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Caterer's Guide to Crime #3
A Caterer's Guide to Holidays and Homicide
Deck the halls…with a personal chef, a snowed-in lodge, and a sprinkling of murder!
“Watch the knives!”
While acting as personal chef for a friend’s mountain retreat, Violet and her husband, Jake, must set aside their stress over infertility and create a magical and delicious holiday – until tragedy crashes the party.
Being snowed in and unreachable from town, Violet and Jake end up hired for a different kind of job – finding out which of the guests committed murder and why they’re trying to frame their hostess.
Violet must find a balance until the police can reach them. But can she sniff out the killer before anyone else bites the big one?
A Caterer’s Guide to Holidays and Homicide will give you a culinary holiday to celebrate!
“Watch the knives!”
While acting as personal chef for a friend’s mountain retreat, Violet and her husband, Jake, must set aside their stress over infertility and create a magical and delicious holiday – until tragedy crashes the party.
Being snowed in and unreachable from town, Violet and Jake end up hired for a different kind of job – finding out which of the guests committed murder and why they’re trying to frame their hostess.
Violet must find a balance until the police can reach them. But can she sniff out the killer before anyone else bites the big one?
A Caterer’s Guide to Holidays and Homicide will give you a culinary holiday to celebrate!
328 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 3, 2023
35 people are currently reading
133 people want to read
About the author
Jessica Thompson
20 books256 followersJessica Thompson is the author of the Amazon best-selling mystery novels “A Caterer’s Guide to Holidays and Homicide” and “A Caterer’s Guide to Love and Murder" which was a finalist in the Wishing Shelf Awards. She also curated and featured her own short stories in a family friendly anthology of campfire stories, "Beyond the Woods: A Supernatural Anthology." Active in her local writing community, she volunteers as the Assistant Communications Chair for the Storymakers Guild.
Jessica lives in the suburbs of Austin, Texas with her husband and two children. When not writing, she’s getting her boots dirty at her parents' nearby longhorn cattle ranch. Whether ranching, cooking, or gardening, she sees it all as plot-inspiring material for her next mystery.
Jessica lives in the suburbs of Austin, Texas with her husband and two children. When not writing, she’s getting her boots dirty at her parents' nearby longhorn cattle ranch. Whether ranching, cooking, or gardening, she sees it all as plot-inspiring material for her next mystery.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
November 4, 2022
This was a really fun locked-room mystery. Everyone is snowed in for what should have been a cozy holiday retreat, but tensions run high once the characters realize the accidental death of one person was actually a murder. It's up to Violet, the caterer, to figure out whodunit while dishing up some delicious recipes along the way. It was fun to work through the twists and turns of the case with Violet, and the ending was surprising and satisfying. Recipes for the delicious sounding food are included so you can bake along at home. I'm looking forward to trying the (naturally gluten-free) Sour Cream Quiche! Highly recommended for cozy mystery lovers and foodies!
December 7, 2021
What a fun read! This culinary cozy does not disappoint. Murder is served along with many other delicious delicacies from cookies to creme brulee.
The story follows Jake and Violet, a catering couple hires to cook at the lodge of a friend's rich mother, hosting her longtime friend to their annual girl's week holiday. The snow has just started falling when the first body turns up, and by the time it is discovered they are all trapped in the lodge with the murderer as the blizzard rages.
Soon the real story begins as the sordid history of the women comes to light, including affairs, financial scandals, and societal humiliations revealing motives for murder for almost everyone there. Trapped with the killer, Jake and Violet are cooking up a plan to investigate the crime. As new information comes to light, it reveals that their theory of the crime is only half-baked and that the missing ingredient to solving the murders remains just out of reach. As another body is discovered, the social politeness falls away as everyone is quick to make their accusations of who the guilty party might be.
The story has a satisfying ending. Enough of a twist (I did not figure out the killer) to be entertaining, but not so far-fetched that you are left frustrated by a lack of information or an implausible reveal.
The writing is clear and easy to read, with my favorite part being the author's skillful ability to weave the culinary theme into some of her metaphors and similies. The characters are well developed and the leads are likable and vulnerable enough that you find yourself rooting for their success. Plus, I now have a half-a-dozen new must-make recipes!
A great culinary cozy and highly recommended!
The story follows Jake and Violet, a catering couple hires to cook at the lodge of a friend's rich mother, hosting her longtime friend to their annual girl's week holiday. The snow has just started falling when the first body turns up, and by the time it is discovered they are all trapped in the lodge with the murderer as the blizzard rages.
Soon the real story begins as the sordid history of the women comes to light, including affairs, financial scandals, and societal humiliations revealing motives for murder for almost everyone there. Trapped with the killer, Jake and Violet are cooking up a plan to investigate the crime. As new information comes to light, it reveals that their theory of the crime is only half-baked and that the missing ingredient to solving the murders remains just out of reach. As another body is discovered, the social politeness falls away as everyone is quick to make their accusations of who the guilty party might be.
The story has a satisfying ending. Enough of a twist (I did not figure out the killer) to be entertaining, but not so far-fetched that you are left frustrated by a lack of information or an implausible reveal.
