From the synopsis of the book: Midsummer Murders meets Great British Bake Off, a foodie delight with murder at its heart, I was looking to forward to this book. Sadly I found it disappointing. The plot was extremely slow and I couldn’t really gel with the characters. Thank you to NetGalley, Avon Books UK and the author for the chance to review.

A Taste of Death takes place in a small Chilterns village in the UK. Ben Hunter is the new owner and chef at Old Forge Café and recognizes the fact that he didn’t grow up in this small town and may have a difficult time being accepted. He doesn’t, however, plan on getting blamed for a murder. Being the newest resident, and having served time years before, he is the primary suspect when Dave Whitfield, a bit of a troublemaker, is murdered.

This delightful mystery has all of the elements of a good culinary cozy mystery: protagonist with a past who is a newcomer in a small village and struggling financially, bad cops, lots of food references and ideas, as well as a good dose of humor. The writing is excellent.

All told, A Taste of Death is a fast, enjoyable, and humorous read.

I tend to prefer cozies that take place here in the US of A and have a female main character. I do not always appreciate the English sense of humor so I don't usually choose such books to read. I could not say no to a book about a cook though. I'm imagining Julia Childs meets Mr. Clean with a little zen in the mix when picturing Chef Ben Hunter. Great story line and wonderful characters in the little town of Hampden Green and the cooking tidbits are wonderful. Can't wait to read the next story to see what is new at the Old Forge Café.

The characters and ton weren't very likable to me but that doesn't mean it was a bad book.

Ben Hunter is a talented chef, a new business owner and an ex-con.
He has purchased a cafe in Hampden Green to start a new life. He finds that the little old lady who sold him the business took advantage of him. Ben is working on controlling his temper which is what put him in prison. The characters are extremely important to the story. He must look into the murder(s) in order to clear himself. The local community is more than willing to pin it on the new guy.
There seems to be an information dump upfront which may be the cause of my thinking it’s off to a slow start.

What a fun read this one was. Quite a quick read, the sort that is fun and not too taxing so that you don't forget whats happening if you leave it a day. It would be the perfect holiday read and I think I would love it as an audio book. It has a Mid Summer murders air to it and there are some beautiful tummy rumble inducing foodie bits which I loved. The story flowed well and I would certainly read more by this author as this was the first I think I have read by him.

Ben has been in prison and buys a restaurant in a village to put his past behind him and start again. The restaurant isn't quite what he thought and neither is the village. Although the book is a mystery with murders there are also some lovely cooking tips! Ben gets mixed up with the murder of a local builder and makes an enemy of the local detective amongst others. There are lots of interesting characters and its unusual to have a chef as the sleuth. Its a fun, easy read without too much gore.

Ben Hunter is a talented chef, a new business owner and an ex-con.

He has come to Hampden Green because he has purchased a cafe. He is starting a new life. He practices a combination of different methods to create peace within. His temper got him into prison and now he is working toward controlling that temper.

He finds that the little old lady who sold him the business took advantage of him, but that is okay. Ben is so happy to be where he is in this peaceful village.

And then he finds it is not so peaceful.

Jesse is his newly hired waitress. She is young and has lived in Hampden Green all her life. Not only does she eventually help him find the perfect kitchen helper,her cousin Francis, but she also can fill him in on every single person who sets foot in the cafe.

Ben is not always sure that Jesse's opinions are accurate. He should trust her because she is nearly always absolutely right.

D I Slattery lives across the green from the cafe. He has his eye on Ben and intends to prove that this ex-con is a “wrongun”.

Dave is a builder with a rotten personality and a bad temper. Craig is the local drug dealer. And these are just a few of the people in this peaceful village.

This is a well written book. If I had any small complaint, it would be that at times I felt that I got too many details.

Ben is an interesting character. The reader has access to all his inner thoughts as well as his cooking skills. He is working hard on accepting things as they are, building his business and becoming truly as relaxed as he appears to be to the world.

The secondary characters are very important to this story. Each one adds another layer to the story. Each one helps the reader find the way to the next act of violence.

It is evident that Ben is an excellent chef. He also finds that he is a good detective. On behalf of someone else and for his own protection, he begins to dig for information to solve the first murder. Then things become much more complicated than he expected.

I enjoyed this book. Mr Coombs has created an interesting character in Ben and a fascinating village in Hampden Green.

I received this book from the publisher through NetGalley. I am voluntarily writing this review and all opinions are my own.

This cozy mystery was not one of my favorites. Started out good but just didn't hold my interest. I am sure someone else might love it but I couldn't get in a ex-con who is now a chef and is trying to practice Taoism as he has anger management problems and finds himself as a prime suspect in the murders.

The writer has much knowledge about food which is nice and there are fun moments in the book. But it just wasn't the book for

This book has been described as Midsomer murders meets the great British bake off and it sums it up perfectly,
This is an engaging crime romp with an interesting twist at the end.
It follows Ben, a man with a past, but since coming out of jail his priorities have changed and now all he wants to do is run a little village restaurant that he has bought in a small village of Hampden Green, but with hindsight hes now seen its not such a great buy after all but hes determined to succeed and put his past behind him, but when a local builder is found dead, the local cop assumes Ben knows something and his life suddenly becomes complicated again, I found that this book is a great page turner and I look forward to reading more from H V Coombs. Thank you Netgalley for letting me read this book.

