The Proof in the Pudding

Prudence Bulstrode #2

by Rosemary Shrager

'Rosie can write and Prudence Bulstrode is here to stay' Miriam Margolyes

'Witty, warm and so enjoyable' Jo Brand

The next irresistible cosy crime novel from celebrity TV chef Rosemary Shrager!

Preparing a midwinter's feast for all hundred residents of the little Yorkshire village of Scrafton Busk is exactly the kind of challenge Prudence Bulstrode adores. A chance to show off her muffin-topped winter stew, lamb shank hotpot and Scarborough woof - and, of course, her famous figgy pudding - is just the thing to shake off the winter blues.

But on the night of the feast, local vagabond Terry Chandler is found dead - his body entombed in the pristine snowman standing pride of place on the village green. Who could have wanted Chandler dead? Why would they stow his body in such strange circumstances? And what is the meaning of his last enigmatic message, directing his brother to Mystery Hills, a place of which no one has ever heard?

Crime and cookery continue to collide as Prudence and her granddaughter Suki get drawn into another mystifying murder . . .

Praise for The Proof in the Pudding

'Warm and witty' Yours

'Fans of Christie. . . to Beaton, should tuck in' Peterborough Telegraph

'A killer combo of crime and cooking' Woman's Own

Praise for Rosemary Shrager

'A great yarn - Shrager knows her food and she's cooked up a storm. Murder is the main course but the side dishes fascinate. A fascinating conclusion - Rosie can write and Prudence Bulstrode is here to stay. I look forward to more in this series.' Miriam Margolyes

'I've long admired Rosemary as a woman of many talents. I just hadn't realized that writing is one of them. The Last Supper has pace and style and a very interesting cast of characters' Richard Vines

'Rosemary Shrager has created a welcome addition to the ranks of female amateur sleuths. The Last Supper is a witty, light-hearted mystery, in which the author has served up a tasty treat' Simon Brett

'The Last Supper is a charming, hugely entertaining book. Retired chef Prudence Bulstrode is cranky, stubborn and insightful; an utterly brilliant creation. I can't wait to see what she gets up to next' M W Craven

'Discover how a Michelin-starred Miss Marple displays the skills of a bloodhound as she sniffs out the scent of a killer in this thriller that rises to a conclusion like a perfect souffle.' Nick Ferrari

'A light-hearted, fun mystery, combining cookery and crime - what's not to love?' Woman's Weekly

'Shrager, herself a kitchen whizz on TV, has a natural talent and deft touch for exactly this kind of gentle fun' The Sun

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery

290 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 23, 2023

Reviews

[Sarah Weedon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked it. Nice, simple, feel good (apart from the murder obviously, ha!) read. I’m enjoying the series, especially when you just need a break from thinking and adulting.

[Arliss · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had not read the first book in the series but I will now. The main character, Prudence, sees all the world through cooking and her experience as a star television chef. Rosemary Shrager has quickly wrapped me into this world and I'm happy to spend more time there. This is a fun addition to my holiday reading. Recommended!

[Bridget · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sixty-odd-year-old Prudence Bulstrode is a retired chef and cookery show tv presenter who used to host Prudence's Home Bakes as well as Prudence's Voyages. Now she has a campervan and her own travelling kitchen. She had hoped to have an idyllic retirement after moving to the village of Chelwood Gyll with hubby, Nicholas but he sadly passed away. She has her eldest granddaughter Suki, though, who stays in the campervan sometimes for a break from her parents, Prudence's daughter, Rose and Rose's husband, Teddy.

Prudence is in the Yorkshire village of Scrafton Busk to provide dinner for lots of villagers. When someone is found dead inside a snowman on the green, Prudence gets involved in the investigation.

I enjoyed the personality traits of no-nonsense Prudence though she could be snippy. Suki played a good part, too. The mystery was lively and funny with surprises and I will be watching out for book three.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Little, Brown Book Group UK, Constable via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

[Lucy Grassick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't express how much joy this book gave me. You can just tell this was written by an actual chef who has as much passion for food as she does murder mysteries. Equal parts cosy, high stakes and made me crave figgy pudding.

[Jolandie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rosemary is so good at unexpected twists and you never know who the murderer is until the end no matter how hard you try. I enjoyed this second adventure of Prudence and Suki.

[Karina Dahl (bøger_bøger_bøger) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5⭐️

[Adele · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty cozy at times but mostly I was bored. The final reveal of the murderer felt anticlimactic too, which is mostly what kept me reading.

[Grace J Reviewerlady · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was delighted to come across this novel by Rosemary Shrager; I will make a point of reading the first in series before the next one comes out!

