THE HIDDEN CORPSE is the second book in the Food Blogger Mystery series by Debra Sennefelder. I love protagonist, Hope Early, and her blog, Hope at Home, and the way the author includes a peek into Hope’s recipe development and food photography sessions. It adds a layer of authenticity to the story. Ms. Sennefelder weaves together a tight plot that includes arson, a missing wife, a double murder, and small-town corruption. She also brings to light the heartbreaking dilemma that the elderly often face: memory decline and potential loss of independence. It adds an emotional element that is sometimes missing from mysteries. There were enough clues sprinkled throughout Hope’s sleuthing, but I still couldn’t guess who the murderer was.

Even though this is the second book in the series, it is easily read as a standalone. There’s just enough backstory included so the reader feels like they have an understanding of the characters. I felt that the author has gained experience since her first release and it shows in the way the plot of THE HIDDEN CORPSE flows at an even pace. It pulled me in and kept me reading to find out what happens next. With a satisfying, nail-biting, reveal that had me on the edge of my seat, I was grateful the author ended the book with a heartwarming scene.

Hope is frequently trying out new recipes for her food blog along with baking cookies to sweeten up suspects. Ms. Sennefelder has included several recipes at the back of the book and they all sound scrumptious!

A typical cozy mystery. It's well written and flows along nicely. I enjoyed the characters, who are well developed. #TheHiddenCorpse #NetGalley

Love is series by Debra Sennefelder.
A refreshing change to read all about food blogging .
Hope in rolls herself into a photograph class to help with her food blog, it is hosted by Cal Barnhart who happens to know Hope from her time in the city. It is mentioned that his wife has been missing and the mystery starts.
Hope and Ethan romance is coming along nicely, not sure if I have taken to her sister Claire as she is so bossy and not to hold back any criticism.
A great plot , it had enough twists to keep you guessing who could be the killer ( I never did get it right in the end)..
Many thanks to Nettgally and Kensington for letting me review this book.
Definitely recommend.

From start to finish I loved this second book in Debra Sennefelder's A Food Blogger Mystery series. There is humor, drama, romance and an absolutely expert mystery offering so many twists and turns that I was completely surprised by the ending. I really did not want this book to end, and can't wait for more! I highly recommend it.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Book 2 of the Food Blogger Mysteries finds Hope Early, over committed and feeling extremely guilty. Her sister, Claire has asked her to host an English tea for a potential candidate for the Planning and Zoning board for Jefferson CT. Her contract with the Sweet Taste of Success requires she provide two recipes for a cookbook, she is taking a class in food photography for bloggers, Bigelow, her young dog needs more training in doggie/human social skills. Her guilt is caused by the death of her neighbor, Peggy Olson. Peggy has died in a house fire the day after she confessed to maybe falling asleep while food was on the stove. There is a badly burned pan, and a house filled with smoke.. Although admittedly confused, Peggy insists that Hope not tell anyone of the incident.
Another body is found in the ashes. Who could this be? Was the fire an accident, or arson?

I did not read book 1 in the series. The Hidden Corpse can be read as a stand alone, however Sennefelder provides enough information from the previous book to clarify some of the characters. The characters themselves are honestly portrayed, demonstrating opportunities for growth and development.

I enjoy reading food blogs, but am quite unfamiliar with the process of creating and producing them. The information included in this mystery was very interesting.

The mystery was not easily solved (I guessed wrong). Sennefelder provides enough potential perpetrators to make the hunt challenging.

I would recommend for any lover of cozy mysteries, or those who love to share cooking. .

Full disclosure: I received this e-book from netgalley and Kensington in exchange for an unbiased review.

This cozy weaves together a lot of elements in a way that captivates the reader’s attention. There’s small town politics, arson, murder, affairs, and surprisingly competitive world of food blogging. This is a great pick for someone looking for a contemporary cozy mystery.

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I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I was not paid for this review.

In ‘The Hidden Corpse’, we follow food blogger, Hope, who had recently moved back to her hometown of Jefferson, Connecticut to salvage what was left in her life after winning first-runner up in a reality television show and losing her (now ex) husband at the same time. You would think that because of her success at the baking show she’d be moving on to doing bigger, grander things, but it turns out Hope went from being a magazine editor to owning a humble food blog. In order to step up her blogging game and hopefully open doors to new opportunities, Hope decides to attend a food photography class. The class is taught by Cal, a man whose wife, Lily, has been missing for a while. Days later, a mysterious fire burned down the house of one of Hope’s sweet elderly neighbour, Penny, who seems to be having a hard time remembering things lately. This leads Hope to speculate whether Penny could have left something cooking and forgot to turn the stove off which caused the fire. It seems like another layer of complexity is added to the suspense along with the mysterious disappearance of Cal’s wife. The case gets even more bizarre when we find out that there had been two bodies recovered from the burning house. Will Hope be able to solve the mystery of Lily’s disappearance and find the killer who started the fire that ended two people’s lives?.

