Jodie Parker has left London and the police force to return to her hometown with her daughter, Daisy. Jodie is opening a catering business. She happens upon a job catering a wedding for an old beau while shopping for a sofa. The fiancé does not appear keen, but Tony is gung-ho especially since the wedding is less than a week away. Jodie is prepared to work hard to show what she can do, but she is unprepared for a missing bride and a dead ex-wife. Jodie gave up policing to please her daughter who was worried about her safety. But old habits die hard. Jodie cannot help but do a little snooping. Murder on the Menu by Fiona Leitch is the first A Nosey Parker Cozy Mystery Novel. Murder on the Menu is set in Cornwall which means British terms and slang. There was not as much as I would have expected, and it is easy to discern the words based on the context. I wish the author had provided vivid descriptions of this beautiful area. I also wanted to know more about Jodie’s hometown, Penstowan besides it is small and there is a beach. The mystery was fun to solve. It is not a predictable mystery which was the best part of the book. The details are wrapped in the long reveal. Murder on the Menu is a lighthearted British cozy. There are humorous situations and remarks. The story does contain some mild profanity. There is a potential romance for Jodie with DCI Nate Withers. It is a good thing DCI Withers likes Jodie since she frequently gets in the way of his investigation. The nickname “Nosey” suits Jodie to a T. I have to wonder if Jodie’s heart is really in starting her new business. She spends her time investigating instead of getting her new business off the ground. There is a recipe at the end of the book. If you enjoy blithe and witty cozies with a British twist, then you will enjoy reading Murder on the Menu. ( )

I received an advance copy of this book via NetGalley.

In this first book in a delightful new series, Nosey is a 40-year-old former London policewoman, just moved back to her Cornwall hometown with her 12-year-old daughter. She's prepared to put investigative work behind her and focus on a new catering business, but in her first job catering a wedding for an old school chum, the groom's ex-wife turns up dead and the bride is missing. With her friend set up to take the blame, Nosey can't resist searching for the truth, in the process butting heads against the rather arrogant yet dishy DCI Withers.

I loved this book. It's a cozy mystery that touches on dark issues, but never goes too far--nor does it fall into whimsy. I can't help but be leery about the trope of a potential romance between a woman investigator and an arrogant cop, but here, it's handled beautifully. Withers isn't that much of a jerk, and two begin to respect and help each other through the investigation in a way that feels natural. Really, all of the characters feel nuanced and genuine, and that makes the mystery all the more enjoyable. The clues and revelations are paced just right, and while I guessed correctly about some aspects, the climax still delivered plentiful surprises.

Also, the setting of Cornwall is just fantastic. It's a place I've never been, so this is a chance to experience it vicariously! Also, the subplot of a catering business promises lots of food talk, which I always welcome (along with sausage jokes, which made me giggle as I read). The back of the book even has a recipe written in the voice of Nosey.

This is a smashing start to a new series! I hope the forthcoming books can live up to the fun of this one. ( )

I liked all the characters in this book. I found them to be likeable, engaging and fun! I even laughed out loud in some parts, a rarity for me. And the mystery was quite good. I just wish the story was 100 pages shorter because at the half way mark, the story started to drag and I found myself fast losing interest. It seemed needlessly stretched out and full of filler. So much filler. Booooooooorrrring!

I wanted to just skip to the end to find out the killer but I plowed on although it was a chore to do so. Is there some silly rule that a story has to have a certain word count? No matter what? Pity because some parts of the book were quite good and the final denouement was very surprising but it took so long to get there. Slow as molasses. Boooooooorrrrring! ( )

Here is one for those who would like to be in on the start of a new cosy series. Ex-police Jodie "Nosey' Parker is trying to set herself up as a cook for hire, when she meets up with an old boyfriend desperately looking for a caterer for wedding which is imminent. And then his ex-wife is killed, his wife-to-be goes missing, and eventually another body is found. And Jodie finds that she hasn't lost the urge to investigate. The groom is the main suspect and Jodie is convinced that the police are barking up the wrong tree.

Very readable. ( )