This is a new series by an author I like. I would highly recommend. It has ghosts in an English manor house with a story of a bride who died on her wedding day 300 years ago. Then a murder?Bunny a chef on a ghost hunting food show must figure out out who did it.

I adore Darci Hannah's Beacon Bakeshop mysteries but I felt like this one just didn't resonate with me. Maybe I am too pedestrian for the fancy foods and glory of England. I didn't think the premise captured me either.

This was a fun read. First time reading this author and I look forward to reading more. I liked the characters and the set up for ongoing books in the series. The mystery kept me guessing.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest reveiw.

A nice start to a new paranormal cozy series that sees Bunny, a chef, cooking meals meant to entice ghosts so that they can be filmed. Unfortunately, her first meal-at Bramsford Manor-has an uninvited guest in a murderer! Bunny enlists her Granny Mac and her clairvoyant abilities to identify the villain, and then admits to her own. It's sufficiently twisty to keep the reader guessing, the characters are good, and I liked the setting. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Looking forward to the next one.

Ghosts and food?! How fun! What a great concept for a start to a new cozy series. I really loved the idea of Bunny traveling to a fancy manor house, cooking a great feast and presenting it to a ghost - I would definitely watch that show! However, I don't know if it's just me, but I couldn't really get into the story. It seemed quite obvious how the story was going and it was very slow; I think it could be a bit shorter and more to the point. The cozy vibes were definitely there which I enjoyed. I also didn't love the characters, other than Granny Mac. I just couldn't really get a read on Bunny - she says shes all sweet and bubbly, but never actually acted like that so I was torn. And I didn't love any of the other ghost hunter / sleuthing partners. Maybe this series just takes a little bit to warm up and get to know the characters; I will be curious to see where this series goes from here (can they really have someone die on every set?)

Bunny, MacBride is the chance to start in her own cooking show and jump at the chance. Too bad, she didn’t read the fine print, It’s not just a cooking show, it’s also a ghost hunting show… and bunny does not do ghosts! With a contract sign and a commitment made, she and the rest of the casting crew head off to England to a supposedly haunted manner. When their contact is murdered, Bunny becomes the prime suspect. can she face her own goats and clear her name, or will her starring role be just a flash in the pan

I read a lot of cozy mysteries, and I tend to do pretty well at picking model joy based upon the description. I thought I would enjoy this book, but I wasn’t expecting it to be what is one of the best cozies I have read in ages! Ghosts, cooking, and murder, it doesn’t get better than this! I. Could. Not. Put. This. Book. Down!

Drawing on the trend of cooking shows and the thrill of a little spookiness, television chef Bunny is assigned to cook a meal great enough to catch a ghost on camera, bringing up memories she'd rather not confront. Soon the crew is solving a present day murder plus the mystery of the haunting, as other secrets and revelations arise as well.

It's kind of a spin off of minor characters from the Beacon Bakeshop and Very Cherry series, so a cool treat for fans of the author. Mostly told from Bunny's POV but let other characters have a say in a couple spots to get the full picture.
I got invested in some of the manor characters too. Presumably the team will move on to the next haunted site but we leave with an idea of the future for the characters at Bramsford.

The author notes that this haunting is based on a real legend, something that makes the book even more interesting. And, as I'd hoped, Bunny's recipes are included to recreate at home- no word whether they will lure a ghost!

"From the author of the charming Beacon Bakeshop Mysteries, the first in a new set at a haunted English manor and featuring chef Bunny MacBride, whose big break on her first reality TV show may be cut short by an unscripted murder...

It isn't how chef Bridget "Bunny" MacBride imagined her own cooking show unfolding. But, if preparing historic meals with a modern flair is what it takes to get her cooking on the air, she can deliver, even if her dinner guest is a ghost. That's the premise of the new reality TV show Food and Spirits, where Chef Bunny teams up with ghost hunter Brett Bloom and psychic medium Giff McGrady to visit haunted locales around the world and tempt lingering spirits back to the table with a beloved meal. For their first episode, the Food and Spirits team sets off to investigate Bramsford Manor, a historic house turned famously haunted hotel, in picturesque Hampshire, England. The sprawling estate is said to be home to the Mistletoe Bride, a young woman who died in the 18th century, the victim of a tragic accident on her Christmas wedding night.

Disliking spooks but loving food, Bunny leaves the spectral search to the pros and focuses on the feast, creating a traditional English holiday wedding dinner, complete with a gorgeous prime rib, Yorkshire pudding, and rustic apple tarts. It's a sumptuous meal she hopes will entice the ghostly Mistletoe Bride to take a seat and join them while the cameras roll. But Bunny's task is made more difficult when someone steals a boning knife from her custom kit. Alas, when the blade finally turns up again - in the chest of an all-too-human dinner guest - Bunny's woes only grow as she is named a lead suspect in the case! Now, with a haunted house full of living residents, staff, and crew, Bunny will need the help of Brett, Giff, and her clairvoyant Grandma Mac, to solve this murder before the manor gains another ghost!"

It's The Supersizers... meets Ghosts!

A new series by Darci Hannah, the Beacon Bakeshop mysteries author. Chef Bunny Mac Bride teams up with ghost hunter Brett Bloom and psychic Gift McGrath to visit haunted places around the world. Tempting the spirits with a meal. They end up first in Hampshire England in an estate supposedly haunted by a young bride who died in a tragic accident on her Christmas wedding night. When an actual murder happens with Bunny's boning knife she becomes suspect number one. Filled with twists and turns. Love the plot. Great characters. Thanks#Netgalley and #Kensington for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine.

A Fatal Feast at Bramsford Manor
(Food & Spirits 1)
Darci Hannah



Bridget “Bunny” MacBride is a powerful psychic medium, though she shuns the ability. She is also an exceptional cook. She works for Mary Stobart a Martha Stewart styled guru. She wrote recipes and filmed Bunny’s Culinary Corner as part of Mary Stobart’s Memorable Meals television series. Bunny is originally from Inverary, Scotland in the United Kingdom. After showing weakness to her boss, by refusing to do a spooky Halloween feature. She receives a new contract to become part of an ensemble cast in a new traveling cooking show. At first, she believes this to be a major promotion, a lead in her own show!

While at Mealtime Network in New York City, she learns the truth about Food & Spirits… it’s true premise is ghost hunting and a historical meal. Brett Bloom, is the show creator and one half of the Spirits portion of the cast, the other half is Gifford “Giff” McGrady, a medium. Brett is the former star of Ghost Guys on Travel Channel before they had a mishap that ended the series*. With the exception of Bunny the characters from this series were previously in the Cherry Hills and Beacon Bakeshop Mystery series.

The first show is in London, featuring Bramsford Manor! The guys need to prove or debunk a “white lady” in this case... the Mistletoe Bride.

After Bunny is arrested on suspicion of murder! She calls her grandmother. Granny MacBride, is a hoot! She is a clairvoyant medium and takes Giff under her wing.

5*****

I truly hope Granny MacBride remains in the series. She added a much needed foil to Bunny who is very conscious of other's opinions. I loved this book so much I would happily write pages about what made it so entertaining! I won't for the sake of time but this has earned a spot on my top 10 of 2024 list.


*Murder at the Pumpkin Pageant (Beacon Bakeshop Mystery 4) Ghost Guys' final episode.


show’s tagline. Be careful who you invite to dinner.


#AfatalFeast@BramsfordManor #Food&Spirits #DarciHannah #Travel #Mystery #Europe #Cooking #Recipes #Netgalley

Thank you to Netgalley, Ms. Hannah, and the publisher for the ARC.

A Fatal Feast at Bramsford Manor is a spooky, fun first in a new series! The cast of characters grew on me exponentially throughout the story; I especially loved Granny Mac. The premise of this mystery was a little different and totally worked for me. The ghost hunting part even got a little spooky for a cozy, though I would’ve liked to see Granny Mac get rid of the negative entity—I hope we’ll see more of her talents in future books! I can’t wait to see Bunny settle into her abilities either! The food made me pretty hungry, I hope we get to spend more time with Bunny as she prepares delicious eats! The mystery kept me guessing until the reveal, and the sleuthing was top notch. The backdrop of Bramsford Manor gave a Clue vibe, and the story of the Mistletoe Bride was eerie and sad, I was rooting for the closure of her tale. I’ll absolutely be reading more of this series!

