Murder Made From Scratch: A Gurley Summers Cozy Mystery

by Rhea S. Brown

A small-town chef, her mischievous sheepdog, and a mystery too dangerous to ignore.

Sous Chef Gurley Summers escaped her wacky relatives for the peaceful mountain town of Cedarbrook, craving nothing more than perfect knife work and flawless flavor profiles. Instead, she finds the pet store owner's dead body.

When the police stamp Gurley as their prime suspect, she must use her big city charm to gather evidence and clear her name. But playing Sherlock is threatening the restaurant job she fought so hard to land, and her meddling has painted a target on her back.

Now she's sneaking around town with wires under her apron, discovering that Cedarbrook isn't the quiet haven she thought. Her investigation uncovers a menu of the victim's bitter estranged daughter desperate for her inheritance, the ruthless rival business owner with underworld connections, and Martha, the seemingly sweet gossip queen harboring deadly secrets.

With the hyper help of Blaze, a hyperactive Australian Shepherd, Gurley must prove her innocence and catch the real killer, or her goose will be permanently cooked.

185 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 28, 2025

Reviews

[Merry Chapman]

This is the first book in a new promising series that keeps you engaged. We begin with Gurley Summers, a sous chef in the city, who wants to escape from her dysfunctional family. So she finds work in the quiet town of Cedarbrook. But things don't go the way she wanted them to when she walks into the pet store and finds the owner dead at his desk with the Austrian Shephard in the shop scared. The police think she is a prime suspect and of course, she has to clear her name and goes about investigating on her own and she has the Shephard, Blaze to help and he becomes a great help. And then when they arrest a man, Gurley is sure he is innocent, she continues digging. So as she digs deeper into the case she finds herself in danger when she seems to be getting too close. Can she find the truth? With so many twists and turns we get to a great ending. I recommend this book in a new series and can't wait to see what Gurley and her new adopted dog, Blaze! I received an ARC of this book but the opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

[Chere Gruver]

Exactly what is going on in Cedarbrook?

Finally having enough of taking care of her brothers and her mother, Sous Chef Gurley Summers left her family behind and moved to a nice small town—Cedarbrook. However, things aren’t always as nice and quiet as they seem in small towns. Well, at least Gurley has a great job in a restaurant. That all changes when Gurley happens to find the dead body of the pet store owner one morning. When she ends up becoming a suspect, Gurley knows she has to investigate and investigate she does. I really enjoyed reading this. I love how compassionate Gurley is, how she managed to make friends with her neighbors—the detective and her husband and their toddler too. To me, the best part of cozy mysteries are the relationships and watching as they grow. Of course, finding out whodunit is the satisfying part of cozy mysteries. I did not see that one coming either. Seeing as this is the first Gurley Summers Cozy Mystery, I look forward to many more to come.

I received an advanced reader’s copy and am voluntarily leaving this review.

[Catherine Stratman]

Fun start to a new series!

I have enjoyed other books by this author and this new series follows right along with the fun. This series is centered around a sous chef Gurley Summers who has moved to the quaint small town of Cedarbrook to get away from her dysfunctional family. When she finds the pet store owner murdered in his office, Gurley becomes the main suspect. Never mind the fact that the store owner's son has disappeared. And the quaint small town comes with its own rather dysfunctional characters. FEED ME! (You'll have to read the book to understand that one!) Along with her neighbors, one who is the local police and her spouse who used to be, Gurley does have some help. And let's not forget the poor dog Blaze who was left at the pet shop. Enough red herrings to keep things interesting until the very end.

I received an ARC. This is my honest review.

[Ingrid Gail]

A short and nice novel, which was a bit slow at the start with lots of names and details, especially for a shorter novel. But it was written with humour and in a writing style that I liked.
I liked the snarky thoughts in Gurley's head like a 50's detective show and of courses I loved Blaze!

The mystery was uncovered in an addictive way that kept the tension alive and pointed to different people in the story, so the pages flew by and I was eager to see how it would all be solved in the end. I didn't guess the culprit, so that's a great plus to me.

I hope this becomes a great series after this introduction!

[Lynda]

This is a good story about a sous chef that moved from the big city to Cedarbrook to basically get away from her family that was always needing her to bail them out. She is starting to like her little town when she comes upon a murder at the pet store. The front door is open and when she goes in, she finds the owner slumped at his desk. She finds an Austrian Shephard left and shaking that had belonged to the son of the owner. She takes it home and as she can't leave things undone helps to figure out the crime. This is the first Gurley Summers story I've read and I'm sure I will read more!

[Sonia Fischer]

A newcomer to town, Gurley is the fiery female lead who falls into the middle of a murder investigation by helping a homeless man who has been labeled the killer. Convinced of his innocence she embarks on a mission to find the truth. Along the way she meets some of the town’s quirkiest residents and makes some friends. This cozy mystery hits all the high notes for readers wanting a quick read with a happy ending.

[Mrs K.Bryant]

Murder Made from Scratch is a story about Summer has moved to a new job as a Sous Chef who looks after Blaze a dog who barked in the pet shop and she looked and found the owners body. She started to look at the clues and finds a surprising neighbour John as a secret team member. Can they find all the correct pieces for this puzzle and find the truth?
Excellent start to a series. That I highly recommend that you read.

[Lavena Spade Jenkins]

Delightfully deliciously cute

This was such a fun read. Our heroine /sous chef has such a tongue in cheek sense of humor! She was whipping out one liners like they are going out of style. But the story is fun, the mystery is good. You have so many suspects and the author still has a delicious plot twist at the end! It’s like Gordon Ramsey meets Agatha Christie. And did I mention the adorable dog???!!

[Amary Chapman]

Gurley was a caretaker/enabler starting her life over and making a life for herself. We get a peek at her reasons for her behavior and her developed skills as she uses them on her new town to help her neighbor, a small town detective. Am assortment of personalities and eccenticities rounds out the story.
I received an ARC gratis and offer my opinion in the same

[Sharmani Jayaram]

Gurley working at the Copper Kettle finds a dead body . There is a lot than meets the eye. Lots of suspense and humour . I enjoyed this read which is captivating from the start and has an edge of the seat finish. I received this ARC copy and recommend this book to other readers

[Barbara Tobey]

A quick and entertaining read. Delightful cozy mystery. Some surprises. Sounds as if this may be the beginning of a series. Thanks to the author for providing a copy. My review is voluntary.