Ditie is a pediatrician and is now a mom to her late friend's children. One of the joys in her life is cooking. Her best friend Lureen is always nearby to help. 

Lurleen manages to get Ditie a spot to The Great Southern Baking Contest. As the pre-contest welcome party is winding down Ditie sees that Savanah's (host of the show) husband doesn't look well. She recommends he go to the hospital, where he dies the next day. 

It's decided to go ahead with the competition. All the contestants are staying at Savanah's mansion. They can each bring one guest so Lurleen is there, too. It's here that Ditie and Lurleen try to find out who killed Savanah's husband, and is still causing havoc. 

This is a nice cozy and a fun read. There are some yummy recipes at the end.

Murder Most Southern by Sarah Osborne  4 stars

This is the third book in the Ditie Brown series.  I'll confess that I didn't read the other two books, but I may go back and get them.  The characters are interesting.  Ditie Brown is a pediatrician/sleuth.  Her friend Lureleen and their boyfriends Mason and Danny find themselves embroiled in a mystery that spans two jurisdictions.  The fact that this story takes place during a Food Network style competition make this book even more "appetizing".  I found the multiple suspects a little confusing to keep a track of; but the cooking aspects made up for it.  As a cozy mystery it is a winner.  

Thank you Netgalley and Kensington Books for this ARC.

I enjoyed this book. It has a lot going on at all times. It's well-paced, not a dull moment. There's a lot of suspects for the murder of Quinn. I found the reveal to be a little bit confusing, there was a lot going on and a lot of people mixing up in it but I found it interesting. #MurderMostSouthern #NetGalley

4.25 Stars 

This is the third book in the Ditie Brown mystery series by Sarah Osborne.

The premise: During the filming of a cooking show, the main on air talent’s husband gets murdered through unconventional means. Now Ditie has to compete in this cooking show and solve the mystery on the side in her spare time.

I thought this premise was great. A Food Network-esque celebrity has a cooking show featuring local chefs. Add a dose of murder and it seasons the plot just enough to be wonderfully tasty.

Everyone here has an elaborate back story here that we don’t know about and I thought that was awesome. It makes the rooting out of the killer more satisfying. The characterization was spot on as well as the mystery/whodunit. You are glued to the page the entire time.

I will definitely be picking up more of these. I am always happy to find a new cozy series to follow. Add this one to  your must read list today!

If you want to read a good cozy mystery, definitely check this one out. You won’t be disappointed.

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.

This is book 3 in the Ditie Brown series, but the first I have read. Cooking contest shows are all the rage, so it's a fun idea to add on into a cozy mystery and see what shakes out. What does shake out is a varied cast of characters, that much like a locked room Christie mystery, all see to have something to lose and gain, and thus equal to being a suspect. It's a fun romp, and you may have an idea who the suspect is by midway, but without the WHY, you'll keep turning the pages of this fun story to find out! And leaving you wanting to go back and read books 1 and 2 in the series, which most of you have time right now to do! And as a fun note, recipes are included!

Love this book and this series. This series is one of my favorites. Love how Ditie, Lurleen, Mason and Danny work as a team and have each other's backs.  Great mystery, really good reveal, kept me guessing to the end.  Can't wait to read the next book in the series!

How did chemo drugs end up in Quinn's system?  And why?  And who?  Quinn was the husband of Savannah Evans, a celebrity chef, who beseeches Ditie to investigate. Ditie is in Beaufort, South Carolina because her friend Lurleen got her a spot on the Great Southern Baking Contest.  This should have been a fun break for Ditie, who is a pediatrician who recently took in Lucie and Jason.  Hah!  This cooking contest turns into a challenge no one expected.  Ditie, however, is smart and intrepid.  She sorts through the various suspects and finds the truth.  Beware the red herring!  Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.  It's a classic cozy that would be fine as a standalone.  I'm looking forward to the next one.

