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Review for 'Murder On The Menu' by Katie Marsh

This is the second book I have read by this author. I have previously read 'Murder On The Dance Floor's which is the second book in this series and I would also highly recommend. It is also the third book in Katie's 'The Bad Girls Detective Agency' series but each book in those can be read as a standalone.

Well done and thank you Katie on, and for, another absolutely amazing cozy mystery and a fantastic addition in an addictive series!!! This book is very smoothly written with vivid descriptions which really help you see what's going on around you as well as the storyline. The blurb and the cover compliment the novel perfectly.

Katie's amazing and evocative writing skills really brought everything to life all throughout the story ensuring I could see the characters, the surroundings and feel everything the characters were feeling. With a storyline ram packed with drama, action, murder, family, friends, crime, and everything you could ask for in a cozy crime mystery grab your copy of this fab book today and I can guarantee that you wont regret it!! Katie does an absolutely fantastic job writing this with multiple protagonists and we get to see what is going on through the eyes of Jeanie, Clio and Amber. Katie does a fantastic job of weaving all the chapters together in a way that ensures the reader gets to see a bigger picture of what is going on , see how each of the friends are feeling and what they are doing at the time and without giving too much away. I also like the fact that Katie includes the days and times throughout the book so the reader can see how much time has passed since the murder which is another nice touch! The book is fast paced with one thing happening after another and I absolutely devoured it in one sitting. Every time I told myself just one more chapter it ended in a way that I just had to read one more and before I knew it I had devoured the whole book around in one sitting. I was walking around with my kindle glued to my hand as I just could not put it down!! Katie's fantastic evocative writing skills really bring the surroundings and characters to life and it makes you feel that you are standing right next to them throughout. Jeanie, Amber and Clio very quickly become like friends when I met them in 'Murder On The Dance Floor's and I was gutted when I came to the end. However, I am pleased that I can go back and read the first book in this series which is called 'How Not To Murder Your Ex' and then look forward to reading the next book in this series!! All of the characters are realistic, have their own unique personalities, strengths and weaknesses and are all very well developed. I must admit I didn't like them all but then where would the fun be if I did?? I loved seeing the relationships between the friends and family and watching them develop and change throughout the book. It is a book filled with laughter, bonding, friendship, arguments, twists, emotions along with multigenerational characters. Grab your copy of this fantastic book and discover for yourself how great this book is and trust me, you will not regret it and if your anything like me you will find a new author whose work you will fall in love with!! The storyline was realistic which I always prefer as it makes it more enjoyable to read when you can see that it is something that could happen. This book is well constructed and traditional and what starts off as one mystery becomes quite multi layered with all the characters backgrounds coming out. It was a very compelling read and I would never have guessed who did and was hiding what and I was completely shocked by the mega twists. An absolutely fantastic read filled with suspense, mystery, twists and much more (I can't say much more as I don't want to spoil it for future readers) Congratulations Katie, it is getting harder and harder to surprise me and you did just that!!! I loved the addictive storyline and the fantastic characters and I really am looking forward to getting stuck into the rest of your books!! With a fantastic storyline, unforgettable characters and twists and turns you won't see coming this book is perfect to devour in front of a fire on a winters day or relaxing on the beach under the sun! It really does not matter where on when you read this book as Kate will transport you into the storyline at the turn of a page!!

Although this is the third book in the series I had absolutely no problems reading it without reading the first book which is called 'Death At Castle Cove' and is one I'm looking forward to going back to and reading. Any details or events that have previously happened are mentioned in just the right amount of detail to let a new reader know what has happened and yet not too much to bore a previous reader. I prefer to read books in a series in order but there is a silver lining if you have not read any of the previous books in this series and that is after you finished and fallen in love with this series you can go back and read the previous two whole you are waiting for Katie's next success to come out!!

I absolutely LOVED meeting and getting to know more about all the amazing characters in this series again who are a delightful mix of personalities with intriguing backgrounds and each one was very compelling. Each and every character is realistic, well defined and leapt out of the pages at me every turn of a page!! I absolutely loved our main protagonists Jeanie, Clio and Amber who are all amazing and strong female leads. I am always a fan of strong female protagonists in books being female myself and I was surprised at how quickly it was for me to think of them all as more friends than fictional characters, along with several other characters. I absolutely loved getting to know many of the characters and Katie's vivid and evocative descriptions makes it feels like the reader is standing next to them and meeting them and the other characters for themselves. I really cannot wait to get to meet many more of them again on my next visit with The Bad Girls Detective Agency. I had no idea who to believe as many of the characters had their own secrets, agendas and mysteries surrounding them but I loved watching the way they all interacted with each other and seeing them change as individuals as well as partnerships throughout the storyline. Katie ensures that you really get close to them feeling everything that they are feeling and seeing everything that they are! Congratulations Katie on creating a fantastic collection of unique, varied, realistic and memorable characters who I am looking forward to meeting over and over!

