Dollycas’s Thoughts

Birdie Donovan loves to create chaos. She believes everything should be done her way or not at all. Her latest victim is our Hope Early. She has started a petition to move Hope right out of her own home. She has also brandished her trimmers to cut back a neighbor’s bush to the extreme for encroaching on her property, the bush probably won’t bloom again. She has caused havoc at the library and several other places around town. Hope hopes that bringing Birdie a peace offering of a batch of muffins will defuse the situation. Sadly, Birdie takes the muffins and slams the door in Hope’s face.

The next day Hope returns to Birdie’s house to try again. When Birdie doesn’t answer the door Hope ventures into the yard to see if Birdie is working in her beautiful garden. She does find Birdie but she is dead in her gazebo with Hope’s muffins beside her. Hope’s boyfriend Police Chief Ethan Cahill knows there is no way she could kill anyone but the evidence points directly at his girlfriend. He also can’t share any of the police’s investigation with her. She could lose everything she has worked so hard for. Her sponsors quickly put their funding on hold, even the new one that just signed on. If Ethan can’t save her she is going to have to save herself but may die trying.

These characters just keep getting better and better. Hope has become a very capable amateur sleuth. Birdie was a bully in need of an intervention but she didn’t have to die. Hope’s relationship with Ethan was moving along nicely until Hope was framed for a crime she didn’t commit. It caused a few tense moments for the couple. The relationship with her sister Claire is strong and Claire comes into contact with people Hope doesn’t so she learns more about Birdie’s reign of terror. I love the way Jane and Drew rallied to help Hope too in her investigation. An investigation that really pushed Hope to her limits and almost over the line. The animal characters always make me smile too.

I do enjoy the behind-the-scenes look at how Hope manages her blog and love that she is healing women by helping them to start blogs which can help them strike out in new directions the way it helped Hope turn her life around. She always has a tidbit or two that has me looking critically at my own blog and making tweaks here and there.

Ms. Sennefelder has written a very compelling mystery. Clues were dropped judiciously throughout the story and I definitely fell down the rabbit hole of this story. Hope tried so hard to narrow down the suspects and she may have lost a few friends with her leading questions. I tried hard to find the right recipe for the killer but I could not mix the clues together right at all. I was totally gobsmacked when the killer was actually revealed. I was holding my breath throughout the entire scene and still couldn’t believe what I was reading leading me to read it again and again. Wow, the author got me good.

The Corpse in the Gazebo is now my favorite book in this series. The author tempers the heavy dramatic moments with lighthearted times in a meaningful way. Awesome characters embroiled in a top-notch mystery made this story A Perfect Escape! I am really excited to see what Ms. Sennefelder has planned for her characters next.

Food blogger Hope Early has found more than her fair share of corpses since returning to her hometown of Jefferson, Connecticut. She’ll be the first to tell you that it’s been a distressing chain of events that she certainly did not sign up for, so discovering that a petition is being circulated to run her out of her neighborhood on account of this “disruptive behavior” of hers is just adding insult to injury. When she confronts the petition organizer, her curmudgeonly neighbor Birdie Donovan, she loses her temper in public, only contributing to the ongoing decline of her reputation.

In an effort to make amends, she bakes a batch of apple streusel muffins as a peace offering and brings them over to the Donovans’ house. Apparently mollified, Birdie invites Hope to discuss the matter in her lovingly-tended garden the next morning. But when Hope arrives, she finds Birdie dead in the garden gazebo, clutching pieces of an apple streusel muffin.

At first, Hope thinks it’s yet another unfortunate coincidence. Then the autopsy reveals that the muffin was laced with peanut oil, which Birdie was deathly allergic to. Hope had only learned of this the day before while dropping off the muffins: Birdie had asked with some suspicion whether there were any peanuts or peanut-products in the baked goods, and Hope had been quick to assuage her fears. But the allergen had somehow been introduced to the muffins since then, killing Birdie and leading to Hope becoming prime suspect in her murder.

Hope can’t believe that anyone could possibly think her a killer, and is determined to clear her name, never mind the advice of her boyfriend, Jefferson Chief Of Police Ethan Cahill, or her lawyer Matt Roydon. As the evidence mounts against her -- trapping her in a nightmare of losing her business accounts and possibly her freedom, if not her life -- Hope turns to increasingly desperate measures, risking the permanent alienation of many of her acquaintances as she pursues the truth.

