** “For now, remember God has not given you a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind. And God’s perfect love casts out fear.” **

Authors Joi Copeland, Cynthia Hickey, Linda Baten Johnson and Teresa Ives Lilley join forces to deliver “Death by Food Truck,” a scrumptious telling of four cozy culinary mysteries — all stemming around food truck owners in small town Maine.

In “Un-Lucky Noodles” by Joi Copeland, Mey Hirano is running a Japanese noodles food truck with her best friend. She’s loving her life, until the day her abusive ex-boyfriend Paul shows up. And when he ends up dead the next day, Mey rises to the top of the suspect list.

When the hunky Detective Grayson Lang takes over the case, can Mey convince him of her innocence? And will they be able to deny the sparks flying between them?

Copeland’s story is a cute mystery that reminds us that God can heal every scar; He can help us conquer our fears; and we are worth love.

In “Dead as a Donut” by Cynthia Hickey, when a man ends up dead behind her Dream Donuts truck, Angel Stirling must prove that she did not poison Bruce Whitton with one of her donuts. With the help of hunky Jack Lowery, who works on the same construction team as the victim, they must both work to clear their names as each is framed.

With the help of Angel’s spunky grandmother Ida, can they work together, all while ignoring feelings for each other, to solve the crime and learn who the actual murderer is?

Hickey does a great job of developing fun and quirky characters, while also providing some good lessons, like angels watch over us; don’t give up; follow what you believe; and the impact of revenge.

In “Lethal Spuds” by Linda Baten Johnson, when Shanice Williams takes a leave from her ICU nursing job to help her Grandpa Tater run his Spudmobile food truck in Birch Tree, trouble quickly begins. Someone seems to be sabotaging the business, her grandfather mysteriously disappears, and his lifelong friend ends up dead.

Shanice must work quickly to figure out what’s going on, where did her grandfather go, and who killed “Uncle” Lyman.

Johnson does a great job of developing a deeper story than just a simple cozy mystery, keeping the reader guessing until the very end. She also fills “Lethal Spuds” with some great themes, like the healing power of music; ties that bind us together; God’s in charge, not us; the importance of endings and beginnings; and the power of blessings.

In the final installment, “Taco Tragedy” by Teresa Ives Lilly, as the Crusty Taco truck’s owner Marissa prepares to enter the town’s food contest, after winning four years in a row, she wonders why her employee Elena is so crusty acting. But when on the day of the judging a tragic event occurs that might be tied to Marissa’s truck, she looks into whodunnit with her Sherlock-obsessed brother Jose.

Will she be able to solve the mystery, clear her name, and continue with her culinary dreams?

Lilly does a great job of creating a plot with twists and turns, all while filling “Taco Tragedy” with some good lessons, like put your trust in God, not in your feelings; focus on God’s goodness; and trust that God has a plan.

“Death by Food Truck” is a fun read for fans of all things food, mysteries, especially cozy mysteries, as well as stories with plucky female characters.

Five stars out of five.

Barbour Fiction provided this complimentary copy through NetGalley for my honest, unbiased review.

Welcome to Birch Tree Maine and its Food Truck Court where we find Lucky Noodles, Dream Donuts, Spudmobile and Cruncy Taco. These are cozy mysteries written by four Christian fiction authors. They all get their own story in this compilation but do sometimes make cameos in the other stories, which I enjoyed.

Un-Lucky Noodles by Joi Copeland is the story Of Mey who is escaping an abusive relationship and moves from Texas to Maine with her best friend Wei and husband, Scott. They have a noodle food truck. He ex, Paul, has located her and he winds up dead leaving Mei as the prime suspect. You got to know the characters really well and the story moved quickly, due to being a novella. You see Mey become stronger with the help of her faith. I enjoyed the mystery component in the story too.

Dream Donuts by Cynthia Hickey. Angel Stirling runs a donut food truck with her grandmother, Ida. Her truck attracts some of the local construction crew who come by in the mornings to purchase her donuts. One morning Jack, one of the construction crew, comes to her window and she is instantly attracted to the handsome Jack. The next morning one of the construction bosses is found dead behind her truck with a chocolate donut. Angel and Jack become suspects and they work together to the solve the mystery. I thought this one was ok. I just didn't feel much about the main characters, Angel & Jack. I did like the relationship with Angel and her grandma Ida.

