Thank you so much to NetGalley and T. C. LoTempio for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for A Dish Best Served Dead coming out August 5, 2025. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I really enjoy this author’s books. I haven’t read this series, but I enjoy the characters. I think culinary type books are really fun. I would definitely check out more books by this author

Princess Fuzzypants here: I do enjoy Toni’s books very much, especially the ones in which I appear. For some reason, I missed Tiffany’s debut but it was no problem catching up with all the story lines including her romance with the cop who tries and fails to keep her from investigating and stumbling into danger. The problem is that for all her shenanigans, she does seem to ask the right questions and find many of the answers before the police. But she is prone to act first and think later. She is not a candidate for the Darwin Award but she does do things that are foolhardy and even she admits that maybe she should consider the consequences.

A food critic who bathes in scathing reviews is at the Foodie Festival. And he is telling all who will listen that he has a bestseller with movie rights in the new future. The catch is some of the tell-alls involved other people at the event. So, when Tiffany finds his body in a fountain, the line up of suspects is quite long. As Tiffany reviews the various events for her blog, she is also trying to prove that a potential suspect is not the killer. The story has some delightful twists in it involving the mafia and hit men and an overly ambitious reporter. Tiffany has a close call but she gets the villain in the end. So we know that no matter how much she might realize her actions are risky, she is never going to stop. Four purrs and two paws up.

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The cozy mystery is my favorite genre. I like engaging mysteries and fascinating characters. I will read more books by this author.

Food blogger Tiffany Austin is reporting on the National Foodie Fest. While at the event, Tiffany is tasting, interviewing and even a bit of sleuthing when she comes across the body of a big name food critic who's about to publish a tell-all book. Most people at the event find him incredibly unlikable, but who wishes him dead? Tiffany is about to find out.

Dollycas’s Thoughts

Welcome to Branson, Georgia, and the National Foodie Fest. Food Blogger Tiffany Austin has her press pass and is ready to check out all the event has to offer. When one of the scheduled chefs cancels, another chef steps in. A chef from Tiffany’s past who happens to be writing a tell-all memoir that could impact many in the food industry. He is ready to reveal everyone’s secrets without a care for who they may hurt. Tiffany knew he was putting himself in danger, so finding his dead body wasn’t a total surprise. What is a surprise is that the list of suspects includes almost everyone at the foodie event.

Can Tiffany use her job to sleuth out the killer? She may need a little help. Maybe a Robin to her Batman . . . You can be sure her current beau, Detective Phillip Bartell, will have some input on the matter.

This was a fun read! With events like Last Remaining Chef, Market Games, a food truck competition, vendor booths, chef cookbook signings, and cooking classes, it felt like the Food Network all in one place.

Tiffany Austin is in her element, attending events, interviewing chefs, enjoying the food, and blogging about everything. She receives a significant boost when her boss assigns her a fantastic freelance photographer to handle all the images and reels. They hit it off right away and work together like they have known each other for years. Tiffany’s BFF, Hilary Hanson, is always around to chat and get together for wine and whatever leftovers Tiffany brings from the foodie fest. Tiffany and Detective Phillip Bartell’s relationship is heating up, but he knows they need to have a clear conversation about when he needs to be informed about her investigations and the risks she takes. I enjoy all the characters the author has created for this series. Photographer James (Jimmy) Devane is an excellent addition. I hope he sticks around.

Former chef and food critic Jason Barclay was never known to volunteer for anything, so agreeing to replace the headlining chef was a surprise until it was explained that he needed some “good PR” for himself because his autobiography was going to be “burning hot” and Hollywood was interested in making the movie. He thought he was holding all the cards until he was murdered. I loved that there were suspects everywhere you looked. Tiffany, with Jimmy assisting, juggled so many balls in the air to get everything needed for her blog posts while trying to question suspects, eavesdropping on others, and chasing down clues. As usual for Tiffany, she takes risks and even tries to justify herself when a person she was to meet is killed just minutes before she arrives. She thinks she has everything figured out; she just needs to confirm one more thing. Well, that one more thing put our protagonist in a very dangerous position. Wow, what a takedown!

A Dish Best Served Dead is an entertaining read with a protagonist who has guts but doesn’t think things through before she acts. I continue to have hope that the good detective will reel her in, but to know Tiffany is to love Tiffany, even with all her dangerous antics. She and Jimmy make a great dynamic duo. Foodie cozy mystery lovers will enjoy this book and this series. I am excited to see what Ms. LoTempio has planned next for Tiffany and her friends.