A Fatal Feast at Bramsford Murder is the first in a new series by Darci Hannah and my first Darci Hannah book! I enjoy mysteries with a bit of a ghost element and with this one taking place in England, it sounded right up my alley! Bunny MacBride, a cook on a Martha Stewart-type show, finally gets her own show, but instead of food and alcohol like she assumes, it involves ghost-hunting! I loved the main character and getting to know the other cast and crew. There wasn't as much food descriptions as I expected, but the mystery itself was great! Looking forward to where Hannah takes the series in the future!

Thanks to NetGalley for the copy!

“A Fatal Feast at Bramsford Manor ” by Darci Hannah the 1st instalment in the "A Food & Spirits Mystery" series. I loved this book it’s a fun mystery. I totally added it to my favourite series list!

I really enjoyed getting to know Bunny and visiting Bramsford Manor. I’m hoping Bunny’s Grandma Mac will be in the next book .

It was entertaining, full of twists and turns and I didn’t completely guess whodunnit until Bunny did.
I highly recommend this series to all my cozy loving friends and I can’t wait for book 2!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I requested and received an advanced readers copy from Kensington and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my OWN.

Bridget "Bunny" MacBride is enjoying her time as a chef on a TV cooking show when she's approached to do a new show: Food and Spirits. She is told it is a cooking show where she'll be traveling around and creating meals based on the local area. She assumes the "spirits" part of the title refers to alcohol, so she's somewhat alarmed to find that it actually refers to ghosts. She wants no part of the hauntings, but she's already signed the contract and is on a plane to an old manor in England before she can extricate herself from the situation. Once in England, she becomes acquainted with her fellow hosts, who have previous experience with TV ghost hunting. The idea is that Bunny will prepare meals that will entice resident ghosts to the table. The house, Bramsford Manor, is known to be haunted by several ghosts, including the Mistletoe Bride, a young woman who disappeared on her wedding night and whose skeleton was found locked in a chest 50 years later. The house is being run as a hotel by a brother and sister, and they have a resident historian who has been delving into the secrets of the house. Soon after arriving, the historian is found dead in the same chest where the skeletal bride was discovered. To make matters worse, he's been killed with one of Bunny's chef knives, and she's also the one who discovers the body. She soon becomes a suspect, although even the police are puzzled as to why she would kill someone she just met. Bunny's Grandma Mac, who has been known to convene with spirits (the ghostly type) in her time, comes to help Bunny find the real killer and also help the various ghosts to 'cross over."

I liked the premise of the story and the setting of the creepy old manor house. Bunny and her ghost hunting cohorts were also quite likeable. Once the body turned up, however, the middle of the book bogged down with not a lot happening. It also seemed as if a lot of things were repeated when we (the readers) and the characters were already aware of what was being explained. Still, it was an enjoyable enough (if somewhat plodding) story.

Chef Bridget "Bunny' MacBride is offered her own cooking show. The concept pairs gourmet meals and ghosts. With a team consisting of a ghost hunter and a medium the idea is to try and communicate with a ghost living in a haunted locale. It's a great opportunity. The only problem is Bunny hates anything having to do with ghosts.

Up first is Bramsford Manor in England. There Bunny and her team learn the tale of the Mistletoe Bride, a young woman who died tragically on her wedding night in the 1700's. Bunny wants nothing to do with that part of the show. Instead she focuses on creating a perfect meal. They're off to a great start until the murder of a dinner guest and Bunny becomes the prime suspect.

I was immediately drawn into this wonderful story. The characters are charming and I was instantly comfortable with them. They are not cookie cutter stand ins. Bunny is a refreshing lead character.

The writing is fantastic as well. The setting is perfect. The ghost element is well done. I also loved seeing what they were doing for the show.

I love how Bunny and friends worked together to solve the mystery which is quite layered. It has elements of a classic mystery.

A Fatal Feast at Bramsford Manor is just so well done. It was a fast read because I didn't want to stop reading. Have you ever read a book where you keep telling yourself while reading that you love it? This was me every other page. It's a fantastic book that hits all the right notes. I can't wait for the next one!

