This was another winner from this author. I love cozy mysteries and I was pleased to be approved for this one as I really enjoyed her last one. Set in Cornwall which is one of my favourite places which I visit regularly so I connected with the area immediately. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

This story takes my two favorite things, British Bake Offs and cozy mysteries and creates a jolly good time. Talk about multitasking, Jodie is executing excellent bakes while looking for clues and questioning suspects. No she is not a cop who bakes, she is a former cop who caterers, and no she did not sign up for the contest but it looks like she will be taking her nosey skills and her baking skills on the road-show. Was it a case of mistaken identity or had the new assistant made an enemy, he certainly wasn’t a friendly fellow. Past history is not needed when reading a Nosey Parker book, you are given tidbits of back story to keep you in the loop. Could you imagine how incredible it would be to win the roadshow and solve the crime? Jodie works to eliminate suspects while not being eliminated from the show. When she isn’t being “Nosey” (who are we kidding, she is always looking into things that need to be looked into), she is involved in so many roles that it can make your head spin. Another fun and cheeky read that includes the recipe for Jodie’s Show Stopper, a proper fruit cake, not that nonsense that we yanks have over here in the US. so fingers crossed that I can reproduce her recipe .

Big thanks to NetGalley & HarperCollins for providing an ARC for free, in exchange for an honest review.

Despite this story being the fifth book in this cozy mystery series, it worked well as a stand alone novel. I was very intrigued by the premise as I'm a fan of baking shows, especially The Great British Bake Off.
I really liked how the story combined the elements of a murder mystery with a baking roadshow into a fun and relaxed, interesting read.

What I absolutely loved about it was the logic behind the investigation. A lot of books have it in a confusing, illogical way, but not this one! Our MC, Jodie has served at the forces, so her logic and thinking method and conclusions made perfect sense. Tracking down the different paths of suspects was fun and it felt real, believable reasoning.
I liked the characters, too, especially the dynamics between Jodie and his boyfriend who is an investigator at the police, I liked his professionalism, it was well mixed with just the right amount of humor and wittiness and romantic interest.

The humor of the book was great, although some jokes were repeated too often. It wasn't a running joke, more like the very same comment or mental note mentioned too many times, as if the author could not get enough of her own witty comment.

Unfortunately toward the end of the book some parts started to feel flat and blunt though, there were many pages that felt like empty filling to make the book longer, to a proper length. There was some strained foreshadowing which I didn't particularly like, but this is absolutely on me and my personal taste. Because of it I've found the "solution" for the murder person a bit clichéd, it felt a bit of lazy writing. But again, this is a cozy mystery read, so hey ho. The twists were quite predictable in my opinion but still it was enjoyable layering everything down.

Overall it was fun, and I might visit the earlier books in the series at some point in future.

This is a really lovely cozy crime story in a series which I have thoroughly enjoyed.

In this book our heroine Josie “Nosey” Parker is taking part in a bake off style cake competition and is down to the final three. A member of the crew is mysteriously killed and all of Josie’s names are being tampered with.

Boyfriend DI Nathan arrives in the scene and between cooking he and Josie investigate the crime.

Lovely descriptions of the area and the cakes, with a helpful recipe guide too by the author at the end.

Highly recommend.

Thanks to Netgalley. the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is actually a sadly I missed last week’s pub day pub day post … and I bring you this pub day review for A Cornish Recipe For Murder that was actually out last Thursday August 18th !
This book was just the right light pick me up read after being kind of frustrated that summer break is coming to an end this week without my having had as much time for my girls as I would have liked because I am still playing post vacation catch up at work … the plans are always too big, the time too little.

A Cornish Recipe for Murder by Fiona Leitch is a wonderful cozy mystery that is the fifth book in the delightful The Nosey Parker Mysteries series.
This is such a fun book!

This was the second book in this fabulous cozy mystery series that I have read, but they work well enough without the full continuity but I did enjoy it so much that I do plan to go back and read the first three books as well.

