Who killed Dr Martin? Well Sarah and Grace are sure it wasn't Grace, even though he's found with one of her knives in his back. Sarah and Harlan, an attorney at the law firm where she works find themselves sorting through small town college politics and envy the find the truth about the man. Fans of the series (which I am) know that somehow the evil Jane, who broke up Sarah's marriage and now runs a rival restaurant, will figure in the story (she does) as will Sarah's pets, Fluffy and Rahrah. Sarah and Harlan are helping raise money for a no-kill shelter this time out. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. A nicely done cozy with good characters and a just twisty enough plot.

Dr. Douglas Martin is found dead in Grace Winston's classroom and Grace just happens to have blood all over her!! But that came from trying to catch a knife--right? Two witnesses say it was. However, one of them is also a step child with no love lost for the Malevolent Monster. Sarah is determined to find the real killer and clear Grace. But what will it cost her?

Loved reading this book and series. I highly recommend this author and the book. I suggest reading the books in order

Sarah knows it has to be a mistake when her friend Grace is accused of killing the department head at her culinary college. No way is Grace a killer...but someone is. Could it be one of the other teachers? His widow? Sarah's arch-nemesis? With so many suspects, lies, and hidden agendas, will Sarah be able to solve the crime, catch the real killer, and save Grace from a crime she didn't commit (or did she)? Read and see.

This is book four in the Sarah Blair Mystery series, but the first I've read. There were alot of characters in this book (so many that I had to pause a couple of times to keep them straight in my mind), and a few references to past events I wasn't familiar with, but I did ok overall. I thought this was a fun and interesting culinary cozy mystery, with a fairly quick-witted amateur sleuth and an intriguing storyline. I plan on checking out the first three books in the series just as soon as I can.

I received a paperback copy of this book from CMRC, and an ecopy from the publisher via NetGalley. My thoughts and opinions are my own and without bias or favor.

The rivalry between Southwind and Jane’s Place continues in this fourth Sarah Blair Mystery. The old nautical saying of ‘steady as she goes’ distinctly applies to Four Cuts Too Many. Cozy fans who like their cozies to include plenty of small town ambience and activity will enjoy the politics and rivalries omnipresent in this book.

The writing style is complex and there’s a lot of introspection, which has a tendency to moderate the pace. This one’s definitely not a thrill ride, and you’ll need to be paying attention to get the most out of it. However, if you’re a fan of culinary mysteries, but don’t like to cook, welcome home. You’re going to love Sarah Blair.

A great cozy mystery that is full of highly enjoyable characters. Meet Sarah Blair who is a law firm receptionist and part owner with her twin sister of a local restaurant. She also is a great self proclaimed detective who has helped solve a few mysteries and murders in town. This is book 4 in a series and although I did not read the first three, the characters were easy enough to follow. I found this read a good mix of mystery, small town politics, restaurant business drama, and throw in a few cute animals and shelter stories, this was an enjoyable read. The book sets you up for stories to follow and I'm sure we won't see the last of Sarah as she continues her quest for discovering what her path is in life at this crossroads and of course solving a few murders in between helps the reader want to continue on in this cozy mystery series. Great afternoon read! Thank you to Books Forward for the Netgalley digital copy, my review is entirely my own.

SO I am new to Cozy mysteries and so I haven't read the others in this series, but it didn't seem to impact me much. I LOVED this book and now I need to read the others. It was everything I enjoy in a cozy mystery. I loved all the animals and how they also were well-developed. Definitely a great book, and I can’t wait for the next in the series!

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Books for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Four Cuts Too Many was the perfect follow-up to Three Treats Too Many. Although the book can be enjoyed on its own, having read the previous entries in the series does make a difference, at least it did for me.

In Four Cuts Too Many, Sarah investigates in order to prove Grace innocent. It proves to be a difficult task since most of the evidence points to Grace, who is not exactly the most likable character. The conclusion of this mystery is very satisfying and interesting, and both Sarah and Harlan are helpful in making sure that justice and truth prevail. With a backdrop of ugly college politics and the ever despicable Jane, this cozy mystery definitely grabbed my attention and kept me reading. Even though the mystery is resolved by the end, I was left with some questions which I hope will be answered in the next book.

Middle of the road cozy with nothing distinctive about it to separate it from the plethora of other similar other middle of the road culinary cozies.

