Nashville Katz is about to be the main course of her own Early Bird Special!
Has deli owner and former New Yorker Gwen "Nashville" Katz bitten off more than she can chew? The spunky owner of Murray's Pastrami Swami finds the McCoy's Bakery delivery guy dead right in front of her deli, and his employers want to settle someone's corned beef hash. With the pregnant wife of the expired driver due any minute and her policeman brother turning up the heat, Gwen's in quite a pickle--she's a prime suspect and is about to face a griddling hot enough to sizzle a Hebrew National Frankfurter.
Clearing her name and finding the killer won't be easy. Is it a newspaper editor with an off-the-record grudge? A dirty cop? Maybe a vegan with a serious beef? Between juggling two romances and making salami sandwiches, Gwen barely has time to dig for clues. But when she uncovers an un-kosher Katz family secret, she knows it's now. . .or never! Because the ties that bind. . .can also strangle!
A Deadly Deli Mystery
A native of Brooklyn, New York, Delia Rosen is the author of A Brisket, A Casket and One Foot in the Gravy. She now lives in Maine. She spends her time between writing and searching for good bagels.
A native of Brooklyn, New York, Delia Rosen is the author of A Brisket, A Casket, One Foot in the Gravy, A Killer in the Rye, From Herring to Eternity, To Kill a Matzo Ball, and Fry me a Liver. She now lives in Manhattan. She spends her time between writing and searching for the best bagels she can find. She has two identical twin Siamese cats, named Johnson & Johnson, because she can't tell them apart.
This was an OK book. It was my first book in this series, although it is the third book in the series. I didn't feel lost and it can be read out of order. My biggest problem with this book was the MC. I just didn't like her. She was rude and mean and seemed more into her own problems for most of the book. :( It did get bumped up to three stars because she got better towards the end. Also, the mystery was interesting and I never guessed the killer until the MC figured it out. I may or may not read more in this series, depending on if I one fits into a challenge or Bingo category. ;) :)
Love the series, but a little bit disappointed in this book. The author seemed unsure about which direction the story should go. Will continue on with the series, though, as I have enjoyed the other books.
I wish they would have ended this series after original writers stopped writing the deli mystery. This book is not even close to the same characters as the first in series. Very disappointing will never read another in this series or by supposed author
What a refreshing mystery this is! Throughout the book I was constantly stymied, clueless as to whodunit and why. The conclusion comes with a giant wallop of surprise and satisfaction. Don’t say I didn’t tell you! BRAVO, and ENCORE!
A truly enjoyable series. I had no idea who committed the crime in this one there were so many red herrings in this one . Was kept guessing. I like that Nash is not perfect and continues to grow and evolve with each read. Interesting characters .
For those of us who enjoyed “One Foot in the Gravy”, we are traveling back to ” Murray’s Pastrami Swami” Kosher Deli and find Gwen “Nash” Katz dealing with the day-to-day chaos along with “Mother Hen” Thomasina, who is the glue that keeps the zany staff together and everything running as efficiently as possible. Gwen has enough on her plate including the decision of whether to hire ditzy but well-intentioned Dani Petunia Spicer as a new server, but when they run out of Rye Bread—it’s an emergency in itself!! Especially since the “Best Medium-Range Restaurant of Nashville” Competition was looming on the horizon! Store-bought Rye Bread just wouldn’t do!! Gwen calls “McCoy’s Bakery” and pleads (then gets in a loud argument) with the wife of the owner; Brenda Silvio, and asks for an extra early bread delivery. Brenda finally agrees and all seems well until Nash goes to meet the deliveryman at the rear loading dock of the deli and finds Brenda’s Husband; Joe slumped in the driver’s seat—dead. Fingers of suspicion start flying around with some pointed in Nash’s direction after it is learned her disagreement with Brenda was overheard by a rude customer. Much to on again/off again boyfriend/ Detective Grant Daniels’ dismay, Nash takes it upon herself to try to find clues which will lead to apprehending Joe Silvio’s killer., clearing her name and restoring some semblance of normalcy back in the deli. With the sleuthing comes some shocking revelations and some startling curves in the case. When the lady in black, who had been keeping watch outside the deli, brazenly walks in, more questions than answers abound. As if this all wasn’t enough to turn poor Gwen’s hair another wild color, gruesome photos of the murder scene appear for a short while on the deli’s new Facebook page, but—it was long enough for some eagle-eyed employee of the “Nashville National” newspaper to pull them off and place them on their front page! Does Editor Robert Reid have an ax to grind with Gwen? Or could he have played a part in the murder? Or perhaps it was Brenda’s “eager-beaver” Policeman/ Brother; Jason McCoy? Does he know something about Joe and committed the nasty deed to protect his Sister? And what about slimy, sexist slumlord; Stephen Hatfield? Is the centuries-old feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys going to rear its ugly head once more? Did he feel it necessary to kill Joe Silvio so he could acquire the McCoy Bakery property? Ms. Rosen has written another winner of a cozy. It will make you chuckle, gasp and keep on guessing until almost the last pages. As an added bonus, the Author has included the recipe for Murray’s Uncle Moonish’s homemade sauerkraut—and what’s a good Reuben without yummy sauerkraut?? As I previously stated, I enjoyed Ms. Rosen’s title; “One Foot in the Gravy” and she has pulled me into the delightful deli world once again. I hope it won’t be long before we embark on another of Gwen Katz’s escapades—I’ll be waiting!. Cozy lovers, be sure to put this on your “TBR” list. Nancy Narma
Concept: The protagonist is the owner of a kosher deli in Nashville.
