Really enjoyed this one, was intrigued right from the start. It was a well written mystery. Liked the main characters Fran & Adam. Look forward to more in the series.

Sometimes a book takes you by surprise. You don’t realise just how enjoyable and satisfying it’s going to be. That’s what happened when I started reading ‘Death in Disguise’ by Emma Davies. Francesca Eve is a caterer and is intrigued by a murder mystery dinner party she caters for a group of female friends. It’s all good fun, even when one of the group has to ‘die’ as part of the game. When one of the women dies later the fun ends. Fran discovers that the victim may not have been all she seemed. In fact none of the guests were. What secrets did they hold – and did those secrets have anything to do with the murder? Fran and Adam join forces to find out the truth before the killer strikes again.

This was an engrossing mystery that kept me guessing to the end. There were plenty of twists and turns and it was an original and enjoyable story. It got more and more exciting as the story progressed. I loved the dynamic between Fran and Adam. It was an unusual pairing, but one that worked really well. I’m looking forward to more in this new series.

I was given this ARC to review.

I chose to read this book because it always feels good to think you got in at the ground level when a book series takes off. But I’m afraid I’m not waiting for the second in this series with bated breath.
The main premise doesn’t feel convincing (in my experience self-employed caterers work very hard, long hours and would never have the time to do all this messing about, let alone be able to put up a full, fancy finger buffet in just a couple of hours) and the character pairing is off and feels contrived. Also, I just can’t see how this can possibly become a series – just how often are a caterer and a game developer who hardly ever leaves his room likely to stumble across a murder during the course of the business day?
This particular plot, on the other hand, is well worked-out. It has nice twists and turns and never feels telegraphed, other than when it’s purposefully leading you up the garden path. Don’t expect to work it out in advance though, because all the clues are masquerading as red herrings, even for our detecting duo.

Francesca Eve is a caterer, working from the home she shares with husband Jack and daughter Martha in a Shropshire village near Shrewsbury and life is pretty good. Her only worry is how to keep avoiding the local PTA representative who is determined to get her to speak at a school job fair. Her latest event is a first for Fran, providing a meal at Sara’s murder mystery birthday party but she's sure it will be fine, after all, it's not real is it?

Fran has moved on to other jobs when she finds the son of the birthday party host on her doorstep. Having only met Adam once before, under slightly strange circumstances, his reason for the visit amazes Fran and all too soon she finds herself involved in a murder investigation alongside her usual catering jobs and family life. One of the guests at Sara’s party is dead, and in a very similar way to her demise at the party; with his mum suddenly a suspect Adam needs a favour!

This is the start of a new cosy crime series which has great potential and an unlikely pair of protagonists set in a beautiful part of the English countryside. There were a few parts where belief was suspended to move the plot along but overall this was an easy and compelling read with the promise of more to come.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the opinions expressed are my own. If you are looking for a new cosy series to get hooked on, this is a pretty good place to start.

What a great, new cozy mystery series! Fast paced, with great characters and a unique plot.
Fran is a caterer, and a guest that had been at a murder mystery party she worked has suddenly died from poisoning. Adam is fearful his mom, Sarah, who. hosted the party, is going to be blamed. Adam comes to Fran for help in clearing his mom and finding the killer. It turns out there are a lot of suspects and motives, but there is also a lot of misinformation floating around. Things will get a little out of hand for Fran and Adam before the identity of the killer is revealed.
Loved this and cannot wait for the second book.

So this is the start of a new series and Wow what an entrance.

It is what it says it is a cosy mystery and i'm a sucker for an amateur sleuth.

The main characters just worked despite the fact that they are so different and probably shouldn't have,

An entertaining read that I really enjoyed.

Am elated to see that this is the start of a new series look forward to see how these characters develop.

3 stars

Can I just say, the cheek of the subtitle, ha!

This is a fairly standard cozy murder mystery, and would fit right in as an episode of Agatha Raisin or Midsummer Murders. I rather felt like I was watching one of those shows while reading, so if you love a good small English village murder with quaint local characters and hijinks, this will be the perfect comfort read for you. I certainly had a fun little time with it.