Lethal Spuds by Linda Baten Johnson. Shanice is an ICU nurse who has burned out and temporarily relocated to Birch Tree to help her grandfather, Tater, run his Spudmobile food truck that specializes in baked potato variations. Tater is apparently feuding with his life-long best friend, Lyman, who owns the service garage in town. Shanice is not quite sure what caused the spat between them but would like them to repair their friendship. Before that can happen, Lyman is found poisoned and Tater becomes the prime suspect. Tater disappears and Shanice is trying to hold the Spudmobile open, find Tater and solve Lyman's murder. She gets help from her two friends from church, Winnie & Iris. This one, for me, had the complete package; good character development and a great mystery with lots of suspects. My only complaint is that it left some questions regarding the relationships. I am hoping we get visit these characters again with the author.

Taco Tragedy by Teresa Ives Lilly. Marissa runs the Crunchy Taco food truck left to her by her grandmother and also takes care of her teenage brother, Jose who has a Sherlock Holmes Obsession. Marissa and her grandmother had the dream of opening a restaurant and had been saving for that. Marissa's friend Rick, who is a real estate agent, let her know that some property is becoming available that she was interested in purchasing. This happens at the same time she is preparing for a food competition. A judge ends up dead after eating Marissa's taco and Marissa becomes the suspect. She and Jose will need to work together to find the real culprit.

Thank you #NetGalley and #Barbour for the opportunity to read these stories.

What's better than one culinary cozy mystery, four stories in one book.
Each of the stories has relatable characters and you are drawn into the story from the first chapter.

If you enjoy Christian fiction, cozy mysteries, and talking about food, this book is a treat.

Thank you, NetGalley, Barbour Publishing, and the authors for this advance read. All opinions are my own.
#DeathbyFoodTruck #NetGalley

Story Enjoyment Rating: 8/10 Christian Faith Rating: 2/3

Death by Food Truck is a collection of four Christian cosy mystery novellas based around a group of food truck owners.

I requested an advanced copy through NetGalley, and Barbour Publishing was kind enough to let me have a free ebook copy to review. I requested this book because I enjoy cosy mysteries and read a lot of Christian fiction. Also, I thought this would be a good summer read.

Unlucky Noodles by Joi Copeland –– This book follows Mey, who runs a noodle truck with her friend. They moved to the area because Mey’s ex-boyfriend was abusive. One day he turns up at her truck, and then is found dead, and Mey becomes a suspect.

This story was romantic suspense. It has a good, strong Christian element to it. Novellas are pretty short, so there isn’t room for everything you would get in a full-length novel. This one had a bit more focus on the character development and less on the plot. I gave it 7/10 for story enjoyment and 3/3 for Christian faith content. It deals with the heavy subject of domestic abuse.

Dead as Donut by Cynthia Hickey — This story follows Angel. Some construction workers come over every day to her truck. She likes one of them called Jack. Then another guy from the construction team dies, and Angel becomes a suspect. She and Jack team up to try to solve the mystery.

This story is romantic suspense with some mystery in it. It had more going on in the plot and less in the character development. There wasn’t as much Christian content, so I gave it 7/10 for story enjoyment and 1/3 for Christian faith content.

Lethal Spuds by Linda Baten Johnson — This story follows Shanice, who was an ICU nurse who got burnt out. Now she helps her granddad in his spud truck. She finds out that he and his best friend have been arguing, and his best friend has made accusations against her granddad’s business. Then someone ends up dying from eating a jacket potato.

This story is more of a whodunnit mystery. It had a convoluted plot, and there were more suspects, which I enjoyed. There was a good amount of faith in this one. I gave it 9/10 for story enjoyment and 2.5/3 for Christian faith content.

Taco Tragedy by Teresa Ives Lilly — This novella follows Marissa, who inherited her taco truck from her grandmother. She is left looking after her teenage brother, who is interested in Sherlock Holmes. There is a food competition which Marissa has won three times before. Now her competition doesn’t want her to win again. Someone dies, and everyone is a suspect.

This story is another whodunnit mystery. I enjoyed the mystery. I did guess who it was, so the ending wasn’t quite as satisfying. I liked that we followed a sister and brother team solving the mystery. Marissa is a new Christian, so she tries to bring her faith into everything. I gave this story 8/10 for story enjoyment and 3/3 for Christian faith content.

Overall, I thought this collection was enjoyable to read. I liked being able to get through each story fairly quickly.

