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Murder in Marin #1

The Gossiping Gourmet

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In Book 1 of the MURDER IN MARIN Mysteries:

Warren Bradley, renowned as the local gadfly In the picture-perfect community of Sausalito, California, is esteemed by his admirers and despised by his detractors. But for love of his caramel chicken and cherry fudge brownies, everyone has a story to share regarding their fellow citizens—

Stories that too often find their way into his weekly gossip-filled newspaper column, "Heard About Town."

When the great chef and his admirers, the Sausalito Ladies of Liberty, take offense to a newly arrived Manhattan power couple, their insular world of tasty sauces and stinging insults leads to deadly results.

Everyone has their own theory about who killed Warren. But it takes the combined efforts of Rob Timmons, the local newspaper publisher, and Eddie Austin, his childhood friend and Marin County’s top detective, to unravel this tale of delicious dishes and malicious deception.

286 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 5, 2014

986 people are currently reading
600 people want to read

About the author

Martin Brown

7 books5 followers
Martin Brown is the author of the MURDER IN MARIN mysteries, including:

The Gossiping Gourmet (Book 1)
The Wicked Wife (Book 2)
The Phantom Photographer (Book 3)
The Terrifying Teacher (Book 4)
The Horrible Husband (Book 5 / 2019)

As a journalist, Martin's articles on health and relationships have appeared in Redbook, Playboy, and Complete Woman magazines, as well as SingleMindedWomen.com.

Martin, a native of New York City, is a graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. He began his career as a community affairs writer with WCBS Radio. He also worked as the public affairs officer for the New York City police association; and later in the same capacity for the Atlanta and Georgia police associations.

He began his work as a community news reporter in Atlanta with Creative Loafing. Later, in Marin County, he founded Signal Newspapers, which were published in Sausalito, Tiburon, and Belvedere, California.

He and his wife, novelist Josie Brown, live in the city of San Francisco, where their grown children also reside.

Connect with Martin on:

Twitter: @MurderInMarin

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MartinBrownCA

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5 stars
237 (35%)
4 stars
191 (28%)
3 stars
147 (22%)
2 stars
50 (7%)
1 star
34 (5%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews
1,154 reviews2 followers
November 21, 2017
Although the mystery in this book was decent, the small minds and dry souls of the characters inhabiting the insular community of Sausalito,California were very unappealing. Unless the character of this town was actually accurately presented in the book, the author should be concerned that it's citizens might sue for damages to the town's reputation! Residents are so concerned about fitting in and "being one of us" that they fail to recognize the viper in their myst. Fortunately there are a few worthies not so blinded by adoration and food who see their way to solving a murder and unearthing the motive.
Profile Image for Melody.
1,353 reviews11 followers
February 25, 2019
This book has good character development and an interesting plot. It was halfway through the book before I discovered who the main characters were and more good have been made of the location, one of the most beautiful places in the country. Overall a solid 3.5 stars.
408 reviews7 followers
December 26, 2018
Quick read

I love Holly, the mystery is good but is quite fast, I’m deathly interested in reading more from the series
Profile Image for Debra Scott.
300 reviews4 followers
February 9, 2019
Beginning slow. But the rest was ok and moved along. Ending was a surprise.
Profile Image for Lise.
1,068 reviews
October 7, 2019
Don't you hate, when you're in the middle of a really good book, that life gets in the way? That's how it was for this novel for me. I kept grabbing 5 minute peeks because I was enjoying the story so much and really wanted to see how it would progress. Silly, really, because it would be there when I had more time, but I could not wait.

In thinking it over, I can't point to one particular thing I really liked over any other thing. The characters were well fleshed-out, the plot was imaginative, the location was enticing. The book as a whole was GOOD and enthralling and, man, I wish I had had the time to sit down and devour the thing in one go!
Profile Image for Ruth Caves.
477 reviews3 followers
October 7, 2018
Tangled web

Gossip is like a fire, it spreads and grows to something out of control and barely resembling it's origins. One can never really control gossip, but thinking you can leads to a God complex. Fortunately karma knows how to deal with that type of person...
Good read and the twisting path to the murderer will keep you turning pages to the end!
Profile Image for Dharma.
263 reviews1 follower
September 18, 2016
Not too bad. Added fun because I am familiar with that area, so that enhanced my enjoyment. Plot weak, but liked some of the main (assuming continuing) characters.
Profile Image for Kathy Davie.
4,876 reviews737 followers
June 16, 2019
First in in the Murder in Marin cozy mystery series and revolving around the inhabitants of Marin County in California. It's not until well into the story that we learn that Eddie Austin and Rob Timmons are the actual protagonists of the series. The focus in The Gossiping Gourmet is in Sausalito on Warren Bradley, gossip columnist and chef.

