I have been a huge fan of Darci Hannah’s Beacon Bakeshop and Very Cherry series. However, this one just fell flat for me. The narrator for the audiobook version was absolutely horrible! She was so bad that I will make a note of who narrated the book and will never listen to one she narrates again. I have never had such a strong reaction to a narrator before. I did a lot of eye rolling and moaning trying to push myself to get through this book. I there are plenty of people who enjoyed this read, so I would encourage you to give it a try before writing off the series. I just know I’ll stick with the first two series that I have really enjoyed in the past.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Cozies for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

For more reviews, please visit my blog at: https://www.msladybugsbookreviews.com/. Over 1000 reviews posted!

Starting Darci Hannah's new series, A Fatal Feast at Bramsford Manor, was a bit of a gamble for me since I tend to enjoy one series by an author and rarely any additional series they write. But the book kicked off with an intriguing premise that had me hooked initially. However, it lost momentum midway, with a slow pace and too many characters making the plot feel cluttered.

Bunny McBride, the protagonist, is a Scottish chef roped into hosting a new food and spirits travel show—though it turns out "spirits" means ghosts, not drinks! Bunny's journey is filled with humor and a touch of the supernatural, with a nod to Hannah’s Beacon Bakeshop series that will make fans smile.

The story introduces a quirky cast, including a white rabbit guiding Bunny to a body, and Granny Mac, Bunny's eccentric and spiritually gifted grandmother, who steals the show with her wit and wisdom.

Bunny's struggles with her past and her unexpected ghostly encounters add depth, but the plot gets bogged down with redundant elements. By the end, the murder mystery takes a backseat to the array of characters and ghostly antics.

A Fatal Feast at Bramsford Manor had a promising start with its unique blend of mystery and supernatural elements. Despite its slow middle section, the book offers humor and intriguing characters, especially Granny Mac. It’s worth a read for fans of quirky cozy mysteries, but it might not be everyone's cup of tea.

This book was such a fun read! I thought the initial confusion with the show's premise was hilarious. (I personally would love to prepare food to communicate with ghosts!) The Ghost Adventures-esque silliness was very entertaining, as it was all sort of tongue-in-cheek but still included a heavy dose of the paranormal.

As is typical in the cozy genre, the book's characters were colorful and there were plenty of suspects to go around! I would love Granny Mac to appear in future books in the series, so hopefully she's a recurring character.. My favorite character, though, is definitely Giff and his willingness to play the part of a medium as he sees fits.

If you like a little spookiness, a mystery that transcends the supernatural and physical worlds, and memorable characters, you're sure to love this book!

(A big thank you to NetGalley for supplying a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!)

This was a really unique beginning to a new cozy mystery series, that I would recommend trying to those who think it sounds good!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher.

A Fatal Feast at Bramsford Manor is the first cozy mystery in the Food & Spirits Mysteries series. Bunny MacBride is a chef who is about to get her big break with the premiere of a new reality TV show called Food & Spirits. She’s happy to be on the show, but it’s nothing like how she expected her big debut to go. The spirits in the shows title are the ghostly type of spirits and not at all what Bunny signed on for. When Bunny and the rest of the cast arrive at Bramsford Manor to start their show they get more than they bargained for. They are there to investigate a tragic death from hundreds of years ago, but the mystery might just strike closer to home than any of them expected. Now Bunny and the rest of the cast are in a race against time to get to the bottom of the mystery before the present day killer strikes again.

I have enjoyed other mysteries I’ve read by Darci Hannah and thought this new series was worth a try. This first mystery in the series was a good set up to what will hopefully be a great series. The mystery kept me guessing until the very end and I enjoyed the twists and turns along the way. The ghostly element was a great addition to this series and I look forward to seeing what else is done with it in future mysteries. The start of this mystery was a little slow, but that’s to be expected from the first mystery in a series as the scene and characters are set up. Overall this was an enjoyable read and I look forward to seeing what else comes for Bunny and the Food & Spirits gang in future mysteries.

Cooking, and ghosts, and murder, oh my! That's what you'll get when you dig into this first in series cozy mystery by Darci Hannah! This book was perfect to read during the Halloween season since ghosts, mediums, and things that go bump in the night are all on Chef Bunny's menu at Bramsford manor. If you enjoy paranormal cozies then this one is for you. I really enjoyed the tv cooking show mashed up with a ghost hunting show and the characters were engaging, especially Bunny and her grandmother. I also enjoyed the recipes at the end of the book. You should definitely read the author's note at the back of the book since it explains the inspiration for the book which is very interesting.
I can't wait to read the next book in this series!

The book living rent free in my head right now.

