An Eggnog to Die For by Amy Pershing Narrator: Patti Murin
Series: Cape Cod Foodie Mystery #2
Published by Penguin Audio on November 9, 2021
Source: Purchased
Genres: Cozy Mystery
Length: 9 hrs 57 mins
Pages: 320
Format: Audiobook
Purchase at Bookshop.org or Audible
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Christmas has come to Fair Harbor, but when the town's Santa is murdered, it will be up to Sam Barnes to find a killer in this newest installment of the Cape Cod Foodie Mysteries.
It's Santa Claus, she says tonelessly. Santa Claus is dead.
Food writer Sam Barnes wants a lot of things: a quiet Christmas at home with her dog and the town's handsome harbormaster, to never be in a viral video again, and to stop finding dead bodies. Unfortunately for Sam, her parents are coming to visit, she's often around cameras for work, and she just found the town Santa dead in the storage room of the cocktail bar she was profiling.
Although she was only interviewing the owners of the Ginger Jar in hopes of getting the recipe for their Coquito Eggnog cocktail for the friends and family Christmas Eve dinner she's hosting, Sam quickly finds herself taking on the role of investigator once again. She needs to find out who slayed this Santa--but with holiday stress already building, will Sam be able to pull off a perfect feast and nab a killer?
I have a weakness for Christmas cozies, and this one has food, seasonal drinks, decorations, a cute dog, and, of course, a murder. An Eggnog to Die For is the second of the Cape Cod Foodie Mysteries but it worked fine as a stand-alone for me.
Food writer Samantha Barnes has a lot on her plate this holiday season. Her parents are arriving soon, telling her Christmas in Florida is just not the same. She has articles to write and videos to make for her job at the Clarion. She also has a Christmas Eve dinner planned, a Feast of the Five Fishes, including eggnog for her family and friends. And then, to top it all off, she finds the body of the man playing Santa for the town’s Christmas celebration while filming at a new trendy local restaurant.
I liked Sam. She’s smart and a bit snarky. She does notice things others don’t and discusses the case with her boyfriend, Jason, the harbormaster, who is law enforcement although not directly involved with solving the murder. And I loved the cooking tips she gives throughout the book. The house she lives in was inherited from her aunt. It’s a gorgeous house but needs a lot of work and Sam and her friends are slowly bringing it back to life.
The victim was not a nice man and several people had reasons to want him out of the way. The author provides plenty of red herrings and clues. I did not guess who the killer was, but I was glad about who it wasn’t. The characters are all well done and I didn’t want any of them to be the bad guy. It’s probably a bit of a spoiler, but I was glad the culprit was one of the few unlikeable people.
I’m looking forward to reading the next in the series. I listened to the audio of this one and the narrator got Sam’s voice just right. It also included a .pdf download of some recipes that I might try. It might be a suitably impressive dinner that won’t be too hard to pull off.
About Amy Pershing
Amy Pershing is a lifelong mystery lover and wordsmith. She was an editor, a restaurant reviewer and a journalist before heading employee communications at a global bank. A few years ago she waved goodbye to Wall Street to write full time (and spend more time sailing on the Cape!).
A Side of Murder is the first book in the Cape Cod Foodie mystery series featuring Samantha Barnes, a disgraced but resilient ex-chef and the world’s most reluctant YouTube star. While Sam tries to balance her new job as the local paper’s “Cape Cod Foodie” with her complicated love life, a posse of just-slightly-odd friends, a falling-down house and a ginormous puppy, she also discovers a new talent: a propensity for falling over dead bodies … and for solving crime.