“A Dish Best Served Dead” is the nicely done third book in T. C. LoTempio’s Tiffany Austin Food Blogger Cozy Mystery series. In this one Tiffany is covering a Foodie Fest which she stumbles across a murder victim. Tiffany knew the murder victim and knows that several people wanted him dead, including people she knows, so, even though boyfriend Philip Bartell (Chief of Detectives) is on the case, she can’t help investigating the murder herself along with help from her best friend Hilary and new photographer Jimmy. The three make a great team and I hope Jimmy shows up in future books in the series. The description of the food fest is well done (there are recipes in the back of the book) and I wish there was a local Foodie Fest that I could attend! The mystery is well done with plenty of suspects who all had motives, a few surprises, and twists and turns. My one complaint about the book is that Tiffany took far too many chances and did not give the police (including her boyfriend who has more patience with her than I would have) crucial information instead putting herself in danger. It does make for an exciting ending but also almost puts Tiffany in the Too Stupid To Live category.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley.

I typically really enjoy this authors books but this one has a few TSTL moments that felt frustrating. Also, I never understand when the MC is dating the cop, why they don’t share information. She withheld information a few times that felt like obstruction.

But I do love the foodie setting and idea of the completion was very nice and cozy!

A Dish Best Served Dead

By: T. C. LoTempio

Book 3 of A Tiffany Austin Food Blogger Mystery

Publish Date: August 5, 2025

Publisher: Beyond the Page

Cooking, Food and Wine/ Mystery and Thriller

#ADishBestServedDead#NetGalley

200 Book ReviewsProfessional Reader

I would like to thank both NetGalley and Beyond the Page Publishing for allowing me to read and review this book. All opinions are my own.

Book Review:

I enjoyed this book and gave it 4 stars. This is the first book in the series that I have read. Likely I was able to follow along and not miss anything. I always suggest that you should read books in order but for cozy mysteries it is somewhat ok if you don’t.

In this book Tiffany is attending a foodie festival. She is able to go anywhere in the area because she has a press release. She is really enjoying herself and is able to taste a lot of food that she normally would not. She used to be a chef until she decided she needed a change and is enjoying having her own blog.

There are some other reporters there along with food critics. One food critic has decided to write a book that is going to tell all. He doesn’t care who he hurts along the way. One night Tiffany comes upon a dead body and who should it be but this food critic. Who killed him and why? Does it have to with this book or something different?

Tiffany is afraid someone she knows is going to be charged with the murder so of course she has to start investigating. She has a couple of people who help her along the way. Her boyfriend who is with the police isn’t too excited that she has yet again got herself involved in the case.

I really enjoy the friendships she has in this book and how she is able to get things done. She also has a dog and cat at home.

A Dish Best Served Dead by TC LoTiempo takes us back to the foodie world and back to food blogger, Tiffany Austin. Her very successful blog is going to get a shot in the arm this week with the arrival of top-line chefs to her city for the annual Foodie Fest Convention. It is her plan to interview as many of them as she can and eat as much excellent food as she can. After her first day, taking her own photos, Dale, her editor agreed she needed a photographer and he came up with a gem. Not only was Jimmy a great photographer but he knew everyone. He had done book covers for most of them. The other two primary characters are her best friend Hilary and her “boyfriend” Phil Martell, the police detective. After an unpleasant run-in with Jason Barclay, the most arrogant of arrogant restaurant reviewers. She enjoyed the rest of her first day and was able to take home enough for er and Hilary to feast on. The height of the next day was when Jason was found dead in the fountain by, guess who? The police showed up, lead by Phil, who immediately warned her to stay out of it; it was too dangerous. Who her?

Tiffany had been the assistant chef at an important restaurant in New York City before she abruptly left and came here to be a food blogger. She was having the time of her life, except when her natural curiosity got the better of her. She is clever and quick and not shy about asking questions. Jason was talking a lot about his new tell-all book, which was not an invitation for murder at all. Jimmy had turned out to be the perfect sleuthing buddy and together they tracked down the culprit, plus have some wonderful pictures to augment the reporting on her blog. This book combines a perfectly normal job with a perfectly normal woman and comes up aces. This was a complicated crime, reaching not only into the past, but celebrating all kinds of interesting people in the foodie world. Top notch!