Prudence Bulstrode is a formidable cook; with her granddaughter Suki she is in the Yorkshire village of Scrafton Busk to provide dinner for hundreds of villagers. With a traditional menu, she looks forward to tempting lots of appetites - then a dead body is discovered. Whilst providing the other meals she is contracted to do, she finds something niggling at her - but what can it be? As the mystery deepens, Prudence gets more distracted . . .

This is an excellent mystery, beautifully written with a great plot to boot. The menu was an eye opener, lots of stuff I had never heard of before. Ms Shrager is, without doubt, an excellent chef but I doubt that Prudence Bulstrode makes a profit! Did I work out 'whodunnit'? No way. Packed with detail - just a tad too much if I'm honest - this is certainly a series I want to follow and am happy to recommend. For me, 4.5*.

[Books By Your Bedside · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and Constable for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.

Rosemary’s first novel “The Last Supper” was a delight surprise of her year. I really love her presenting, and so was really thrilled to see she could turn her hand to writing too. It’s cosy crime and delightfully so.

I don’t know why I’m so surprised with the excellence of these books. It’s not like I expected her to be a bad writer, but it’s been a joy to read these books. They’re so accomplished. And whilst the stories may be a little out there, it totally works and it’s a pleasure. I’m not sure how much of what she does Prudence would get away with in real life. There’s certainly a sense of artistic licence here, but it totally works.

There’s strong very Midsomer Murders about it - and that’s no bad thing. It’s exciting and riveting, with a glorious main character and fabulous supporting characters, but it’s safe. It’s not blood and guts, but it still has twists and turns for you to get stuck into. It has all the elements you would expect from a murder mystery book. I’d love to see the books made into a TV series or movie, I think they’d be really popular.

I love that Rosemary hasn’t lost her passion for food and cooking. All the food-related scenes are described so delectably you can almost taste the food. Only someone with that much experience can write food like that.

Yes, I know there’s a murder investigation going on, but overall, it’s very cheerful and friendly and funny, but it doesn’t lose any of those elements we want from a mystery.

She’s got the pace just right. It’s not rushed, nor is it slow. It gives you time to enjoy the little nuances, the exciting clues; it gives you time to work out the murderer, before it arrives at its very satisfying conclusion. So far, I haven’t been able to confidently guess the killer in either book, and I think that makes for a very entertaining mystery.

Prudence Bulstrode is an excellent addition to the classic fictional female sleuths such as Miss Marple and Nancy Drew. She more than holds her own on every page.

I’m so happy to see there’s a third book coming out in 2024. I’m not quite ready to leave this world she’s created.

[Mandie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Occasionally I love a good old-fashioned bit of cosy crime and Rosemary Shrager certainly manages to provide me with this with her wonderful character Prudence Bulstrode. The Proof in the Pudding is a great follow up to her debut book. Prudence and her granddaughter Sukie have been hired to provide a feast for a whole village courtesy of a company who is hoping to set up business there and silence the protesters who are concerned about the damage they may do to the countryside. When local resident Terry Chandler is found dead inside a snowman its not long before Prudence and Suki are smack bang in the middle of the investigation rather than concentrating on the job they were employed to do.
The more I read about Prudence the more I can see Rosemary Shrager as she certainly has her large personality. I do like the character with her no nonsense approach to both her cooking and the way she deals with those around her and she certainly has some challenging people to deal with, from the detective in charge of the case to the person in charge of ensuring the event goes to plan, that’s not to say though that some of the trouble she has to deal with is not of her own making. Suki is definitely coming into her own now and is a little bit more independent but also fully on board with helping her gran solve the latest mystery along with the help of her friend Numbers who does quite a lot of the background digging via methods that may or may not be on quite the right side of the law.
This case has a little bit of everything, murder, folklore, buried treasure, estranged families and dodgy business dealings but the setting of all this is the lovely countryside around a very snowy Yorkshire where villages can be cut off at a moments notice. The main suspect always seems a little bit too obvious until more is revealed about their life and the trouble they are in, and you are definitely left wondering until the end who is the murderer.
For those who are sceptical about books written by celebrities but are fans of cosy crime I would recommend this series as it’s a real gem and one I shall be following as the main characters are engaging and fun and truly display the grandmother/granddaughter bond. One thing is for certain I am now counting the days until I am in Harrogate and am able to get some fat rascals from Bettys Tearooms

[Raye · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love cosy mysteries and there’s something so friendly, welcoming and lovely about Prudence Bulstrode. She’s a successful ex-TV cook who has since moved into using her celebrity name to build a successful career as an event caterer along with her Gen-Z granddaughter Suki.

When the pair arrive in Scrafton Busk in their trusty camper van, Prudence doesn’t have the faintest idea that a coin hidden in one of her Christmas puddings will be the solution to a murder AND hidden treasure.