That said, it does suffer from the difficulty of being the first novel in what feels like an episodic series: it has to explain who our main sleuths are and why they’re sleuthing, and that setup does feel rather contrived (though still within the limits of disbelief I’m willing to suspend for a cozy).

I do prefer the book when either village shenanigans or murder and sleuthing are going on. At times our main characters have heartfelt conversations about serious issues like biological parentage, and it always comes out of nowhere and rings weirdly hollow, making me want to wave them back to their mystery plot. Even if said plot is a little contrived (our sleuths’ reason for not going to the police is just silly).

Is this a brilliantly plotted whodunnit? No. Is it a warm, comfortable murder mystery that fits like an old dressing gown, a few bald spots and all? Yes. It should be a welcome addition to any murder mystery addict’s reading list, but it’s nothing new or groundbreaking.

And this is why I don't do murder mystery evenings. Or dinner parties. Or cooking generally if I can help it ... I'll leave all that to other people, thank you very much. Death In Disguise by Emma Davies has done very little to convince me that any of the above are a good idea, but it has. provided me with a great deal of entertainment, quite a few smiles and a true cost crime mystery from a very different pair of 'detectives' that really hit the spot.

Francesca "Fran" Eve is a local chef, hired in to provide the catering for the fateful murder mystery evening. Nothing untoward happens on the evening, the most unsettling things in Fran's night being her having to spend the whole event trying to avoid one of the guests, and bumping into the host's son, Adam, in a downstairs closet. Least said soonest mended. But when one of the guests dies unexpectedly, of a suspected poisoning, Adam fears his Mum, Sara, will become a prime suspect, and turns to Fran to help him prove her innocence.

Now a forty year old caterer and a twenty three year old software designer may not seem the most natural of bedfellows so to speak, but then Adam is no ordinary twenty-three year old, and the quirks in his character mean he finds it hard to connect to other people. He is a charming and persistent character who I grew to like very quickly. There is something so endearing about his honesty and his protective nature towards his mother. And with Fran being a natural mother, quite open in her own communication, they do really compliment each other perfectly. It is not quite mother and son, they work much as equals bouncing off each other, but you can feel Fran step up and step in when needed, being as protective of Adam as she is of her own daughter.

There is a real mystery at the heart of this book, one which kept me guessing to the end. The suspects come thick and fast, everyone from the other people at the murder mystery dinner, through to the victim, Becky's own husband. Motives are thin on the ground, but the more they dig the more they start to uncover secrets which mean that almost anyone of them could be guilty. There are some very clever clues hidden in the narrative, ones that don't become apparent until just the right time, meaning that the killer really is hidden in plain sight. And we are not talking about a couple of professional investigators here. These are people more in tune with homemade ice cream and virtual reality than they are the where and why fors of a murder investigation. and hats off to Emma Davies who, once again, has written a book that had me craving yummy sounding food, this time a big healthy dose of tiramisu. I really do think she should work on that cook book ...

I do love a local setting, and being very familiar with Shrewsbury and Shropshire, reading this book really made me smile. So many familiar places brought to life on the pages that it made it really easy to go on this adventure with Fran and Adam. The pacing is great, the sense of mischief rife as the pair stick their noses in places they really shouldn't be. And as they start to close in on the culprit, the pacing, and the tension, kick up a notch, leading to a really chase to stop a further injustice from occurring. I felt the excitement grow in the characters, and the almost Miss Marple-esque revelations at the books conclusion were very satisfying.

I've loved meeting Fran and Adam and really look forward to seeing where they and the author lead us next. If you enjoy cosy crime with brilliant characters and a whole heap of mystery, then this book really could be for you. Such great fun. But excuse me. I'm off now. Suddenly hankering after some pudding ...

Death in Disguise is a cute new cozy mystery series featuring Francesca, who is a caterer and Adam, a young man who's a little awkward in social situations. A guest of a dinner party that Fran has catered winds up being poisoned. It was a party hosted by Adam's mother and he goes to Fran to help clear her name, as well as her own. Lots of suspects, lots of clues to work through, I enjoyed this new series and look forward to their next adventures!