Jodie(Nosey) and Nathan are a great team solving the murder, what I love about this story specifically is that the sleuth has a believable point of access to the investigations by being a retired ex-police officer with a ton of experience in a small town setting were extra hands come in handy. I love that this entertaining cozy mystery takes place on set at a baking road show, since i love seasonal baking shows this was just right for me. The cast of characters and their interaction added to my enjoyment.
I had such fun following along with them as they unspooled the mystery, which was filled with leads, twists, suspects and a fitting ending.
!

Excellent - really enjoyable as usual. Light-hearted, funny and a great read. I would advise reading the books in order as Jodie's life develops. In the first book Jodie retires from the Met Police as her daughter Daisy worries for her safety so moves back to her childhood home of Cornwall. She starts a catering company but clients or guests keep getting murdered.
In this book, she enters a bake-off TV show but one of the crew gets murdered. With the nickname 'Nosey' she can't help but get involved. Don't read if you are hungry - hot cross bun donuts filled with white chocolate ganache or rich saffron flavoured fruit cake.( you even get the recipe for that).
The plots are well crafted with a few twists and all her characters are definitely 'characters'.
As soon as I received it I stopped reading my current book and read this over 2 days. When is the next one?
This is an honest review of a complementary ARC.

A Cornish Recipe for Murder by Fiona Leitch brings us back to Cornwall where Jodie has taken up a second career as a chef, leaving her first career as a police officer behind after becoming aware of the stress it was causing her daughter. Since arriving life has been good: her business is successful, she has bought a house, and she has fallen in love with DCI Nathan Withers. In fact, they are talking moving in together. He and Daisy, her daughter have gone behind her back and registered her to be a contestant in the Best of British Baking Roadshow where she would complete to be the best and then compete again against the winners from other counties to be the best in Britain. She is not really sure she is happy about it. She is a chef, not a baker, but the publicity would be invaluable. The show will be emceed by Barbara Strident who was the popular cross-dressing alter ego of a man called Russell Lang. It was all to be very exciting, until someone was murdered. He was a low level employee so it was not immediately obvious who the murderer might be. DCI Withers was called in to investigate, but of course, no one could stop Jodie “Nosey” Parker from helping.

This is a decent mystery with enough suspects to keep it interesting. There are also plenty of clues, some pertinent, some red herrings. The cast of characters is excellent. We start with Jodie, who is an ex-cop, and terrific mother and daughter, and a pretty good girlfriend. She is an ever-changing and growing character which makes her real. Her boyfriend is Nathan, who is CID and clever and handsome and very loving. He is a terrific foil for Jodie. Also included are Daisy, her 13-year-old daughter who is as authentic a teenager as possible, and her mother, who is 71 and far from old. The bunch of them make a happy family and a terrific background for their investigations. A good book!

I was invited to read a free-ARC of A Cornish Recipe for Murder by One More Chapter, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions a my own. #Netgalley #OneMoreChapter #FionaLeitch #ACornishRecipeForMurder

It’s great being back with Jodie and Nathan again - their chemistry is just brilliant. The characters Fiona Leitch writes about are so well rounded and engaging and I love the fact that Jodie can’t help but get involved in the latest mystery. Full of laughs and humour, especially with Jodie’s mum again this is a fun filled read. I love the twists and turns of the mystery and as per others in the series I can never work out the culprit til the end. Can’t wait for the next one in the series.

A cosy mystery whodunnit sprinkled with romance and drizzled with women’s fiction A Cornish Recipe for Murder is a sure-fire winner. This was the first book I’ve read by Fiona Leitch and not only did she do a great job of writing an engaging and riveting tale, but she also created a wonderful character in Jodie Parker. One I couldn’t help but immediately empathise with and relate to.

The story is written in first person, with Jodie’s inner monologue more akin to a conversation with a friend. I’m sure there is a fancy English Literature word that should be used to explain this style of narration to the audience, but I’ll just describe it as warm, witty and wonderful! Despite my not having read any of the previous books in the series, the author can help the new reader “catch up” with little one-liners and brief descriptions. This was done very cleverly, I hope, so as not to bore those who are more familiar with the series and its recurring characters.