I was genuinely surprised by the lengths to which desperation, combined with Hope’s lack of self-awareness, drove her. In hindsight though it was quite realistic: who is at their most sensible when facing so much ostracization, after all? I also found the discord brought about by Birdie and her actions very believable. Mean neighbors make life a misery for everyone, and it was unsurprising that the suspect list in her murder was so long given her habit of making enemies.

Included with this book were five recipes, written blog-style in keeping with Hope’s profession. They all sounded so good, but I finally decided to try out this one, lightly edited here for format:

QUOTE
Gingerbread Chocolate Chip Cookies

10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup light brown sugar
6 tablespoons molasses
1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¾ teaspoon ginger
Pinch of ground cloves
¾ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.

In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugars. With the mixer on slow speed, add in molasses and vanilla. Add in the dry ingredients, reserving the chocolate chips until later. Mix until the dough comes together and is smooth. Remove from mixer or set aside hand mixer and stir in chocolate chips by hand.

Cover bowl and refrigerate for at least one hour, making sure it’s chilled through but not firm.

Using a medium cookie scoop, scoop out cookies and space 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Bake for 10-11 minutes.

Let cookies rest on baking sheet for 1 minute, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Store in an airtight container.
END QUOTE

I love gingerbread and I love chocolate chip cookies, and I one hundred percent love this combination! Sometimes, putting things like these together doesn’t work out as well as you’d like, but these absolutely exceeded my expectations, combining the best of both kinds of cookie to create a treat that’s truly delectable. They were also very easy to make. I’m definitely keeping this recipe in mind for Christmas cookie season, especially with the weather getting cooler where I am!

Next week, we head to the Midwest to cook up another chocolatey treat while striving to clear the name of someone accused of a grisly stabbing. Do join me!

Food blogger Hope Early isn't the only one fighting with Birdie Donovan, but she's the one who finds the unpleasant woman lying dead in her backyard gazebo and the one who baked the muffins that are responsible for Birdie's death.

I enjoyed the mystery element, but really started to lose patience with Hope. Her actions immediately after discovering Birdie's body had me asking a whole lot of questions. This is the fourth book I've read in the five book series and something seems off with the character.

The Corpse in the Gazebo is the 5th book in the Food Blogger Mysteries series. I picked up this series with The Hidden Corpse (book 2), and I also thoroughly enjoyed books 3 and 4.

In this fabulous cosy mystery, Hope Early is really busy with her teaching classes on blogging at the local women's shelter in Jefferson, Connecticut, whilst continuing with her own food blog, 'Hope at Home'. But all is not rosy as neighbour Birdie Donovan wants Hope run out of town. Then Birdie turns up dead after Hope bakes her some muffins...

Protagonist Hope had such a lot going on in this book, but still managed to spend time with her pets - adorable doggy, Bigelow, Princess, the cat, and Poppy the chicken; she also devotes time to her boyfriend, Chief of Police, Ethan Cahill and they make some decisions. Hope is a great character and she possesses the necessary attributes of any great sleuth: intelligence, curiosity and keenness, and she's never too busy to help others.

I was sold on this compulsive story from the very beginning, and Debra Sennefelder continued to impress me with her fluid writing. The details of the plot were very well-executed, the story was amusing and easy to follow, and every chapter left me with a compelling need to read on. The story was brimming with humour, scrumptious food, and suspects and clues were scattered throughout. The killer reveal was very clever although I had my suspicions about who was responsible, and some yummy recipes are included at the end of the book. This was a tremendously good novel and I am looking forward to reading book six. If you adore a fantastic cozy mystery, don't miss out on The Corpse in the Gazebo.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Kensington Books via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

A charming and engaging small town cozy mystery. I haven't read all five of the books in this entertaining series. Each can be read as a standalone. Interesting characters and relationships. A dog and a cat, young children and a romantic interest round out the tale. Yummy recipes are also included.

This is the 5th Food Blogger Mystery. I have read and enjoyed this series from the beginning. I love the savvy independent protagnist the author created who stands on her own merits. From the beginning of the series the protagnist has been building a food blog through her own hard work. The charcters are all enjoyable and add to the series. The foodie aspect and blogging of a lifestyle brand is fun to read for all readers. This is a 5 star read .Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley for the opportunity. My review opinion is my own.

Hope’s blog is very successful beyond all her hopes . Not one to rest on her laurels Hope is volunteering to teach other women how to create a successful life path. Hope has built her own lifestyle brand by sheer hard work and wants to mentor other women to do the same. Unfortunately her efforts are not appreciated by a cruel neighbor Birdie who wants Hope run out of town due to all the deaths that have occured since she arrived. She complains loudly to the town of the murders and how Hope is always involved. Hope responds with what she does best and bakes Birdie a batch of her best muffins. When she finds Birdie dead in her gazebo the very next day she is suspect number one and her muffins may have been the murder weapon . Now Hope must try to clear her name, save her reputation and work to find the real killer before she is run out of town. The police only see her as guilty and not even her police detective boyfriend cannot help her out of this mess.

This was a fun addition to the story and a wonderful sleuth. The clues and red herrings kept me guessing to conclusion. I love the supporting charcters, the setting and our savvy smart protagnist. Well done to the author.

Spending time with Hope is always a delight. But in the newest addition to the “A Food Blogger Mystery” series, Corpse In The Gazebo, things are getting heated, and spending time with Hope can become nerve-racking. Bridie doesn’t like Hope very much; in fact, she wants her out of the neighborhood. After a heated disagreement in public, Hope bakes some muffins and takes them to Bridie; the next day, she finds Bridie dead on a gazebo floor. It doesn’t take long for everyone to start pointing fingers, and Hope is directly in their sights.

The characters in this series are always busy with projects, business, and friendships: not to mention, family. For readers, the cast of characters feels like an old friend every time they crack open a new book. Hope, Claire, Ethan, Jane, and the rest of the gang, make us all crave that close-knit family and friends relationship. Add in some great food, like Hopes muffins and her BPF (best pet friend) Bigalow, and you have a recipe for success. The location of these stories makes you want to visit, especially this time of year, and this time the author added a beautiful garden and gazebo to entice readers’ imagination.

There are a plethora of suspects; almost anyone could be the killer. The victim was a bully, and most people did not like or get along with her. There is evidence, such as the muffins Hope baked being found in the Gazebo, as well as a multitude of red herrings to throw readers off the scent of the killer. Hope, as always, refuses to let the police do their job. Before long, she has made some progress, a new enemy, and added depth to her relationships. The killer, once revealed, may come as a surprise, but this is what makes Corpse In The Gazebo a fantastic read. Hold on to your seat as you travel with Hope on an exciting conclusion that will keep you enthralled until the very last word.

Another interesting one featuring food blogger Hope Early. I really enjoy the parts of this series about her blogging career, and this one has a lot of growth and development in her personal life, as well as a solid mystery.

I loved "The Corpse in the Gazebo" the 5th book in Debra Sennefelder's "A Food Blogger Mystery" series. Visiting Jefferson, Connecticut has become a pleasant escape.

Food blogging is turning Hope Early into a household name. But the dead body down the block makes her a #1 suspect...

I love Hope as she is real and I have become invested in her and what is happening around her. I like her family and friends, Claire, Jane, Drew and of course Ethan (Police Chief boyfriend) and the dynamics between them all. Don't get me started on her dog Bigelow, Poppy the chicken and Princess the cat!

There was life changing moments in this book, as Hope and Ethan make some decisions but it only made the characters more real. With a few suspenseful moments as well as some lighthearted ones, but with plenty of twists and turns to keep us entertained. I did suspect the killer early on but I started second guessing myself as there was plenty of suspects.

I highly recommend this book and I cannot wait to see what’s next for Hope in this series and I look forward to reading the next book ...

I requested and received an advance reader copy of this book from Kensington Books and Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A nasty neighbor and an embarrassing encounter cause food blogger Hope Early to be a suspect in murder. Thanks to her sister and a good friend she has help in trying to find the real murderer but is losing friends and important business sponsorships in the process.

There is a wide variety of characters in this well written story but the best thing is the surprise twist at the end. Thanks to Kensington and NetGalley for an advance copy. The opinions expressed are my own.