All the stories contained some Christian content. There was a mixture of romantic suspense and whodunnit types of mysteries. Because they are novellas, each author had to limit the scope of their story in order to fit the page count. Some writers focused more on the mystery, and some on character development and relationships.

Death by Food Truck by Jodi Copeland, Cynthia Hickey, Linda Baten Johnson, and Teresa Ives Lilly are four fun cozy culinary mysteries. If you love sweet romance, cozy mysteries, and all things food, you’ve found the perfect book for you. This book is a delight to take vacation or for a long weekend. The four short stories are perfect to take with you. The food trucks featured in each story just add so much fun to each story, too. Great stories! I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher with no obligations. These opinions are entirely my own.

This is a bind up of 4 different cozy mysteries all revolving around a food truck court. I really enjoyed the food aspects of these mysteries. Each story centers around a different type of food truck, some having to do with the food itself as a murder weapon. I also really liked the inclusion of faith based conversations/themes. I am new to the cozy mystery genre, but I would highly recommend this bind up to anyone interested in "taste testing" (see what I did there) the genre. I am looking forward to expanding my horizons and seeing what other authors/series I will enjoy.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review!

This was a collection of short stories with a faith component, of which I had not noticed when I asked for an advanced copy of this book. I did decide to give this a try as it is a collection of 4 short cozy mysteries, a genre that is a favorite for me.

I found the first book in the collection to be a bit heavy-handed on the religious elements, and chose to DNF that one after 5 pages. However, the other mysteries were quick, light reads in the cozy genre with a definite religious lean. I am sure there is a large audience for this book, but I think it needs to be made very clear the religious elements are found throughout.

I found it a little off-putting that they all took place in the same food truck court, and people still continued to eat there?? None of the stories talked about the other murders at the other food trucks, and while they did reference the other food trucks, it felt weird to have 4 deaths at the same location without the place being shut down. lol! I wasn't totally satisfied with how short the mysteries were, but liked Dead as Donut by Cynthia Hickey the best (rating that one a 3 star).

At this moment, Death by Food Truck is currently a DNF with hopes of finishing the collection of short stories in the future.

But the first story has put me off for so many reasons that I need time to distance myself from it before continuing the others.

The story is not a cozy, which doesn't both me as i read just about everything, but the use religion as the weapon and the only reason the main character was able to leave her abuser was due to her finding God sets a poor message.

The general mystery had a lot of promise, but it was lost in all of the mixed messages.

I truly hope to finish the other stories in the future as I love food trucks and the idea of cozies, but I need time to forget and not let my feelings influence the others.

I do love a good cozy mystery and there were four of them in this book! It was a fun, entertaining read. All of these cozy mysteries were set in Birch Tree, Maine at the Birch Point Lake Park where the food trucks are usually parked. Each novella features a different food truck and a different murder! I like the culinary theme of the stories and the underlying faith elements. If books with strong Christian elements and references do not appeal to you, then this is not your book as the characters draw on their faith often. The only story line I did not especially like was the first which had elements of domestic abuse in it. Plots that include this in the story line usually devote chapters and chapters to unpacking the trauma of such relationships. Since this book contained only novellas, not much time was spent doing this and I think that’s a critical part when exploring these emotional story lines. Overall, just like in a food truck court, there is something for nearly everyone in this book. A recommended purchase for public libraries.

Thank you to NetGalley and Barbour for the complimentary digital copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions shared are my own. This book is available on July 1, 2023.

Many thanks to the authors, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced read. These are my honest thoughts:
If you are a fan of cozy mysteries, faith-based characters, and simple reads, these stories are for you.

At Birch Point Lake Park, food trucks service the wholesome community. But suddenly, a string of mysterious murders plagues the once revered food trucks. Each story focuses on a different food truck that is somehow linked to a recent murder:

- Mei thought she had escaped her abusive ex, only for him to track her down. After agreeing to meet him, he's suddenly found dead, slumped over a picnic table.
- Angel's donut truck was doing incredibly well, until a construction worker was found dead, with one of her donuts in his hands.
- Shanice was helping out with her grandpa's potato truck when rumors of illness stemming from the food began to circulate. It's only coincidence that the man that started the rumors, her grandpa's best friend, was found dead and her grandfather is nowhere to be found, right?
- Lastly, Marisol's taco truck has won best in show in a food competition, for the last four years. But this year, not only did Marisol lose her win, but her food also poisoned and killed one of the judges.