The writing is clear and easy to read, with my favorite part being the author's skillful ability to weave the culinary theme into some of her metaphors and similies. The characters are well developed and the leads are likable and vulnerable enough that you find yourself rooting for their success. Plus, I now have a half-a-dozen new must-make recipes!
A great culinary cozy and highly recommended!
October 20, 2021
I am pretty new to this genre, so I'm not sure if I would give it 4 or 5 stars, but I definitely recommend this to readers who enjoy a murder mystery that isn't too scary. I liked this installment even more than the first. It was harder to guess who had done it and everything was much more complicated, in a clever and satisfying way. I enjoyed the first book of the series as well, but thought this one did a better job of holding my attention from start to finish.
Can't wait for the next installment! Violet and Jake are my favorite caterer-detectives!
Bonus: the recipes all look fantastic and accessible. I am excited to try them out!
Can't wait for the next installment! Violet and Jake are my favorite caterer-detectives!
Bonus: the recipes all look fantastic and accessible. I am excited to try them out!
November 16, 2021
I enjoyed this book more than the first one! Maybe because of the tension created when the characters find themselves housebound in a terrible snowstorm and one of them is a murderer? What would you do? I liked the juxtaposition of the long-time friendships where everyone thought they knew each other against suspicion. I was very satisfied with the outcome. And the Pad Thai recipe is probably our family’s new favorite!!
December 31, 2021
Nice cozy mystery.
A nice standard cozy with a likable sleuths and her husband and very yummy looking recipes. I'm a sucker for foods based cozies.
A nice standard cozy with a likable sleuths and her husband and very yummy looking recipes. I'm a sucker for foods based cozies.
November 19, 2021
Cozy mystery aficionados, this is the perfect read for you, especially in the run-up to Christmas!
A Caterer's Guide to Holidays and Homicide mixes the perfect ingredients - murder, mystery and delicious food. I loved the setting and the premise of being cut-off from the world, which added an extra layer of urgency to the story. As a lover of unforeseen twists and solid plotting, I found it an entertaining read and will be adding A Caterer's Guide to Love & Murder – the first book of the series - to my TBR list.
A Caterer's Guide to Holidays and Homicide mixes the perfect ingredients - murder, mystery and delicious food. I loved the setting and the premise of being cut-off from the world, which added an extra layer of urgency to the story. As a lover of unforeseen twists and solid plotting, I found it an entertaining read and will be adding A Caterer's Guide to Love & Murder – the first book of the series - to my TBR list.
November 6, 2021
This is great for the second mystery in a series. Its a culinary cozy mystery so there is plenty of food and fun, but also murder. This one is also set at Christmastime, so there are plenty of holiday goodies and recipes. In this adventure, Violet and her husband Jake, are helping out a friend, who runs the inn in town, fill in and come up with dishes for a week long holiday gathering. Until someone is murdered and with everyone snowed in, Violet and Jake are asked to investigate.
October 10, 2021
Due to a family illness, and unexpected events, I am very far behind in writing my reviews.I found my self reading one book after another without writing the review -- that was a big mistake. I really enjoyed this book, and I happily gave it 5 stars. It is another one I plan to include in an article or blog post about books related to Christmas.
September 12, 2021
What a mystery! This book features lots of fun characters and lots of good possibilities for "what ifs". It'll keep you guessing till the very end! I couldn't put it down and thoroughly enjoyed this fun, culinary mystery!
January 14, 2022
Ooh, the mystery is on! More fascinating details both with catering and in general. I can hardly wait for the next one since I LOVE this series!
January 21, 2022
Enjoyable
Good mystery - kept me guessingvto the end. Interesting characters. I want to read the first book in the series now
Good mystery - kept me guessingvto the end. Interesting characters. I want to read the first book in the series now
October 23, 2024
Chef Violet and her husband Jake, have bene asked to act as personal chef and handyman at a mountain retreat where a group of women meet every year for an early Christmas celebration. But when the lodge gets snowed in and a guest dies, Violet and Jake have to step up to help the local sheriff figure out who the murderer is.
This really is a culinary cozy delight, with the bonus of recipes scattered in amongst the chapters. Violet is a likeable control freak who doesn't give up trying to track down the killer, even though there are times when she would prefer to retreat to her kitchen where things are less chaotic. The mystery is intricate with plenty of twists and turns.
This really is a culinary cozy delight, with the bonus of recipes scattered in amongst the chapters. Violet is a likeable control freak who doesn't give up trying to track down the killer, even though there are times when she would prefer to retreat to her kitchen where things are less chaotic. The mystery is intricate with plenty of twists and turns.
December 13, 2024
I really enjoyed this book. It had lots of twists and turns. It kept me guessing and hungry with all the food and recipes. Violet and Jake make a good team in the kitchen and in solving mysteries.
October 8, 2022
Loved it! But I'm biased.
December 14, 2022
A brilliant whodunnit and such a fun read for the holiday season!
March 13, 2024
I really enjoyed this three book series. I will definitely be reading it again!!!!
August 3, 2021
I'm biased, but yeah, I love it 😉
March 1, 2022
Kept me guessing the whole way!
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews