Mistletoe, Moussaka and Murder on the Jersey shore is not to be missed! Even though this is the 5th book in the Kebob Kitchen series it can be read as a standalone.

Lucy Berberian, former lawyer and current manager of her family's Kebab Kitchen, and best friend Katie are participating in the Polar Bear Plunge. Many of Ocean Crest's businesses are participating, as the event will be raising funds for the local senior center, where Lucy's landlord frequents. Unfortunately, it is discovered in the mad rush of everyone running out of the cold water that Deacon Spooner, co-owner of the local reception hall, has been intentionally drowned. Lucy's friend and owner of the cupcake store, Suzie Cutie, is accused of the murder and asks Lucy to help. How can Lucy say no?

In the midst of trying to prove her friend's innocence, Lucy is trying to manage Kebab Kitchen, squelch concerns she has over marrying Azad, long time chef at Kebab Kitchen, and deal with her best friend Katie's efforts to push Lucy into full-fledge wedding planning mode. Katie's antics as well as the quirkiness of Eloisa, Lucy's landlord, provide many laugh-out-loud moments which only add to the enjoyment of the book.

Lucy uncovers many suspects as she tries to determine who the murderer is, as Deacon seemed to make enemies easily - his nephew, former reception hall customers and vendors, as well as his business partner. A few hints are dropped that make you suspect certain people along the way, but the reader is able to figure out who the murderer is by the end of the book.

I highly recommend Mistletoe, Moussaka, and Murder, as well as the rest of the series and look forward to the next installment!

Thanks to Kensington and NetGalley for the review copy!

Another entertaining and mysterious visit to the Kebab Kitchen. There is no lack of suspects as the victim irritated many. A pleasant diversion. I suspected the culprit, but not for the reason given. Kept me guessing.

A wonderful Christmas cozy set along the Jersey shore. This is the fifth book in the Kebab Kitchen Mystery series.

I found the premise intriguing and was drawn in by the cover which was inviting. I couldn’t wait to start the story. I like Lucy and her friends and have a wonderful time reading each episode.

I like the mystery is cleverly plotted, plenty of misdirection, and picturesque. I enjoy the hometown feel and sense of community in this series. The bakery is a nice addition to the story line.

Recipes from the restaurant and the bakery are included.

I was given an advanced reader’s copy from Netgalley. I am not required to leave a positive review.

4.5 stars

This is the fifth book in the Kebab Kitchen mystery series by Tina Kashian.

After a local man is found dead after the Polar Plunge, Lucy decides to investigate since her good friend is labeled suspect number one.

Lots of secondary plot lines that really made this story so rich. Lucy is being pressured to set the date for her upcoming nuptials. And her mother wants to announce her wedding at a town shindig. She is uncertain about talking about her personal life in public. Lucy waffles between wondering if she is ready for such a big step in her life or turning tail and running away again like she did in the past. Her fiancee and head cook seems pretty chill about the whole thing and is waiting for Lucy to make up her mind. This is a great plot that is sandwiched between all the sleuthing she does.

I had no idea who the bad guy was. Great whodunit. Quite intricate and misleading at times. And the characters... Wow! I wanted to go and live there. Who knew the Jersey Shore would be so appealing. I wish there had been more interactions between the friends, but otherwise, this was a wonderful read!

If you love a good cozy mystery, definitely check this one out. You won’t be disappointed.

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.

Murder at the Polar Bear Plunge
This is another episode in the Kebab Kitchen Mystery series. The story takes place on the Jersey shore with a Greek/Armenian restaurant as a centerpiece. I have read earlier books in this series, but not all of them. The author has gotten much better at refreshing the past for the reader without being boring. The plot moves along swiftly and the book is fun to read. As always, there are some tasty looking recipes to try at home. I received this ARC book for free from Net Galley and this is my honest review.

