Murder on the Menu

A fun whodunit start to a new series featuring Jodie Parker former police officer turned caterer/chef. The characters are believable and well developed. Great story plot that will keep the reader turning page after page. Really enjoyed this book. Thanks #netgalley and #Harper360 and #OneMoreChapter for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine.

Murder on the Menu by Fiona Leitch is the 1st book in the Nosey Parker Mystery series, and my first book by this author. Jodie “Nosey” Parker quit the Met Police Department to move back to the Cornish village where she was raised. Jodie wants a safer life for her daughter Daisy, and herself, so she is starting her dream business as a caterer. Once I started this book I could not stop reading it. It was a quick read that kept me guessing. I look forward to the next book in the series. I recommend this book for all cozy mystery book lovers, you will not be disappointed.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own

I liked this a lot! It was such a cute cozy mystery. I love the setting in England, and the main character, Jodie. She is a former police officer, turned chef. There were a lot of food descriptions as well as mystery solving. I think this was a strong start for a series, and I will definitely be reading the next one!

Murder on the Menu
by Fiona Leitch
5 stars

Nosey Parker Mysteries is the first book in the series and starts with a bang, I loved it.
Jodie comes back to her hometown after her ex-cheats and her daughter ask her to not be a copper anymore, so she turns to another thing she loves cooking. Jodie decides to start a catering company and her first client is an old friend Tony for his wedding. While she is getting everything ready for the wedding, there's a scream. Someone has been murdered, the bride is missing and the only person they can connect with is the groom to be Tony.
Jodie dives back into her copper days and can't keep her nose out of the investigation.
I loved the characters and their stories everyone was hilarious and so full of life. Jodie can't let go of her old investigating days and she annoys the new cop in town DCI Withers.
I can't wait to get the other books, series I have no doubt ill fly through.
Thank you, Net Galley, and Harper 360 for the ARC for an honest review.

Read this last year - repost (did not re-read)

Murder on the Menu is a delightful new cozy mystery from Fiona Leitch. Set in Cornwall we follow Josie as she can't seem to give up the sleuthing she was meant to leave behind after returning home. The book had so many funny moments and honestly kept me guessing until the end. The pace of the story was perfect, giving me just enough about the people and the town while keeping the story moving. It's basically everything I love in a cozy mystery.

4/5 Stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Murder on the Menu

by Fiona Leitch

A delightful British cozy mystery, Murder on the Menu takes us to the fictional town of Penstowan in Cornwall where Jodie Parker and her daughter Daisy have returned to Jodie’s hometown after years on the police force in London. Wanting to remain safe for her daughter’s sake, Jodie retrained in culinary school and plans on starting a catering business. She gets her first job (from an old friend getting married) with little notice, but is anxious to prove herself.

The case of a murdered ex-wife and a bride who may have done a runner returns Jodie to her investigative roots. As she tries to discover the who and why, Nosey (as her childhood nickname used to be) Parker meets the handsome DCI Withers who really wishes she would stay out of his investigations and crime scenes.

I enjoyed all the Britishisms. I know biscuits in England are cookies in the U.S., but terms like “Jammie Dodgers,” butty with brown sauce,” and “ponce” sent me scurrying to the Internet. I love sleuthing words!

The characters are interesting and humor in dialogue and plot is sprinkled throughout. I enjoyed the Cornish accent and word choice like “guv” and “copper;” They are stronger in some of the characters than others depending on their backgrounds. Her mum and Daisy are appropriately supportive of Jodie’s passion for police work that she has trouble leaving behind. Jodie, to the delight of Daisy, adopts a Pomeranian when its human mom is murdered. An expert at “escapology,” the white fluff ball becomes a constant companion and essential to the plot.

The plot is complicated and Jodie is good at both finding clues and deducting their meanings. Our perception of DCI Withers develops from that of an “annoying git,” to a fair and honest investigator.

The setting includes the many varied locales from the town of Penstowan to tourist campsites and from the hotel for the wedding reception to the church hall for the weekly women’s coffee group.

The next three books in the series have already been published as there was lots of time for writing in New Zealand during the lockdown of 2020. This poses a task that I look forward to handling.

I would like to extend my thanks to NetGalley and to Harper 360 (One More Chapter) for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 5/5

Category: General Fiction (Adult), Mystery

Notes: 1. #1 in the Nosey Parker Cozy Mystery Series
2. Some questionable language

Publication: February 15, 2022—Harper 360 (One More Chapter)

Memorable Lines:

“This is your first major case here—definitely your first murder case; we don’t get a lot of those down this way—and you want to make a good impression by solving it quickly. But this is Cornwall. We don’t do things quickly here, and we don’t expect you to, either. We just want you to do it properly.”

“Are you all right, love?” she said, offering me a wine gum before adding with typical Cornish understatement, “That were a bit intense, weren’t it?”

I was excited about my new catering business,…but this got my adrenaline pumping in a way that making a velouté never could. I’d never been a detective, as such, but I’d always been nosey.

This is such a delightful book and series! I also read A Cornish Christmas Murder and it’s so nice to see the genesis of the series. The character as tongue-in-cheek and a little over the top, in the most delightful cozy mystery way

Murder on the Menu, first in the Nosey Parker Mysteries series. It was fantastic! The main character, Jodie (nicknamed Nosey) is a former police officer, now caterer/chef. While catering a wedding for her childhood friend Tony, a dead body is found. The pace is great, the descriptions of the Cornish village (& surrounding area) are wonderful, and the supporting characters are very likeable. Jodie has a preteen daughter (Daisy), a lovely/funny mother, and an ex-husband we don't know too much about (other than he cheated on her, doesn't spend time with his daughter, and doesn't live nearby). There are hints of future romance, and some cute flirting.

