This is my first book I read of this series and author. 'Death at Beresford Hall' is a great cozy mystery set during filming of a popular Christmas Cooking show. After somebody is found dead, the search for the murderer begins. This book has a great cast of characters and the story kept me intrigued. I listened to it on audio and it was really gripping. I could not stop listening.

I really want to explore more books/audiobooks from this author, expecially from this series.

Thank you very much to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for the review copy of this audiobook.

Death at Beresford Hall
Adam & Eve Mystery #4
Emma Davies
This is the 4th book in the Adam & Eve series. I have not read the previous books and this one stands well alone.
Francesca Eve has been invited to participate in a prestigious cooking competition; her purpose for being there is two-fold, she would like to win but mostly she is working undercover in an effort to discover who and why Miranda Appleby is receiving threats. Fran is a very good chef, but everything goes wrong for her at the competition.
Miranda is found dead. Miranda wasn’t well liked; several people had reason to want to get rid of her. The police arrive to investigate but Fran continues her own search for the murderer.
Both Eve and Adam are interesting and likable characters. This is the kind of book you want to read on a cold winters day, seated in front of a nice fire with a cup of hot tea to sip between chapters.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a review copy of this book. The review reflects my unbiased opinion.

This was a very good slow burn cozy mystery involving a cooking competition and a murder with lots of suspects. I really enjoyed the narration of this audiobook. I thank Netgalley and Bookouture Audio for the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook.

This is an enjoyable cozy mystery, which is about a woman called Fran who goes undercover at a Christmas cooking competition, to investigate threats made to Miranda Appleby. Unfortunately, Miranda gets murdered, but Fran continues with her investigation, trying to find out who the murderer is. Her friend Adam assists her in this mission.

I enjoyed the story, and the whole setup, as well as the wonderful audiobook narrator. I found the book to be fun, lighthearted, and easy to read, and I enjoyed learning more about what cooking shows are like behind the scenes.

This is a new author for me, and I will be sure to look out for more of her books.

Many thanks to the author/narrator, publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book.

First time reading this author and I’m in love. I can’t wait to read the other books in the series. Curious to see if this series is good to read out of order. The characters are lovely and the storyline draws one in. Highly recommend for a wonderful quick read.

Death at Beresford Hall tells the Story of Adam of Fran as they go undercover on a popular British cooking show to determine who is sending very nasty gifts to the stars host, Miranda Applebee. When Miranda shows up death, they are plunged into a murder mystery that only they can help solve. Will they be able to untangle the timeline enough to determine who the killer is?

This book was just fun. I really enjoyed the characters and how they wanted to see the good in people. The setting of a cooking show was even better. It was as if the Great British Bakeoff had a murder happen. It was enjoyable from beginning to end and I really loved it. The book does a great job of dropping you in the middle of whats happening and taking you along for the ride without having a million twists throughout. I really enjoyed not waiting for the shoe to drop and actually feeling like you were investigating and getting their on your own. Loved it!

I was given a NetGalley widget for this one a year ago and I just got around to reading it and dangit it was so good. I am so thankful for the opportunity to have consumed this wildly relevant fictional tale, which felt not at all fictional, more like historical fiction, due to the times. The cover initially was what drew me in, but I'm so thankful to have stuck with it because the outcome was magical. I always love listening to audiobooks and when they sweep me off my feet, I'm just utterly captivated! I always really enjoy multi-cultural thrillers, for I embark on a journey through a land unknown to me, while still getting spooked.

I really enjoyed this audiobook. It is book 4 in the series but it was my first foray into the series and I felt like it was easy enough to read it as a standalone. I did enjoy it enough that I will be going back to read the first three books though. The main characters were well done and developed, the mystery was one that kept me guessing and I really enjoyed the setting of a cooking competition.

Fran enters a cooking competition and has her heart set on winning despite discovering that the host Miranda is not the wonderful person she appears to be on TV. Fran's chances at winning are complicated when Miranda is killed and Fran is the only person who can help the police work on the case by giving them a confidential insider's view of the people involved in the competition and production of the show. This well narrated and well written book kept me entertained and also kept me guessing until the end.

Death at Beresford Hall is the 4th Adam & Eve cozy cooking mystery by Emma Davies. Released 7th Dec 2022, it's 333 pages and is available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately. For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, the whole series is currently included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free.

This is a fun and engaging cozy series. The author is experienced at her craft and quite adept at plotting and characterization. The mystery itself is well engineered and the clues are all "fair-play" and revealed slowly throughout the narrative. I was really engaged from the start with caterer Fran (her surname is Eve), and her erstwhile sidekick/young friend Adam, the socially awkward son of a former catering client. I found it charming and refreshing that they *are* friends and there's zero romance and never a hint of hanky-panky between Adam (he's 20something) and Fran (who's 40something and happily married).

This installment sees Fran entering a cooking show held in a stately home after another contestant suddenly quits, leaving a vacancy. Fran (and Adam) are really there undercover to investigate a series of ugly incidents aimed at the show's celebrity host, Miranda. When Miranda exits stage left, violently, with a cake slicer to the heart, it's up to Fran & co to get to the bottom of the murder without getting -eliminated- themselves. It's a holiday themed cozy set in a stately home and is enjoyable for those reasons alone, but Fran's talent at ferreting out secrets and motives make it a compelling read. 

The unabridged audiobook has a run time of 8 hours and 29 minutes and is expertly narrated by Mira Dovreni. Ms. Dovreni has a classically trained, well modulated voice and does a good job with the wide range of characters of both sexes and ages. I found her accent unobtrusive after a few minutes. It was easy to concentrate on the story.