Lucy Berberian is pressured by her friend Katie and family to participate in Ocean Crest's annual Polar Bear Plunge. But it is not just the frigid ocean that chills Lucy. Reception hall owner Deacon Spooner ends up dead in the water and it is no accident. Lucy and Katie had received a tepid response when they had visited Spooner about using the hall for Lucy's wedding reception and the town's annual Christmas party. There were plenty of other businesses and former clients who were unhappy with Spooner but who was willing to kill him? Susan Cutie, who runs a popular bakery, was getting nasty publicity from Spooner about bad wedding cakes. Bridezilla Clarissa was still fuming mad about her ruined wedding reception. And Spooner's nephew Henry was upset that his Scrooge-like relative who not help him set up his photography business.

When Susan is arrested for the murder, she begs Lucy to use her amateur sleuthing skills to find the real killer. While balancing her manager's duties at her family Kebab Kitchen restaurant and working on wedding plans to chef Azad, Lucy is feeling overwhelmed but determined to help her friend.

This was another delightful entry in the Kebab Kitchen mystery series.

I received an eARC from Netgalley and Kensington Books with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book and provided this review.,

This is a fun, light installment in the "Kebab Kitchen" cozy mystery series. You probably don't have to read the previous books to get caught up in this Christmas crime. Lucy is swept up in wedding planning to handsome chef Azad, but while she and her best friend Katie are participating in a "Polar Bear Plunge", a drowning takes place. I love all the quirky and eccentric characters in these books, from Lucy and her family to friends and other businesspeople. You'll be drooling at the mouth at the description of all of the tasty Mediterranean food, and craving every last morsel of hummus from the Kebab Kitchen. The mystery kept me guessing, and the storylines kept me enthralled. I recommend this cozy series! Thanks, Netgalley, for this arc.

Not my first go-round with this author and series, and while it would function just fine as a standalone, I started remembering Lucy the protagonist and her great support characters. My favorite is always Katie, her BFF, and in this entry to the series pushing Lucy to proceed with her engagement and wedding plans. Lucy has obstinately dug in and refused to budge.
Visiting a possible venue, the owner is seriously rude and she crosses that venue off immediately. However, she’s embroiled in the Polar Bear Plunge and as she and Katie brave their way in and out of the water discover said nasty venue owner on the sand and not moving. She’s not been the only person he was rude to and universally disliked.
One of his universally abused is her friend Susan, owner of the bakery Susie’s Cuties. Having had a run-in or two with the deceased and also in the same frigid water at the same time, the local detective has decided she’s numero uno suspect.
While the quest to clear her friend becomes a driving force, Katie is still busy pushing the wedding bell agenda, although I must hand it to Katie, she is up front with helping Lucy in her pursuit of the real killer.
It is a well-plotted book but a slow, cozy pace and I had a difficult time getting into the mystery under the wedding plans. She’s dragging her feet wrestling with her qualms of marriage to Azad. Personally, I think that’s a done deal.
The parents and their loving bickering is par for the course. The kitty is a personality as well as her rather nosy landlady. There is naturally a lot of foodie talk and most of it sounded yummy. I was sorry to see it revealed in the conclusion the one I suspected but hoped it wasn’t. Also chagrined to see the reason behind the mayhem. Really?

When a very disliked man dies at a polar bear plunge, it ends up being cold blooded murder! Of course Lucy is there to help save her friend accused of the murder by investigating. In a nice change, her fiancé Azad is supportive of this and even provides an assist. While there was still a murder to be solved, a hummus bar to be refilled, a wedding to prepare for, and Christmas events to attend, I liked how this book seemed to focus on Lucy's character growth. Lucy grapples with her feelings about her parent's relationship and what it foretells about her own with Azad. I would like to get more in to the other characters in the book. We don't know much about them other than in their direct interactions with Lucy. There is a lot of room for the series to expand in those areas.