As mentioned, the stories are quick, simple reads. I was not aware there was a faith angle to these stories, but it was not overbearing, and it added to the depth of the characters. I do wish the stories could have fleshed out a bit more. And the endings were predictable. But they were fun and entertaining. I definitely recommend for anyone that prefers weekend thrillers.

Enjoyed this collection of Cozy mysteries involving food trucks. I don't think I've read many books involving food trucks let alone mysteries. So I enjoyed reading this collection of food truck mysteries.

This cozy Christian mystery, Death by Food Truck has four stories set in Maine by four different authors and is set in a food truck park..
I liked this book, but the first story had mentions of domestic abuse and I didn’t like that, but I enjoyed the Christian element. I wish there had been more character development and also since all four food trucks are in the same park it would have been good to mention the murders from one food truck to another. Overall it was a good book and I’d love to see more by these four authors, doing another cozy Christian book together.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for letting me review this book.
#Death by Food Truck #NetGalley

Death by Food Truck was a series of mysteries by different authors. Most of them were really good with good twists and turns but the Christianity was a tad overwhelming and overbearing especially in the first story. I hate giving not so great reviews but when I felt like they should have all been equal when it came to how much Christianity they had written in the story. They were all very well written though but I did wish we could have had more time to get to know some of the characters. All in all though the writing was very well put together with suspense built in to keep the reader guessing.

4 out of 5 stars


Thanks to NetGalley as well as the author/publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my unbiased and honest review.

Death by Food Truck is 4 stories, by 4 different authors that all take place in the town of Birch Tree, Maine and are all in the same Food Truck Park. I like how each story mentions at least one of the other food trucks from the other stories. While religion was a part of each story, I didn't find it overly religious. I actually enjoyed the purity of the stories and believing in ones faith. I would defiantly read more stories by these authors.

I love cozy mysteries so I was excited to read this book but sadly it wasn’t as great as I thought it would be. I think there was some potential but I really wish there stories weren’t short novellas. I fell like because the stories were so short there really wasn’t time to get to know the characters or really get into the mystery. I also thought it was strange that the murders that happened in the previous story was not mention. The food trucks all are in the same town so you think someone would mention it. Overall this was just an ok read and I’m so sad that it was!

Thank you to the publisher & NetGalley for the digital copy!
*I received an advance digital copt in exchange for an honest review*

What do noodles, donuts, potatoes, and tacos have in common? Birch Point Lake Park is the scene of 4 food trucks that make up this cozy culinary mystery book. Solving mysterious murders involves many delightful characters that prove to be very good amateur detectives.

If you enjoy cozy mysteries and Christian fiction, you won’t want to miss reading this book.
I received an advanced copy of this book from Barbour Publishers and Netgalley. The opinion given is my own

Death by Food Truck is a well written collection of cozy mysteries. I enjoyed each selection. I definitely recommend this book. My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my book. This is my unbiased review.

Death by Food Truck is great lighter reading. I love cozy mystery and this compilation of four short stories does not disappoint. The stories are set in the same food truck park in Maine. Each story is unique as each truck serves its own type of food. In the first story it is noodle dishes, the next is donuts followed by potatoes and Mexican food. As the title suggests someone is killed while eating something food that supposedly came from each truck and of course the owner is the main suspect. Each one, alone or with the help of a friend, sets out to prove they are not guilty by becoming amateur sleuths. This sometimes puts them in dangerous and sometimes funny situations. All of them do rely on God at some point to keep them safe. Like many of us they sometimes only remember to pray after they have gotten themselves into a mess only God could get them out of.
I enjoyed each story and the format itself and give this book 5 of 5 stars.
I received an advanced copy through Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

The mysteries were engaging, but felt like they were also trying to sell me on Christianity. I love spirituality, many different forms of it ,and it’s a popular genre for me. This book was like an infomercial for evangelical Christianity. It was overkill and distracted me from the excellent writing of the actual stories. This is my personal opinion, but at the same time if the Christian faith is important to you or you’re curious, I would definitely recommend this book. Four starts because as I said the book was excellent, but I don’t feel there was enough of a disclaimer as to how indoctrinating the religious piece was. It’s an excellent concept though for Christian’s. I saw it listed on a couple Christian book websites and I gage no doubt it will be a huge hit with their audience. Also, have to add I LOVED the setting.

Wow….I don’t mind reading about religion but this was just too much for me. I didn’t finish the book ended it at the first story. I hoped for a cost mystery and not a Sunday preach. This was just over the top! Sorry.