This is my first cozy mystery and it won't be my last. This was such a good started book into the genre. Thank you for letting me read and review this book. I will feature my own cozy mystery recommendation in a future podcast episode.

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This book is well written and the characters are described well. This is book 16 in this series. I would recommend reading the first book in this series to get to know the characters better. But overall this book is great. I adored the sisters. I didn't expect that person to do it. It is in stores now for $26.00 (USD).

This is a cozy mystery, and this is the 16th book in A Mystery with Recipes series. I found myself not caring about the characters of this book. The mystery part of this book was ok. Overall, I just found this book ok. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher (Kensington) or author (Isis Crawford) via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review about how I feel about this book, and I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.

I can’t remember the last Isis Crawford book I read, but it has been a while. But I decided to give this book a shot because of the book club premise. Unfortunately, I guess I was too eager because I didn’t properly read what this book was about.

In the end, I just didn’t feel invested in the characters or the storyline. The main characters in particular just didn’t seem to fit my personality at all. I couldn’t relate to them and maybe that’s due to the age difference, but I felt like I was reading a book for a whole different demographic.

The mystery was okay, but also a little over the top in some places. I don’t mind regarding a few things, but this one seemed like too many things happened and didn’t fall into place in the end. I felt like the author was trying too hard to make this exciting and it just didn’t work out well.

That being said, I think I will pass on this series. It’s just not for me.

I enjoyed this mystery about a book club member very much! The characters were great and held many secrets they do not wish revealed. Many twists and turns to keep me guessing kept me glued to the page. I will be reading more of this series. I received a copy from NetGalley and the publisher and this is my honest opinion.

This is the sixteenth book in the series and the first I have read. Unfortunately that didn't work out for me. There were just too many things about the characters didn't understand. I'm giving the book 3 stars because it's my own fault I didn't pay attention to the number of books in the series. I did love the cover and I thought the premise was entertaining.

A mystery book club meeting makes a great vehicle for this catering tale! When Margo doesn't pick up her order before the book club meeting, the sisters spring into action to find her.

I have read a couple of previous books in the series and want to like it. The conversations between Libby and Bernie are the main issue for me. Everything seems forced and stilted. I struggle to find the flow of the storyline. I also got annoyed when Libby wanted to steal a recipe/dish served by a local restaurant. Small business owners should support each other rather than stab each other in the back.

Margo Hemsley is a woman you can set your clock by. For book club meetings, she pre-orders the refreshments, always the same items, arrives ten minutes early to pick them up, and never lingers. Except this week. When she’s a few minutes late, Bernie and Libby, the sisters whose shop provides those refreshments, start to worry. They’re not the only ones as the book club members start searching for Margo, too.

It’s like Margo vanished, so the club members hire Bernie and Libby to find Margo. Although not licensed detectives, the pair have been successful in finding the truth before. This instance looks to be more difficult than anything previous. When a lead takes them into a swamp, there’s more to worry about than they expected—there’s a dead body in the murky water. Sadly, it’s Margo, and her death is ruled an accident.

No one believes Margo would ever venture into that area, especially on a book club evening. As the sisters continue to search for clues, they find more than they ever expected—everyone has a secret and under the right circumstances, each one would be worth killing for.

This is book sixteen in the long running series. Bernie and Libby are the perfect pair to investigate. Libby is much more cautious than Bernie who is willing to take a risk. With the help of their dad, a retired cop, and his friend at the station, they’re able to find out bits and pieces of information in exchange for information of their own plus their homemade desserts. A pie can go a long way as a bribe.

What better way to spend a cold winter’s day than reading a cozy mystery with added recipes? Recipes include gluten-free cranberry bread, pumpkin bread, and orange-cardamom morning muffins.

I didn't see this coming in the slightest! Love love love that the boyfriends are back and happy to know that the witchy girlfriend has seemed to disappear.. Sean's wheelchair has also seemed to disappear as well - but whatever works for the author. Great recipes in the back as well!

This is book 16 in the Mystery with Recipes series and can be read as a stand alone. Sisters Bernie and Libby are hired by the the local mystery book club to find their missing member. The girls are busy running the bakery full time but decide they can use the extra money for expansion. They find Margo dead and all clues are pointing to a member of the book club as the murderer. A good cozy and the recipes sound delicious. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Another adventure with Bernie and Libby. It has been a while since I've read one of these books. I always enjoy these books, and I have not read most of them in order. I've never had any problems understanding the plot of any of the storylines. The characters are entertaining, however, Bernie is sometimes just a little bit too reckless. The mystery is well-plotted with plenty of suspects and twists and turns. I was completely surprised by the ending of this mystery.