The pacing of this book was really well done. The author managed to keep me engaged and intrigued throughout the novel. Because the mystery was set up so early into the book, we got to see Hope’s sleuthing antics in more detail. We got to see her question suspects, all the while uncovering clues and leading us in a wild chase to find this killer. It did not feel rushed at all and even gave me time to process the clues and try to piece together my own conclusions. There were definitely times where my guess as to who the perpetrator may be changes throughout the novel each time a new clue has been revealed. The author scattered just enough clues and kept the mystery and suspense going throughout the book that it seemed like almost everyone in the town could be a possible suspect.

I liked the fact that the romance element was there but it did not overtake the main mystery plot line. I really enjoyed seeing Ethan and Hope’s relationship gradually develop into something more than friendship and found myself rooting for them throughout the novel. The characters were well written and likeable- and there wasn't an overwhelming cast of characters in this book.

And on top of this amazing cozy mystery, the author has graciously included some delicious recipes from Hope’s own food blog ‘Hope at Home’. I might go ahead and try one of the recipes soon.

After finishing this book, I immediately went online to order the first book. I cannot wait to see what’s next for Hope in this series and I look forward to reading the next book with great anticipation.

5 stars

Thank you, NetGalley and Kensington Books for providing me with an advanced reader’s copy of ‘The Hidden Corpse’ by Debra Sennefelder.

A review will be up on my blog (linked) on or before March 3

I’m all about eating great food plus I enjoy looking at photos of food and watching cooking shows! The Food Blogger series is great entertainment for me!

Food Blogger, Hope Early stays busy with her successful blog activities, social media presence, and continuing to up her game by enrolling in a food photography course taught by Cal Barnhart. Cal’s wife, Lily, is a missing person and a dark cloud hangs over Cal’s head although he hasn’t been arrested. Police Chief, Ethan Cahill is investigating Lily’s disappearance and Hope feels something sinister has happened to her.

Author Debra Sennefelder pens an interesting and emotional cozy mystery that touches on grief, the sadness of the elderly as their memory declines, and unfortunately, the local corruption and deception found in many towns and cities. Suspects are plentiful and clues are scattered throughout the story, yet it’s hard to single out just one perpetrator.

I thoroughly enjoyed THE HIDDEN CORPSE with it’s great cast of characters. I look forward to the next book in this cozy series.

I reviewed a digital arc provided by NetGalley and Kensington. Thank you.

3.25 stars

I never really clicked with this cozy. Hope Early, former reality TV chef and aspiring food blogger, doesn't feel quite real. The details of how bloggers market their business were interesting, but Hope was never very believable.

Often the excuse for the main characters of cozy mysteries to do their investigating is paper thin, but Hope seems frenetically snoopy even though she is constantly complaining about how much she has to do. She firmly believes that she can wave some fresh baked cookies in anybody's face and then pry into their business, despite the fact that she is fairly ham-handed and almost immediately puts everyone off.

The writing is fine, but the plot feels amateurish and lacks any kind of continuity. Thanks to the publisher and to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

he Hidden Corpse is Book 2 in the Food Blogger Mystery Series.

Food blogger Hope Early and the book opens with a fire and two dead bodies.

I really like that Ethan and Hope's relationship is developing even more in the second book.

The author does a great job of creating the mystery and Hope has to get involved in the investigation. I enjoy when the mystery is revealed early in a book and this gave the author time to develop different scenarios for who the killer might be, and I was shocked at the murderer and the ending. A great mystery that was hard to put down.

Bonus is that there are recipes included, definitely going to try one!

When Hope's neighbor dies, a mystery is born! This book was everything I wanted it to be! You really feel what the characters are feeling. The mystery full of twists but easy to follow. I cannot wait for what else the author has in store.

OMG I loved this story, This is the first time that I have read this author and I love her work. This book was a mixture of romance, mystery, and hilarity, Hope is a food blogger that finds herself once again in the middle of a murder and mystery. Will she solve it or will someone stop her? Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this book.

Hope signs up for a photography class with a famous food photographer. With his wife missing, she’s not sure class will go on, but the show must always go on, no? Go on it does, until his wife’s body is found in a fire that Hope calls in.

Soon Hope finds herself being portrayed as the grieving husband’s mistress while his wife’s body isn’t even cold. But despite her frustration at the false story in the paper, she doesn’t believe the man is guilty of murdering his wife and begins asking questions.

Soon hope is receiving threats intended to make her back off, but it only makes her look deeper and ask more questions. But will Hope be able to figure out who the murderer is before she’s next?

Enjoyed this second book in the series and look forward too many more.

