Rest In Split Peas

Death Du Jour #2

by Hillary Avis

Bethany Bradstreet is boiling mad.Business at Bethany's little soup kiosk in the train station is simmering along, but a competitor has the nerve to open up right next door!

Worse than stealing her customers-they're stealing her recipes!

It's not all bad for Bethany. The fresh rivalry draws the attention of a certain handsome local food critic, and she's definitely not mad about that.

But when her competitor is not-so-accidentally hit by a train, Bethany is the prime suspect in an investigation that will throw Newbridge-and Bethany's tight circle of quirky friends-into a stew of suspicion.

Rest In Split Peas is the second book in the Death du Jour series. If you like cozy mysteries full of soup and suspense by the sea, this is the book for you. Includes five delicious soup recipes!

P.S. It has a cat in it.

Books in the Death du Jour series:

Crime Chowder (Book One)
Risky Bisqueness (short story, Book 1.5)
Rest In Split Peas (Book Two)
Chili con Carnage (Book Three)
Lentil Death Do Us Part (Book Four)

Genres: Mystery

180 pages, Paperback

Published July 5, 2019

Reviews

[Merry Chapman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second book in a fast paced fun cozy mystery. Bethany runs a soup of the day kiosk in the train station and she is very successful, all she needs is a little publicity so she can save enough to open her own little shop. When a competitor, Marigold in the kiosk next to her decides people don't want the healthy smoothies she was selling and decides to open a soup kiosk of her own, right next to Bethany's and the soup her competitor is selling just happens to be the same soup Bethany sold the previous day having stolen Bethany's recipe, there is a bit of major resentment. And Marigold just happened to be making the incredibly, sold out soup Bethany made the day before and invite the newspaper critic to write about it, she is angry beside herself! Especially since this critic not only can help her business, but he is handsome and charming. Bethany decides the critic should come back the next day to try her real soup, since the day he is here, the soup is an ordinary split pea. He agrees. When he returns, Marigold is no where to be found but her cousin is manning the booth and is extremely perturbed. When there is shouting and someone says there was an accident on the train tracks and someone was hit by the train, we find it is Marigold. Now the fun begins. Bethany has to find out who killed Marigold, since she could be a number one suspect. We are introduced to a bunch of quirky characters who may not be who they seem. There are lots of twists and turns and red-herrings that keep you turning pages. Who could have killed Marigold and why? The ending is a surprise especially as to motive. This is a must read series! I received an ARC from the author, but the opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

[Cinda Inman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second book in the Death du Jour Mystery series by Hillary Avis. Bethany Bradstreet has a soup kiosk, Souperb Soups, in the Newbridge Train Station. She uses her roomate, Kimmy Caldwell's, kitchen at Cafe Sabine to prepare the soup to take to the station before the 10:55 train. The kiosk next to her, owned by Marigold Wonder, prepares healthy smoothies. Olive and Garrett Underwood own the Honor Roll Bakery in the station. Olive prepares breads to match Bethany's soup of the day. Marigold has invited Milo Armstrong, a reporter from the Newbridge Community Observer, to do an article on the soup kiosks for the paper. Ben Kovac is the stationmaster and Trevor MacDonald is the maintenance man for the station. The book includes a number of quirky characters making you want to read more of the book. When Marigold decides to change her healthy smoothie kiosk to Souperior Soups and copies Bethany's recipes and soups of the previous day, Bethany is obviously upset. Marigold's cousin, Jen Smith (who looks a lot like Marigold) and her fiance', Aaron Andrews. show up to assist Marigold for a few days. Everyone hears shouting near the tracks that someone has been hit by the 10:55, they discover it is Marigold. Marigold's purse is missing but a $50,000 check is found in Marigold's bra. The check is from the station's restoration funds and had previously been in Ben's office. Who had the motive and the intent to push Marigold in front of the train? There are a lot of suspects to sort through. The end will definitely surprise you. You will be glad you read this cozy mystery.
I received an advanced copy. This is my honest review.

[D Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC and this is my honest review. This is the third book that I’ve read in this series ( 1, 1.5 and 2) and while this is a good series, I don’t really like Bethany. There is nothing about her that makes me want to keep up with her story. It’s the supporting characters that keep me reading. I absolutely love Olive, Kimmy and Charley. Caboose has even grown on me. Also, this book has recipes!!!!!!! Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a good read. I certainly will continue reading this series.

[Bev · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bethany's little soup kiosk at the train station is doing great....that is until the kiosk next door stops selling smoothies and starts selling soups also, and to top it off....stealing Bethany's recipes! All is not lost, for a handsome food critic comes around and agrees to try one of Bethany's special soups. On that day, her competitor gets pushed in front of an oncoming train! Now Bethany is the number one suspect. Can she prove to everyone she is innocent? There are more other suspects in this story. Lots of things going on that you will have to read for yourself. I love this series!

[Bernadette Cinkoske · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am enjoying this Death du Jour mystery series. Rest in Split Peas is even better than the first book. I love Bethany, Kimmie, Olive and the rest of the crew. The idea of matching the soup to the day was neat. I am rooting for Ryan (not Milo) to win Bethany's affections. The mystery was interesting. I certainly did not anticipate that ending. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a cozy mystery.

[Paulette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hungry passengers, blackmail, missing money and murder are all part of this fast paced, cozy. Bethany Bradstreet runs a soup kiosk in the local train station and becomes involved in murder when the woman with a smoothie kiosk next to her is killed. A long list of possible suspects and a surprise ending make this a good second book of the Death du Jour series. I received an ARC of this book for my honest review.

[Jodi Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have really enjoyed this series and this book to me was better than the first. Cooking, espionage, murder! The descriptions of the scenes and food make you feel like you are right there. The author draws you in and makes you excited to turn each page and see what happens next. Looking forward to the next one.

[Paula Corregan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good cozy mystery!

This was a fun cozy mystery to read. It featured Bethany Bradstreet, who ran a soup shop close to a depot in the town of Newbridge. She investigated the mysterious death of fellow soup maker, Marigold Wonder.
It contained plenty of action and interesting characters as well as a twist at the end. I highly recommend it to other cozy mystery readers.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun mystery!!

Very fun installment in this series. The mystery was easy to follow and I loved the twist at the end. I especially loved to see Bethany make more tasty soups as she investigated. I’m also rooting for the Ryan guy and not the other one. Fun characters!!

[Yvonne Meyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good mystery.

I enjoyed this mystery with it's many twists and turns . It is a story of a group of hard working people trying to make a living with some deceitful people in the mix.

[Lucia C. Smolski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice ending!!

Very interesting reading. Nice storyline, good plot and surprise twist to the ending. The characters were down to earth with their own little idiosyncrasies. Really like having the recipes at the end of the book.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a lovely cosy read. Obviously death isn’t cosy but the general feel of reading this is that there are good people out in the world. I really adore that it is themes around an amateur sleuth cum chef. Who doesn’t like reading about food?

[Mary Heiner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another excellent book to read. Picking a soup for a particular day would be hard for me to do but she did. Than murder comes along. Very good ending.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

enjoyed the story with a twist...

[Beverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the premise and the story kept me engaged until the very end!

[Linda]

A pleasant read, with some nice character. For a cozy well written.

[Rhonda Busby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good book in a series

Good book, learning more about this circle of friends. Always another good mystery to solve. Love the recipes in the books also.

[mey · Rating 2 out of 5]

just bleh 🤷🏻‍♀️

[diane herring · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very easy read. Light and fun.