Shredding the Evidence earns 5/5 Critic’s Notes...Engaging Fun!

It’s embarrassing that I’ve overlooked this series for so long; I am an eager fan of Daryl Wood Gerber’s French Bistro Mystery and her new Fairy Garden Mystery. I am also a fan of the Cheese Shop Mysteries she writes under her pen name Avery Aames. But, better late than never! This is definitely a gem no cozy fan should miss! First, clever title and cover that grabbed my attention, and a cookbook shop...hey, I’m a cookbook fanatic, so I’m in!

Daryl Wood Gerber follows the traditional cozy formula...a very good thing! Great writing! Descriptive style, clever dialogue, page-turner extraordinaire. Great setting! It’s Crystal Cove, California, a small town nestled next to the Pacific coast with beaches, marinas, and a lovely harbor. Lots of places for felonies to occur like murder. Great theme! Jenna Hart owns the delightful Cookbook Nook, a culinary bookshop and café. She often participates in local festivals or themed weeks to entice tourism like the Food Bowl Week with local chefs creating delicious bite-sized delicacies. Great mystery! Jenna always seems to find or be directed to a murder victim often cut down by fate or karma. She discovers an ambitious food critic dead among some of her “shredded” restaurant reviews. Great clues and investigation! It’s a locked room, and there is a smorgasbord of suspects from restaurant owners to newspaper editors to would-be boyfriends to explore. It’s personal when her BFF Katie’s husband is at the top of the list. Great conclusion! The final reveal includes a bit of personal peril, and the motive is always clever. My inner Sherlock was challenged. Great bonus! Recipes, eight of them, are sensitive to those who want a gluten-free options. Each easy-to-follow recipe has a fun narrative from Jenna (Nook co-owner and amateur detective), Katie (Nook chef), Lola (owner Pelican Brief diner), or Aunt Vera (Nook co-owner). Enjoy Bird’s Nest Kale Salad with choice of Peanut Dressing or Ginger Salad Dressing, Cocoa Bliss Balls, Coconut Haystacks including a Chocolate Version, Honey-Lemon Vinaigrette, Mini Crab Cakes with an Aioli, children-friendly no-cook Haystacks uses a microwave, Pumpkin-Chocolate-Coconut Muffins, and Shredded [insert giggle] Grilled Cheese Sandwich.

This is a murder mystery with interesting characters, with a variety of personalities that keep the interactions engaging to the reader. The theme of the main event in this book is a Food Bowl, that will bring a hard competition between a reporter an a food critic, the possibility of financial trouble in the work place, and so on, will leave you guessing til the very end.

I enjoyed catching up with the Cookbook Nook characters and citizens of Crystal Cove. The fun and quirky characters plus the idyllic setting of Crystal Cove mixed with a murder equals a delightful cozy read. I have been a little disappointed with recent books in this series, but the writing in this one was back up to par. It was a fun read and a nice escape from the real world.

Jenna owns the Cookbook Nook bookstore in Crystal Cove, CA. It’s mid-November and the town is having it’s annual week long “Food Bowl” to highlight restaurants in town and bring in tourists.

Jenna and her friends Bailey and Alexa, stumble across the murder of Kylie O, the local food critic, at Alexa’s Pilates studio. Kylie wasn’t much liked in Crystal Cove so there are quite a few suspects to choose from. Right from the start, Bailey’s husband is suspect number one. Jenna, wanting to do something to help out her friend, starts chasing clues, at butts heads with the Chief of Police while doing it. Jenna soon learns lots of people in town have secrets that Kylie knew. Trying to find the killer is going to be harder than she thought.

This was a good book to read. It’s the latest in a series and this is the first one I’ve read. It grabbed me right away and kept my interest. There were a few times when I could’ve done without all the “scrumptious, delicious, yummy, etc. adjectives. To me, they got old really quickly. I mean, yes, the story is based around restaurants and their reviews, but I didn’t really need to know what everyone was eating practically all the time. I guess I know now what’s in store for me throughout the rest of the series if I decide to read them.

Overall, a nice book to read before turning in for the night. It’s got some of the recipes at the end of the book, which is nice. I’d recommend it to anyone that likes cozy mysteries or stories about lots of food.

I requested this title from publisher Beyond the Page and to NetGalley. Thank you for letting me read this. It was my pleasure to give this review in return.