An enjoyable cosy mystery and a great start to a new sleuthing series!
Fran is a caterer and Adam is a young man who feels a bit disconnected from society , but together they make the perfect pair of amateur detectives.
Fran caters for a birthday party where a murder mystery night is to take place , little does she know that real life murders will soon be committed, and an unlikely partnership between herself and Adam will help to solve them.
The characters are well rounded and amiable and the story moved at a fair pace .
A great start to the series and looking forward to reading forthcoming books featuring Fran and Adam.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture.

Knowledge is power. It's what you do with it that determines whether that knowledge is good or evil. Fran discovers this, just as she discovers knowing people superficially isn't knowing them at all. The plot sounds simple enough. Fran caters a murder mystery party. Some time later, the person who was the victim in the play acting is murdered. Who did it? It shouldn't be Fran's problem to find out, quite frankly, but she met Adam, the young (23) son of the party's hostess while hiding out in a closet of sorts. It's the bond they formed there that guides their future partnership in not just finding out who killed Becky but in growth. Adam is brilliant but socially awkward and prefers to hide out in his room at home. Fran is a wife, mother, and has a business to run. Neither would seem a likely sleuth in the making but somehow it works. Admittedly, I found it slow going at first. The characters weren't really interacting with anyone, even each other and the view point flips back and forth between Fran and Adam, and we are initially largely in their heads. Once they unite and Adam persuades Fran to help him find the murderer before the police suspect his mother of the crime, however, things pick up.

That's when the reality that she doesn't really know the suspects creates the first real obstacle in Fran's pursuit of the truth. Toss in that, quite frankly, she doesn't seem to have any real clue of how to pursue her quest and you can see Fran's awkwardness as a sleuth. She is gutsy, however, even when it means she is meeting up with the potential suspects seemingly without giving a thought as to what she'll do if the actual killer is among them and turns on her. One wonders, will Adam's intelligence help him help Fran or will his apparent ineptness socially make her even more nervous about this haphazard investigation than she already is? The process is fascinating to follow, I have to admit. Were all the attendees at the party being blackmailed? By who?

While on the surface rather simple, a who poisoned Becky thread, the plot is actually far more intricate and clever than this. Human emotions are involved. Relationships are revealed. Priorities are reordered. And, food.... there is lots and lots of wonderful sounding food eaten and shared. Will Adam come out of his misfit, introverted shell? Will Fran get out of that shed? Will she make it in time for the recital? Who killed Becky? Maybe more to the point, why?

It's all there and despite the slow to me start, maybe because I'd just finished a slam-bam, action from the first paragraph book, I thoroughly enjoyed "Death in Disguise". I am looking forward to the next adventure of Adam and (Fran)Eve and seeing what gadgets Adam comes up with.

Thank you #NetGalley and #Bookouture for the advance copy.

I received this ARC via Netgalley and Bookouture, in return for an honest review. As the first book in a new cozy series, we’re introduced to Francesca ‘Fran’ Eve and Adam Smith. Fran is a happily married caterer and mom. When she caters her first murder mystery dinner for a group of women, she does something unexpected by ducking into the host’s storage closet to avoid one of the guests. While in the closet, she’s astonished to find the host’s 23-year-old socially awkward son, Adam, also hiding. They have a conversation and then Fran goes back to the kitchen to finish her successful work.
When the ‘murder victim’ dies a few weeks later, Adam comes to Fran because he believes Becky was murdered based on a conversation he overheard while in the closet. Fran is skeptical but agrees to ask a few questions. Over the course of this enjoyable cozy mystery, the author throws in some excellent scenes that develop the plotline. I particularly like Adam and the job interview. Who at the murder mystery party would want the victim dead and why? What about her husband?
It’s a very solid mystery and one I recommend. I look forward to the next Adam and Eve book in this series.

A good story, well written, nice well rounded lead characters. It moves at a steady pace - kept my interest all the way through - not earth shattering, but an enjoyable read.

Really liked it.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I read a free advance review copy of the book. This review is voluntary, honest and my own opinion.

I hugely enjoyed this cosy mystery, particularly the odd-couple pair of amateur sleuths who took on the task of solving the crime. Adam and Fran (surname Eve) were both likeable, believable, and worked wonderfully well together, playing off each other's strengths and making up for the other's weaknesses.