The story/mystery is very interesting and well put together. Jodie is an absolute hoot! Humor throughout the entire book. The author Fiona Leitch is new to me, and after reading this fun book, I plan to seek out her other series. I highly recommend this book. Having the lead character be a former copper helps - no silly inexperienced amateur sleuth out making silly/reckless decisions. I really liked that. You'll definitely like Jodie, her sweet preteen daughter, and all the other characters surrounding her. I don't think you'll be disappointed. Thank you Netgalley, One More Chapter and Harper 360 for this wonderful ARC. In return, I'm submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I really enjoyed this book and reviewed it for BookPage!

Set in the Cornish countryside, readers will be taken with ex-cop turned caterer Jodie ‘Nosey’ Parker in this delightful debut in a new cozy mystery series from Fiona Leitch.

After serving nearly twenty years on the force with the Met Police and undergoing a contentious divorce, Jodie Parker and her twelve-year-old daughter Daisy are ready to start fresh. They move to Penstowan, the small Cornish village where Jodie grew up, and the former cop opens her own catering company. Her first client? Jodie’s longtime friend and one-time ex-boyfriend Tony hires her to cater his upcoming wedding. Several uninvited guests show up the night before the service, including Tony’s first wife, Mel, who promptly gets into a fistfight with the bride-to-be. When Tony’s fiancée disappears and a body is discovered on the hotel grounds the morning of the wedding, Jodie takes off her caterer’s coat and dives into the investigation in order to clear Tony’s name.

Jodie’s return to Penstowan is bittersweet: while she’s happy to live closer to her mom Shirley, a firecracker with a busy social life and wicked sense of humor, Jodie’s still coming to terms with living in the town that her late father Chief Inspector Eddie Parker dedicated his life to protecting.

Leitch’s writing is excellent. Witty dialogue and tongue-in-cheek humor elevate each scene, and the well-plotted mystery will keep readers guessing until the end. It’s easy to root for Jodie, who’s both funny and exceedingly capable as a detective, despite leaving the force. DCI Nathan Withers, the murder’s lead investigator, is both annoyed and impressed with Jodie, and their relationship is a high point of the book.

If you enjoy Murder on the Menu, you’re in luck: the next two entries in the series will be released this year.

Loved this story very enjoyable and great characters. A very delicious cozy can’t wait for the next book.

I will always say yes to Brit-Lit!

Ex-police officer turned cater in this cozy mystery- Jodie returns to her hometown with her daughter after the end of her marriage looking for a new start. When a body is found on the hotel grounds where Jodie is to be catering a wedding, her police background comes in handy.

This is the first book in the new Nosey Park Mysteries series, and a fantastic kick off. It was a book that I read in one sitting, and was truly an enjoyable cozy read.

📌 Pub Date: January 15, 2021

I was given an ARC of this story to read; but thoughts and opinions are all my own. Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins & Harper Collins Fiction for the chance to read this book!

I really enjoyed this cozy. It is set in a small Cornish village. Nosey (a childhood nickname) Parker has decided to come home after her divorce. She was a police officer in London, but now she has a young daughter to think about. This also gives her a chance to live her dream of a running a catering business. Her first client is an old boyfriend. Ok, this can be a bit awkward, but it gets worse when she shows up for the reception the evening before. The grooms ex shows up and makes a scene. The next day the ex is dead and the bride is missing. Nosey decides to check things out because the groom is now the prime murder suspect.

Such an entertaining story. Nosey knows many on the police force as her father was an admired police officer himself. Her nosiness helps track down the real killer. The story is easy-to-read and kept me turning the page. This is the first book in the series and I would definitely read the next one.

I will say that I moved this book to the back of my reading pile a number of times. I have no idea why, other than I felt like I couldn’t get into it. Despite the fact that I hadn’t even read a single page, I was captivated by it. When I finally sat down to read it, while I was waiting in the heart clinic, no less, I loved it from beginning to end. This was exactly what I needed in the middle of the seriousness of those visits. I needed to laugh and just feel good. If I could give this book more stars, I would.

Along with her 12-year-old daughter, Jodie, she has returned to her home town in a Cornish village. Once a police officer in London, she begins a new job running a catering service out of her van. The van she calls the “gimpmobile,” which I just love. I mean, come on, people! I mean, my first car was called the “pitmobile” because it was the pits! She gets her first gig catering her old friend Tony’s wedding. Her former nickname of “Nosey Parker” comes out in full force once a murder happens and she just can’t seem to help solving it. She was a cop, after all.

All of the secondary characters were so wonderful that they brought so much to the story. Even the gimpmobile adds a charm and a bit of fun that I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. I can’t wait for the next book in this series to come out.

This story will make you laugh out loud. There is so much crazy going on.The characters are realistic and likable. The story is well written and the twists in the plot are quite intriguing. I thought this was an incredibly fun read.

Murder On The Menu by Fiona Leith

Still spinning from the hustle band bustle of city life, Jodie is glad to be back in the Cornish Village she calls home. As a former policewoman, she is looking for a quieter life.

Murder happens. Good plot, well-written. Nosey Jodie helps her friend to be cleared of murder. Many characters, some friendly, some not. Many twists & turns before we can find the murderer. Scandals too. I recommend this book.

Thanks to Net Galley for sending me an advanced reader’s copy for my review.