In this installment Herb and the pinochle gang are in a high stakes bbq competition hosted by the food network. I really enjoy when there is a competition in my cozies...always gets me invested! You also had all the other characteristics of why this series is great Harriet and her friends, Streetman (who has a new friend lol, and the fast paced mystery!
I would recommend this series to fans of humorous cozies or who love reading about the shenanigans of sassy seniors!
I received an arc of this book in exchange for a honest review. I would like to thank netgalley, the author J.C. Eaton, and the publisher for the opportunity to review this book!

I love the 4 Murder series. From the older characters, the constantly butting-in mother (who is hilarious) and her overprotective pampering of her adorable wiener dog, Streetman, as well as the love interest of the newly married main character Phee and her husband Marshall---reading every book in this series is a treat. I'm happy to return to the gang with this new edition.

Thank you Beyond the Page Publishing for accepting my request to read and review Grilled 4 Murder on NetGalley.

Stars: 3

This is a miss for me. For the record, when beginning this review I did notice under genre it says Humor & Satire -- Mystery & Thrillers. It is the so-called humor I don't like. In addition, sadly, I didn't like this story and I didn't find any of the characters likable. The synopsis is spot-on.

Cozy mysteries run the gamut of possible topics, people, settings, etc. This series is not for me, but may be your favorite. I am interested in trying a book in their wine series.

Published: 11/08/22

Fantastic cozy mystery, loved all the hilarious characters, was on the edge of my seat waiting to see who the murderer was, wwhat clues came out, etc. Highly recommend to all mystery lovers.

My favourite genre is cozy mystery and this is a really good book in that genre. Had me gripped from the beginning and couldn’t put down

This is one of my favorite series!! Totally forgot to come back and give feedback but I always love reading this series! Harriet is a hoot! 4.5 stars.

This was another great read in the series! I absolutely love all the characters. This was a 5 star read for me. After reading Grilled 4 Murder I decided to go back and re-read the whole series and they still make me laugh out loud. I can't wait for the next!

Thanks to NetGalley and Beyond the Page Publishing for letting me give an honest review.

Loved this series. Great characters and it’s an enjoyable read. I would highly recommend this and have told friends and family about the series

Grilled 4 Murder

by J.C. Eaton

The husband and wife team known as J.C. Eaton have written several cozy mystery series. I have read, enjoyed, and recommend two of the series: The Wine Trail Mysteries and The Sophie Kimball Mysteries (of which this book is a part). I had been looking forward to reading Grilled 4 Murder. As it turns out, some of the standbys of character, humor, and plot in this series fell flat in Grilled 4 Murder.

On a positive note, the authors immediately bring returning and new readers up to date on the main characters. Phee, the accountant for Williams Investigations, has gotten married to Marshall, a detective in the small company. Her mother Harriet and the book club ladies are seniors who are always ready for shenanigans and go gung ho in protest of a garbage transfer station in Sun City West, home to many snowbirds. Herb and his pinochle playing buddies are competing in a BBQ grill-off, and Harriet’s dog Streetman has adopted a kitten. And by the way, there is a murder with all the expected potential motives for the suspects.

It feels like the murder takes a back seat to the hubbub of the other plot threads that seem very much like distractions. Those diversions felt dull to me. Harriet and Streetman are usually funny, but I found them irritating in this book. Harriet’s friends typically provide comic relief, but the seniors in Sun City West seemed more like a chorus in a Greek tragedy. The two local detectives were depicted as bumbling fools, but they really were on the case and interacted professionally with the P. I.’s of Williams Investigations despite having to follow the required procedures for law enforcement officers.

The thing that bothered me the most about this cozy mystery was the food. A lot of the word count was consumed with descriptions for each meal for every day. In addition to breakfast, there was a break each morning for more cups of coffee and bakery goods. It seemed important to the authors for the reader to know the lunch selections either in a restaurant or brought to the office as takeout. Although they usually dined out in the evenings, there were occasional dinners at home before Marshall and Phee dropped into bed with exhaustion. The reader was “treated” to detailed descriptions of all of these meals.

The day was also interrupted by frequent phone calls from Harriet to Phee. They could have been funny, but they weren’t. Having read ten good books in this series, I will stick around for the eleventh having high hopes for a return to a solid plot and humor that is actually amusing.

I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Rating: 3/5

Category: Mystery

Notes: #10 in the Sophie Kimball Mystery Series with the authors providing necessary background.

Publication: November 8, 2022—Beyond the Page

Memorable Lines:

“I’ll be up at the crack of dawn anyway so we’ll be on the same schedule—comatose.”

Subtle, What happened to subtle? This is about as subtle as a sledgehammer banging on a concrete wall.

He opened the fridge and took out an iced tea. “I’ll be floating by midnight but honestly, it’s like I can’t get enough liquid in me. I knew Arizona was hot, but this is, well…” “Like Satan’s living room?” “More or less.”

Not very exciting I thought Phee’s mother was annoying. It had a low intrigue level and a lot of babbling. It took Phee a while to sift out the clues. She had to wade through so much drama before getting to the evidence. It was mildly intriguing and entertaining.

With a high-stakes barbecue contest coming to town, Sophie “Phee” Kimball’s friends will get raked over the coals when one of the contestants is murdered . . Seductive and twisted. Highly recommended! Readers, find some quiet alone time to settle in with this one because you won't stop reading until you've turned the final page. Highly recommended to fans of mysteries, suspense and thrillers

This book was amazing, I loved the mystery and the characters were interesting! I was surprised at who the killer was, this book kept mr guessing. I highly recommend this book to everyone!