A body in a snowman, a politician campaigning for unwanted fracking in the nearby hills and a minister who obviously has a secret. All of this leads to a mystery that Prudence and her very organised and observant mind cannot resist.

I really enjoyed this story and though I know this was the second in a series, I didn’t feel as though I had missed out on anything by not having read the first but I will definitely be going back to take a look now. I found the characters were interesting, had great qualities and weren’t too perfect. This had a bit of a Murder, She Wrote meets Agatha Raisin feel to it and that made it a really interesting read.

[Jo-anne Atkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prudence Bulstrode, TV chef and 'National Treasure', has been hired by an energy company to cook a feast meant to soften up the locals in the village where they plan to start fracking. Prudence is enjoying the cook until a coin is found in one of her puddings and then a local man is found dead, rolled into a snowman on the village green. As the weather sets in Prudence and her granddaughter find themselves drawn into a mystery around a lost Roman treasure.
I hadn't read the first in this series, I am always wary of celebrities writing fiction and I am a latecomer to the cosy crime genre. However I really enjoyed this book. Of course, it helped that it was set in a really beautiful part of North Yorkshire that I know well! There is a streak of self-knowing humour running through the characters and, although the plot is full of holes, there is a nice mix of detection and fun. Add in a lot of lovely sounding food and it's a winner for me.

[Fiona Brodie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story...old fashioned detective work. Maybe a bit much to read another with same characters??

Preparing a midwinter's feast for all hundred residents of the little Yorkshire village of Scrafton Busk is exactly the kind of challenge Prudence Bulstrode adores. A chance to show off her muffin-topped winter stew, lamb shank hotpot and Scarborough woof - and, of course, her famous figgy pudding - is just the thing to shake off the winter blues. But on the night of the feast, local vagabond Terry Chandler is found dead - his body entombed in the pristine snowman standing pride of place on the village green. Who could have wanted Chandler dead? Why would they stow his body in such strange circumstances? And what is the meaning of his last enigmatic message, directing his brother to Mystery Hills, a place of which no one has ever heard? Crime and cookery continue to collide as Prudence and her granddaughter Suki get drawn into another mystifying murder .

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I typically enjoy cosy mysteries, and when I saw the cover of this book, I found it striking and thought it looked like my sort of thing.

This was a cheerful, charming culinary cosy mystery. I found Prudence very endearing, and the relationship between Prudence and Suki was something that made me smile. I chuckled a fair few times too. In particularly, it was Prudence's attitude towards technology that made me chuckle. I could relate to that because she reminded me a little of my own grandma in that regard.

Prudence's passion for food was something that I felt very aware of while reading, and it was something that I appreciated. This book was delicious! I think it would have made more sense to read the previous book first, but I still liked it very much.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a free copy to review.

[Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Proof in the pudding by Rosemary Shrager

Prudence Bulstrode has returned and this time she is preparing a feast with help from her granddaughter/kitchen assistant Suki for the residence of Scafton Busk, a small village, she cooking a hearty lamb stew and her famous figgy pudding, but when in the middle of eating the feast a diner finds a coin in the figgy pudding that was not put in there by Prue or her team this makes Prue suspicious that something is going on..but when the local vagabond is found dead the next morning and his body has been stuffed in a snowman, Prue knows she must investigate.. but what is the significance of the post box that was not there before…


I love Pru.. she has a core of steel running through her and she is determined to investigate the murder, I like Pru and I ... the story was great, and I really enjoyed it, the mystery was engaging and made you want to find the answer to the story, I especially liked when they were stuck in the pub.

More Pru and Suki please!


#TheProofinthePudding #NetGalley #cosy #mystery

[zoe Hitchen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prudence and Suki are back in the second instalment of this cosy mystery series , and the mixture of cooking and amateur sleuthing is a winning combination.
The writing is excellent with the right amount of humour and it moves along at a fair pace.
This tale finds Prudence catering for the village of Scrafton Busk in the middle of showing off her culinary delights a dead man is found inside a snowman .
The amateur sleuths have a whole village of suspects and a winters Yorkshire scene in which to find the culprit.
An enjoyable read kept me guessing until the end.
Thanks to NetGalley and Little Brown Book Group UK.

[Marianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cosy mystery set in Yorkshire in the midst of winter.. Prudence (National Treasure) Bulstrode , a celebrity chef , has been hired along with her granddaughter to prepare a feast for an entire village. Everything goes smoothly until a body is found in a snowman. A bumbling policeman, more interested in spending time with his sons than solving the crime is no help. Prudence feels compelled to get involved, much to his dismay.
The writer has a strong voice and I cannot help visualizing Rosemary Shrager in the role of Prudence.
A fun story in a beautiful setting, sure to work well as a television series.
Thank you to netgalley and Little & Brown for the advance copy.