My Take
I suspect I disliked The Gossiping Gourmet because of Warren Bradley and his "partners in gossip". He's a victim you'll love to hate — he's such a smarmy, mean git. The kind of person I can't stand. One who interprets every comment as being about himself. I also hate how he twists gossip to influence and hurt people.

Brown starts the story off with a prelude and then flashes back to provide the trail of events that lead to this critical conflict in this primarily character-driven tale. It's handy that Brown uses a third person global subjective point-of-view so we hear from many of the characters. It helps lay the groundwork for how incestuous this town is!

I have a hard time having empathy for Timmons. Brown laying out the hardships of running a small newspaper and the clever ideas The Standard incorporates to stay solvent are fantastic, but I find fault with Timmons letting Warren run amuck.

I did enjoy Brown's colorful assessment of Sausalito. I also liked Grant and Barbara. I must say their art gallery partnership sounds made in heaven with Grant cultivating the artists and Barbara cultivating the buyers.

The path that leads to the inciting incident is a long-building trail of miscommunication, an unfortunately frequent issue in most relationships. Dang it.

In the end, it's a core group of small town bullies egged on by the reprehensible Warren.

And we learn why Warren lost his hands...poetic justice in two many ways.

The Story
It's a game of know-and-tell gone wrong when Warren's plans are put on the carpet by Alma Samuels. The brown-nosing Warren is stuck, if he wants to retain his influence in Sausalito!

The Characters
The petty, mean-spirited Warren Bradley lives for gossip and sees himself as a fabulous gourmet chef who works hard to appear wealthy. Okay, fine...he is a good cook... He writes the "Heard About Column". Some believe he cheated Mrs Danvers out of her cottage.

Eddie Austin is a lead investigator at the county sheriff's department. He's also a longtime best friend of Rob Timmons. Sharon is his wife, and they have a son, Aaron.

The local paper is The Standard published...
...by Rob Timmons, the owner. Holly Cross is his full-time editorial assistant/production manager. Social events in Tiburon, Mill Valley and the towns in Ross Valley are covered by Sylvia Stokes, Ed Dondero, and Cassie Crenshaw, respectively.

When he was a child, Timmons had a Dalmatian named Smoke. Today, he's married to Karen Klein, the daughter of a local dentist, and they have a son and daughter.

Grant Randolph, a former very successful gallery owner of The Discerning Eye, is the new chair of the Sausalito Fine Arts Commission, newly arrived from Manhattan with his wife, Barbara, who gets a job with the Moss Gallery in San Francisco. Anna Ruth Moss is the founder. James Moss is Anna's attractive son.

Ray and Debbie Sirica, from Chicago, invite the Randolphs to Sausalito and become best friends.

The Sausalito Women's League, a.k.a.,
...The League, started as support for the suffragette movement. Now it's the paramount social set with the heartless Alma Samuels, the widow of a San Francisco attorney Roger Samuels, in charge.

Louise Allen is Alma's caretaker these days, having evolved from maid to cook to caregiver.

The Ladies of Liberty...
...was started and continues to be led by Alma, also. Members include Bea Snyder, one of Warren's friends; Ethel Landau, who is on the art commission and is a granddaughter of The League founder, Dorothy Landau; Marilyn Williams, who is a charter member and one of Alma's lieutenants; and, Robin Mitchell, who dominates the city council.

Sausalito Fine Arts Commission is...
...one of the premier committees with Arthur Bingham as the chairperson. The membership of the Gate Six Artist's Cooperative incorporates promising young artists. Kitty will become one of Grant's prodigies.