I wish I could live in a town like Crystal Cove. Small town, mostly lovely people and always good food. A killer here and there, well Jenna Hart will figure out who dunnit and all will be fine....until the next book, of course. Here we are in crime #9 and a totally obnoxious food critic is making things miserable around town. Kylie O really knows how to rub people the wrong way but, somehow, until now, she has had job security with the local newspaper. Things get very heated when she goes toe to toe and nose to nose with another reporter, claiming that she has the exclusive rights to every article that concerns food. Period. Poor Tito, he has crossed paths with a vengeful woman and her hidden past. Next thing he knows, he is the prime suspect in Kylie O's demise. Somebody couldn't take it anymore and did her in, stringing her up on a Pilates machine like a rag doll and scattering papers all over the place, copies of her food reviews. Was it her present that killed her or was it her past that came back?
Jenna may have lots on her plate right now with the cook book store, the Food Bowl Week, her plans for her upcoming wedding to Rhett but when she is on the scene with her friend Bailey (who happens to be Tito's wife) to discover the corpse....of course she is going to start her own investigation. These are her friends and nothing will stop her from tracking down the killer.
As in every cozy the main character sticks her nose into police business, the police tell her to stay out of it - we readers know the rules and it's what keeps us coming back. I like Jenna and her group of family and friends. Each helps unravel the mystery in some way and the killer is uncovered. The mark of a good series is that none of it is stale in the ninth book. I'm ready for more investigations with Jenna.
My thanks to the publisher Beyond the Page and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed the Food Bowl theme of this book. I really love this series and was happy to check in at the Cookbook Nook for awhile. Gerber's books always take me to a happy place and the mystery kept me guessing. Love revisiting old characters.

Shredding the Evidence by Daryl Wood Gerber is the ninth instalment in 'A Cookbook Nook Mystery' series and my second book in this series, having previously read Sifting Through Clues.

In this fabulous cozy mystery, it is Food Bowl Week in the Californian town of Crystal Cove, when local chefs get together to offer some of their best and most imaginative creations all over the town. But during the event, bookshop proprietor Jenna Hart finds the body of a dead food reporter and her best friend’s husband soon becomes the main suspect. Can Jenna figure out the identity of the culprit before she becomes one of the courses on the murderer's menu?

The writing style of Daryl Wood Gerber is excellent and even with the plethora of cast members, the story is easy to follow. Jenna, the owner of the Cookbook Nook, was a great character and I loved her for her savvy and her loyalty. I also enjoyed the role of Cinnamon, the police chief, who displayed more of a caring side towards the community of Crystal Cove.

The whodunit aspect was great with plenty of opportunities for the most diligent of armchair detectives to play along. Every clue led to a revelation and I really liked the way things were all neatly wrapped up.

Although I have come into this series late in the day, starting at book eight, the story is self contained enough to still be immensely enjoyable. This tremendous series is a hit for me and I am looking forward to starting it from the beginning and getting to know all of the characters to a greater degree. If you adore a fantastic cozy mystery, don't miss out on Shredding the Evidence.

I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel at my request from Beyond the Page Publishing via NetGalley and this review is my unbiased opinion.

SHREDDING THE EVIDENCE, the ninth book in the Cookbook Nook Mystery series by Daryl Wood Gerber, is another terrific addition to a well-loved series! The protagonist, Jenna Hart, is preparing for their town’s week-long Food Bowl event, where local chefs create imaginative bite-sized delicacies. I adore the clever event themes Ms. Gerber bases each murder mystery around in her books. It adds to the reader becoming immersed in the setting and provides the opportunity to experience it with all the senses. She also creates entertaining, witty names for the businesses in town which showcases the author’s humor. Jenna is a very likeable character and I appreciate how the author has continued to find avenues of growth and change for her along with the other central characters. It makes them seem all the more relatable. Jenna is a true friend to her employees and treats her many customers with respect. It’s no wonder her shop, the Cookbook Nook Bookstore and Nook Café, which she co-owns with her Aunt Vera, is so successful. I would love to spend my free time in the Cookbook Nook browsing the many veritable, specialty cookbooks that Jenna sells. Instead I do the next best thing and search for those that catch my eye on Amazon to add to my own collection.