Congratulations Katie on another absolutely fantastic and successful cosy mystery and I cannot wait to get stuck into more books in this promising series especially the first book to meet some of these amazing characters from the start!!! An absolutely perfect addition to this epic series and this is the exact reason you are in my favourite author club!! Here's to many more successes!!

Overall an absolutely gripping, page turning, intriguing murder mystery set in stunning locations that will keep you hooked!

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Murder On the Menu is the third book in The Bad Girls Detective Agency series by Katie Marsh. Amber and her two friends and co-workers at Bad Girls' Detective Agency, Jeanie and Clio, are on a weekend trip at a castle on an island and they are there to experience the tasting menu of a world famous chef. However a bad storm hits the island and creates a great atmosphere for a locked room murder mystery.
What worked for me is the atmosphere and the setting. I love thrillers and mysteries set on islands, during storms, and this one had that element. I liked that the book was told from the povs of all three friends which enabled us to 'see' the events happening rather than learning about them later. The plot was decent and overall i enjoyed the entire experience of reading it.
What didn't work me is character development. I wish the characters were more fleshed out, the main characters as well as the side characters. I also wasn't the biggest fan of the pacing and building the mystery. At no point did i get that sense of danger that the characters would have been experiencing and that was a letdown. However if you like locked room murder mysteries in isolated settings, you can give it a try.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a review copy.

I grabbed this book on audio because I had mountains of laundry to fold and wow, this is a fast-paced mystery! The murder happens pretty early and then the murder just keeps coming with many victims. This is a fast-paced quick read that I finished very quickly. While this is book three in a series, this latest entry works well as a standalone mystery read.

This is a locked room mystery with entertaining characters and some darker sub-plots. I wasn’t sure who to guess as the culprit, and I found myself side-eying pretty much everyone, until that person would die and I’d realize I guessed wrong!

Moments of suspense blended with some great humor made this an entertaining read.

In MURDER ON THE MENU, written by Katie Marsh, Amber is supposed to be on a luxurious weekend, but three dead bodies and a killer following her make for trouble. Amber and her Bad Girls Detective Agency employees and friends, Jennie and Clio, spend a weekend at Chateau and enjoy the food provided by Valerie la Fontaine, a world-famous chef. Clio wins the trip to attend the new facility.

I easily follow the plot of this book. I wish I care more about the characters. I like the murder-on-the-loose premise, but I think the prologue is unnecessary. Thank you, Boldwood Books and NetGalley, for the chance to read and review an advance reader copy of MURDER ON THE MENU.

Fun Read
Murder on the menu is a clever closed room murder mystery filled with twists and turns. Had to go with the flow with some of the British slang. Great entertainment for anyone who loves the genre.

I’m always on the lookout for more cosy crime authors, so when the opportunity to review Murder on the Menu by Katie Marsh arose, I jumped on it.

This is the third book in the Bad Girls Detective Agency series, and I haven’t read the previous two. I found that this book worked well on its own, there weren’t any confusing bits where I felt like I was missing vital information.

The setting worked well, the island isolated by the storm, and the run down castle, produced an excellent atmosphere for this thrilling tale.

I liked the characters, and though I suspect I would have understood them better if I’d started with book one, they were all well enough portrayed that they felt real.

The mystery was a good one, and although I had suspicions of the culprit near the beginning, I couldn’t be sure until all was revealed. There were many excellent candidates for the murderer!

The only thing I didn’t like was the fact that the story was much more towards the thriller end of the cosy crime genre. I prefer my cosy crimes much more cosy! However, this book whiled away a few hours very pleasantly, and I liked everything else.

Overall, this was an exciting mystery with plenty of atmosphere. If you like your cosy crimes thrilling, then this book would be a good fit for you.

I was given a copy of this book, my opinions are my own.

TW: very claustrophobic secret passageways

A fun cosy murder mystery that zips along at a great pace and held my interest throughout. I hadn’t read any of the previous novels in the series , but this didn’t affect my enjoyment. A great read. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me access to an early copy of this book.

The ladies at the Bad Girls’ Detective Agency are back .
Amber , Jeanie and Clio are on a a luxury trip to a castle retreat on a remote island to celebrate Amber’s birthday .
What could go wrong? In this case a lot!
Famous chef Valerie la Fontaine is showcasing her tasting menu , however she’s found dead in a locked room.
This is only the start and things get from bad to worse .
A great cozy mystery with humour the dynamic between the three main characters is perfect and makes the pages fly by.
This series keeps getting better and better.
An easy to read and enjoyable mystery .
Thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books.

