Val Deniston usually caters meals from a set list of menu choices. But when a wealthy man offers her a lot of money to recreate a 10-course meal served to first class passengers on the Titanic, she agrees. Bills gotta get paid...and the money is too good to refuse. At first the dinner aboard his yacht, the Abyss, is enjoyable for the eight people seated at the table. It quickly takes a bad turn when the captain is knocked unconscious and the host disappears off the boat. Was it an accident....or murder?

This is the first book in the 5-ingredient Mystery Series that I have read. S'More Murders is the 5th book in the series. I was easily able to follow the story and the characters without reading any of the prior books. There is some character development and background that I was lacking, of course, but I still enjoyed the story. I will definitely be backtracking to read this series from the start.

The mystery kept my attention. I liked the recreation of the Titanic dinner with a murder mystery game element added. There were plenty of suspects and sleuthing, and having the murder victim disappear off a ship at sea was a creative, interesting way to bump him off. Val and her grandpa are great characters, and I even liked all of the side characters. The fact that Val is helping her grandpa write a cookbook about old codger's favorite recipes made me smile. Cute! Plus, there are several yummy sounding recipes based on the Titanic cuisine in the back of the book! I love it when cozies include recipes that aren't all sugary desserts or cookies! An example of a first class dinner menu from the Titanic is included as well. I found it an interesting fact that none of the actual recipes for foods cooked on the Titanic still exist. Val had to wing it and create her own in the story. I'm surprised the White Star Line doesn't have a record of food preparation or recipes on its liners from that time....but I suppose the Chef also winged it and created his own versions of the foods. After finishing the book I did a little online research. Head Chef Charles Proctor and most of his staff did not survive the sinking. The ship's Head Baker, Charles Joughin, did survive, floating in the water in a lifebelt until rescue arrived. So, no wonder there are no authentic recipes for the foods served to first class on that fateful voyage. There are several restaurants around the world offering a recreation of the last meal served to passengers -- one even offers a 1907 vintage wine that was actually salvaged from the wreck (I find this morally wrong....but they didn't ask my opinion) for nearly $2,000 per person.

Enjoyable cozy! I will definitely be reading the rest of this series...and more by this author!

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Kensington via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.** ( )

Val Dennison is manager of a café at a tennis club, and in her off-time she caters meals and helps her grandfather test recipes for his Codger Cooks column in the local newspaper. Since they need repairs done on his old Victorian home, Val agrees -- against her grandfather's advice -- to re-create as close as possible the original meal served to the first-class passengers on the fatal night that sunk the Titanic.

When she's approached by Otto Warbeck, she's taken aback by the request, and the fact that it has to be done in little time. But she's agreed to it because she needs the money, and he's offered her a good amount of it. She's also being helped in the kitchen by her grandfather and Bethany, her assistant at the café. The dinner will be held on Otto's yacht, which will be sailing, so that's one more thing Val needs to worry about.

When a guest doesn't show up, Bethany is coerced into acting a role in the game that Otto has planned for his guests, supposedly about a passenger who disappeared the night before the ship hit the iceberg. But during courses, someone goes missing they run into a squall, so when they check on the pilot, it's discovered he's asleep, and it's up to her grandfather to get the boat back to shore while they call the Coast Guard.

But all is not well -- with the passenger missing, Val finds out that Jerome Young, the young pilot, might be charged with a crime, she finds out his aunt is an attorney that she knows from the club. She's also asked to try and find out what happened by someone on the boat. To make matters more troublesome, she's having problems in her relationship with her boyfriend Gunnar, who doesn't seem to care about anything but his new 'career' as an actor. Val certainly has her hands full, and if she doesn't watch it, she might be the next person to go permanently missing...

This is the fifth book in the series and I've read every one of them. While I like how things have progressed (I didn't care for her grandfather at all in the beginning, but he's changing and not taking advantage of Val any more), I still don't care for Gunnar. On his list of things that matter to him, Val is probably at the bottom. Enough said about that.

The plot is a very good one -- it appears on the surface to be a mini-play about what might have happened to a missing person on the Titanic but soon becomes something different. And it is this nuance that makes all the difference. You don't notice it happening, but a clue is given almost immediately, and it causes everything to move in the direction it is supposed to. When Val starts looking into the murder, she learns things about the various guests that make her wonder if the missing man didn't plan things this way all along. And when she starts to put it all together, along with the help of her grandfather, it soon begins to make sense.