I was invited to read A Dish Best Served Dead by Beyond the Page Publishing. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #BeyondThePagePublishing #TCLoTiempo #ADishBestServedDead

A Dish Best Served Dead by T.C. LoTempio is a cute cozy mystery. I liked Tiffany, the main character, who is a chef turned food blogger. I liked her cameraman and sleuthing sidekick, Jimmy. The pair make a great team. The food descriptions will have your mouth watering. Tiffany’s bestie was grateful (I’m surprised she did not sit up and beg) for the doggy bags that Tiffany brought home from Foodie Fest (there are recipes for a couple of the dishes at the end of the book). The whodunit involved a man who I was surprised had lived as long as he had (he made a lot of enemies). There is no shortage of suspects. The detective in charge of the case is Tiffany’s love interest who tells her often to stay out of the case, though, he does appreciate the helpful information that she shares with him. I think the mystery could have been more challenging, so it could not be solved so early in the story. Some of the dialogue felt unnatural and forced. A Dish Best Served Dead is the third A Tiffany Austin Food Blogger Mystery and it can easily be read as a standalone. I hope that Jimmy will make a return appearance in future books in the series. A Dish Best Served Dead is fun foodie mystery with a conceited chef, an aloof assistant, a pleasant photographer partner, scrumptious cuisine, an admonishing detective, a surplus of suspects, and a killer with a pistol.

If you’re a foodie, and you love mysteries, this is the perfect cozy series for you! I’ve read the other books by this author, and this one is also well written. Being a foodie myself, I was hooked. Come for the mystery stay for the food.

A Dish Best Served Dead is book #3 in the Tiffany Austin Food Blogger Mystery series by Author.

Tiffany Austin is a food blogger who is attending the Foodie Fest in town. An annoying chef is there and slips to Tiffany that he is writing a tell-all book. People don’t want their secrets exposed and it cost the chef his life. There are a lot of suspects for Tiffany to search through and I didn’t figure out if he was guilty until she did. I’m not a fan when the main character is reckless which she can be. Overall, I enjoyed this story and look forward to the next one. I am anxious for the weather to change and cool down so that I can try the recipes at the end of the book.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) copy of this book and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

2 1/2 stars. An enjoyable popcorn cozy mystery read. This is the third in the series and I haven't read any of the other ones but you don't have to to understand what is going on though I am sure I am missing some nuances.

Tiffany Austin, a food blogger, is attending a foodie convention when she discovers the body of an obnoxious chef who has told everyone he is writing a tell-all of the food industry. There are plenty of people with secrets who don't want this book published and are in attendance. Will Tiffany find the killer before she finds herself the main course for a killer?

Overall, it is enjoyable like many cozies I read. The mystery is satisfying and there are plenty of possible suspects with good motives and opportunities. I guessed fairly early on but I didn't know all twists.

What I did find a bit annoying was that Tiffany kept on trying to justify to herself that she was just gathering information for the police not actually doing any investigating as the police detective--who she just happens to be starting a relationship with--has warned her not to do. Well, if you are going through a hotel room that is not your own with gloves on because you don't want to leave fingerprints you have to know you aren't doing something on the up and up. Just admit to yourself that you want curious and want to investigate. But I can see this being a real issue if the relationship continues to develop between the detective and Tiffany. Also, Tiffany did some things that could easily get her killed. It was just foolish.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

"A Dish Best Served Dead (A Tiffany Austin Food Blogger Mystery #3)" by T. C. LoTempio has Tiffany attending a foodie convention to report on for the magazine/website she works for. Of course, being an ex chef herself, she knows quite a few people that show up or they know of her. A couple people she's not too thrilled about either.

One such person is about to write a tell all memoir and possibly have a movie deal made from it. There may be one or two people who don't want their secrets leaked. This leads to the potential author's demise. Tiffany just can't help but investigate to the extreme frustration of her possible boyfriend/detective on the case. Really, there's a few moments that she's boarder line horror movie girl that's too stupid to live. It's not really cute or endearing but more frustrating how she tries to justify herself to him, then keeps doing it. Just not for me as I found it distracting rather than helpful as the reader.

