Murder in the Cookbook Nook by Ellery Adams was the first book I had read in the Book Retreat Mysteries series. I love the characters and the bookish hotel. This is such a fun cozy mystery series, I bought the first six books to learn the beginning of Jane’s journey.

***** I received an ARC from NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for my honest review. *****

Jane Steward and her group are back in another murder taking place at Storyton Hall. This time a cooking show is filming on the property and one of the chefs are murdered. The cause is from one of the shows employees past life. There are more than one crime being committed by the shows staff, but are the reasons the same or different. The relationships that Jane has with her family and friends are believable and add to the stories.
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This is such a fun series, and I had a great time with this cozy mystery. I loved the plot, the twists and turns, and the characters!

Storyton Hall is hosting A Bookish Cook-Off at Jane Steward’s resort. I can’t get enough of this Virginia town. Jane is busy as ever working so the event goes off without a hitch. All goes well until murder brings everything to a halt. Jane must work hard to solve the mystery and try to salvage the event.
#MurderintheCookbookNook #NetGalley

Jane Steward is the manager of Storyton Hall and a single mom to her twin boys Fitzgerald and Hemingway.

Her boyfriend Edwin Alcott runs a restaurant called the Daily Bread in Storyton and is a food writer.

Jane’s hotel has been scheduled to host a cooking competition; six chefs checked in the previous night and the judges had checked in that morning. A taste guru and social media influencer Mia Mallet is scheduled to arrive later in the day.

Then a fire starts near the competition tent where they’d be filming the cooking show. Investigation reveals it was an electrical fire and that someone may have sabotaged the electrical system.

One of the chefs, Chef Pierce has been getting under everyone’s skin since he arrived and Jane and her staff are doing their best to put up with him.

When Chef Pierce gropes a pastry chef 👩🏻‍🍳 Mia decides to fire Chef Pierce from the show but Chef Pierce is found stabbed to death in one of the rooms in the hotel; the Cookbook Nook.

Soon after Chef Pierce’s death, there’s a gas explosion during the next cooking challenge. Someone is trying to sabotage the competition.

Later, during the berry festival, someone steals an antique from one of the booths and writes something on the costume of the local mascots defaming the company sponsoring the cooking show.

Jane and the Fin family as well as the cops have to find who’s responsible for the crimes before they do more damage.

Thank you to Ellery Adams, NetGalley and Kensington for the ARC of this book.

As I prepared to dive into this book, I had no idea that I was going on a wild roller coaster ride.
As Jane Steward, guardian of the treasures at Storyton Hall, prepares for the filming of a literary themed cook off, she, too, has no idea of the escapades she’s about to encounter.
The cook off seems simple enough, but the the undercurrent of emotions is felt by everyone, and before long, Jane and The Fins are wrapped up in another murder investigation.
For me, the best part of this story was the appearance of an old friend, Olivia Limoges, and her standard poodle, Captain Haviland. Ms. Limoges was the protagonist in another series written by Ellery Adams.
It was so nice to see a friendship begin with Olivia and the ladies of Storyton Hall, I hope to see her again.

Storyton is a literary themed estate hotel owned by the Stewart family for generations. Jane Stewart is getting ready for billionaire Mia Mallett and guest chefs to film a cooking show on her property but a fire breaks out in the tent before everyone can arrive. That’s just the first of many disasters, and it seems someone is seriously trying to sabotage the show.
I’ve only read the last few books in this series but I like each one more and more. Using slave labor by children and adults in the chocolate and fishing food industry is brought to light in this book, something I never knew, and am grateful to be told about so I can do further research.
Ellery Adams also brings one of my very favorite characters from a series that has concluded ( much to my dismay, although I understand why) to Storyton. Heiress Olivia Limoge and her dog Haviland have come to the resort so she can have peace and quiet to write again. In my opinion, one of the most nuanced and interesting characters Adams has ever written, I hope she will continue to visit Storyton, or better yet, have a new series for Olivia.