Murder aside this book had me smiling, giggling and outright laughing pretty much from start to finish. There is a whole slew of side characters, some central to the ongoing story arc and others more important just within this book. Every single person was finely crafted and not only did they each have a distinct personality but felt so real that I’m almost expecting to see an episode of British Baking Roadshow on the TV.

These are just such a warm hug of a book that I know I will be reading more of the series. I loved that the focus wasn’t just on crime, but that we shared in Jodie’s life and escapades too. The foreshadowing was good, with enough clues not to feel that the resolution came out of nowhere. Clever use of red herrings and misdirection meant that the culprit wasn’t immediately obvious – and to be honest, unlike Jodie, I was less interested in who the murderer was and much more interested in nosy parker-ing into her life!

Another good tale from Cornwall. Jodie just happened to be at the scene of a murder again! Well written with good characters as usual from Fiona. A nice, light, holiday read.

I am a massive fan of the Jodie 'Nosey' Parker series and was incredibly excited to read the latest installment. I had high expectations for this book and, I am pleased to say, I was not disappointed. Full of her trademark humour, intrigue and mouthwatering recipes, this book had me hooked from the start. A serious must read.

I enjoyed this book so very much. I think Jodie Parker is my new favorite amateur detective. The premise of the baking show was lots of fun. I love watching those sorts of shows and could well imagine the story taking place. Now I need to go back and read books one through three!

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for the opportunity to read and review this book.

What do you get when you combine a British baking contest, a nosey protagonist, and a murder?! Fiona Leitch’s newest Jodie Parker mystery, "A Cornish Recipe for Murder".

Last year I read Leitch’s fourth book in the Nosey Parker Mystery series, and the publisher kindly sent me her newest installment in the series. Although I’ve only read “A Cornish Christmas Murder” (last year) and “A Cornish Recipe for Murder” from the series, you could easily read either as standalones, so if you’re interested in these cozy mysteries, don’t let the serialization stop you from picking one up.

How does the story begin? The story takes place during the summer and begins with the protagonist Jodie “Nosey” Parker being unknowingly entered—and selected—to be a contestant on a British national baking show . . . Yes, EXACTLY like The Great British Bake Off. A murder near the set captures Jodie’s attention, continuously pulling her away from her responsibilities as a contestant on the show. She has an especially difficult time not focusing on the murder because her partner (boyfriend), Nathan Withers, is the DCI assigned to the case.

This story has a full cast of humorous, oddball characters, a diverse bunch who all have their own secrets to safeguard. And the story isn't dark enough to dampen a bright, sunny, summer day. In fact, it was a great cozy summer murder mystery. If you’re a seasonal reader, then this book is perfect for you. If you enjoy books focused on baking competitions, then this book is perfect for you. If you like cozy murder mysteries, then this is most perfect for you.

Leitch is a writer who keeps the mystery central to this story (via Jodie “Nosey” Parker’s inability to keep her nose out of trouble—in this case the mystery) but allows for other elements to take centre stage at certain points, like romance, family drama, and even a few elements of a cookbook (includes a cake recipe at the end of the novel). However, as I mentioned, everything is quite light, and everyone is happy at the end…Except, of course, for the murder victim and perhaps the killer.

This book is a fun time, and I would recommend it to fans of The Great British Bake Off (or any competitive baking show), cozy summer murder mysteries, and/or reads which are fun and light—ones to enjoy with a nice cup of tea or coffee and your favourite baked good (I enjoyed ginger stem cookies and a cup of honey lemon tea).

Many thanks to NetGalley and One More Chapter for allowing me the opportunity to read an ARC of this in exchange for an honest review—I appreciate it!

A Cornish Recipe for Murder is a charming cozy mystery set at a reality cooking show.