The local food reporter turned murder victim didn’t come as a surprise. She was a mean-spirited woman and there were many, many people who had reasons to hate her, including Jenna’s best friend’s husband. In keeping with her character, Jenna jumps in to support her friend no matter the cost and prove his innocence. Ms. Gerber writes a tightly plotted mystery with the clues twisting and turning to keep the reader on their toes. With the murder happening in a “locked-room” situation, the reveal was quite stunning on how it was pulled off with an edge-of-your seat conclusion. The author does an admirable job wrapping up each strand of the story creating a highly satisfying read!

With Food Bowl week happening and the Nook Café serving up all sorts of delightful goodies, the reader will be hungry as they turn the pages. You can always count on Ms. Gerber’s books containing many delectable recipes at the back of the book and as usual, I want to try them all! As a bonus, many of them have been adapted for those who need to eat gluten-free as well.

In this latest edition in the cookbook nook series, it is food bowl week in Crystal Cove and Jenna Hart is getting things ready in her cookbook nook shop. Things take a turn when a food reporter, Kylie, is found dead shortly after an argument with fellow reporter and Jenna's friend, Tito. Jenna doesn't believe Tito could have killed anyone so she sets out to find the killer along with Tito's wife Bailey. This was such a fun edition in this series. I loved to see how the characters have evolved since the beginning of the series. The characters are wonderful as always and the mystery was well done. I was surprised at the killer but the reveal was good. I definitely will continue this series.

This is one of my favorite series by one of my favorite authors. A visit to Crystal Cove is always interesting because each story has an unique theme. This time it is Food Bowl Week so get ready to salivate over yummy sounding dishes and get some great recipes. Also, A+ for the original manner of the murder.

Thanks to Beyond the Page Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC. The opinions expressed are my own.

I haven’t read every book in this series, but I have totally enjoyed the ones that I have read. We have lots of yummy food and lots of exercise in this book. We may all have to get on the exercise part after our staying at home is done. Pole dancing is one of the recommended exercises in the book. There are some yummy recipes included also. Kylie seemed to me to be a very unhappy person and one that could rub you the wrong way in a hurry. Maybe you know someone like her. I do love the Nook Café and Cookbook Nook folks. I’d love to have a reading by Aunt Vera. Join the fun as Bailey, Tito, and Jenna join forces and help the Chief and her Deputies solve the question as to who did it. I think you’ll find it very interesting what they find out along the way. I received this book from NetGalley, but my opinion is my own.

Another enjoyable visit to Crystal Cove, California. Wish it were real. Food week sounded terrific. Clever murder mystery. The usual cast of characters all add to the entertainment, including the cat.

Shredding the Evidence by Daryl Wood Gerber is a quick visit back the Cookbook Nook and all our friends there. Of course there's a body and this time it's someone no one likes so it is touch to figure out who the murder is. The good news is that none of Jenna's friends are suspected, after a minute. The bad news is that it takes a while to figure it out, especially with Chief Cinnamon Pritchett laid up for part of the time: dehydrated because of her pregnancy. The good news is Bailey's baby is cute as a button and Bailey and Tito are totally happy with each other and their baby. Vera, Jenna's aunt and co-owner of the Nook is planning to get married and pretty much everyone is happy about that. Katie's pregnancy is fine and Rhett's new restaurant is off to a blazing start. Except for the body, life is good.

Cozy mysteries are just that: cozy. Reading it is like coming home to see friends you haven't seen in a while. Jenna is a very grounded mid-thirties woman with love in her life and a career she is happy with. Her aunt bought the house across the street for she and Rhett and she is living there by herself until after the wedding. It needs some work and she is seeing to that. Like all houses, it's more work than she thought it would be. Rugs can cover up a lot of secrets! We don't see a lot of Rhett in this book, He is busy with the restaurant, but Bailey, Gran, Vera, and Katie are there for us to enjoy and get to know better. As usual there are plenty of books and good to keep the reader amused. It is a fun book. I recommend it.