Sausalito PD is...
...too often referred to as "the gang that couldn't shoot straight" is the happy recipient of Warren's attentions. Captain Hans Petersen and his officers include Chris Harding, the newest patrol officer, and Steven Hansen, who is Chris' partner.

Dave Nichols is an EMT officer. His partner is Hal Michaels. Max Brownstein is the Marin County medical examiner.

Smitty's and the No Name are two bars that the locals patronize. Alberto is a bartender at the No Name. Past artists of Sausalito included Jean Varda, Shel Silverstein, and Gordon Onslow. Oscar and Clarice Anderson are the Randolphs' neighbors. Bob Ivan is an attorney. Alex and Trevor were boyhood friends of Eddie's and Rob's. Robert Allan, recently elected to the city council, and Carrie Kahn had been some of Warren's victims. Mollie Stone's Grocery sounds tasty. Patricia Smith, a dot-com CEO, and her husband, Mario, move to Sausalito.

Flagstaff, Arizona
William Benedict used to work at Northern Arizona University and lived with Elaine Hayden. Hayden had a son, James, and a foster son, Topher, who got chewed up by the defense lawyer.

The Cover and Title
The cover is a glorious summer day looking back from the Bay at the house-studded hills of Sausalito with a blue sky above and the muddy green waters below. The title is at the top in a white-outlined red with the series information below it in black. Brown's numbering for the series, included between the icon of the Golden Gate Bridge towers following the series title, is a clever device.

The title is all about The Gossiping Gourmet who simply can't resist his Machiavellian embellishments.
70 reviews
July 15, 2020
Because of the COVID-19 my husband and I have been determined to continue our passion of reading, but convert to ebooks. This is one of the free books I’ve been building my e-library. I won’t give all of the ebooks a review, only the most memorable.

It’s probably the first time I’d heard the term “cozy mystery”. It is a lovely term for such an enjoyable read.

Martin Brown has the county of Marin dialed in! It was a hilarious book of a small community of arrogantly nutty old guard. There is a wily local journalist who plies the town folk with delicious meals and desserts for scraps of salacious gossip. What’s a little reputation ruining gossip between friends who share good food?

It’s all fun and games until someone gets murdered. Put the tea to boil and pass the cookies! Tongues really get to flapping in the Marin Headlands when someone gets bumped off!

When you think money buys everything and you run your community, beware.

This is book one in the Marin series. I am looking forward to reading more of these fast paced, witty small community books.

Well done, Martin Brown! 🌟🔥🌟🔥
2,345 reviews26 followers
April 15, 2023
Set in Marin County. A gourmet food writer is killed and suspicion falls on newcomers as the victim had written a nasty article about them and spread rumors about them. Some twists and turns, some of it seemed to jump around some and give too much detail about the area and people. The women's club seems to be made up of snobs who think Warren is wonderful, which made me question their intelligence. He seemed to have 1/2 the people on his side and half disliking him. With all the nasty columns he wrote, I think his editor was crazy to not have fired him a long time ago. I was surprised at who the murderer was, although he definitely had a good reason to go after Warren. I read the whole book, but didn't like it well enough to read more in the series.
Profile Image for Cheryl.
1,161 reviews7 followers
October 15, 2019
This is the first in the series . The main characters are Rob , who owns a newspaper, Eddie who is a detective and Holly who works with Rob. Bradley is who is murdered, is also called the gossiping gourmet. He writes for the paper and it is always about gossip he has heard and loved to spread. He is found dead and no one know who did it. The police can't even see where he came from 25 years earlier. It is a great book and figuring out who he was and who knew it and killed him is a challenge.
Profile Image for Ted Tayler.
Author 79 books299 followers
February 3, 2019
"Forgettable"

This type of book frustrates me. The author is clearly intelligent and knows how to craft a well-written story. There are dozens of instances of someone with acute observation skills - people, places, social standing and so on - but the result was a book that was dull and which lacked urgency. With the talent at his disposal I would expect something that sizzled and leapt off the page to grab me by the throat. All that got lost on the way I'm afraid.
Profile Image for Chris Birdy.
Author 3 books335 followers
July 2, 2017
Cute cozy mystery of the murder of a nasty man who writes a column for the local papers in Marin County. He barters gourmet food and recipes with the locals for tidbits of gossip he inserts into his weekly column. The locals are shaken when Warren turns up dead with his hands chopped off. Solving this mystery takes the efforts of the community.
Profile Image for Sandra Olson.
Author 26 books29 followers
August 1, 2018
Interesting

If your not interested in the minute details of a small-minded California town, this is not a book you would enjoy. The author spends pages describing everything. But if you stick with it, the story is great. I loved the characters and felt the victim deserved what he got!
89 reviews3 followers
March 27, 2019
Paying a visit...

