The Baked Bean Supper Murders

Eugenia Potter #2

by Virginia Rich

Intrepid amateur sleuth and gourmet cook Mrs. Potter finds herself up to her ears in murder following the mysterious deaths of three neighbors

Genres: Mystery, Cozy, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Cooking, Mystery Thriller

293 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

Virginia Rich was the creator of the widowed culinary sleuth Eugenia Potter. She was happily married herself, to cattleman Ray Rich; their daughter Susan Rich Sheridan is a noted art teacher.

Rich's fan and fellow mystery writer Nancy Pickard has continued the Eugenia Potter "Cooking School Murder" series, working from the boxes of notes Virginia Rich had made of plans for future novels.

Reviews

[Joyce · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've finally figured out this series. Mrs. Potter is not a sleuth wannabe, nor is this series truly a typical "cozy" mystery series. Rather, it is about traveling with Mrs. Potter to her various homes (and friends' homes) and soaking in the ambience of the vastly different locales. The ranch in Arizona has a different feel from the childhood home in Iowa, which again is contrasted with the Nantucket home overlooking the rocky cliffs above the beach. Each has its own beauty, its own cast of characters, and its own personalities to discover and unravel. Rather than sleuthing, Mrs. Potter is an observer of people and events. She does ask questions, and she does end up in the thick of it, more often than not, but she seems to be more a victim of circumstances as a result of looking after the people she cares about so deeply. I am enjoying this series and the character of Mrs. Potter quite a lot.

[Samantha · Rating 2 out of 5]

I purchased it at a library book sale for a dollar. it was, maybe, worth that much.

Don't get me wrong. It wasn't badly written. But, it was just a little too dry, long-winded and folksy for me. In a book titled "The Baked Bean Supper Murders," you expect the first death before page 80. And, while I did not guess the murders motive, that was not a good thing, in this case.

I really only finished this book for spite and in the vain hopes it would get better eventually.

[Lyn Soulia-Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

took me a bit to get into the book and story line.

[A.J. · Rating 2 out of 5]

33 chpaters
267 pages

My Review—I wasn’t as big of a fan this time. I don’t know if I just wasn’t in the mood or that all the characters/story just fell flat—even the heroine, Mrs. Potter, left much to be desired this time around.

This was the second in the Mrs. Potter-cooking murder mystery series. In the first, Mrs. P was in her childhood hometown in Iowa. This time, she’s visiting her vacation home in Maine. And, unlike last time, I didn’t really care for Mrs. P this time, and the only characters I “liked” were the three who ended up being killed. Plus the authoress, Virginia Rich, has the sweet Weimaraner meet with a tragic end.

I pegged the killer, the two people ripe for the ensuing love story, and couldn’t cotton to any of it this time. The only things I’m taking away are the recipes and a rekindled desire to visit Maine’s Down East coast.

I’m sure this story would interest others, but not even the mystery, which took a very long time to get going and get good (as good as it could, I suppose I should say), made it any fun to read.
A brief summary—Mrs. P is spending her typical summer season in a small-town community in Maine when three of her best friends in the area die: two, a married couple, in a boating accident and the third appears to have died in his sleep. The funny thing is, they all live in the same neighborhood as Mrs. P, a neighborhood just about everyone seems to want to get his hands on to turn into a new housing development. And the deaths begin to look suspicious to Mrs. P when she, too, seems to be targeted by “accidents” and her faithful dog, Sindhu, is killed in an “accident” meant for her. Can she figure out who killed her friends and is now after her before the murderer’s successful in his next attempt? (And, of course, the answer’s “yes” and, once again, she’s oblivious to just about everything going on around her: She doesn’t recognize two of her new friends are falling in love, doesn’t seem to think anything odd of the strange actions behind the one who turns out to be killer, doesn’t seem to link some of the new members of the town’s deeds in trying to get her to sell out as lust (for money and position). Her obliviousness was acceptable in the first book because she was new to sleuthing, but it’s time for her to start being aware of her surroundings and to start questioning the motives of people, even and especially those she thinks she knows, if she’s going to live long enough to make her next sequel. In real life, she’d be much too trusting and much too unaware to make book three.)

Grade: C (neither good nor bad).

[Johnny · Rating 1 out of 5]

Circa 100 pages into this alleged mystery, we still hadn't seen a death. There were lots of details of social life in a small New England fishing (lobstering?) community and plenty of descriptions of communal meals within that community, but none of the incidents described were such that they created much of a bond between the reader and either the character(s) that eventually die(s) or the people who might be the eventual suspects.

As the plot, such as it is, develops, the motive behind the murder(s) becomes clear. The plot development is about as subtle as a major Interstate highway. Many of the events which occur could have been predicted 50-100 pages ahead of time. And, though the protagonist manages to be instrumental in uncovering the murderer(s) [If I not going to reveal whether there is one corpse or multiple corpses, I'm not going to reveal whether there is a "lone gunman" or a "conspiracy.":], she isn't exactly the most proactive or gifted character I've seen in a mystery novel.