All the classic elements of a cosy were present (rural location, close community, female sleuth with a sociable job who likes to ask a lot of questions and is personable enough for others to answer them...) but the book still managed to feel new and fresh, and the characters more realistic than is sometimes the case.

The mystery itself was intriguing and engaging, and a great example of the genre done well. I loved it!

A Clever, Sharp Edge…
The first in a new series of mysteries featuring, event caterer, Francesca Eve and Shropshire village based. Francesca has a new event to cater, a murder mystery themed party and, being the first of such a themed event, she is understandably nervous. The party, as it happens, is a tremendous success, but excitement is short lived as, several days later, the ‘victim’ of the murder party is killed for real and, shortly after that, a second guest is killed. When signs point to the fact that the killer may well be another party guest, Fran dons her sleuthing hat. With a nicely crafted cast of characters, likeable protagonists, twists and turns aplenty and a well plotted storyline this is an entertaining, fun read and a most promising start to a new series and a cosy mystery with a clever, sharp edge.

This is the first mystery in a planned series of 4 featuring caterer Francesca Eve and the awkward but brilliant 23yr old Adam. Francesca and Adam meet when she caters for a Murder Mystery party for his mother. Events take a sinister turn a few weeks later when the murder victim on that evening is actually murdered. An overheard conversation implies that the murder victim wasn’t the lovely person everyone thought that she was and Adam and Eve begin their first investigation.
This is an expertly plotted mystery with plenty of twists and turns as the guests at the party come under suspicion one by one. Adam and Francesca are both likeable characters and it is easy to see how their relationship will grow throughout the series. As with many cosy crime novels, you do have to suspend belief to a certain extent. I’m always amazed at how ready people are to talk to complete strangers in these books. That having been said, this is an enjoyable mystery read and I look forward to the next one in the series.
Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you #Netgalley for the advance reader copy of Death in Disguise by Emma Davies in exchange for an honest review. There is a murder mystery party being catered by Francesca Eve. Fran had fun people watching the five guests in the murder party, most people ignore the caterer. Some canapes go missing and one of the guests "dies". The others try to figure out who dunnit. Fran meets Adam, the son of the party's host, Sara. I really enjoyed reading about the sleuthing that Fran and Adam did. What an odd pair. I was able to read this over a few snowy day. This story grabbed me and was hard to put down. I only stopped when my Kindle battery died, great story!

This was a fun cozy mystery that had me hooked til the very end. Francesca Eve caters her first murder themed dinner party. The party goes well and the five women guests all have fun trying to guess who killed Becky. A few days later Becky is really killed by poisoned mushrooms. Suspicion falls on all the guests who each have a secret. Fran tries to find out which guest murders not once, but twice, to keep that secret safe. I enjoyed this book and look forward to the next one. Thank you for the advance copy Net galley!

Death in Disguise (An Adam and Eve Mystey book 1) is a debut novel which launches what promises to be a very readable English village cozy series that revolves around the unlikely friendship between a caterer (Fran) and a shy (autistic?) young man (Adam) she meets on one of her catering jobs.

Eve caters a party for Sara which features a murder mystery game and meets Sara's son Adam when she ducks into a cupboard to avoid an overbearing party-goer. When Becky, the "victim" in the game becomes a real murder victim via mushroom poisoning, Adam contacts Fran and convinces her to invesitigate the crime.

Like all cozies, some suspension of disbelief is necessary: Adam wants to clear his mother of a potentail murder charge, but why is Fran willing to disrupt her business and family life to spearhead this investigation? Why do people talk to Fran, particularly the grieving husband? Fran was not even a friend of the victim. Fran's husband has no clue when she is gallavanting around the countryside and getting mysterious messages from Adam?

If you are comfortable with not thinking too deeply on these questions, Death in Disguise will prove to be a pleasant diversion that will keep you guessing with plenty of suspects and motives to sort through.

Full Disclosure--NetGalley and the publisher provided me with a digital ARC of this book. This is my honest review.

Death in Disguise by Emma Davies introduces a new and very entertaining duo of crime solvers. Adam and Eve are an unlikely pair but the story of their taking on a murder mystery is very well done. I can't wait to see what else they get up to in the next book.