Christmas is coming to Ocean Crest, New Jersey, Lucy's starting her wedding plans, and a man is murdered during the Polar Plunge for charity. All is normal in this series which features Lucy, who runs her parents' restaurant, is engaged to the chef, and solves crime with her best friend Katie, who happens to be married to a law enforcement officer. Lucy and Katie met Deacon the day before he was killed- and they found him as awful as everyone else, except one person took that dislike to the max. But who? No spoilers but this one twists around to someone I didn't suspect and for a unique reason. I like this series for the family, which was mostly missing here, and if I have a quibble it's the repetition, especially early on, that Lucy had come back to town after 8 years away. DOn't worry if you haven't read the earlier ones- this is fine as a standalone. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Don't miss the recipes at the end.

I am continuing to enjoy the Kebab Kitchen Mystery series and this is a great addition with a murder mystery for Lucy and her best friend, Katie to solve. Lucy manages her family's restaurant, Kebab Kitchen, in Ocean Crest on the Jersey shore after working for several years as an attorney in Philadelphia. She has also reunited with her former boyfriend, Azad, who is the head chef for the restaurant. They are now engaged and Katie is pushing Lucy to get into wedding plans. It is just before Christmas and a Polar Bear Plunge in the ocean is scheduled to raise money for the Senior Center and most businesses are represented with swimmers/plungers. When an very unpopular man is found drowned during the event, Lucy and Katie's friend, Susan Cutie, owner of a bakery is charged with his murder but she is one of many who had problems with the man. Of course, Lucy and Katie have to find the real killer and they have many suspects to sift through. Lots of sleuthing takes place while some wedding talks go on. We read about yummy foods sprinkled throughout as well. This is a great mystery that kept me guessing. I did have an idea of the killer but was still not sure and enjoyed the read.
I received a complimentary ARC from Kensington Books through NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine only.

Lucy Berberian and her Kabob Kitchen Mystery series is back in the fifth installment, Mistletoe, Moussaka and Murder by Tina Kashian. Lucy, the manager of her family owned restaurant, Kebab Kitchen, located in Jersey Shore, is roped into participating in the annual Polar Bear Plunge fundraiser, along with her fiancé; after the plunge, she discovers the body of one of the participants, Deacon Spooner. While checking out places to hold her upcoming wedding, Lucy had met with Spooner prior to the plunge, and found him to be a real creep, and she wanted nothing to do with him and his venue. Lucy, who is known for her amateur detective work, at the annoyance of the police, investigates, and gets herself into plenty of trouble.

Fans of this series know that Kashian is an excellent storyteller, and generally keeps readers’ interest from start to finish. She has done an excellent job of developing her characters, and they are believable and definitely likeable. Most fans anticipate the next installment since Lucy, the protagonist, has been evolving as a character throughout the series and her life is fun to read about, including the fact that she has fallen in love, gotten engaged, and is planning a wedding.

Recipes are included in all of the novels in the series, and they actually work well and are good. Culinary mysteries don’t generally include graphic violence, sex, or language, which makes them suitable for all ages. This novel is no exception, and is fun, light, and fast moving. Recommended as a nice installment to the series, and generally a good cozy to read.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

I thought that this read was good and kept my attention throughout the whole story. I thought I might know who the murderer was, but was not for certain. I hope you can get as lost in this book as I did and enjoy it too.

Lucy Berberain is running the Kebab Kitchen and is engaged to the cook for the Kitchen, Azad. Lucy's friend Katie has talked her into, well rather made her, participate in the polar bear plunge that is taking place to help raise money for the senior center in town. Lucy is not so sure about it but has agreed to go with Katie for the good cause.

Katie takes Lucy the day before the event and makes her go with her to look at a venue for Lucy and Azad's wedding reception. Katie is an early planner and thinks that Lucy should already have the venue picked out. Katie also needs a place to hold the city's Christmas party so they are going to kill two birds with one stone. When they get to the venue, they meet Deacon. Deacon is part owner of the venue they are looking at but seems like he does not want any business. He gives Katie and Lucy both a huge price for using the venue and tells them that there are no discounts. The girls are sort of thrown off by his attitude and turn to go, but before they can actually get in their car to leave, Deacon's business partner comes out and stops them. He promises to work with them and lower the price for their events. He says that Deacon is sort of hard to work with sometimes.