An entertaining third outing for the Bad Girls Detective Agency ladies. Fun, entertaining and a fairly quick read. The girls are attending the soft launch of new luxury retreat for Amber’s birthday. There are only five guests, our three girls, an isolated island, approaching storm, no WiFi and a murder. What is not to love.

3.5 stars
A fun and entertaining read about revenge and loyalty.
It’s been good to see Amber, Cleo and Jeannie again and this time at a luxury retreat as a special weekend for Amber’s birthday.
Of course being part of the Bad Girls detective agency series means nothing or nobody is quite as they seem and it’s up to the girls to get investigating again.
This is an engaging locked room mystery with twists and characters you love to hate.

MURDER ON THE MENU is a delightfully smooth casual cozy Mystery set in a renovated castle on an isolated Island off the coast of Great Britain. A famous chef is about to open a new resort in the castle and three best friends are among the first five visitors, attending a weekend soft launch, together with a temporarily wheelchair-bound older lady and a charming but presumptuous celebrity-journalist. A dangerous imminent storm, no Wi-Fi nor cell service, no way back to the mainland till the storm finally subsides--all that and a Killer both vicious, indefatigable, and elusive. The one hope is that the three best friends form a private investigative Agency, and the owner has two decades of police experience. However, the odds are heavily stacked against anyone's survival...
Release: January 18 2025
Bad Girls Detective Agency Book 3

3.5 stars - I read book 1 to prepare for this ARC and I am glad that I did. I would have been a bit lost without having done so. I love the Bad Girls Detectives but they really need to learn to stop going off on their own to follow leads! This was my 1st time reading Katie Marsh but will not be my last, I need to see what happens in the next installment in the series!

#MurderontheMenu
#NetGalley

Thank you NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun, quick read, I have not read other books by the author, but this is the first book in a series and I'm curious about possibly reading the follow up.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Katie Marsh for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for Murder on the Menu coming out January 18, 2025. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I haven’t read the other books in the series, but I love mysteries. I thought the beginning started with a bang. I was thinking it was more of a cozy based on the summary, but then it didn’t feel as cozy. There were more thriller elements to the book. But I loved the setting and the characters were really interesting. I would read more books by this author!

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys mysteries!

I thought this was such a fun and fast read! It got me out of a huge reading slump. This is the first book I read in the series so I'll definitely go back and read the first two!

My first Katie Marsh book but definitely not my last. I loved the cozy setting. Strong and fun female characters. Just a great read to sink into. I didn’t realize it was book #3 in a series. Some backstory on the three friends might’ve been nice but certainly not necessary. Easy read!
Thank you NetGalley , Katie Marsh and Boldwood Books for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Thank you Netgalley & Boldwood Books Publishing for an eARC 🔥

I'm obsessed with the Bad Girls Detective Agency series, and "Murder on the Menu" did not disappoint! This third installment is just as witty, charming, and full of twists as the first two.
Amber, a former detective with a passion for justice, takes center stage this time around. And what a setting - a creepy castle on a stormy island, where a birthday celebration quickly turns into a murder investigation.
The banter between the three main characters is, as always, top-notch. I love how they work together to solve the mystery, and the new cast of eccentric suspects adds to the fun.
My only minor quibble is that the childhood flashbacks, while nostalgic and fun, occasionally disrupted the flow of the story.
Murder on the Menu" is a fantastic choice for anyone looking for a lighthearted, entertaining mystery. It's the perfect palate cleanser between heavier reads!

Having enjoyed the first 2 books in this series, it was nice to catch up with the ladies!

This was a a pretty standard isolated island/locked room murder mystery, not much that hasn't been done before, but it was nice to see the continuation of the characters.

This was a really interesting book. It started pretty solid, you have loveable characters, intriguing plot, great writing. Unfortunately, around the 50% mark I grew tired of the same questions, not advancing on finding clues and not even ruling out suspects.

The different subplots were cool, the pace of the story was also a strong point, I just felt disconnected after a while, and found myself skimming to finish it.

All in all, it was a fun read, the revelations at the end made sense but weren’t PLAIN obvious, and it leaves on a nice point. Would recommend but probably not reread.

With the sense of an almost locked door mystery, the girls are back together and I loved the setting, the mystery and the interactions. The subject matter is obviously dark at times, but the injections of humour work well and this fits the category of modern cosy mystery well. It is so much fun to see the characters develop that there is value to be had in reading the previous books in the series, but the story itself stands on its own so not essential.