All thoughts and opinions are my own, and in no way have I been influenced by anyone.

Princess Fuzzypants here: Bernie and Libby run a successful restaurant and catering business but they cannot resist playing detective. Their father, a former cop, and a current cop who is also a friend, aid and abet them in their investigations. They are pretty good at their unlicensed activities even though they often are reckless. They truly do skate very close to the edge in this outing and it is good to see their father, who should know better, chastise them for some of their exploits.

This time members of a book club hire them to find one of their members who has disappeared. When they find her, she is dead and while the police believe it was an accident, the other members disagree and ask the ladies to find out who killed her and why. As it turns out, it is a rather foolish thing to hire them as the individual members all have secrets and complicit activities that are revealed much to their chagrin. Some of these activities are egregious but are they enough to lead to murder. That is for the reader to discover.

There are lots of turns and twists before Bernie and Libby solve the mystery. They do take big chances but they get there in the end. Four purrs and two paws up.

A Catered Book Club Murder (A Mystery with Recipes #16) by Isis Crawford
Publisher: Kensington Books
Genre: Mystery & Thrillers
Release Date: December 29, 2020

A Catered Book Club Murder by Isis Crawford is the sixteenth book in A Mystery with Recipes series. I had not read the previous books, and while I felt like I was missing some of the backstory, I was able to easily read this as a standalone book.

I really struggled to get through this book. I just did not capture me the way I want a book to. The characters were ok, but not captivating. The storyline was ok. (Considering I was reading this during a snow day in Texas and had absolutely nothing else to do but read, I really struggled to keep reading it and has to force myself to finish it.)

The mystery was interesting, but I didn't feel invested in figuring out who did it.

Overall, this book was good, even though it didn't work for me.

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

A Catered Book Club Murder was quite a delight.

I truly enjoy the banter between the sisters and the idea of the book club was intriguing. The characters are again very well crafted and believable. And, the storyline was easy to follow and fun to read.

It definitely kept me trying to figure out the killer and was unsuccessful. A true whodunit.

Can't wait to read more books by this author.

I enjoy this series, as well as the yummy recipes the girls come up with. Bernie and Libby get called to help an artsy book club solve the disappearance of one of their members. However, it doesn't have a happy ending and now the girls are trying to find out who killed her. Yes, spots of the book were irritating because Bernie goes rushing in half cocked and is gonna get her head blown off. And who busts into a house through a splintery window in a dress? Anyway, I do enjoy the series, but the gals need to catch up on their sleep in time for the next one. They have waaaay too much energy for their ages.

Release Date: December 29th 2020

Bernie and Libby are catering/restaurant extraordinaries. They have a standing order with the book club that Margot ALWAYS picks up 10 mins early, so when she doesn’t show the sisters become suspicious. That suspicion turns serious when the book club hire Libby and Bernie to find Margot. Now they have to figure out who dun it and why?

I started out enjoying this book. Bernie and Libby are quirky and fun. However it kind of does a nose dive after they find Margot. There’s a large plot hole that was super annoying. I think the authors writing was good but the editing needs to be better.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

#bookstagram #netgalleyreads #bookrecommendations #acateredbookclubmurder

The book club hires a private investigator to find out who killed a member. The members find out they did not know the background of the dead member. Art thefts, false passports and nasty people interfere. Cozy with lots of red herrings.

I enjoyed this one very much. It was the first in this series I had read, but the author did a good job of getting me up to speed. The writing was very good and I had no idea who did the crime until it was revealed. Plenty of humor to go around.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for kindly providing me with a digital copy of this book for review.
This is book number 16 in this series but I’m ashamed to say it was completely new to me, and I had not heard of it before I was given this opportunity to read this book. Having said that though, I didn’t feel lost at all and I get the impression that you could read any of the books out of order or as a stand-alone.
The only thing I was really disappointed in was that the title of this book lead me to believe there might be a lot of bookish talk and references, but I didn’t find this to be the case. There were a few mentions of people like Agatha Christie,, but the bookish geek in me craved much more.
The mystery was interesting and I did not figure out who had done it until the end of the story. And talking of the end of the book there were a few recipes to try as well, which I always enjoy seeing.
I enjoyed the writing style and found the conversation natural and unstilted- I think it was evidence of an author comfortable and confident with their characters. Would recommend for cozy mystery lovers.