The 3rd in the Ditie Brown Mystery series.  The gang is going to a cooking show.  Lurleen Ditie’s friend gets her on the show of Ditie’s favorite celebrity chef Savanah Evans.  They make it down to Beaufort South Carolina and as they are at the welcome party Ditie who as a pediatrician think that Savanah’s husband Quinn looks very pale.  As the party goes on she checks his pulse and recommends that he be taken to the hospital.  They later learn that Quinn died and had a chemotherapy drug in his system so it was a suspicious death.  Ditie is asked to investigate by Savanah as she feels she is in danger.  The Southern Baking competition still must go on so she is doing double duty.  Cooking up cobblers and tracking down suspects.  Well written mystery that kept me engaged.  Looking forward to future installments in this series.

Newest Assignment: 

Where: Atlanta, Ga/ South Carolina 

Who: Ditie Brown 

 Arriving in Atlanta to meet Ditie, Lucie, and Jason….only to find out we were heading to South Carolina….it was a bit of a whirlwind.  However, when I realized the reason for our trip to South Carolina...I was super excited! Ditie in a cooking competition with celebrity chef Savanah Evans.   The night we arrive Savanah is hosting a welcome dinner party for the contestants of The Great Southern Baking Contest.  Her husband real estate mogul Quinn Nelson is in attendance and looking very pale.  As the night goes on Ditie a Pediatrician by trade is getting noticeably more concerned for Quinn’s health.  As the night is wrapping up Ditie checks Quinn’s pulse, and recommends to Savanah a trip to the hospital. We hear the sad news the next morning that Quinn passed away during the night.  The death is immediately labeled suspicious when a chemotherapy drug (known for weakening the heart) is found in his system…..which begs the very important question...why would a man that doesn’t have cancer...have a cancer drug in his system??    When we go to offer Savanah our condolences, she begs us to stay on and investigate...she knows Ditie’s propensity for solving mysteries.  She goes on to inform us that she thinks she is in danger and will be next. Well of course we had to be what we could…. 

My thoughts: 

This was my first book in this series.  If you have read some of my other reviews you know this book involves two of my favorite themes: southern town/city and cooking.  The book was written well, and I really liked the cooking contest scenes. However, this book didn’t do it for me. I just didn’t connect with either the characters or the setting (I prefer a small close-knit community).   I got bored during the middle of the book, and just wanted the case solved.   

 I will not seek out the other books in this series.

Murder Most Southern is the third book in the Ditie Brown Mystery series and is just as good as the first two books.  Ditie is making a name for herself outside the medical community, and it is for solving murders.  This time around, Ditie is asked to help investigate when the husband of her Food TV idol is murdered.  The characters in this series are very likable.  Ditie and her family are finally settling in and become a real unit.  The author has done a good job of growing the characters.  Ditie and Mason's relationship is progressing nicely and Ditie's relationship with her brother is growing.  I really like the character of Lurleen.  She provides a bit of pizzazz to the characters with her french accent and colorful stories.  I like that in this book we get more of Lurleen's backstory and it just makes her more genuine to me.

The mystery was well done.  There were plenty of people who wanted to bring down the Food TV personality and so there were plenty of suspects to choose from.  The author did a good job of making it difficult for this reader to guess the identity fo the killer.  All of the suspects were evasive, had plenty of secrets of their own and lies to cover up.  I was surprised a the outcome because of all of the secrets and lies - I become distracted trying to keep them all separate.  

I really like this series and I am looking forward to reading more from this author.  I voluntarily read a digital advanced review copy, provided to me by the publisher, Kensington, through Netgalley.

This series has sucked me in since the beginning and held fast through this book with it's creepy twist and new take on an old murder method.

I enjoy this series and was not disappointed in Murder Most Southern.
It seems Ditie has a knack for getting involved in murder investigations, and this time, Lurleen, her best friend, is determined to get in on the action.
The mystery was exciting and I found myself trying to figure it out. 
I love when a cozy mystery takes a creepy twist, putting a new spin on an old school method of murder is one of my favorites.

I liked this mystery very much.   There were a number of back stories of the but the author was able to keep them from running into each other.