At the polar bear plunge the next day, the girls recognize a lot of the local business owners and even spot Deacon. They were surprised to see him there but he is there none the less. Next to Deacon is Susan, a local baker in town with her boyfriend. Katie and Lucy take the plunge and were surprised to see how crowded and chaotic it was going into the water. Lucy rushes to Azad because he had a towel and some hot chocolate waiting for her and Katie. When things settle down, they notice a crowd looking at something. They wander over to the area and find out that it is Deacon's body. Something has happened to him during the plunge and he is now dead, but who is to blame for his death? There is now a murderer among them and Lucy is determined to find out who.

You will enjoy going along with Lucy as she tries to figure out who the murderer is. Was it Susan since she was next too him and has been known to have a beef with him? Lucy is good friends with Susan and if it is not her, Lucy is going to clear her name and find out who is to blame for Deacon's death.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book and all opinions are my own. Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for an advanced copy of this book!

Every time I read a book in this series I crave for hummus. For one of the different hummus described in the story.
It's an excellent addition to this beloved series, highly entertaining and gripping.
I was happy to catch up with the characters, read about mouthwatering food and try to guess the culprit.
The characters are fleshed out, the setting interesting and the mystery is solid, full of twists and turns.
An excellent cozy mystery, highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

This is one of the best comfort reads on my list of 'read this to relax and de-stress' series. Boy am I glad my list is on the long side these days. Taking a virtual trip to the Jersey Shore pre-Christmas should be fun, right? Lucy is planning her wedding and she, along with her best friend, Katie, go take a look at a possible venue for the reception. Katie is also interested in the location for the upcoming town Christmas event. They turn around and leave when they have an unpleasant encounter with one of the owners of the business. That should have been the end of things but it only gets worse. Lucy and many of her friends join the annual Polar Bear Plunge which ends with the very dead body of the unpleasant caterer very dead. At first glance it seems to be drowning but soon the police declare it a homicide and Lucy's friend, Susan, is placed at the top of the list of suspects. She won't stay there is Lucy has anything to say about it. Let the investigating begin.
The list of people who weren't unhappy that he's dead is long enough to keep Lucy puzzled as to the real killer. The twists, turns and red herrings kept me engaged from start to finish. Each character was well developed and Lucy's relationships with her family and friends were what we all wish we had. This was the perfect reading escape.
My thanks to the publisher Kensington and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Books for providing me with an ARC of this book. Mistletoe, Moussaka and Murder was my introduction to this series. As a newcomer to the series, I found that it could be read as a standalone, I didn't have any difficulty understanding what was going on. This book grabbed my attention because of how the victim dies in this book, which is out of the ordinary, and, in my humble opinion, a horrible way to die. Lucy and Katie, our main characters, investigate the death of a rather unlikable businessman, in a way that is interesting. As to the killer's identity, there are subtle clues throughout the book, but even if you miss them, everything makes sense in the end. A very satisfying and enjoyable cozy mystery.

This is the first book in the Kebab Kitchen series that I read but I enjoyed it so much I've already got the others in my TBR pile. While it is the fifth in the series, it does very well as a standalone. Loved the protagonist and her family and friends, they added much to my enjoyment.

I could relate to this book-my parents were immigrants from a Balkan country and the foods described are family favorites!

The mystery was well done. The story moved along well and there were plenty of folks with potential motives. Kept me guessing until the end.

Received an ARC from NetGalley and Kensington but the opinions expressed are my own.