Though I finished this novel, I gladly left the book in a hotel room drawer for some other poor sucker. I wouldn't check out another book by this author from the library, much less buy one.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing is often hard to follow, sometimes switching between points of view and narrators with no indication of who is the new speaker. Although unpleasant, I could deal with it. However, I could not deal with the death of the dog. That was unnecessary and destroyed the book for me. Also, I could not determine how, aside from Mrs. Potter, this related to the first book. The clues to the killer and the motives were flimsy at best and then for Rodney to kill himself after all of that was not necessarily a surprise. What was a surprise was him killing his own mother for having a new boyfriend. And attempting to kill Mrs. Potter because she smiled at him and he thought she was laughing at him? Absurd. I will not be continuing with this series.

[Rebecca Kennedy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was able to finish half of this book before giving up. The story took too long to develop. The murders did not even take place until page 140sih. Even so, the story was dated to the early 80s when it was written. That would not be a big deal, but I think some of the ‘primness’ in the characters mannerisms did not help add any interest to the story. I chose to stop reading it, something that I seldom do, no matter how bad or boring the book. I am going to read some of the Virigina Rich books written by Nancy Pickard. I am hoping that Nancy has added some character and excitement to the storyline.

[Jessi · Rating 2 out of 5]

NOT as good as the first book. Took me over a month of avoidance to finish this book. I enjoyed the first one so much, I felt I had to finish this one. I can't quite put my finger on what was keeping me from finishing this book. Perhaps that it seemed so much more serious than the first one.
Eugenia Potter is now at her Maine home where she's not exactly an outsider but not quite accepted either. In fact, many of the island's teenagers seem to be giving her the cold shoulder, which proves to be very awkward as she tries to explain that she is having problems. But then the deaths start to occur and the scope seems to be aiming toward her.

[Khanson919 · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was one of those mysteries that meander to the finish. In her pervious mystery Mrs. Potter was actively working to solve the murder. In this mystery the first two deaths could be accidents, so that may be why she seems disinterested in getting to the bottom of what happened. Her interest does not pick up even when she starts to become the target of harassment and "accidents". In the end, she does not solve the mystery and the murderer is caught while trying to kill her. Did not enjoy this book as much as I did the first one in the series.

[Linda Wallace · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rereading this after 35 years. I adored this series when I first read it or I must have really liked it because I bought the book. ( I don’t buy many books - more a library user) But this time I wasn’t that enchanted. There were too many characters and the so called mystery too way too long to develop. Virginia Rich was a good writer, but this was not the cozy I remember it to be. I think the allure the first time was the inclusion of recipes - Diane Mott Davidson et all had not made an appearance yet.

[Kyrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is the one I read first. I remember the silly limericks and drink names. (They remind me so much of the stories my first boss used to tell me.)

It's an improvement over her first novel, although the beginning wouldn't make a person think that.

I loved the recipes, and liked the reasoning behind all the murders.

The end of the murderer sure wasn't what I felt the murderer would have done.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the contrast between the loving descriptions of coastal Maine cuisine, wildflowers, the crash of surf on granite, colorful and often close neighbors, with the dark strains of human greed and passion.

[Cathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Take a step back in time to when women didn't know enough to run a business, when the primary concerns of women were gossip and swapping recipes and women were fragile delicate creatures that needed the protection of men that needed men to open their wine bottles.

[Larry · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was very difficult to read for me, not because the author is inept, but because I just could not get an even flow. I read it with difficulty, taking twice as long as normal, to get through the book. I will finish all the books I have by her, but probably will not seek out more.

[Nancy Loe · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a shame that Virginia Rich died shortly after launching the Eugenia Potter series. There are only three written by Rich, but I revisit them every few years.

[Laura Dye · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun read--I love older lady protagonists! This one is also filled with delicious food, which makes for a combination I just cannot resist.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of 3 Eugenia Potter mysteries written by Virginia Rice. Baked Bean Supper Murders ia fun read with lots of New England atmosphere and, as always, recipes included.

[Loree · Rating 3 out of 5]

easy to read, recommended to me by amy's mom.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I KEPT FALLING ASLEEP WHILE TRYING TO READ THIS ONE SO I FINALLY SWAPED IT OUT AT THE END. JUST A SO SO BOOK ALTHOUGH I LOVED THE CHARECTERS.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was pretty good and I loved the location. We spend half our time in lubec, maine and so athe sights, sounds and characters were all to familiar.

[Denise Spicer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mrs. Eugenia Potter is spending time at her beach cottage in Maine when some of her neighbors are killed. Engaging characters, nice descriptions of small town Maine, but unbelievable plot.

[Susan]

Reread.

[Terri · Rating 2 out of 5]

Recipes included. Enjoyed this one much more than first in series.