This is the first book I’ve read from this series. I don’t normally read series books out of order, but this one was fine as a standalone book (though I’m sure I’m missing more character development)!

I really liked the main character, Tiffany. She was motivated, clever, and logical - all while actually doing the job she was there for. It was fun to see the author add a new character who made for a great sidekick.

Don’t read this book hungry! The descriptions of the food sounded amazing. I loved the location of the mystery at a foodie connection, and I think Tiffany’s job as a blogger lends itself beautifully to her being an amateur sleuth.

The mystery had a lot going on with so many suspects, but it was helpful to see Tiffany’s logic explained as she narrowed down suspects. An entertaining and fast-paced read.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #BeyondthePagePublishing for an ARC.

I really wanted to get into this book, but unfortunately I had to put it down. The writing needed much more development, it seemed unnatural in matters of narration and dialogue. The characters all sounded the same.

Tiffany’s friend Hilary always cracks me up when Tif asks her to get some info on a case meaning there was a lovesick coroner in town that Hilary felt bad leading on. The two didn’t sleuth this case out though since Tiffany was covering a foodie convention and had an awesome sidekick named Jimmy, a well-known freelance photographer. Those two did a good job of sleuthing together and Jimmy cracked me up saying he wanted to be the Robin to Tiffany’s Batman. He came in handy whenever there were women he thought he could sweet talk for favors, but that did actually backfire one time, lol.

Even though she had him as her faithful sidekick, Tiffany went alone (yep, again) to what ended up being a showdown with the killer. But as always she used her head and had a little lucky intervention as well. The distraction came from an unexpected source and soon someone official was on the scene hauling the perp away. At least Tiffany got the satisfaction of cracking the case before a nemesis of hers did and I was rooting for Tif, of course! Can’t wait to see what happens in the next book and I hope Jimmy’s a part of it since I really enjoyed his character.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book provided by Beyond the Page Publishing via NetGalley, and my opinions are my own.

A Dish Best Served Dead is the 3rd wonderful book in T.C. LoTempio's A Tiffany Austin Food Blogger Mystery series. I have read all 3 books and they continue to be really enjoyable. Tiffany Austin is a food blogger and is dating Detective Phillip Bartell. Tiffany is reporting on the National Foodie Fest with chef competitions and food demonstrations. She lucks out and gets cameraman Jimmy who has some contacts, is great to work with, and wants to help find the culprit. She sees one of the judges who she had encountered years ago and he is writing a tell-all book. He obviously makes some enemies and ends up dead. The suspects include the other judges, chefs, and festival personnel.
The story is good and kept my interest. As is common with cozy mysteries, Tiffany has to figure out things by herself and doesn't want to bother Phil which is counterproductive and she ends up in a couple of.predicaments. Other than that, it is a great book and the mystery has some twists that kept it interesting. #ADishBestServedDead #ATiffanyAustinFoodBloggerMustery #BeyondThePagePublishing

Unfortunately I have to DNF this book.

When I requested it from NetGalley, I didn’t realise it was the third book in a series. I felt that there was a lot of missing exposition that I needed to understand what was actually going on. The incessant references to the previous murder the FMC was involved in and survived really lowered the stakes of the impending murder in this book. The idea that if she solved one murder she can solve all of them is stressed way too heavily.

However, it was the writing that completely put me off from finishing this novel. The dialogue felt unnatural and forced:

« I do believe seating isn't assigned, so if we're one of the first to get in, we can get a good table. I hear it's buffet-style, and several chefs have contributed dishes."
"That sounds interesting," I said. "I've always preferred buffet-style. That way you get to taste a variety." »

This passage in particular felt so unrealistic as a conversation between two people it made me question if a human even wrote this book. I’m not saying every writer needs to emulate George Eliot but at least try to convince me this is a plausible situation.

Don’t waste your time reading this, no matter how interesting the synopsis sounds to you.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.

A Dish Best Served Dead by T. C. LoTempio is a well crafted and delightful mystery that combines elements of suspense, intrigue, and charming characters.
With its well-paced plot and engaging storytelling, "A Dish Best Served Dead" is a must-read for fans of cozy mysteries. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and eagerly anticipate the next installment in the series.
The mystery was well plotted and not easily solved.
The author has created an interesting cast of characters in these books and I truly enjoyed their company.

Thank you NetGalley and Beyond the Page Publishing for this ARC.