[Charlotte Pawson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Professional celebrity cook Prudence Bulstrode cooks the most wonderful food whilst helping the police solve the murder of Terry Chandler found entombed inside a snowman in the Yorkshire village of Scrafton Busk. With echoes of Miss Marple Prudence uses her expertise in preparing meals as her inspiration. Her relationship with her granddaughter brings a great big smile to your face. You will be well entertained for an afternoon and be willing to follow this character into the next in this series.
Thank you NetGalley and (publisher, Little Brown Book Group UK) for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

[CJ Eve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delighted to see the return of Prudence and Suki in book two of this series by Rosemary.

I read the first book and this edition was a great follow on and had the zest and drama to boot, it was engaging, entertaining and humorous.

A cosy murder mystery where the main character a famous chef plays the role of an amateur slueth who out wits the law.

The camaraderie and relationship between grandmother and granddaughter is beautiful and look forward to seeing where their future sleuthing takes them.

[Not Quite A Bookshop · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved the first outing of Prudence and her granddaughter Suki but this one didn’t hit the mark for me. On more than one occasion I was screaming at the text; postbox, mystery hills…
References to the glorious food served made my mouth water but there was a little too much of the cookery references especially the list of Prudence’s tv shows and it could have been a more concise read with less repetition and fewer characters. Disappointing I’m afraid so just 2 stars. On the plus side the premise of the 3rd instalment to come sounds very appealing.

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it!!

The second installment in this series is a Christmas theme book, but it wasn’t so heavily Christmas that you couldn’t read it at other points in the year. But it had just enough wintry vibes to make it cozy for Christmas.

I think what I like most about this series is that it’s not too cutesy. Like of course, a cook solving murders is not realistic, but that’s about it. The rest of the boom is fun and I like that each novel takes place in a different little village in England. and the food content is also a nice touch!

Fun series, I look forward to the next!

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prudence Bulstrode is back cooking up a storm with granddaughter Suki.
There is a murder at the Grange and Prudence is on the case to solve it.
There is plenty of drama and cooking.
A gentle read and entertaining.
I enjoyed the humour. The menus sounded delicious. I could picture Rosemary in the kitchen cooking these dishes.
The setting is picturesque as it's very cold and snowy.
Thanks to Netgalley and Little Brown Books for the ARC in return for an honest review.

[Roz · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second instalment in this really fun cozy crime series was a fun filled read.

Thoroughly recommended and loved the characters and the plot which followed on nicely from the first novel.

Great characters, good story and much fun from this tv chef turned author of books about a tv chef!

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being a famous chef does not pay the bills and this is why our hero Prudence Bulstrode is cooking for a company in the snowy Yorkshire countryside.
When she discovers a murder it is up to her and her grand daughter Suki to make sure that the distracted police inspector.
From dodgy vicars to snow drifts in a remote pub, from answerphone messages to corrupt politicians this book takes you on a journey that is fun and ultimately fulfilling.

[Graham Jenkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was only after I read this book that I learned that the writer is an actual celebrity cook! Color me disgusted, because I detest extravagant meals and those who prepare them, together with the exhibitionists who eat them.

I have to admit that if you ignore all the meal descriptions (what on earth is a figgy pudding?) and concentrate on the plot you'll find the book both enjoyable and intriguing.

[Dreximgirl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this just as much as I loved the first one. Prudence is a fantastic character as is Suki and the little detective team are at it again when a body turns up on the evening of a feast they were hired to cater for. What follows is a really interesting story with twists and turns you don't see coming. Fantastic. I really really enjoy this series.

[Mrs B · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice example of a cosy murder mystery. Celebrity chef turned sleuth Prudence, accompanied by granddaughter Suki, is hired to cater for a banquet in an atmospheric Yorkshire mansion. It’s not long before a body turns up…

Not very complex or twisty but comforting and warming like Pru’s famous figgy puddings.

[Barbara Mates · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful cozy with great characters. I love that Pru's (a national treasure it is said for her culinary masterpieces) assistant is her granddaughter and that they travel together in a camper trailer relying on each other to learn life skills. The mystery is twisty enough and the setting lovel and support characters, i.e. suspects, quirky . I am so glad to add this author as a favorite.

[J Buck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another really enjoyable read by Rosemary Shrager - I still love the traditional 'whodunnit' feel to these books, and the characters of Prudence and Suki really do make the books. I'm already looking forward to the third book being released.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fascinating case for pru and suki this time set in the wilds of Yorkshire