Cooking mixes with campus politics in this charming cozy mystery by Debra H. Goldstein. When her friend Grace is suspected of murdering a professor at a college where she teaches knife skills, Sarah Blair jumps in to clear Grace’s name. A rival restaurateur, the culinary school staff and other instructors stir up turmoil as Sarah seeks answers. Between helping her sister run a restaurant, caring for her pets, and working at a law firm, Sarah has little time for investigative pursuits. But she’d better sharpen her sleuthing skills to catch a killer before someone else gets a fatal cut. This culinary cozy will have you examining the cutlery in your kitchen drawer in a new light. It’s a great book to bring to a cooking class!

My first book in this series , I must admit I chose to read it for the cat on the cover.
Setting Wheaton, Alabama
Love Rah Rah and rescue dog Fluffy
Interesting cozy mystery, want to go back and read first three in series.
Murder takes place at local cooking college several suspects.

Likeable characters

Fans of this series will be delighted with this latest offering.
I think I would have enjoyed it more if I had read the previous books in the series.
It is a good solid cozy with a whodunit that keeps you guessing.
I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.

This fourth Sarah Blair Mystery finds Sarah sleuthing to prove her friend Grace did not kill Dr. Martin during her knife skills class at Carleton Junior Community College. The list of suspects includes Wanda, Franklin, Chef Bernardi, Fern, Nancy, and Dr. Williams – all close to the crime scene when the police arrive.

Grace works for Emily, Sarah’s twin sister, and is the target of Emily’s chief competitor, Jane Clark, owner of Jane’s Place, who wants to hire Grace. Grace feels caught in the middle when a tentative agreement between the community college and Jane’s Place gives a distinct business advantage to Ms. Clark and her enterprise.

Debra Goldstein writes a complex mystery with lots of moving parts and clever twists, all at a steady pace. Regular and new characters are well-developed, and the two pets, RahRah and Fluffy, add warmth and a touch of humor.

FOUR CUTS TOO MANY is the fourth book in the Sarah Blair Mystery series by Debra H. Goldstein. With a hefty dose of college politics (who knew!), restaurant rivalries, and adorable furry companions, this newest release keeps protagonist Sarah Blair on the move. I greatly enjoyed the scenes showcasing Sarah’s involvement with fundraising for the local animal shelter to turn it into a “no kill” shelter. The author displays her knowledge on the subject and weaves it into the plot without slowing down the pace of the story. She also includes scenes involving senior citizens and the need for enrichment interactive activities, and how communities can get involved. These social issues, in my opinion, add heart to the book. In addition, the reader is given heartwarming insight into the kind of character Sarah is as she interacts with her scene-stealing pets, RahRah and Fluffy. I adore that the animals are given well-developed characters alongside the humans, which adds to the overall appeal of this series.

The murder mystery and subplots are complex yet as the story progresses, they fit together as Sarah investigates to prove her friend’s innocence in the death of the department chair of the college culinary program. There were several suspects and I appreciated the list the protagonist includes in the storyline to help me keep them straight. While I had my own suspicions, I wasn’t sure about the killer’s motives, so I enjoyed following along as Sarah unearthed clues to see if I was correct. With a heart wrenching reveal, the threads of the plot wrap up nicely, providing a cohesive story that will appeal to anyone who enjoys a good whodunit!

I was provided with an advance copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Sarah Blair is back at it! Sarah’s friend Grace asked Sarah to meet her on the campus of the local junior college where Grace is teaching a class on knife skills. Grace’s late arrival raises some concern for Sarah, especially when Grace finally shows up with a cut on her hand, but things get infinitely worse when Sarah returns to the classroom with Grace and finds the interim department chair stabbed to death in her classroom.

Despite opposition from many of the people in her life, Sarah commits to searching out the killer. Along the way her social life ends up in tatters but it doesn’t stop Sarah from seeking the truth. Getting to the bottom of what happened involves spending a lot of time at the college and getting to know a lot of new people, all of whom have some level of motive to have committed the crime.