A Fatal Feast at Bramsford Manor has everything you could ever want for spooky season -

😱Haunted house
🎥Ghost hunters
👩‍🍳Reality show chef turned medium
🔮Clarivoyant Scottish gran
🪦Centuries old mystery
👀Family drama
🤗Quirky side characters
👻Dramatic ghsots
🖤and much more

I haven’t read a cozy series debut this good in ages! It ticks all the boxes and I can’t wait for more! Pick this up if you want something fun and mysterious this Halloween season, it doesn’t disappoint! The audio is great as well!

Special thanks to Kensington for the ARC and Tantor for the ALC!

Darci Hannah continues her Haunted theme in this new series. The character development is strong and the description of the Scottish castle is very well done. She is even shares some characters from her previous Michigan lighthouse book. I very much enjoyed this visit and hope to read more soon. She manages to make the idea of ghosts believable and fun. NetGalley was kind enough to offer an advanced readers copy but the opinion is my own.

Was excited to see another series by Darci Hannah as beacon bakeshop is a favorite. I enjoyed this new book and can't wait to read the second one. There were a couple things that made me roll my eyes a bit but nothing major that would stop me from continuing this series. Thanks to Netgalley for an advanced reader copy.

This was a hard read for me, never really grabbing my attention. The narrative kept me at a distance. Also, I never felt sympathy for Bunny, who dislikes spooky so much she doesn’t even want to make Halloween themed cupcakes. (Eyeroll) Meanwhile, Bunny seems to like surprises, because when she gets offered a new job with a new TV show she doesn’t even ask questions. Now I would find going in blind plenty scary.

Bunny’s job is to cook a meal to invite a ghost to come to dinner. A ghost she does not find, but she does find a dead body. Bunny is immediately dubbed prime suspect, because she lead everyone to the body. And her knife was used for the kill. Nevermind that her knives were not kept in a locked box and she had the only key (read: everyone had access to the knives), nor did she know the dead man.

It stopped reading when, in my opinion, it took way too long to ask the question: how would Bunny have gotten the dead man in the chest where he was found? She was not described as a weight-lifter, and I doubt the man would had stepped in to the chest for her had she politely asked. Then how?

I was not invested enough to find out if the police (or Bunny) ever thought that matter was relevant. (It is. It’s part of opportunity.)

Bridget “Bunny” MacBride is thrilled when she learns that she will finally be leading her own cooking show on the Mealtime Network, but she should have known that “Food and Spirits” would come with strings. After arguing with the network’s star over Halloween ideas and then perhaps being a little too popular with the audience, Bunny finds herself now leading exactly what she didn’t’want, a cooking show with ghosts. Brett Bloom and Giff McGrady were part of the ghost hunting show “Ghost Guys” until it got cancelled due to an Instagram-captured gruesome discovery, and now they are joining Bunny for a food-themed ghost-hunting show. It’s too late for Bunny to turn down the job, so she and the ghost hunting team are assigned to hunting down the Mistletoe Bride of Bramsford Manor in Hampshire, England, where hundreds of years ago Ann Copeland was found trapped in a storage chest by her groom on their wedding day.

While Giff admits to being a charismatic host who only pretends to be a medium – he believes that all psychics are fake, of course – Bunny has a secret that has been running from since she was 16. Ever since her twin brother tragically died in a car accident, Bunny has been haunted by visions of a white rabbit. While it’s not the reason for her nickname – that comes from a pet bunny she loved as a child – the hauntings forced her to leave Scotland for America, where she thought she had finally escaped them. Unfortunately, during a dinner with the manor owners Sir Charles Wallingford and his sister Morgan Wallingford-Green, the apparition of a white rabbit leads Bunny to a corpse once again left in an antique chest. Since her chef’s knife also happens to be the one plunged into Marcus Dean’s back, police unsurprisingly arrest her on suspicion of murder. At least one of the benefits of filming a reality television show is that her alibi of cooking in the kitchen was all caught on tape, but Bunny learns this after calling her grandmother Emma MacBride for help. And while Brett was initially suspicious of his new co-host, Giff nudges him into joining Bunny and her Granny Mac in an investigation to solve the mysteries of the Mistletoe Bride and the much more recent death of the historian.

This first in the series does an excellent job at introducing a fun set of main characters along with a fascinating backstory for Bunny. Fans of Victoria Laurie’s Ghost Hunter series will fall in love with this new cooking-ghost hunting trio, but this new entry is still very distinct as Bunny, Giff, and Brett get to know and trust one another. After the introduction of the Food and Spirits crew, more is gradually revealed about them and readers will love the evolving relationships between the ghost hunters and the clairvoyant chef. Traditional English food recipes are included in the end, but most of the fun comes with the practical investigation and questioning of suspects by Brett, Giff, Bunny, and Granny Mac. The blend of a classic English manor mystery with paranormal elements satisfies those looking for just one or both, meaning that the prolific author should gain even more fans of her witty dialogue and genuine likable characters.