Former police officer Jodie “Nosey” Parker is hoodwinked into being a contestant on a British baking show. But she has more to worry about than her chocolate ganache when a dead body is found on the set. Can she help her detective boyfriend find the killer before he, or she, strikes again? Is the show’s drag queen host involved? Or could her main show competitor, the enigmatic Martin, be the culprit?

As a lover of reality television, RuPaul’s Drag Race, and all things British, A Cornish Recipe for Murder was set to be a favorite based on its synopsis. While I enjoyed this relaxing cozy, the slow pace kept me from giving it a full 5 stars. This may be caused by my starting the series with the fifth book in. The characters make realistic decisions. The romance between Nathan and Jodie is sweet and genuine. The mystery was fun, if not particularly challenging. Overall, 4 stars!

Thanks to One More Chapter and NetGalley for a digital review copy of the book.

EXCERPT: So, to misquote Dickens, (he) was dead: to begin with. But his ghost seemed to horror over the baking tent the next day.

I'd woken that morning, alone (Nathan had texted me around 11 p.m. saying he was only just finishing up at the crime scene, and that he didn't want to disturb Mum or Daisy by coming around so late). I'd fallen asleep swearing that I would not get involved in the investigation this time. I had the competition to think of, and although Nathan was too lovely to say anything he probably didn't really want me getting in the way. Even if, in the past, he'd made a point of involving me, grilling me for local information and giving up (fairly easily) at my repeated attempts to insinuate myself into his detective work. But that had probably only been because he fancied me and he wanted an excuse for us to spend time together. We didn't need to do that now.

I'd fallen asleep thinking that, but of course the next morning I woke up and immediately thought, I wonder if forensics came up with anything? And I knew the chances of me concentrating on Italian meringues, croquembouches, and sponge cakes when there was a murderer on the loose were pretty slim.

ABOUT 'A CORNISH RECIPE FOR MURDER': When popular TV baking contest and national institution ‘The Best of British Baking Roadshow’ rolls into town and sets up camp in the grounds of Boskern House, a historic stately home near Penstowan, former police officer Jodie ‘Nosey’ Parker finds herself competing to represent Cornwall in the grand final.

But with a fellow contestant who will stop at nothing to win and a drag queen host with secrets of their own, Jodie discovers that the roadshow doesn’t just have the ingredients for the perfect showstopper cake, but also for the perfect murder…

And when a body is found in the grounds of the house, Jodie is drawn into another high-stakes case along with local DCI Nathan Withers.

Can Jodie expose the culprit? Or will the murderer become the real showstopper?

MY THOUGHTS: This is the second book I have read in this series, and I enjoyed it every bit as much as the first.

Now I know some people have a problem with 'ordinary people' insinuating themselves into police murder investigations, BUT Jodie is an ex-policewoman turned caterer. So she does know what she is doing. It just adds a little more authenticity to the storyline.

I like the characters in this series. I love Jodie's inquisitive nature, and her nickname suits her perfectly. Jodie's mum, Shirley, is a real character with lots of witty and sometimes cheesy repartee, but it works. Daisy must be the dream teenager, although she's not averse to a bit of subterfuge or manipulation to get her own way. She's bright, and it's lovely to have three generations of the same family living and working together. I doubt Nathan could get away with what he gets away with here in real life but, hey, it's fiction and it's a fun and entertaining read that kept me interested and invested from start to finish.

The mystery is a good solid one, solved by following the clues and good old fashioned detective work. I love that I'm not required to suspend belief, and that the characters don't take stupid risks or put themselves in danger.

The writing flows nicely, and the setting of a 'bake-off' is a stroke of genius. I enjoyed getting to know the bake-off contestants, and I have kept a copy of the recipe for the Rich Cornish Fruit Cake with Saffron and Orange. There are other lovely sounding confections mentioned throughout the book and I have made a note of some so that I can look up the recipes.

A quick and deliciously entertaining read best not tackled on an empty stomach!

