Murder on the Green by H.V.Coombs is highly entertaning read that takes us behind the doors of professional chefs' world.
There we meet Ben who is one of the most likable characters in modern literature. Dark and menacing on the outside but goodhearted and loyal on the inside. He is former inmate who is trying to run his own restaurant and keep his crew happy, when celebrity chef asks for his help in figuring out who is blackmailing him.
He has to incorporate himself with new people, and each and every one of them has something to hide. Add to that, unwanted advances from the customers, crazy jealous husband and old flames and you have more than necessary for a great read.
After Ben accepts his journey takes him all the way to Italy where deeply buried secrets are revealed. He has to I have to admit I was very suprised with the ending.
Very suspensful, with many twists and turns and few laughs in between. I hope this turns out to be a series, I would love to read about more of Ben's adventures.

Murder on the Green is a well written murder mystery with a touch of humor. I enjoyed the plot and the characters. I look forward to reading more of this author’s books.

This was a terrific read! It's unusual to have a male MC in a cosy mystery and Ben Hunter is a great MC. An ex-con openly struggling with and working consciously on his anger issues using yoga and the Tao.

He is the chef for and runs The Old Forge restaurant in the village of Hampden Green, struggling to balance his work and private life. He has only two or three staff to help him, despite being busy enough that he needs a second chef to assist. When celebrity chef Justin McCleish, who will be the chef cooking for the local opera festival being held on the manor house grounds, approaches Ben for help to find out who's blackmailing him, he jumps at the opportunity.

But all is not at it appears. From complex, dysfunctional relationships of Justin's employees, to two murders, a coven of witches (and subsequent misunderstanding by one of their Hells Angel husbands), Ben discovers there is much more to this request than first thought. His investigation takes him to London, Italy, and back to Hampden Green on a search for the murderer and blackmailer.

There is a lovely twist in this and the ending is tied up quickly and neatly, if a bit conveniently.

My only quibble with this is the references to things that happened in the past: Ben's relationship with his ex-girlfriend; his relationship with his front-of-house manager, Jess; the reason he went to prison, etc. I kept checking to make sure I wasn't missing a book but, no, this is the first in the series. The references were a bit frustrating, so I hope they will be clarified as the series goes on.

I thoroughly enjoyed this, however, and am very much looking forward to the second book. This is going on my list of new favourite cosies.

Extortion, murder, humor and good eats - all are a part of this story by H.V. Coombs. This book is about Ben Hunter and how he gets what he thinks of the opportunity of a lifetime. He runs a restaurant and is burning the candle at both ends due to being overworked. He is invited to join a temporary kitchen at an opera that is in town. There will be several hundred people there each night and he will be working for one of his culinary idols Justin McCleish.

Ben is rather disappointed to discover that his culinary skills is not what got him offered the job. It is his reputation as a bruiser. He is being hired to find the blackmailer threatening Justin. Ben is asked to hurt the blackmailer enough to end the action. The blackmailer in question must be one of Justin's team. If Ben succeeds, he is hoping to make enough money to hire another chef, thus greatly reducing his workload. More than one murder takes place, thus making Ben's job not as simple as he would have imagined.

Murder on the Green was an engaging read, with a couple of surprising twists and turns. There are several interesting character which make the story more intriguing. I would have likely given this book three stars due to a slow start, but the unexpected ending ramped it up to four.

Many thanks to Avon Books UK and to NetGalley for this ARC to review for an honest opinion.

3 stars
I love it when an ending surprises me!
Murder on the Green is a cozy mystery set within the culinary world and filled with Wicca, blackmail, opera, mediums and murder. If any of those categories appeal to you, you will likely enjoy this book. The main character Ben is a middle-aged chef who has a history of getting into trouble and trying to help others solve their problems.
I typically love cozy mysteries, but I struggled to get into this one. The characters weren’t fleshed out or very relatable. I had a hard time connecting with or even caring for those who were murdered. I would of enjoyed much more background information on the many different characters within the story.
I will say the ending was a huge surprise! It came out of nowhere but it really did wrap up the story quite nicely. I just wish the whole book would have been as entertaining and engrossing as the last 20 percent. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a light mystery with a compelling finish.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and Net Galley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

I love murder mystery books but I really struggled with this book and I'm not quite sure why....I think ultimately it was because I didn't couldn't connect with the victims of the murder...I think I was expecting the character being blackmailed to be the victim of murder, but when it wasn't him, I wasn't like 'ooh, that was a surprise', it just felt a bit flat, no sooner had a character had a bit more of an in depth conversation with Ben, they they were conveniently looked in the freezer. I really wanted to like this book, but I found that I just didn't care enough about the characters.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book, this is my honest opinion.