A cosy easy read with food, mystery, excitement and murders. Fantastic setting with lovely descriptions of food and cookery tips throughout!

I enjoyed the writing style of this mystery. Funny in places with well developed and interesting characters.

Excellent for a cosy afternoon by the fire with a large hot chocolate. Looking forward to the next one.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. A tasty cosy mystery with a murder dessert coming right up! A great story

A tasty cosy mystery with a murder dessert coming right up! A great story!

Becoming the chef of a cafe in the quiet town of Hampden Green is the next best thing to Ben Hunter, who is in need to of a quiet place to learn how to control his temper. As if his struggles to adjust to the little town and its people, he receives the visit of Detective Inspector Slaterry. There has been a murder and the suspicion falls on the new guy in town. As Ben investigates, he discovers that the journey to the truth has more layers them a wedding cake.

A tasty mystery that I enjoyed greatly! The storyline is solid and engaging; the mystery is well thought and developed with a great ending with twists and spikes of action. The style of writing is fresh, simple and it appeals to the attention of the reader.

The descriptions are so well-made that I got hungry with the descriptions of the dishes, I really felt like I was right there beside Ben watching him cook. I wouldn’t be surprised if the author has a background in gastronomy due to all the juicy details of the art of cooking. The geographic setting was a good choice: the quiet little town where nothing ever happens until it does. The description of it though is the perfect picture; it's colourful and the people a bit reserved but altogether nice and full of secrets.

The characters are very well-developed and they all play a part in the storyline. Ben is a great main character. I was surprised to read a cosy mystery with a male lead, it’s a different and refreshing approach. Francis is very entertaining and I do feel for him when his good intentions come up short.

As a debut novel, it was quite good and I will keep a look out for the sequels to come and follow more of Ben’s adventures.

Firstly, I can't believe this is a debut! Its a very engaging, well-written read.
Secondly, don't be fooled by the cover, it's not as twee as it looks. Maybe a bit Midsomer Murders-esque as the mystery unfolds, but that is a good thing. I don't feel the cover does the story justice.
Thirdly, I was gripped, entertained and amused by this novel. The writing flows well and the characters are well-rounded.

Definitely a tv detective, Midsomer Murders style story and mystery. This is an easy, entertaining read, which is well-written and a welcome addition to the genre. The main character isn't a typical detective; rather, he's a chef, so it adds a new perspective - alongside some fantastic food and setting descriptions! There's also some welcome humour and I found that this was a nicely paced read.

I think the author tried very hard to make the book interesting. The characters were not typical of the cozies I've read and a little hard to like. There was so much going on I found it hard to keep up with all. I'm sure other readers might enjoy all the Indus and outs.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and chose to leave an honest review.

This is for the truly hip, of which I am not. A male cook, who turns amateur detective, with a male policeman as his protaganist. The Mystery was good, I couldn't get into the characters. Thanks! Enjoy!
carolintallahassee 👒

Excellent book. Great main characters and a real page turner. I loved the plot and would recommend this book.

One of the things that attracted me to this book was that it was being described as a cosy mystery but that it also contained food. Well unfortunately for me the mystery didn’t really grab my attention, although the ending did redeem it slightly

Now on the other hand, this is an author that knows his food, especially during the early part of the book, we have descriptions on how various dishes are made, assorted cookery tips throughout and I really felt as though I was in Ben’s one man kitchen.

I loved the turn of phrase and the writing style of this book, it felt fresh and in places did make me chuckle a bit. Easily though my favourite character was Francis, who was hired as a kitchen porter. He is a rather large man, not overly intelligent but very kind hearted. He knows his own limitations, and puts himself down a lot but does try to do whatever is asked of him, even if the results aren’t really to Ben’s standards.

The early part of the book I really enjoyed and felt it flowed well, I enjoyed the ending, but thought the story lost its way slightly in the centre, where I was finding it harder to pick up and continue reading. It may be because I just had no interest in the crime that was being investigated and I also had no guesses as to the outcome either!

As a debut novel, I have certainly seen worse and I’m sure others will enjoy the mystery of this book a lot more than me, it just didn’t quite work how I’d have liked. I am certainly curious as to what this author will write next.

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

Ben Hunter is newly released from prison and is determined to turn his life around for the better. During his time in the clink he has learned to channel his rage by summoning the ancient arts of meditation, only the quaint little village in the south Buckinghamshire county has a habit of unravelling Ben's newly honed skill.

Ben has opened a restaurant in a tiny south bucks village and with little money is doing his best to staff and manage it. This town really is for local people and when a murder is committed Ben is in the towns local coppers firing line as a suspect. Can Ben trust his new friends or do village folk really stick together?

I enjoyed this book, it won't set the world on fire but it had a good pace. I enjoyed the humour of Ben, I found Jess at times a little forced and felt her character could have been much more developed, she felt underused to me.

I happen to live in the Chilterns and worked as a waitress for a small restaurant all through my late teens so I was able to connect well to the story.

Bottom line is that this is a good book, a poolside read, nothing too taxing.

Thank you to Netgalley for sending me an advanced copy of this book.