Integration of concept: Aside from the fact that the victim was delivering bread to the deli, it wasn't really relevant. The scenes in the deli could pretty much have taken place in any business.
Setting and Characters: Unlike most other cozies I've read, this one takes place in a bigger city (Nashville) as opposed to a small town. I don't think it really made a difference, although it would have been cool if the author had brought more of the personality of Nashville into the story. The characters were ok; this is only the third of these books so it seemed like characters were still getting introduced and fleshed out.
Writing: Meh. Nothing stood out to me as especially good or especially bad. This falls under the umbrella of "storytelling" more than "writing."
When did I figure out "whodunnit?": Page 169/200. I had an initial guess which turned out to be wrong.
Can the mystery be solved by the reader: No.
Coziness Level: 2. Some mild language and overt sexual references.
Well, if I hadn't needed this book for a challenge, I would have stopped long before reaching the end of Chapter 5. Gwen is an absolute raving lunatic in the first few chapters - ripping into everyone, treating everyone really badly and acting like an ass. A real turn-off. But as I mentioned, I really needed this book for a challenge so I soldiered on. The good news is it does improve dramatically as the story progresses, but I'm not sure it improves enough for me to continue on with the series.
The mystery behind this one - who killed the bread delivery guy - was well crafted with a lot of suspects and a really well done ending. The author did a really good job with the plot itself and with most of the secondary characters. Perhaps she decided she herself did not like Gwen and chose to rip her apart so that she could re-build her character? I don't know.
I'll also note that the blurb on the back is just flat out incorrect in at least one big way: "With the pregnant wife of the expired driver due any minute..." No pregnancy at all in this book. Must have been some serious re-writes going on before publishing?
In hindsight, I have to admit changing the authors (if they indeed did change) was a good decision. The murder mysteries in this book and 'One Foot in the Gravy' are much better than what we had in 'A Brisket, A Casket.' They are far more twisty and interesting than the first book. I like this new Gwen more and more as I get to know her (even though she is a tough cookie to like upon first meeting). Surprisingly, I also enjoy her indecisiveness in regards to her romantic relationships. It is clear she has some personal issues to confront and resolve before she fully commits to someone again. I hope to get to read more in the coming books :-)
2.5 stars- better than the last and the introduction of a new character has me looking forward to the next book. The main character's wishy washy-ness toward her love interest is confusing and a bit irritating because I don't understand why she keeps going back and forth- it was like all of a sudden she had issues with the guy and then all of a sudden she didn't. I hope that is fleshed out a bit more in the next book.
Still plenty of inconsistencies that I just couldn't get past. when did the character of A.J. turn in to 2 separate people, a middle aged mother and her college age daughter, from a younger, single girl? it makes no sense. the story felt all over the place as well. I don't know why the publisher is bothering to continue this series when clearly such a lack of effort is put in to it.
I really enjoyed this book. At first the main character was a little annoying because she seemed to be blowing up at everyone, but as the story went on she seemed to gain control of herself and got a little more focused. The main story was good with plenty of twisting stories on the side that kept you wondering "what next?"
Nashville Katz is frustrated as she is having a luncheon for the newspaper's Best diner and she can't get her bread delivery. AFter contacting the bread co. in loud tones, the bread guy is found dead on her delivery bay.
“A little slow at the start, but the action picks up quickly. Are things between Gwen and Grant over? What's going on with the newspaper reporter? Will Murray's win the best mid-range restaurant award? And what bombshell is the mystery lady going to drop on her?”
When Gwen Katz's bakery delivery man gets killed on her delivery dock she ends up solving the murder much to the chagrin of her police detective beau Grant Daniels. During the ride she meets her half sibling...or does she?
Good story with several twists that kept you guessing about who the murderer was. Good ending. Characters were a little shallow but I'm sure they'll get better, they sort of grew on you.