Ben Hunter is running himself down while running his restaurant when he gets a surprise offer from a celebrity chef, Justin McCleish. Justin wants to hire Ben to join his temporary kitchen at the local opera festival only to reveal that he really wants to hire Ben as his muscle. You see, Justin is being blackmailed and word is that Ben will find the blackmailer and put the hurt on them for a price. Disappointed, Ben takes the offer because the money is good without the intention of roughing anyone up. As he looks into the blackmailer, it quickly goes from blackmail to murder, throwing him into the arms of danger.

Coombs brings us a variety of characters that are interesting to meet and follow throughout his story. Ben is an interesting character that I wasn’t sure if I was going to like at first. He’s stubborn and very stuck in his ways, but he’s also activity working to make positive changes. The main thing that he’s working on is his anger management issues, which we watch him struggle with on and off throughout the book. It’s also the main reason why he is disappointed in the real reason Justin approached him. Ben’s staff is wonderful and caring, and then there’s Justin’s staff, which are each complex once Ben digs below the surface. I also loved meeting many of the characters that pop in and out of the story, like the coven of witches and Slattery.

The mystery is an entertaining one as well. What starts out as a simple case of blackmail quickly turns into a murder mystery, which then transforms into yet another mystery that throws Ben through a loop. It was so much fun watching the twists and turns unfold as well as how the characters deal with it. Every time Ben thinks he’s got a handle on things, something new gets tossed his way and we get to watch him hunt down new leads and come up with theories.

My only complaint is that there are a few passages that reference something that occurred in the past. These passages made it seem like there was a previous book rather than something that is just backstory to these characters. It was enough to make me check to see if there was a previous book because I seriously questioned whether or not I accidentally started on the second in a series. All in all, it’s a funny and entertaining book that takes on some serious subjects in addition to the murder, such as drug abuse and physical violence. If this is something up your alley, I highly recommend picking up this book.

H.V. Coombs’ Murder on the Green is a great mystery with a nice touch of humour, good characters, and delicious food. While I wish the plot was a bit better thought out, it’s still a good read and I would love to see more in this series.

Our protagonist is Ben Hunter, chef at The Old Forge Café in Hampden Green. Celebrity chef Justin McCleish arrives to open a pop-up restaurant and asks Ben to help out. However, Ben’s culinary skills aren’t the only thing that’s needed. Justin is being blackmailed and Ben is hired to find the blackmailer. Things turn deadly as extortion is followed by murder. The body count rises and Ben must solve the case while dealing with his own issues.

I didn’t think I was going to like Ben, the middle-aged white chef with anger management issues. However, Coombs handles his character really well. Ben is a great protagonist. He is funny and actively trying to be a better person. I also like how progressive he is. His interactions with his friend Cliff and the witches (yes, there are middle-aged caftan-wearing witches) are hilarious. However, I’m not invested in Ben’s romance with his ex, Claudia and their relationship bores me.

Most of the other characters are interesting and well-written. I particularly like Ben’s staff and Justin. However, there are too many characters to keep track of and several are not very memorable.

The book is slow to start but it does eventually pick up. The mystery is exciting with interesting twists. At first, I was worried that there were too many sub-plots but everything fit together well. I love the big reveal which I did not see coming at all. However, certain aspects of the twist seem implausible given today’s technological advancements. I wish the mystery was better written because there are a few plot points which are insufficiently resolved or don’t make sense.

This book is more modern than the usual cosy. While the book is funny, has delicious foodie moments, and amateur sleuthing, there are also drugs and violence. However, don’t let that stop you from reading because it’s a great book.

Murder on the Green is an entertaining mystery. While I wish the plot was a bit better developed, I really like the twists, the characters, and all the yummy food. If you’re looking for a good mystery, check this one out!

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for this book in exchange for an honest review.

This took a long time to get into the storyline, unfortunately for me it did not improve the further I got. Putting aside that I am not overly keen on books written in the first person, I really found the book hard going, the characters did not appeal and the writing long winded.

A bit slow to start, but once into the story it was a charming story with an amusing twist. The hapless chef/detective was an unusual candidate to solve the murder!