Review and Giveaway: Death With All The Trimmings

Death With All The Trimmings (Key West Food Critic - Book 5) by Lucy Burdette

Publication Date: 12/02/2014
Publisher: Penguin Group
Imprint: Obsidian Mystery
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Pages: 320
ISBN-10: 0451465903
ISBN-13: 978-0451465900

(Received for an honest review from Obsidian Mystery)

Purchase: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Indiebound, itunes

Lucy Burdette on the WEB: website, blog, twitter, facebook, goodreads

Books in the series: 

Key West Food Critic Mysteries 

1. An Appetite for Murder
2. Death In Four Courses
3. Topped Chef
4. Murder With Ganache
5. Death With All The Trimmings

Coverart: Click the Image for a larger, clearer view of the covers in this series.

Excerpt from, Death With All The Trimmings, courtesy of Amazon's Look Inside feature.

Synopsis:

The only snow in Key West this Christmas is Hayley Snow, food critic for Key Zest magazine, who is not getting time off for the holiday…or time off from murder. 

It may be Christmastime, but thoughts of peace on earth, good will toward men, don’t seem to extend to the restaurant biz. Hayley has been assigned to interview Edel Waugh, chef/owner of Key West’s hottest new restaurant. But off the record, Edel reveals someone’s sabotaging her kitchen and asks Hayley to investigate.

Things heat up fast when the restaurant is set on fire—and a body is discovered in the charred wreckage. Is someone out to destroy the chef’s business—or actually kill her? Amid holiday festivities like the lighted boat parade and visiting relatives who stir up mixed emotions, Hayley needs to smoke out an arsonist and a killer who may turn up the heat on her next…

Thoughts:

Lucy Burdette takes on a Christmas setting in her latest book in the Key West Food Critic mystery series, Death With All The Trimmings. Readers who like a little Christmas mixed in with their mysteries will love this one. With everything from a town wide decorating contest, to a lighted boat parade, a sabotaged restaurant and a murder, this book has it going on. Burdette uses a lot of wit and heart in her writing and readers will respond. A great addition to this unique series!

What I liked:

I'm not what you would call a beach gal. I love the mountains and snow and everything that goes with a white Christmas. But Lucy Burdette actually made me think a warm and sunny Christmas might not be so bad. Christmas in Key West isn't as wildly different as you would expect. I loved everything about it from the decorated palm trees to the town all decked out for the holidays. The lighted boat parade was also a great touch. I had never really thought about what it would be like to have Christmas where it is sunny and bright. Burdette made it seem pretty wonderful in Death With All the Trimmings.

There is a new restaurant in town and a new chef, Edel Waugh. She's a bit of a task master and that might be causing her some problems. The restaurant is under attack. Saboteurs are lurking and it's up to Hayley and her cohorts to figure out who is behind it all. And then, of course, there is a murder. Is it all related? Hayley is a good food critic, but shes a great amateur sleuth. Once again Lucy Burdette puts Hayley in hot water and lets her shine as a very well developed heroine. New characters and old favorites join making this an unforgettable addition to the series.

Not only is there mystery brewing, but Hayley's personal life is a bit mixed up as well. Her mom decides to winter in Key West, which brings up a whole new dynamic and her relationship with Wally is at a bit of a stand still. The interactions between Hayley and the rest of the characters are always so genuine. I can imagine being on my own somewhere and having a life and how that would change if my mom showed up. Could be good, could be bad! It was really interesting to explore that part of the heroine's life. This busy with Wally, seems to be just a bump in the road. His mom is sick and he doesn't have the kind of time he had before. Hopefully, it's just an adjustment they will have to make to their relationship. 

The mystery in this one was full of surprises. Did Juan's death have anything to do with what was going on at Edel's restaurant? It was a bit unpredictable and I liked that. There were tons of suspects within the restaurant and some without. The motive was unclear, but when I got to end and looked back, there were clues all along the path. Burdette did a great job keeping the reader in the dark until it was time for a big reveal.

Bottom Line:

This book was another example of Burdette's laid back Key West kind of style. She made me want to spend Christmas on the beach of all things and she had me wishing I could fix her love life. But most importantly for a good mystery she had me searching out those clues and reading way into the night trying to figure it all out. A very good book!

Death With All The Trimmings is available NOW from your favorite bookseller.

I'm giving this one 5 out of 5 apples from my book bag!

About the Author:

Clinical psychologist Roberta Isleib, aka Lucy Burdette, has had twelve previous mysteries published, including Murder with Ganache, Topped Chef, Death in Four Courses, and An Appetite for Murder in the national bestselling Key West Food Critic Mystery series. Her books and stories have been short-listed for Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity awards. 

Giveaway Details:

The publisher is sponsoring a giveaway for one copy of Death With All The Trimmings by Lucy Burdette.

~ You must be an email subscriber to participate.
~ US addresses only.
~ The deadline to enter this giveaway is Midnight EST, January 12th.

1. Please leave a comment. Ever been to Key West? What are your thoughts about it?

2. Please fill out the FORM.