But it isn't until the last third of the book that you start to see what is going on all along, and it's this that makes you continue reading. When the murderer is discovered, it's not so much a shock, but more that you already know and expected it; yet Val finds a clue that we never even thought to look for, and that makes the book worth reading. I can't wait to dig into the next in the series. Recommended. ( )

S’more Murders by Maya Corrigan is the fifth novel in A Five-Ingredient Mystery series. Val Dennison has been hired to cater a special dinner hosted by Otto Warbeck who is a collector of Titanic memorabilia. He wants Val to recreate the last dinner served on the Titanic on his yacht, Abyss. It is a ten-course meal for eight guests and he insists it be held in a few days on Saturday, April 14 (the anniversary of the Titanic’s sinking). Val is reluctant to take this particular job, but the money she will earn will pay for the repairs needed to Granddad’s home (those blasted termites). On Saturday Val, Bethany and Granddad board the Abyss and begin their dinner preparations while the yacht heads out into open water. Bethany oversees the s’more appetizers requested by Otto’s wife, Cheyenne. After they sit down for dinner, Otto announces he has created a mystery game for them to play while they eat (he even has scripts). The water becomes choppy due to a storm, the pilot of the yacht is in distress and Otto cannot be found. Val, with the help of her friends, dives into the case. There are eight suspects with motive to harm the victim. Val wades through the clues with the hopes of spearing a killer.

S’more Murders is nicely written, and it has some interesting characters. I find that Grandad (Don Myer) steals the show from Val. He is an eccentric and gregarious older gentleman with a zest for life. Val came across as bland and I am not a fan of her boyfriend, Gunnar. Gunnar is an amateur actor who wishes to expand his skills. He is contemplating a change and Val wonders how she will fit in with his plans. Personally, I would wish Gunnar good luck on his new venture and look for a boyfriend who is more compatible. I would like to see the author flesh out Val’s character and have her grow as a person. The mystery was intriguing with multiple suspects and misdirection. I think that many readers will be surprised when the full solution is revealed. I could have done with less speculation and rehashing of the clues (it gets old). I did find the pace to be a little slow, and I had trouble staying invested in the story (my attention wandered). Val whips up some delectable foods in the story and the descriptions will have your mouth watering (and your stomach growling). I like how friends and family come together to help and care for each other. S’more Murders can be read alone if you are new to the series. Welcome aboard Val’s high seas adventure in S’more Murders. ( )

This is one of the best written mystery books I've read in a very long time. The author is creative and I loved the theme of having a dinner party on a yacht. I have always been fascinated by the Titanic. It was so full of promise on that fateful day and many lives were lost. There have been sightings of the lost ship in the sea and artifacts recovered to keep the intrigue of the Titanic going.

Val is one sharp person. She is busy with her granddad and his cookbook while also running a fitness cafe. Wen Val is offered the opportunity to cater a dinner party with the Titanic as the theme, she decides to take the job. I was hooked as soon as Titanic was mentioned in the book. The host wants her recreate the last meal served on that fateful night. What a big chore Val has taken on. Thank goodness she gets help to pull the dinner off. After changing the menu a bit, the party is booked. I loved that the guests were going to be playing a murder-mystery game during the evening. I have always wanted to attend something like that. It would be fun to play detective for one night.

As the evening goes along, the game begins and that is when the real mystery starts. it seems the host has met with an unfortunate accident . The author is good at leaving subtle hints in the story of what happened and I tried so hard to figure out who went off script and killed the host. Val finds herself deep in the investigation and has a list of suspects that all look guilty. There are unexpected twists in the story that heightened my suspicions, but I was never able to figure out who the killer was until the author revealed it.

I admire the way the author cleverly put together a story that was intriguing, wonderful characters and an ending that was very satisfying. The author has included the menu from that horrific night aboard the Titanic along with recipes from the famous Codger Cook's recipe that Val and her granddad were working on. I love how knowledgeable the author was about the Titanic and how masterfully she wove an historical event into a story that was one of my favorite books this year.

I received a copy of this book from The Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour. The review is my own opinion. ( )

This is the first book I have read from this author and in this series. Instant connection. I really thoroughly enjoyed the characters and the storyline was fun. Val, her grandfather and best friend were all great. None of them played secondary roles in the story. They worked well together to help solve the mystery at hand. Boy was it a mystery too.

It seems that the host of the Titanic themed party has gone missing. How rude. Once Val starts investigating, she realizes that something is a foul. With so many suspects; Val will need all the help she can get to solve the case.

Readers of cozy mysteries will enjoy this book as I did. It has charming characters as well as some laughs. As the story goes it might not be hard for readers to solve the case but that is not the point of these types of books anyways. I know that after reading this book, I want to go back and check out the prior books. A s'more read that is so tasty. ( )