As much as I know - from the book's disclaimer - that mentioned places were a part of the author's imagination, I would like to visit some of the mentioned places, just to see if there's any form of reality. Certainly the Golden Gate Bridge would be in the right place. Brian (GBR) provided a positive narrative (text to speech).
514 reviews5 followers
July 20, 2020
Great Mystery!

What a twisted mix of characters - half you love, half you hate. Surprises and cringing around a few corners with another twist at the end. This is a great book. (I also appreciate the great editing job - one of the few books I've read with no typos, grammar, or content errors.) I also appreciate the feeling of justice served at the end.
Profile Image for Pia Vidal.
161 reviews1 follower
May 10, 2018
Slow beginning

The murder does not happen until almost half way through the book. For me the beginning was too slow. It was hard to keep on reading. But the last 25% of the book was great.
Profile Image for Joanne.
465 reviews13 followers
December 21, 2018
Though "The Gossiping Gourmet" starts off slowly it's worth reading. The characters are varied from likeable to revolting. The plot may be a bit muddled; but I didn't solve the mystery of why Warren Bradley was murdered nor which character was the murderer.
Profile Image for Kristen.
31 reviews
January 29, 2019
Pretty decent. I always love these kinds of mysteries. The only issue I had was that one character was identified by either his first name or last name; I prefer them to go by either or throughout the book.
1,273 reviews2 followers
March 3, 2019
Cozy mystery, takes place in the cloistered Saucilito bay area. Weekly column writer who is the local gourmet is found dead, his hands missing. Some deep sleuthing uncovers the murderer.nice characters
6 reviews
October 5, 2019
Food for Thought

Enjoyable view of small town elitists who mistakenly believe they are the bestowers of norms to be followed by all. It can come back to bite you. An interesting tale.
228 reviews
February 18, 2020
Mystery and a bit of humor

I must admit, I almost put the book down because the beginning took a while to get to the story. It was a bit boring, but I don’t stop what I’ve started. So once the story really began it gripped me, and I had to read to the end. Worth it.
698 reviews4 followers
November 21, 2021
I thought this was a surprisingly good read with more depth than the average cozy mystery.

I thought this was a well written and engaging story, even though you have to wait a while before the murder occurs.
Profile Image for Nicole.
2,868 reviews10 followers
March 27, 2023
Well written murder mystery set in a town full of mostly unlikeable characters. Warren Bradley is not killed off until halfway through the book, at which three characters step forward to take on the mantle of protagonists. The end is a surprise.
15 reviews
January 20, 2024
Great murder mystery

Once I'd read a few chapters, I found it hard to put this book down. Lots of twists and an ending that I didn't expect. If you like murder mysteries, please read this book.
Profile Image for Susan.
966 reviews19 followers
December 9, 2016
Good Read

I really enjoyed this book. I love a good mystery and this did not disappoint. I couldn't wait to finish to see who dun it.
Profile Image for Janice Bates.
185 reviews
September 18, 2017
Too Much Description

This one was hard to get into. Too wordy, slow to start. I did, however, enjoy this murder investigation after the story started perking. But, while there was way too much description in the beginning, toward the end it seemed that Mr. Brown ran out of words.
9 reviews1 follower
January 17, 2018
Awesome

Great story with an unexpected twist, wouldn't have guessed the killer can't wait to read the next book in the series
Profile Image for Kathy Stone.
375 reviews52 followers
January 21, 2018
Great mystery

Lots of twists and turns. The reader is surprised by the identity of the murderer. That is the way a murder mystery should read.
149 reviews2 followers
January 30, 2018
The story was great.

The more I read your story the more harder it was to put down. It kept me guessing who from start. Thanks!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews

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