Birdie might have wanted Hope gone because of the chaos she's brought to the neighborhood (or so Birdie believed) but Hope didn't kill her. She baked her muffins. Unfortunately, she also is the one who finds Birdie dead in her gazebo. Cozy readers know that Birdie was rotten to more people than Hope so there will be multiple suspects. Hope's love interest, the patient Police Chief Ethan, doesn't want her investigating but of course she does. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. It's a classic cozy with good characters and some red herrings.

Lots of character development in the latest book of this series, but I can’t help think that Hope’s also getting a lot more foolhardy. She’s starting to think she’s the only one who can do anything and that she’s better than the police; I’m wondering if that will cause friction with Ethan later down the road. The mystery was good, the clues left were solid and just enough red herrings to cause you some doubt. The murderer came outta the blue for me and I’m not sure how I feel about it.

Thank you #Netgalley for the advance reader copy of Murder in the Gazebo by Debra Sennefelder in exchange for an honest review. Hope Early is becoming a well known food blogger. She created her food blog, Hope At Home, her online business. Hope has an arrangement with her neighbor, Birdie, who is trying to get Hope to move away. Birdie invited Hope over to discuss a compromise. When Hope gets to Birdie's house, she finds her dead. This was a great story. I wasn't sure what to expect but loved the book.

amateur-sleuth, blogger, cozy-mystery, culinary, family-dynamics, foodie, friction, friendship, law-enforcement, lawyers, murder, murder-investigation, pets, read, small-business, small-town*****
It was no real feat to guess who the murder victim would be as the woman was a nasty piece of work.
Hope left NYC and is renovating her farmhouse in a small town in Connecticut. She is a food blogger, teaching a class on blogging at the local women's shelter, and an amateur sleuth (despite the protests of her boyfriend, the local police chief). Her lawyer is an ex-cop and a good friend. And then there's her sister. The publisher's blurb is a good hook, no spoilers here. Great characters and lots of twists and red herrings as well as plenty of family and friendship. An excellent cozy!
I requested and received a free temporary ebook copy from Kensington Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

Good neighbors make for great neighborhoods, but a cranky neighbor who wants you to leave the neighborhood is just unbearable! When the town curmudgeon winds up dead our favorite blogger is on the hot seat as everyone is looking at her as the primary suspect! Hope needs to unravel this mystery in a hurry before not only her life unravels, but that of the people around her. Tons of intrigue as a multilayered plot will keep you on the edge of your seat and guessing just who the guilty party really is! Great characters, witty dialogue and an exciting plot are stirred together to make one entertaining book! I can't wait to read what comes next for Hope and her pals!

It seems everyone loves Hope’s blog these days, and she’s busier than ever volunteering to help other women create their own paths to success. So she’s shocked when a neighbor petitions to run Hope right out of her small Connecticut town! Set in her ways, apparently Birdie Donovan doesn’t like the chaos Hope’s sleuthing creates, the police activity and crime scenes, and it’s happening way too often lately. Eager to make amends, Hope bakes Birdie a batch of her best muffins. The delicious treats might have smoothed things over—until Hope discovers Birdie dead in her gazebo the very next day. This was a fun read. Hope is an interesting, strong and believable character. The location seems like someplace I would love to visit and the mystery aspect held my interest until the end. I hope there are more in this series going forward. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced readers copy for review.

Food blogger and amateur sleuth Hope Early has a murder mystery to solve in Debra Sennefelder's The Corpse in the Gazebo, the fifth book in her Food Blogger Mystery series. This time it's personal. Very personal! Hope is the main suspect in the murder of her unpleasant neighbor. I really like all the energy in this storyline. Plus there's lots of action. I enjoyed following along as Hope hunts for clues. Meanwhile the danger scenes were edge-of-your-seat exciting. I can't wait to see what trouble Hope gets into next.

I received an ARC in exchange for a honest review.

Loved reading this book and series. One of my favorite authors. If you haven't read this series yet I highly recommend doing so. I suggest reading them in order

An intriguing whodunit with excellent well developed characters. With neighbors like Birdie I'm glad I live in the woods. Hope is the number one suspect in Birdie's death. I thoroughly enjoyed this cozy!! Thanks #netgalley and #Keningston for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle by Kensington Books, Kensington and #NetGalley for my honest opinion.

Between food blogging and solving crimes Hope Early has a full plate! The Corpse in the Gazebo is a delightful cozy mystery if you like the genre grab this one.