⭐⭐⭐⭐.1

#ACornishRecipeforMurder #NetGalley

I: @leitchfiona @onemorechapterhc

T: @fkleitch @OneMoreChapter

#christmasfiction #contemporaryfiction #cookbook #cozymystery #detectivefiction #domesticdrama #mystery #romance

THE AUTHOR: Fiona Leitch is a writer with a chequered past. She’s written for football and motoring magazines, DJ’ed at illegal raves and is a stalwart of the low budget TV commercial, even appearing as the Australasian face of a cleaning product called 'Sod Off'. After living in London and Cornwall she's finally settled in sunny New Zealand, where she enjoys scaring her cats by trying out dialogue on them. She spends her days dreaming of retiring to a crumbling Venetian palazzo, walking on the windswept beaches of West Auckland, and writing funny, flawed but awesome female characters.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter, via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of A Cornish Recipe for Murder by Fiona Leitch for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review is also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage

Jodie 'Nosey' Parker is at it again. Her family entered her into The Best of British Baking Roadshow even though she protests that she's a chef, not a baker. A murder happens during the filming and Jodie's nosey nature takes over and she can't resist trying to solve the murder, with the help of her boyfriend, DCI Nathan Withers.

This is the fifth in the Nosey Parker series, but each mystery is self contained so you can read it as a standalone without feeling you've missed too much.

It's been a while since I read a book from this series, but Jodie and Nathan are still how I remember them; likeable, with obvious chemistry and an absolute joy to read.

As a fan of the Great British Bake Off, I loved the nod to it in the mystery's setting. The author makes the competition her own, so expect similarities but not a direct rip off of the bake-off contest.

I will warn you not to go into this book hungry because there are some mouth watering cakes throughout that sound delicious and made my stomach rumble.

There were some fun and light-hearted moments through the book. However, I cringed at the use of an outdated 'joke', involving a curly wig and the words calm down, at the expense of Nathan, who, like me, is a scouser.

A Cornish Recipe For Murder is a delightful and entertaining cozy mystery. I now have to go back and read the couple I missed!

I seem to be on a spate of books centered around the Great British Bakeoff all of which have been fairly enjoyable. This iteration has Jodie Parker involved in the show (though she's not really quite sure why she was chosen.) It's just to bad that there are some weird things going on during the show, mostly centered around her very own bakes. But then one of the crew is murdered. He had only recently joined the team so Jodie isn't sure who would have hated him enough to kill him.
The secondary characters are well-developed including the host who is a drag queen with a secret to hide, the producer with a temper, and some of the crew. We get to see some relationship development between Jodie and Nate and some personal development for Jodie as well.

Four stars
This book comes out August 18, 2022
Follows A Cornish Christmas Murder
ARC kindly provided by HarperCollins UK and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Do you love a murder mystery? Do you love the Great British Baking Show? I do! A Cornish Recipe for Murder combined the elements of both into a fun, light, witty, twisty story.

As someone who dreams of receiving a Paul Hollywood handshake someday 😅, I loved the premise of this story and the familiarity recreated in the baking roadshow competition. I loved the detail in each of the competitors bakes and am all the more excited for the next season of GBBO!

While this is the fifth book in a series, it serves as a standalone read as well. I have not read any of the other books but I was able to pick up this story without any confusion.

thanks again for the opportunity to read this book!

Jodie (Nosey) Parker takes part in the British Bake-Off Roadshow, she's not sure if she's a good enough baker, but the television exposure should help her fledgling catering business, as long as she doesn't go out in the first round. Unsurprisingly a murder occurs, and she spends more time detecting than baking.

I love the main characters in this enjoyable cosy crime series set in Cornwall. The bake-off style setting is familiar to most, but I found this less engaging than some of the previous more original settings. The well-paced plot and vibrant characters keep you reading.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

I really enjoyed this story. It is part of a series and I have not read any of the others. Although I think it would be good to read them in order it worked well as a stand alone story. It is a modern crime with a 'Bake-Off' style background. Solving the crime, taking part in the competion and dealing with her daughter and mother, while establishing a relationship with Nathan all came together to make a thoroughly enjoyable story. I will be looking out for more to read.