I received a free ARC of Shredding the Evidence from Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions and interpretations contained herein are solely my own. #netgalley #shreddingtheevidence

Shredding the Evidence by Daryl Wood Gerber has Jenna Hart preparing the shop for Food Bowl Week in Crystal Cove, California. Local restaurants are offering their best and most creative dishes including Intine, Rhett’s new French bistro. Kylie O, the food critic for the Crystal Cove Courier, is determined to cover all the Food Bowl events on her own much to Tito Martinez’s frustration. When Kylie is found dead on a Pilates machine, Tito ends up the prime suspect. Bailey needs Jenna prove Tito’s innocence before her husband ends up a cook at the local prison. Shredding the Evidence is the ninth A Cookbook Nook Mystery. It can be read as a standalone, but I do recommend each book in this charming series. I always enjoy visiting Crystal Cove with its darling shops and friendly (well, most of them of are) residents. I have liked watching Jenna, Cary Hart, Aunt Vera, Bailey and the other develop as characters. It is lovely to see Aunt Vera in a romance, Bailey enjoying her new baby girl, Jenna and Rhett planning their wedding and Cinnamon expecting a baby. The annual Food Bowl Week means an influx of tourists to sample the delectable food and purchase gifts which includes cookbooks plus related items from the Cookbook Nook. Kylie Obendorfer (you can see why she preferred Kylie O) is murdered and there are a variety of people who would have liked to see her dead. As a food critic, Kylie did not hold back. She was equally as rude in her private life. Unfortunately, Tito had a public argument with Kylie the day before her death. Bailey has no intention of letting her husband linger on Cinnamon’s suspect list. I liked the misdirection as well as the method of murder. I was caught by surprise when Cinnamon did something completely unexpected that left Jenna equally flabbergasted (for a moment). There were a couple of side storylines in Shredding the Evidence. Aunt Vera’s romance has upset her romantic partners children, Eugene Tinsdale is thinking of selling the Crystal Cove Courier, Rhett is overwhelmed at his new restaurant, redecorating is happening at Jenna and Rhett’s new home plus they are planning their wedding. I just love Tigger, Jenn’s cat, and his adorable antics. I like how the shredding theme was incorporated into the book in clever ways. The food descriptions will have your mouth watering and, luckily, there are recipes at the end of the book for some of the food dishes mentioned. Shredding the Evidence is a fun cozy mystery with delectable delights, a cute cat, wedding woes, a horrifying homicide, a beloved baby, relationship tribulations, and throngs of tourists.

Crystal Cove is gearing up for the Food Bowl Week that will be happening soon. A week of a variety of imaginative foods offered by local chefs. Jenna is excited and has already figured out when she'll be able to sample and which places she wants to visit. Things are going well until she helps break up a fight between her best friends husband who is a reporter for the local paper and the food reporter for the same paper. When she finds the body of the food reporter the next day she worries about her Bailey's husband being a suspect. Tito says he is innocent and Jenna believes him, she knows she needs to put her investigating skills to the test in hopes of finding out who the real killer is and why they went to such extremes. Meanwhile she is trying to get started on her wedding plans and making sure nothing will be left for the last minute. As she digs deeper things start to come to light but will she figure out who the killer is before she herself becomes the next victim? This series is a must read filled with amazing characters, great plots, and an inviting destination.

From Beyond the Page Publishing comes Daryl Wood Gerber’s ninth book in the “A Cookbook Nook Mystery” series, Shredding the Evidence.

The characters in this bookstore cozy are always fun, intelligent, and happy to get into mischief. They are also easily persuaded to jump into a murder investigation. Which considering the fact that another murder has occurred, is a good thing. Jenna is an amateur sleuth at best, but not as unwilling as she would like people to think. Bailey takes the lead this time, her husband being the main suspect. She is almost ruthless in her questioning of suspects and witnesses. Aunt Vera, although not directly involved in the investigation, adds drama and entertainment to an already delightful story. A pregnant Cinnamon is an unpredictable Cinnamon; this opens up the character to have more depth and personality. I would like to have seen Rhett more involved in the story as he plays such a small part.

As always, the setting of Crystal Cove is idyllic and a town most readers would enjoy visiting. The base of this series is a bookstore that specializes in cookbooks and cooking items. I would love to spend a couple of hours roaming through the cookbooks and other items. The recipe descriptions are mouth-watering!

The murder is unusual, and a bit more violent than readers might expect from a cozy book. Thankfully, Ms. Gerber limits the description to the bare necessities, readers need not worry that it crosses the boundaries of cozy vs. pulp. Suspects are plentiful, and many have excellent motives to have killed the victim. Kylie O wasn’t well-liked and earned the dislike and perhaps hatred of those she came in contact with. After everything she did, its a wonder someone hadn’t murdered her sooner! The bookstore doesn’t play a big enough part in this book, but that could just be my inner literary greed speaking. Food Bowl week sounds like an event most people would enjoy attending, and the characters in this story are no exception.