An intriguing storyline with well developed characters. I found this to be an engaging read that flowed very well and kept me guessing until the end. Well worth a read.

Bunny MacBride is a TV chef who finds herself on a new show that combines travel, food, and -- surprisingly -- ghosts. First time out, she's cooking up a feast in an English castle haunted by several spirits. It turns out that Bunny has a special connection with ghosts, and things get complicated from there.

This book includes an appealing trio of likable young people, a clairvoyant grandmother, a perfect cast of potential victims and suspects including English aristocrats, servants, and academics, and lavish details of meals and manor house decor. The puzzle is complicated but hangs together through lots of twists and turns, ending up with a satisfying conclusion.

If there is one thing Scottish chef Bridget 'Bunny' MacBride won't consider getting involved with, or even talk about, it's spooky stuff! Everything from Halloween to ghouls and ghosts are off limits! She has however, always been quite happy working in Connecticut on one of the most popular shows on the Mealtime Network. Things have become a little frosty of late though and when she's offered her own show, Food and Spirits, Bunny is delighted to jump ship and accept. Unfortunately it seems she has agreed to be part of a ghost hunting show where her meals will be used to entice a ghostly presence and help them pass over into the spirit world!

Bramsford Manor, a beautiful, historic, five star hotel, in the heart of Hampshire, is where Bunny and her team will be filming first. Regrettably, after preparing a sumptuous meal for her part of the show, a body is discovered, with one of her knives being used as the murder weapon! Scared, Bunny contacts her Grandma Mac, a clairvoyant who still lives in her native Scotland, for help, while finally admitting to her own psychic powers which she has kept hidden for over a decade! Alongside her grandmother and new co-stars the hunt begins to discover the killer’s identity before their new show is cancelled and Bunny has to remain in England at His Majesty's pleasure!

Darci Hannah has written an excellent series starter and, after enjoying her Beacon Bakeshop Mystery Series, I was excited to read this. I wasn't disappointed. The mystery was fast moving, the main protagonists all well rounded from the start, and I like the premise of Bunny and her team visiting haunted properties across the globe for their series. There are also notes on the actual ghost story as well as some relevant recipes included at the end and I look forward to reading more.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Kensington Publishing, but the opinions expressed are my own. I thoroughly enjoyed this and happily recommend it.

I enjoyed this book. I liked the characters and the setting. The mystery kept me guessing. It will be interesting to see how the series goes from here.

A cozy book featuring gourmet food and a few ghosts

Bridget ‘Bunny’ MacBride has been working as a chef on the show of Mary Stobart (who feels a bit Martha Stewart-ish with a generous sprinkling of Oprah). Bunny’s young and talented, leading to perhaps a tinge of professional jealousy on Mary’s part. Therefore, when Bunny is offered her own show, “Food and Spirits” (a show about cooking and bartending, she thinks), she's thrilled. She’s a little dismayed when she learns a few weeks later that the ‘Spirits’ are ghosts, not alcohol; however, despite her not liking ghosts, she’s committed to the new show and can’t turn back.

Their first episode is at historic Bramsford Manor who’s claim to fame is a tragic game of hide and seek that took place about 325 years earlier, leading to the death of a new bride when she got trapped in a chest. Bunny’s role is to produce a meal that might entice the ghost of the young bride to appear. However, when filming starts, Bunny finds another body stuffed in the history chest, and since she found the body and it was stabbed by one of her knives that went missing earlier, she becomes the primary suspect. In order to clear her name, it takes the efforts of the whole Food and Spirits cast, along with the help of her clairvoyant Grandma Mac.

I enjoyed this book. As the start of a new series, I like the fact the show involves traveling, meaning each book can be set at a different historic house with a fresh set of suspects. The characters are likable, and I like seeing how Bunny is starting to evolve. As a bit of a foodie, I loved reading about all the dishes Bunny made. There’s also some background bits involving Bunny’s white rabbit which I see continuing on. The book is very PG - very mild language, for example - and told from multiple points of view which is a refreshing change. I look forward to reading others in the series.

Highly recommended. Even though this is a new series, it’s a spin off from a previous series but works as a stand alone.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley.com that I voluntarily chose to review.