Murder from Scratch A Sally Solari Mystery by Leslie Karst Crooked
Description
Restaurateur Sally Solari’s cousin Evelyn may be blind, but she can see all too clearly that her chef mother’s death wasn’t an accidental overdose—she was murdered.
Santa Cruz restaurateur Sally Solari’s life is already boiling over as she deals with irate cooks and other staffing issues at the busy Gauguin restaurant. The rainy December weather isn’t cooling things down, either. So she’s steamed when her dad persuades her to take in Evelyn, her estranged blind cousin whose mother has just died of a drug overdose.
But Evelyn proves to be lots of fun and she’s a terrific cook. Back at the house she’d shared with her mom, Evelyn’s heightened sense of touch tells her that various objects—a bottle of cranberry juice, her grandfather’s jazz records—are out of place. She and her mom always kept things in the same place so Evelyn could find them. So she suspects that her mother’s death was neither accident nor suicide, no matter what the police believe.
The cousins’ sleuthing takes Sally and Evelyn into the world of macho commercial kitchens, and the cutthroat competitiveness that can flame up between chefs. In Leslie Karst’s scrumptious fourth Sally Solari mystery, Sally will have to chop a long list of suspects down to size or end up getting burned.
My Review:
Murder from Scratch is the fourth installment, but can be read as a standalone novel.
Evelyn who is blind finds her mother dead. The police think it is a suicide. However, Evelyn and her cousin make it their mission to find out the truth, and the truth is that Jackie was indeed murdered. Her cousin is Sally and she has inherited Gauguin an upscale restaurant which was founded by her aunt Letta. Sally is in the process of finalizing her partnership with Javier and is dealing with running a restaurant when she gets interrupted. Her fathers calls and asks for a huge favor. Her cousin has just lost her mother, she is blind and needs a place to stay. She is currently staying with Sally’s father, but he is allergic to dogs and can’t have her continue to stay at his house.
The storyline starts with Brian the cook working in the kitchen at Gaunguin. The problem for me is that is takes several chapters before things start picking up. Overall it is a slow telling story.
As to the characters, I wish most of them were a little bit more developed. Evelyn however is my favorite. Thoroughly enjoyed how the author accurately incorporates the life of a blind person into the storyline. Hoping to see Evelyn in future installments.
One of my favorite things about culinary cozy books is the inclusion of recipes. These are always exciting because inadvertently I will try them out. This book has just that as it includes several jump recipes. Can’t wait to sample the Singapore Noodles with Roast Pork and Broccolini and Nona Sophia’s Homemade Egg Pasta.
I was provided this book for free in exchange for my honest opinion.
RECOMMEND this book for anyone who loves a culinary cozy mystery with recipes. 📕👍🏼
I GIVE IT A 4 STAR: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