In the end, the killer is found and will come as somewhat of a surprise to many readers. Unfortunately, I was fairly sure who the killer was almost from the beginning, but the motive and the means were intriguing and kept me turning the page. Overall, Shredding the Evidence is a delightful cozy, with a fan favorite setting of a bookstore, with a small-town feel that keeps readers coming back to this series. Ms. Gerber is a wonderful writer who can craft a story that leaves you feeling happy. In a world where happiness can be hard to find right now, reading a good cozy is a pleasure we can all endure with ease.

Jenna and company are back in this instalment of Citrus Cove adventures, as Jenna tries to determine who had motive to kill a critic. The mystery in this one is alright, though I figured out the killer (though not the motive) before the end. My main complaint with this book is Jenna because she seemed very dismissive and callous towards others who have challenges that she does not. Jenna also appeared more pushy and intrusive in this book than previous entries in this series, as well as claiming some things she did are different than the same things that others had done, just because she didn’t like whomever had done them. It was still a good read though and I recommend it to anyone who wishes to catch up on recent events in this series.

This is one of my favorite cozy mystery series and I always enjoy returning to Jenna and the Cookbook Nook Bookstore in Crystal Cove CA. Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley for the opportunity.
My review opinion is my own.. .
Shredding the Evidence by Daryl Wood Gerber is book nine in the Cookbook Nook Mystery series. This book can be read as a stand alone for readers new to the series. I enjoy and recommend the entire series for your reading enjoyment. The author has created a lovely world in fictional Crystal Cove CA where our protagonist and friends live and work.

In this next installment Jenna and Rhett are planning their wedding during a town foodie event called "Food Bowl". This is various restaurants and chefs coming together to present their foods in small portions and compete with each other. A contentious food reviewer is making waves with everyone at the event when she is finally murdered in a gruesome fashion at a local Pilates studio with her reviews shredded all around the body. The victim has plenty of enemies and Jenna is shocked to find out her friend's husband is suspect number one so she jumps into investigate. As she begins her investigation Rhett is trying to get his restaurant off the ground and he is having to bow out of wedding details much to her chagrin. Jenna , her Aunt and employees are holding events at her popular Bookshop "The Cookbook Nook" for local authors of cookbooks and fun events for the local children. Her chef at her "Nook Cafe" next to her shop is always creating wonderful. desserts and fun foods to this readers delight. The two businesses are thriving and popular among the locals and tourists. Jenna has a gift for providing cook books that everyone wants . Jenna is wearing many hats that keep her busy in between attending the food events , running her businesses and planning her wedding . As the events and the investigation proceed Jenna finds herself with suspects and clues that lead her to many red herrings. Suspects are many and Jenna is finding she will have to use all her savvy investigation skills to solve this murder with the help of her good friend Cinnamon, the local .police chief.

I loved this next in series and the descriptions of the food events were fun. This is the perfect escape reading . The sleuth was very well crafted and kept me guessing. I find all the supporting charcters likable and add to the story. It is always enjoyable to return to Jenna at The Cookbook Nook and her next adventure with her friends and family. I look forward to the next in series. The receipes included are always delightful.

Shredding the Evidence by Daryl Wood Gerber is book nine in the Cookbook Nook Mystery series. I love this series. They can be read alone. Once you read one, you will want to read them all.
In this story, it's Food Bowl in Crystal Cove and everyone has been planning which tasty stand they want to sample as have, Jenna and her friends.. Unfortunately, Jenna again finds a dead body. This time it's local food critic, Kylie O., who would not win any congeniality contests in the town. When Jenn's best friend Bailey's husband is named as the top suspect, Jenna knows he couldn't have done it. Into the investigation she goes.
As in all the books in this series there are plenty of plot twists and enough side story to get to keep up with Jenna and her friends and family. The setting is wonderful, as are the characters and Jenna's cat sidekick . There"s romance, a touch of humor, and recipes.
I'm already missing going to the Cookbook Nook.
I was given an ARC by NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review.

My first read in this series. I will go back and find others.
A colorful cast of characters.
Cooking show competition, yoga, newspaper, cookbook bookstore, chef all kinds of jobs represented all kind of things going on. Fun read