The smell of a slow roasted BBQ is so much better than a garbage transfer station in one’s backyard, right?!?! So says the residents of Sun City West, which will play host to a Food Network sponsored Slow Roasters BBQ challenge and the pinochle crew has made the cut with their special marinade. There are the usual laughs with Sophie Kimball aka Phee, talking to herself or rather trying to talk herself down as she “investigates” the death of Cosmo Pruett, chairman of the Maricopa County Planning Commission and also happened to be on the opposing BBQ team. Herb’s name ends up on the “persons of interest” list, which means Phee will have no peace until she listens to her mom and gets sleuthing, whenever and where ever. That will have to include a trip to the dog park with Streetman for insider info. It is not a Sophie Kimball mystery without Streetman, the neurotic chiweenie and this time he has dragged a friend along (literally). What you should know is that Phee has never called herself an investigator, she is the bookkeeper for the two man investigative agency, and regardless of how successful she is at discovering the truth aka keeping Harriet’s book club ladies and Herb’s pinochle crew calm, she will not consider getting a degree in criminal investigations until Phoenix gets a foot of snow. It could happen…

Sun City West is abuzz with the news that the Food Network is sponsoring a local barbecue cook-off and that Phee’s friends from the pinochle club are in the finals. But the mood soon darkens when the county planning committee announces a plan to situate a new garbage transfer station on the town’s edge. With tempers flaring and rumors of corruption swirling, it comes as little surprise when the committee’s chair, who happens to be a finalist in the cook-off, is found murdered. This is a fun series that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Just the right amount of humor and the occasional twist made this a very entertaining read. This can read as a stand-alone but I highly the others in the series. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced readers copy for review.

My fourth in this series although it is the tenth instalment, Sophie Kimball Gregory (aka Phee), an accountant/bookkeeper working for a private investigative agency, Williams Investigations, makes a great amateur sleuth. She has returned from her honeymoon in Hawaii and there's a barbecue competition where the winner gets to go on the Food Network. Phee gets herself involved when a competitor finalist is murdered.

Set in Sun City West, Arizona, Grilled 4 Murder was well-crafted, swift-paced, witty and thoroughly entertaining. The mystery was very engaging and I was kept guessing in this lively yarn of surprises. There are quite a few instalments for me to catch up on and I can’t wait to visit Phee and Streetman who has a new best friend, in Sun City again. Very highly recommended.

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

With a high stakes barbecue contest coming to town Sophie “Phee” Kimballs friends will be raked over the coals. The Food Network is sponsoring a local barbecue cook-off and “Phee’s” friends from the pinochle club are in the finals in Sun City West AZ. But the mood changes when the county planning committee announces a plan to situate a new garbage transfer station on the edge of town. With tempers flaring and rumors of corruption swirling it comes as little surprise when the committee’s chair who happens to be a finalist in the cook-off is found murdered. With the contest in full swing and celebrity chefs to judge Phee will have to sniff out the clues no matter how noxious to catch a killer. These stories are very enjoyable seeing how people in the senior communities react to different situations. I highly recommend these stories.

Princess Fuzzypants here: Phee has just returned from her honeymoon and she stumbles directly into the shenanigans of her mother and her cohorts. They are this group of wacky seniors who would drive a sane person crazy but manage to stay under “over the top”. Her mother’s friend Herb is a finalist in a marinade cook off and the winner gets to go on The Food Network. The final two teams will battle it out for the prize but first they have to attend a meeting about a proposed garbage transfer station that Herb’s rival just happens to be pushing. Tempers run high at the meeting and when the rival is discovered face down on a railway track, after the train went through, Herb becomes a person of interest.

Her mother “volunteers” her to solve the murder with the help of the detective agency for whom she works. She must also contend with her neurotic mother and her doubly neurotic dog who has adopted a kitten. The kitten is pretty cute and she and Streetman, the dog, manage to get into plenty of mischief. Phee has her hands full. But she manages to figure out who killed the deceased and solve a whole bunch of other problems at the same time. It makes for an entertaining read, perhaps for the holidays. Four purrs and two paws up.

I liked this book however it wasn't as enjoyable a read as others. I felt it to be a bit of a chore at some points. One reason for me was that I didn't know the characters and they were presented as if I had read previous books in the series. Since I hadn't, this left me wanting to know more about them. I also would have liked "posse" explained. I gather it is what they call the police station in Arizona. While I think this book would be more enjoyable if I knew the characters, picking it up without more in depth explanations of who they were left me needing more.

Sun City West is hosting a Food Network barbeque contest, Phee is keeping a low profile, Streetman has become a "mentor" to a kitten her rescued, the book club gang is fighting the building of a garbage transfer station in their community and the guys in the pinochle club are entering the barbeque contest. What could possibly go wrong? When a supporter of the transfer station is murdered? Evwrything!

I love this series! The mystery keeps you reading and the mystery is perfect! Find out why Sun City West is the place to be!

I received an ARC from NetGalley and the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Grilled4Murder is the 10th book in the Sophie Kimball Mystery series and it was great! I read the first book in the series and then this one. It was a good stand alone book and was easy to follow the characters. Sophie is now married to Marshall who encourages her to get involved. He gives her info on the case but ultimately Sophie figured it out. In this book, there is a BBQ competition and one of the competitors ends up dead and a friend of Sophie’s mother is a suspect. The characters are great and the mystery kept me guessing. Very enjoyable! #NerGalley #Grilled4Murder