The language is clean (PG rated) and the violence is mostly off-scene. It's perfectly safe for work/commute reading and the resolution and denouement are well written and satisfying. Spelling and vernacular are British English, but won't present any problems at all for (American) readers in context. With four excellent books extant in the series, it would be a good choice for a long weekend binge read. The mysteries are all self contained, so they can be read in any order, but are best in the order written.

Four and a half stars. Very fun.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

A fun cosy seasonal mystery. One of a series but you really don't 'suffer'' for not having read any previous instalments. This one takes place in the grounds of a big house but is actually part of a cookery talent show. This is a fun setting but I feel that the title is misleading and does not 'sell' the novel well enough. There is little about the 'hall' and I think that there could me a more imaginative and aptly descriptive title.
If made in to a detective drama I feel that this would be one with a slightly comic edge rather than serious crime and that must be considered if/when you come to read or listen to this story.

Given the popularity of cooking shows these days, this novel might be just the ticket for some of those fans. A caterer and her friend/assistant are asked to go undercover as researchers for a biography of the show's host, while really investigating threats against her. The caterer ultimately becomes one of the contestants when one of the original ones drops out. Then, the investigation takes a turn as the host is found murdered. While the plot seems interesting, I thought the story dragged a bit too much and the characters were mostly unremarkable. The "red herrings" seemed to be rather obvious as was the killer. And, there was a lot less focus on the cuisine than I would have expected. So, I really can't recommend this very highly.

Thank you NetGalley and [Bookouture Audio for sending this audiobook for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

A cozy murder mystery that kept me guessing until the end.
Amateur sleuths Francesca Eve and her friend, Adam, are asked to go undercover on a cookery competition. The star of the show, Miranda, has been murdered with a cake knife. Who would want to kill Miranda? What Eve finds is a lot of surprising facts that arise along with many secrets.
I really enjoyed Death at Beresford Hall. Though I haven’t read the previous books in the series, I had no problem reading this as a standalone read. I do plan on reading the previous books in the series!
If you enjoy watching Great British Bake Off….you will certainly like this book.

this seasonal cozy mystery ticks all my boxes, set in an English manor house, at a Christmas baking competition, amidst all the Christmas decor and Christmas food, there is a murder that was foreshadowed by not so subtle warnings which is why the sleuths who are actually a very smart and down to earth but socially awkward duo are directly on hand ! I have been listening to the audio for this fun and compelling story while baking and I enjoyed it a lot - it has the seasonal elements and the duo is fresh and new: Fran is a middle aged happily married mom and caterer and Adam is an early twenties it specialist/ video game designer they each bring their own to the table and complement each other and their investigative skills. This is book four of the series but it can easily be read as a seasonal standalone - lots of British seasonal recipes are touched upon ! Maybe a good one to listen to while prepping holiday food.

Death at Beresford Hall
(Adam and Eve #4)
By: Emma Davies

Audiobook-ARC Review
Pub Date: December 7, 2022

In Death at Beresford Hall, we meet Francesca Eve, chef, caterer, and baker extraordinaire. She’s recently been accepted onto the country’s top cooking competition for their Christmas baking special. On site for more that just the competition, Eve is also investigating strange threats made against Miranda Appleby, the famous presenter-turned-chef.

When Miranda is found with a cake slice through her heart, Eve’s real reason for the trip results in utter failure. But, can Eve uncover the truth (and solve the murder) before another death occurs? And before the spirit of Christmas (cake) is ruined forever?

——
This was such a fun and festive audiobook for this time of year! It was the first “cozy mystery” I’ve read/listened to and it was perfect to listen to while working. It was easy to follow as well.

I loved that it was not a run of the mill thriller (which is what I’m used to) but instead more light and fresh. The added bonus of it being related to cooking and the holidays made it that much better.

Regarding the audiobook itself, I really enjoyed the narrator too! She was easy to understand, not monotone, and I love her accent (American here!)

Thank you NetGalley, Bookouture Audio, and the author for this audiobook-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I was into the detection on the set of the Great British Bake Off. The mystery seemed scary but cozy. But when one of the detectives is conscripted to compete? And they start talking about her winning? And she’s a professional chef so it’s against the rules? I hate it. This is too cheesy and pander-y.

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this audio book.

Fun little read! I didn't feel like I was lost not having read the previous books. Good pacing and interesting characters. I enjoyed the narrator.

An enjoyable who done it set against the backdrop of a cookery competition. Clever plot line and quirky characters make this an entertaining read.

What a perfect cozy, Christmas mystery! This is my first book in this series and it won’t be my last.

To start, I don’t think you need to have read the previous 3 books in this series. I felt like I knew what was going on reading this as a stand alone book.

“Death at Beresford Hall,” centers around a celebrity chef who is getting death threats so an undercover detective is sent in, disguised as an author, to try to find out if it could be someone on her show. (Think Great British Baking Show!) The show has just started filming its Christmas competition when the celebrity chef is murdered. So who did it? Was it a PA? A producer? One of the contestants!? With a lot of red herrings this book gives Agatha Christie vibes, and is such a fun read for this time of year!

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A cozy murder mystery set on a Christmas cooking competition. Fran and Adam are originally sent in to discreetly investigate some disturbing gifts that had been sent to the cooking show's host, Miranda Appleby. But when she is found dead, they end up helping in the investigation into her murder.

This was a really enjoyable listen. I thought the narrator did a great job. Pacing of the story was good and I enjoyed the behind the scenes of a cooking show set up.

*SPOILER* I was fairly convinced of the murderer from the start and I was correct. So if you are looking to be stumped, you'll be disappointed. I still enjoyed the story though.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for my copy.