. When they get a job catering for a famous band, they think they are in for a real treat. They expect to have a great New Year. What they are really in for is a murder and mayhem. The characters are well developed and well rounded.
The author is very talented in her descriptive writing and these descriptions pulled me right into the story. It was great that the murder took place on their working vacation, it added a new setting to the series. The mystery was well plotted and evenly paced, and not easily solved.
I would recommend this novella (and series) to all those who enjoy a well crafted cozy. I am looking forward to the next book in this series.
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher, Kensington Books, and NetGalley, which I greatly appreciate.
Short but really good. A new take on the standard classic “locked room mystery.” Didn’t figure out who the killer was but that was part of what made it good.
Cozy Mystery – Lite Version
This is a very short, novella-length cozy mystery. I found it to be a very lite version of a cozy mystery. Most of the book is spent setting up the scene. Then the crime, the angst, and boom here’s the culprit. I really doubt that this book would be worth buying unless you love the series. At only 85 pages, it is very, very short. I usually love this author’s work, but not this time. However, you may love it! I received this ARC book for free from Net Galley and this is my honest review.
What a deliciously intriguing mystery, released just in time for New Year’s Eve! It can be enjoyed any time of year, as the snow will sound quite refreshing in the middle of summer. It is great to catch up with the well-defined characters; I learn more about them in every book. The mystery is hard to solve; whodunit was certainly a surprise to me!
There’s nothing like being snowed in with a killer to make one’s business retreat worse than waiting on a whole restaurant full of crabby customers! Angie and Felicia are partners in their farm-to-table restaurant, the County Seat in River Vista, Idaho. An old boarding school friend of Felicia’s was the lead singer in the famous rock-n-roll band, Postal Mutiny. He owns a “cabin” in Sun Valley where he hired them, and three of their kitchen staff, to cater a special dinner. Once the dinner is complete, they can stay at the cabin for a week. They will have a retreat that includes planning the winter dishes and menus as well as monthly themes for the next year. It sounds like a great idea, especially when they see the huge cabin and amenities at their disposal.
Postal Mutiny, including stars Cliff and Dane, is getting back together for a new tour and album. The dinner celebrates signing the final documents, which will occur the following day in Los Angeles. Midway through dinner, however, the band started fighting, just like in the old days. When the ladies checked the dining room, only Suzie, personal assistant to the band manager, is still sitting there. Once the fight began, everyone left. All but the band and its manager left before the predicted snow storm gets worse. The rest plan to fly out the next day.
The next morning, however, Felicity and sous chef Estebe are in the kitchen early. When Felicity checks the dining room to see how much mess awaits them, she finds Dane with a drum stick sticking out of his chest and blood everywhere. He is still alive, and the police and EMT’s on the way when she awakens Angie, Matt, and Hope. She wants them all to gather together, as the killer must be somewhere in the cabin – and it isn’t one of their group. While the local sheriff was there, he was called away for a search party for a child, knowing he might not be able to return for a day or two with the impending storm. Alone, snowed in with a killer.
Wow. Not how I would want to celebrate New Year’s or any other day! It isn’t bad enough to be snowed in with a band whose members can’t make sandwiches for themselves, much less run a washer or dryer. This tale captured my attention from the start and held it throughout. I was not able to figure out whodunit, the best kind of mystery! I highly recommend it to fans of this series and those who enjoy well-written cozy mysteries that can be read in an afternoon or evening.
From a thankful heart: I received a complimentary copy of this from Goodreads First Reads; a review was not required.
This new Farm-To-Fork novella is an exciting read. I love the comraderie of Angie Turner’s County Seat restaurant’s staff—What a great group of people to work with and to have your back in any type of crisis.
Catering an event for an old school friend of Felicia’s (Angie’s partner) on New Year’s in a private, secluded cabin; the County Seat gang is horrified when one of the guests is stabbed! Then, everyone realizes that they’re trapped in the cabin with a killer. Sticking together, Angie and her trusted crew make short work out of identifying the murderer amongst them. Great short story!
I reviewed a digital arc provided by NetGalley and Kensington Lyrical Publishing. Thank you.
What an interesting story line. Musicians and cooks. It might be fun to stay in a huge fancy house and cater to musician’s short term. Would you want to put up with those personalities? Angie, Felicia, and crew have their hands full. Let’s throw in a blizzard and a missing child and that can add to the excitement or the stress, depending on your viewpoint. A great story to sit back and enjoy. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Can’t wait to see what Angie and crew get involved in next. I received this book from NetGalley, but my opinion is my own.
Have a Deadly New Year by Lynn Cahoon is an easy to read novella from the Farm to Fork series. I did not want to put it down.
Chef Angie and the crew have been hired to cater a dinner at the home of a rock star who is getting his old band back together for a new tour. Thanks to the star being an old friend of Felicia’s they are being allowed to stay in the mansion for an additional few days for a retreat and some fun in the snow. When one of the band members is found murdered the next morning, the plans for a peaceful retreat goes out the window. No one can leave the property and the fingers are being pointed at everyone as the murderer.
The novella has plenty of suspects, a great setting, and enjoyable characters.
I was given an ARC by NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review.
A very enjoyable novella.
Angie and her crew are catering a group and plan on a working retreat after they are through, however they are hindered by finding the body of a guest. Add a snowstorm which leaves them trapped with a killer which keeps everyone on edge.
The mystery was good, with solid characters and the story wrapped up nicely. I will continue on with this series.
There is the bonus of a yummy sounding recipe in the back.
This is a short novella in the Farm to Table series. The folks at the County Seat take a catering job that ends with a murder. Although short, it’s still well written and the characters are interesting. I liked the dynamics between the County Seat crew as each was protective of the others. I didn’t guess who the culprit was, and that’s a good kind of mystery
I received an advance copy of the book from NetGalley and this is my honest review.
I enjoyed this book. The characters are fun. And I love that it had a rock and roll band!