A Kebab Kitchen Mystery Series is one of my favorite series. I love the characters in it. The wonderful food that I can practically smell while reading about it, the family, the friends. *sigh* It all comes together so beautifully. When I read the books in this series it feels like I am there. Tina Kashian never fails to transport me away from my troubles. This series is like comfort food except in book form. Mistletoe, Moussaka and Murder was just what I needed to read. This year has been a rocky one for everyone. I had been having a struggle with concentration. I switched to darker reading to match my feelings. Then I was gifted an ecopy of this book for review consideration. I didn’t even know how much I needed old friends, wedding talk, a Christmas party and a murder. Reading this book, being transported far away, truly lifted my soul. I was so happy to see Lucy examine her feelings and accept them. It was delightful when she spoke to her mom about her plans. I laughed out loud picturing it. I swear, that was my favorite scene in the book! The dead body? Yes, there is one. Wait until you read about that! I won’t talk much about it as you really need to figure it out yourself. There are a number of potential murderers. The reveal was a heart pounder for sure. I am already anticipating the next book. Will there be a wedding soon? If Katie and Lucy’s Mom have anything to say about it the answer is most definitely! Give yourself a gift and get a copy of this book. We can all use some Christmas spirit now.
*I received an ecopy of this book for review consideration. Thank you to Kensington Publishers, NetGalley and the Author for this opportunity. I voluntarily reviewed this book and all opinions are based on my enjoyment of the book.

Mistletoe, Moussaka, and Murder is the fifth book in the Kebab Kitchen Mystery series by Tina Kashian. As a Christmas cozy mystery, this book hits all the right marks for a delightful read, starting with the adorable cover depicting a sandy snowman on the iconic Jersey shoreline. One of the draws in this series is the special familial bond the protagonist, Lucy Berberian, has with her parents, sister, and friends. Despite the bickering her parents exhibit from time to time, there’s still love between them that flows over to how Lucy interacts with those around her. I also have enjoyed watching Lucy grow over the course of the series, especially with her relationship with Azad, the chef at their restaurant and am excited to see what happens in future books as they plan their nuptials. Other core characters are Kate, Lucy’s long-time best friend and her landlady, elderly Eloisa. Kate, married to a detective, brings humor to situations as Lucy’s sidekick and sleuthing partner, while larger-than-life Eloisa brings outright hilarity.

The murder mystery of who killed a local reception hall owner in sight of scores of people during the annual Polar Bear Plunge was cleverly done. Ms. Kashian writes a tightly plotted tale with clues sprinkled throughout to keep a sharp reader on their toes. With the interjection of holiday cheer, descriptions of the quintessential boardwalk and the businesses that thrive on tourism, and adorable Gaddoo (which is cat in Armenian), this book is a cozy, lighthearted read. The reveal caught me unawares as I was caught up in the holiday celebration, which added to my enjoyment in this well-crafted story.

With the family’s Mediterranean restaurant, the Kebab Kitchen, being a central setting, there are plenty of mentions of delicious ethnic foods throughout the book. I really liked that Ms. Kashian expanded the plot to also include a delectable bakery in the mix and includes recipes from both venues at the back of the book.

Mistletoe, Moussaka, and Murder by Tina Kashian
Kensington Books
Mystery & Thrillers
Pub Date 29 Sep 2020

Mistletoe, Moussaka, and Murder is the fifth book in the Kebab Kitchen Mystery series. It can easily be read as a standalone story and I look forward to reading the other books in the series.

This was a cute cozy mystery with a great small town feel to it. I loved the inclusion of the Christmas events within the storyline of the book.

The characters were very interesting and the family dynamic and relationship development kept the book fascinating. I love Lucy's landlord, Eloisha...she is something else! Also, reading about the cultural aspects helped build depth to the story and the characters. (Also the recipes sound amazing!)

This was a fun book and makes me want to reading the previous (& future) books in the series!

I'm so grateful to Tina Kashian, Kensington Books, and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this ARC ebook in exchange for my honest review.