“A Fatal Feast at Bramsford Manor” is the wonderfully done first book in Darci Hannah’s Food and Spirits Mystery series. This book introduces us to Bridget “Bunny” MacBride, a talented chef who is delighted to finally have her own cooking show – until she realizes that the Spirits part of the show means ghosts not alcohol. Working with ghost hunter Brett Bloom and psychic medium Giff McGrady her first show is at Bramsford Manor turned hotel which is alleged to be haunted by the Mistletoe Bride. Bunny, who has tried to hid her own abilities to communicate with the dead, is not thrilled about this visit and even less thrilled when someone is murdered and she is the chief suspect. She, Brett, Giff, and her beloved grandmother work to clear her name and find the real killer. The book is a delightful mixture of history, paranormal, a tiny bit of romance, humor, and murder mystery and I enjoyed every second of it. I was sorry when the book was over and I look forward to reading the next book. Well done!

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley.

Darci Hannah launches a Food and Spirit mystery series with A Fatal Feast at Bramsford Manor. Bunny MacBride, a celebrity chef, gains her first reality TV show along with a psychic team who go to Bramsford Manor, England to locate the ghosts in the manor. The local historian about the manor is murdered with Bunny's cooking knife and found in a chest; the Mistletoe Bride's corpse was also found locked in a chest fifty years after her disappearance the night of her wedding. The real psychic investigation begins as murders are cleared up and new relations of the Bramsford Manor family pop up.. Great cozy and psychic story.

Chef Bunny is invited to be on a new show, "Food and Spirits" but the show is not what she thinks it is. She’s actually been conscripted to be on a show where the hosts cook dinner (her part) and talk to ghosts. They’re going to start at Bramsford Manor where there is the legend about a Mistletoe Bride.
This is a mystery so, of course, there is another body that turns up at the manor. And Bunny is the unfortunate person to discover it. And the way she discovers it is by following the white rabbit, a relic of her childhood and one that never leads to anything good. And this time, it leads to her becoming the chief suspect in the murder. She decides to call in reinforcements, her psychic Granny Mac.
There were some places that didn’t flow well but I couldn’t tell if that was because of a slight difference in language (the author may be Scottish and I am not) or if it was pre-editing or just a stylist choice I couldn’t get on board for.
Overall, I enjoyed the book (although the fantasy elements did surprise me) and I’d read the next in the series.

Three and a half stars
This book comes out August 20, 2024
ARC kindly provided by Kensington Publishing and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

After reading the first few books in the Beacon Bakeshop Mystery series I was intrigued to see this brand new book from Darci Hannah!

First, I was immediately pulled in by the cover. I love that it sets the stage for the book scenes. I kept imagining this dinner table and burgundy wallpaper throughout my reading. This was such a fun and unique premise. Darci Hannah manages to incorporate food and recipes into a fun, paranormal plot. I was laughing throughout and also so invested in the story. I adored the main character's grandma and I hope we see her again!

Cozy mysteries are so fun and this one was hilarious! Bunny thinks she's getting her own cooking show and will team up with an expert mixologist...a little meal and spirits. And in a surprise twist (to her), she learns the spirits are less about gin and tonics, and more of the paranormal variety. She now has the opportunity to travel around, cooking up meals fit for a ghost, buuuut...this story was a little slow and her TV cohorts were a little flat. All in all, I could see this series improving as it goes along--the concept is there!

Bridget “Bunny” MacBride’s career as a celebrity chef is taking off! When her domestic diva boss suggests that she’s ready to move on from fifteen-minute cooking segments to hosting a show of her own, she’s eager to sign on the dotted line. What she doesn’t realize is that the “spirits” in the Food And Spirits title of her new show isn’t an allusion to alcoholic beverages but to actual ghosts.

For Bunny has been recruited to provide the cooking portion of a ghost-hunting/travel/cooking show mashup. Inspired by the Scottish tradition of the Dumb Supper, her task is to whip up a meal both delicious and familiar enough to tempt restless spirits into converging around a table where they’ll be filmed by Brett Bloom and his team. Brett is the former host of another smash show on paranormal phenomena, and came up with this unique angle on the subject. They’ll be joined on-camera by psychic medium Giff McGrady, whose job is to channel the ghosts who are lured to dinner.

Bunny thinks this is all a terrible idea and deeply regrets signing the ironclad contract before getting all the details. It is some small consolation that the show’s first location is Bramsford Manor, a haunted castle in Bunny’s native Scotland. Bramsford is home to the legend of Ann Copeland, a young bride who disappeared on her wedding night during a game of hide and seek. Rumor subsequently had it that she’d used the game as a ruse to run away with her lover. Fifty years later, however, her still grieving husband found her skeleton, adorned in her bridal clothes and wreath, in a long-overlooked chest carved with mistletoe. The heavy lid had slammed shut over poor Ann, trapping her in a terrible death on what was supposed to be the happiest day of her life. Her ghost is said to haunt the manor still.