The Hidden Corpse is an outstanding and complex mystery highlighting some wonderful characters. I loved the Uninvited Corpse but the amount of negativity from Hope's friends in that book made me sad. In this second novel of A Food Blogger series there are still negative people, but that is fine because they are balanced by her friends who stick with her and are quite likable. Hope's feelings of guilt for not warning the victim's niece about an incident with a fire provide an understandable reason for her to get involved in the investigation. The Hidden Corpse held me throughout and left me happy, sad, frustrated and angry, but never at the book; I reacted to the situations in the book as I left my world behind.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing an ARC to this wonderful mystery. I will be sharing my love for Debra Sennefelders newest book even more than I did with the first book in the series.

This is the second book in the series and I enjoyed it even more than the first!
The characters are written vividly and full of personality.
The whodunit was really top notch and kept me guessing. There were secrets to unravel and enough suspects to keep me guessing. (I was unsuccessful in guessing the culprit I have to admit).
I look forward to reading the next in the series!
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

I don't think I've read the first one in the series, but I enjoyed the missing food photographer story line, which isn't one you find every day. Well done writing and characters, I probably will check out more by this author.

This is the second in the Food Blogger mystery series and I enjoyed it every bit as much as the first! Debra Sennefelder’s writing style flows as smooth as honey. She has created very real characters you enjoy spending your time with. The mystery is woven seamlessly, keeping the reader engaged from the first word to the last! If you are in the market for a new cozy mystery series, I highly recommend the Food Blogger Mystery series.

I was eager to read this book and was pleasantly pleased with the story line. The story grabbed my attention from the very beginning and kept me engaged from beginning to end.

The Hidden Corpse is the second book in Debra Sennefelder’s Food Blogger Mysteries series. This enjoyable read is steadily paced, with a great cast of well-developed characters and lots of twists and turns to keep the reader engaged.

Hope Early, a lifestyle and food blogger, recently moved back to her hometown of Jefferson, Connecticut; she’s renovating the home she purchased and adopted a dog named Bigelow. Her sister, Claire Dixon, also lives in Jefferson with her husband and two children, is a real estate agent, and has her name on the ballot for the upcoming mayoral election. Her best friend, Drew, is a reporter for the North Country Gazette newspaper. Drew’s feeling pressure because the paper is having financial problems and he’s competing with a new reporter, Norrie Jennings, for articles. Claire ropes Hope into hosting a tea party for Maretta Kingston, a potential candidate for a Planning and Zoning Commission position. Hope, along with fellow food bloggers, Felicity Campbell, Louis Maddox, and Elena Voss, is attending a food photography class presented by Cal Barnhart, whose wife, Lily, has been missing for three weeks. Lily is a forty-one-year-old architect and member of the town’s Planning and Zoning Commission. Hope becomes concerned for her elderly neighbor, Peggy Olson, after she fell asleep, woke up to a smoke filled kitchen and blaring smoke detectors, with no memory of having been cooking. While out on an evening run. Hope noticed smoke billowing from Peggy’s house, and when the fire department was able to enter the residence, Peggy had succumbed to smoke inhalation was burning, and Lily’s body was discovered in the kitchen. The fire is labeled as suspicious because an empty gasoline container was found by the garage. Hope, who loves a mystery and has always been able to figure out whodunit in mystery books, finds herself caught up, snooping around, in another murder investigation.

I received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and voluntarily reviewed it.

This is the 2nd in the Food Blogger mystery series and I can’t wait for the next one to come out. I loved this and stayed up all night finishing it. Hope Early is a food blogger and is attending a photography class by a famous food photographer whose wife has been missing for the last 3 weeks. Hope and her fellow bloggers are shocked the class is even continuing and Cal has reached out to Hope as a friend since she knew him back when she worked for a magazine. Hope is called upon by her elderly neighbor Peggy to come over and help after her smoke detector goes on. Peggy apparently left food on the stove. She is so upset and begs Hope not to tell her niece Meg as she does not want to go into a nursing home. She is just back from being in a rehab center. Hope reluctantly agrees and begins to have second thoughts the next day so on her nightly run she decides to go over to talk to Peggy but instead finds the house in flames. She tries to rush in to help Peggy but it held back. Peggy dies in the fire and another body was found in the house. Could it be the body of Lily Barnhart? It is later learned that there was a gasoline container by the house and it was arson. Hope cannot figure out who want to hurt Peggy unless the other body was in fact Lily. There are lots of twists and turns in this story and I love that one of the clues in the beginning that made me think it was an odd comment I totally forgot about because of all the other suspects. Hope is a great character as are all her friends that support her along the way. I love that this is a fast read the story keeps moving and I loved the ending. Do not want to give away a spoiler. You will not be disappointed in this installment and the next book cannot come out soon enough for me! Highly recommend.