Thanksgiving is here, and Jolie Tucker has had quite the year! She is ready to sit back and relax with family and friends. But this is Leavensport, OH—so get ready for intense therapy sessions, dysfunctional family holiday gatherings, uninvited guests, and an inner-city teen advocate found DEAD—stabbed in the ear with the turkey baster! Welcome to Leavensport, OH, where DEATH takes a DELICIOUS … DELICIOUS turn!
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Dollycas’s Thoughts
Leavensport Ohio is planning a Thanksgiving event to celebrate Thanksgiving together. Jolie is working on turkey recipes to serve the masses when she is approached by the mayor about a problem that has come up. He needs to add a group of inner-city teens to the guest list. She handles the additions with ease until the big day arrives. Before dinner is even served the woman, a teen advocate working with the kids is found dead in the kitchen. The sight was gruesome, a turkey baster shoved in her ear. Jolie is heartbroken as she really believed in what the woman was doing and knows they would have become good friends. She wants to be sure the killer is caught and will only be thankful when they are behind bars.
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Again, Jodi Rath has packed these pages full of great characters and intrigue. At 133 pages Turkey Basted to Death sets a fast pace full of twists that can be read all in one sitting. She is excellent at working with a large cast of characters. The recurring characters continue to grow and the new characters are diverse and very well written. It is very easy to connect with all of them. The dialogue is believable and rings true.
Ms. Rath’s entire story embodies the theme of Thanksgiving too. Be grateful for what you have and be open to welcoming new people into your life at all times. She brought together people who may have never met if not for this event and the people of Leavensport didn’t disappoint.
I have enjoyed all three books in this series. Don’t be fooled by the novella length, they are all well-written and well-plotted with surprising reveals. They also have some great recipes to try.
The next book in the series, Blueberry Cobbler Blackmail is set to be released February 28, 2020, with Cast Iron Stake Through the Heart to follow at the end of May. I can’t wait!
Turkey Basted to Death is a short length book, centred around Thanksgiving, and where Jolie and her friend Ava are concerned there is a murder just around the corner! We get a bit more insight to Jolie’s childhood with her visits to a therapist to hash over everything that has happened in the past year with her love interest Meiser (who turned out to be a liar – read previous book for more on that story!) There seemed to be a fair bit of fighting going on between Jolie and Ava in this one, mainly Jolie being irritable, so the dynamic of this friendship shifted every so slightly, I put it down to the stress of the holidays and Ava’s visiting family – hope they are back to normal in the next book.
As for the murder in this book, there were many suspects but I had no idea really who could have done it until the end, and once again who I thought it might be was completely wrong! Kudos to Ms. Rath for another great cozy mystery with some great recipes included at the end.
Turkey Basted to Death by Jodi Rath is a fantastic book to read on Thanksgiving Day while your turkey is cooking.
Will Jolie figure out who killed Pria in time?
Jolie Tucker
Jolie Tucker is the main character, point of view, sleuth, and is dealing with personal issues. She has dealt with a lot of things in this chapter of her life from dealing with Pria’s death, solving it, trying to deal with her family, dealing with Mick, and of course, her therapy sessions. Jolie is a great character and has been thinking a lot about what happened in her past. Along with how that has affected her in the now. Well, once they figure out what has happened in the past, that made Jolie this way.
I liked seeing how Jolie dealt with her therapy sessions and the journaling of what she needed to do. It’s great to see Jolie working through this. I liked Jolie as a character in that she knows how she is and doesn’t see a reason to change it. Except when it comes to trying to be ready for Mick.
Mick Meiser
Mick Meiser is our detective and Jolie’s love interest. He has a lot that he needs to sort through. Mick is a great person and someone I like seeing with Jolie. Well, except when it comes to keeping things from Jolie. He seems to be adapting well to living in a small town instead of the city. Mick is a character that is slow to reveal himself and all the secrets he holds.
Five Stars
Turkey Basted to Death by Jodi Rath is another excellent read that involves a mystery during Thanksgiving. I loved this book as I was reading it since it’s an amazing book, and I loved everything about it. I am rating Turkey Basted to Death as five stars and recommending it to any cozy mystery reader out there.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the Great Escapes Book Tours. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Turkey Basted to Death by Jodi Rath.
Anyways, until next time,
Karen the Baroness
If you would like to see other reviews like this one, check out BaronessBookTrove.com.
*I received a free copy of this book which I voluntarily chose to write an honest review for.
This book was so fun! Joliet is gearing up for Thanksgiving by cooking lots of different types of cast iron turkey recipes. The who!e town will be eating together at The community center. Things are going well until the mayor drops a whole added group of at risk teens on them. Julie tries her best to get along with it all but this tries her her as when on the big day they find the group leader with the turkey baster shoved in her head. Investors this lead to some interesting investigating. Puts in the holiday mood as all of the chaos ensues just like it does at home. Perfect for fans of culinary cozies. I really liked it so I give it 4/5 stars.
The great thing about novellas is that when you have just a little time to read you can still enjoy a book and this one checks off all the boxes – intrigue, love, family, and a killer.
This installment in the Cast Iron Mystery series brings together many elements to create a successful story. Jolie and Ava end up sleuthing (of course), there is a mix of characters from all lifestyles, some intriguing twists and turns concerning the killer, and family that doesn’t understand boundaries…mostly Jolie and Ava’s families!
I was intrigued by Jolie’s visits to a counselor/therapist and the resulting information from her past that we learn. It is heartbreaking on one hand, but perhaps answers some questions on another for Jolie. You’ll have to read the book to find out what Jolie uncovers about her past.
The mystery was intriguing and kept me guessing throughout the whole book. I was quite surprised when the killer was revealed. This was one I didn’t expect but had a few inklings as Jolie was putting the clues together at the end.
I wonder sometimes how Jolie and Ava manage their crazy families. Ava is lucky (maybe?) that her family moved away, but when they come back into town, craziness follows. Jolie somehow manages to keep her family in check (somewhat) considering they all live close by.
This series shows that you can have a complete story with plenty of detail in a shorter length which is perfect to read over lunch or when you have some time to kill. We give this 4 paws up.
I particularly loved that this book served as a wonderful reminder to always be kind to every individual I meet in life. The in depth look into Jolie’s background is spectacular. And the Thanksgiving recipes had me salivating. I recommend this book and series.