I have only read the first book in the series but I didn’t feel like I missed enough background to keep me from having a good handle on the main characters and the basics of Sarah’s life and career and that of her family and close friends. But there were a lot of new characters in this book and I did struggle to keep them straight. Toward the end of the book, Sarah lists the suspects and I believe there were 11, which kind of watered down the investigation. I knew from the beginning who the killer was by a feature they had but I thought the feature belonged to a different character because I got them mixed up, so that threw me off. This book also takes us through some changes in Sarah’s life that are pretty interesting, I’m looking forward to reading more about what happens with Sarah’s love life. She’s making some changes but I think I know where she’ll ultimately end up.

This is a really good series, if you enjoy culinary cozy series but aren’t a cook yourself this is a great series to read.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

Four Cuts Too Many is a fantastic cozy mystery in the Sarah Blair mystery series. Sarah is a likeable character with a lot going on in both her professional and personal life. She wears several different hats, working in a law firm and at her twin sister's restaurant, which she co-owns. Sarah' finds herself in hot water when a meeting with the restaurant's sous chef, Grace, ends in a murder. Sarah doesn't believe for one second that Grace is responsible for the murder and is intent on proving it. Rivalries and competition muddy up the waters and make it hard to discover who the real culprit is in this enjoyable read by Debra Goldstein.

Sarah Winston lives in a carriage house with her Siamese cat, RahRah, and her rescue dog Fluffy. She works as a receptionist at a criminal law firm, and in her spare time helps her sister Emily out at their co-owned restaurant and volunteers at the local animal shelter. This day she's wondering why Emily's sous chef Grace Winston asked her to meet at the local college. When Grace finally does arrive late, she tells Sarah that she's just had a heated argument with the head of the department where Grace is teaching knife skills. When they both go back to Grace's classroom to clean up, they find the man dead. Now it's a crime scene, and Grace is suspected of murder.

But Sarah knows Grace isn't guilty, and asks her employer Harlan to represent Grace. While he doesn't want Sarah investigating and putting herself in danger, Sarah isn't going to listen, of course. When Sarah starts digging, she finds plenty of suspects and motives. But now the question is who wanted the man dead and why? Sarah needs to watch herself, or she might be the next one whose life is sliced short...

This is the fourth book in the series, and I enjoyed it as much as the last one. I do like the fact that Sarah has a twin and they are so different, but I would think that at this point Sarah might want to take a cooking class at that college. I delight in cooking. My three sisters, not so much. But at least they can cook well enough to survive (I hope).

The book had a very good plot, with someone killed practically at the beginning and the rest of the book with Sarah trying to find a murderer. Couple that with her nemesis Jane trying constantly to undermine Emily's success with Southwind, Emily's restaurant on a regular basis, and you have a detailed scenario that gives Sarah's the tools needed to unmask a murderer. But the clues are far between, although they are there if you look for them, and we discover the murderer almost at the same time as Sarah, which is the point of a mystery.

In the end, I thought this was an interesting mystery peopled with plenty of characters, and I enjoyed it quite a bit.

Through NetGalley, I received a free copy of FOUR CUTS TOO MANY (Book 4 of the Sarah Blair Mysteries) by Debra H. Goldstein in exchange for an honest review. Sarah is ready to take a more active role in her co-ownership of her twin sister’s restaurant, so she’s contemplating taking classes to help her in future plans. After all, her sister really needs the help; she’s already struggling to fund employee pay and benefits from the business income, and her competitor Jane Clark is adding stress to the situation with continual schemes to put them out of business. When their sous chef, Grace Winston, asks to speak privately with Sarah at a location away from the business, Sarah is sure the topic of conversation will add to their restaurant woes. However, before they can speak, Grace becomes the primary suspect in a murder. Familiar with the predilections of local law enforcement, Sarah knows she must perform her own investigation if Grace is to go free.

I liked this book. I haven’t read the prior books, but I had no problem keeping the characters and storyline straight. I recommend this book to fans of cozy mysteries featuring murder, cooking classes, restaurants, academic politics, and protagonists in transition.

#FourCutsTooMany #NetGalley

Book Review for Four Cuts Too Many by Debra H. Goldstein
Full review for this title can be found at: @fyebooks on Instagram!

Sarah Blair doesn’t know the difference between a boning knife and a bread knife, but when friend and sous chef Grace Winston is accused of murdering the interim head of the culinary department at the local community college, Sarah sets out to find the real killer. Four Cuts Too Many, the fourth book in author Debra H. Goldstein’s Sarah Blair Mysteries will delight fans who enjoy their cozy murders with a dollop of food and a dash of adorable critters.