REVIEW: S'more Murders

S'More Murders
Author: Maya Corrigan

Val Deniston usually caters meals from a set list of menu choices. But when a wealthy man offers her a lot of money to recreate a 10-course meal served to first class passengers on the Titanic, she agrees. Bills gotta get paid...and the money is too good to refuse. At first the dinner aboard his yacht, the Abyss, is enjoyable for the eight people seated at the table. It quickly takes a bad turn when the captain is knocked unconscious and the host disappears off the boat. Was it an accident....or murder?

This is the first book in the 5-ingredient Mystery Series that I have read. S'More Murders is the 5th book in the series. I was easily able to follow the story and the characters without reading any of the prior books. There is some character development and background that I was lacking, of course, but I still enjoyed the story. I will definitely be backtracking to read this series from the start.

The mystery kept my attention. I liked the recreation of the Titanic dinner with a murder mystery game element added. There were plenty of suspects and sleuthing, and having the murder victim disappear off a ship at sea was a creative, interesting way to bump him off. Val and her grandpa are great characters, and I even liked all of the side characters. The fact that Val is helping her grandpa write a cookbook about old codger's favorite recipes made me smile. Cute! Plus, there are several yummy sounding recipes based on the Titanic cuisine in the back of the book! I love it when cozies include recipes that aren't all sugary desserts or cookies! An example of a first class dinner menu from the Titanic is included as well. I found it an interesting fact that none of the actual recipes for foods cooked on the Titanic still exist. Val had to wing it and create her own in the story. I'm surprised the White Star Line doesn't have a record of food preparation or recipes on its liners from that time....but I suppose the Chef also winged it and created his own versions of the foods. After finishing the book I did a little online research. Head Chef  Charles Proctor and most of his staff did not survive the sinking. The ship's Head Baker, Charles Joughin, did survive, floating in the water in a lifebelt until rescue arrived. So, no wonder there are no authentic recipes for the foods served to first class on that fateful voyage. There are several restaurants around the world offering a recreation of the last meal served to passengers -- one even offers a 1907 vintage wine that was actually salvaged from the wreck (I find this morally wrong....but they didn't ask my opinion) for nearly $2,000 per person.

Enjoyable cozy! I will definitely be reading the rest of this series...and more by this author!

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Kensington via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**