Fast forward to the 21st century, when the prohibitive upkeep on the historic home has forced its owners, Sir Charles Wallingford and his sister Morgan Wallingford-Green, to open it to paying guests. The more publicity that they can drum up for the castle and its ghosts the better. But when the cameras start rolling and the delectable menu that Bunny has thoughtfully designed is finally served, the unimaginable happens. A distracted Bunny is drawn away from the table, and finds a fresh corpse in the infamous mistletoe chest itself. With her own boning knife sticking out of the victim’s heart, Bunny will have to turn to the most formidable person she knows for help in clearing her name of murder: her clairvoyant Grandma Ella. Will they be able to figure out who really did it before anyone else dies and more restless spirits join the ones already haunting Bramsford Manor?

I loved the premise of this book as well as its ties to Darci Hannah’s prior series, both of which I adore. I didn’t quite like Bunny as much as I do the heroines of Ms Hannah’s other books, but I’m definitely looking forward to reading more of her adventures. Bunny’s carefully guarded secrets can make her feel a little standoffish to both the other characters of this novel and to the reader, but I have every faith in this author’s ability to make me fall in love with Bunny the way I already have with Lindsey and Whitney, the protagonists of the Beacon Bakeshop and A Very Cherry Mystery series respectively.

There were seven recipes included here for the delicious food and drinks described in these pages. I decided to try out this one:

QUOTE
Cornbread Muffins with Honey Butter

For the muffins:
1 ½ cups fine cornmeal
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup butter (1 stick) softened
2 eggs
1 tablespoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups whole milk

For the honey butter:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
⅓ cup honey
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
½ teaspoon sea salt (or less)

Preheat oven to 350°. Combine cornmeal, flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and continue beating until well blended. With the mixer on slow, add half the dry ingredients and half the milk. Continue until the batter is combined.

Grease and lightly flour muffin cups. Fill each muffin cup three-quarters full, leaving room to expand. Bake 12-15 minutes or until muffins are done. Remove from oven and let cool. Muffins are best served warm and slathered with honey butter. Leftovers can be stored in a zip-lock bag and refrigerated.

Make the honey butter: In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat softened butter until it’s light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Drizzle in the honey and the maple syrup. Add the sea salt. Whip the mixture for five more minutes until nice and fluffy. Put in an airtight container and refrigerate leftovers.
END QUOTE

I think there was a mistake here and we should be using baking powder instead of baking soda, because a tablespoon of soda is a lot for this amount of flour and meal! Not being an expert baker, I figured the quantity might have something to do with the cornmeal, so cautiously used only a little over two teaspoons instead of the full tablespoon. Honestly, I should have used much less. The corn muffins are delicious (and the honey butter is a dream!) until the metallic aftertaste of too much baking soda hits. The muffins rose well, but I’d definitely recommend using baking powder instead of soda here.

Next week, we head back to the United States to whip up a dessert while investigating a spooky season murder. Do join me!

I really enjoyed A Fatal Feast at Bramsford Manor. This series has a very interesting premise that is quite different from other cozy, paranormal mystery series on the market. It's quite different from the other series I've read by this author as well. The mystery was well-written and very clever. Bunny is such an interesting character, even without her clairvoyant capabilities. I'm definitely looking forward to more books in this series to see how the characters grow.

I enjoyed this way more than I thought I would, based on the title. It’s a great ghost, has diverse characters & a great mystery. Love the twists & turns. #AFatalFeastatBramsfordManor #NetGalley

3.5/5 ⭐
Bunny MacBride is thrilled when she gets the opportunity to have her own cooking show. She is less thrilled when she finds out it is a combo show - part cooking, part ghost hunting. Still, she agrees and finds herself back in the UK at Bramsford Manor. The show is trying to contact the Mistletoe Bride, but instead a person ends up murdered. Bunny is a suspect since one of her knives was used in the murder, so she sets out to investigate to clear her name.

Overall, I liked this debut fine. I really enjoy Hannah's Beacon Bakeshop series, and I like that a character seen there was one of the main characters here. That was a fun nod to readers! However, I really wish this had been written in 1st person. I think that is one of the hallmarks of a good cozy mystery that allows readers to connect with this character we are going to be seeing over and over again. It also felt long - I couldn't really tell if it was long reading it on the Kindle, but it felt long for a cozy. I definitely will read another Bunny MacBride mystery because I enjoyed the cast of characters and I like the premise of the cooking ghost show. However, I really hope Hannah switches to having Bunny narrate in first person.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.