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kimdavishb's review against another edition
5.0
Leslie Budewitz writes a very intriguing cozy mystery in BUTTER OFF DEAD. Erin Murphy runs the Merc, her family’s century old grocery store recently turned gourmet food store in Jewel Bay, Montana. The town relies heavily on tourists to make a living and usually Erin is busy organizing a festival to bring them in. This time, however, she’s only the “go-fer” for her brother’s ex-girlfriend, Christine Vandeberg, who is organizing the First Annual Food Lovers’ Film Festival. They plan on showing food-themed movies and serving food that celebrates the chosen movies.
Just days before the festival is to begin, Christine is found murdered in her home. Suspicions quickly land on her ex-boyfriend, Nick, who happens to be Erin’s brother. He won’t tell anyone his whereabouts during the time she was shot, which only increases the belief that he is guilty. Erin knows that even though Nick is hiding something, he is innocent of murder and sets about to clear his name. However, she soon finds out that there are quite a few people who might be capable of going to extreme levels to keep their secrets from being exposed and she must find the culprit before they strike again. In addition to the turmoil her family experiences from the possible murder charges facing Nick, Erin is plunged back into piecing together new clues on how her father died while she was still in high school with the hopes of finding comfort in finally finding out the truth about the terrible tragedy. And all the while Erin must fill Christine’s position and keep the Food Lovers’ Film Festival on track to open.
I enjoyed revisiting Jewel Bay and it’s townspeople in this latest release in the Food Lovers’ Village series. The author gives us greater insight into Erin and her family’s dynamics and allows them to grow and experience life in a realistic manner. Besides the relationships, Leslie provides lots of twists and turns to the plot and kept me guessing the entire book. And as always, some yummy recipes are included....I tried the Jewel Bay Critter Crunch and without a doubt, it's the best caramel corn I've ever made!
Just days before the festival is to begin, Christine is found murdered in her home. Suspicions quickly land on her ex-boyfriend, Nick, who happens to be Erin’s brother. He won’t tell anyone his whereabouts during the time she was shot, which only increases the belief that he is guilty. Erin knows that even though Nick is hiding something, he is innocent of murder and sets about to clear his name. However, she soon finds out that there are quite a few people who might be capable of going to extreme levels to keep their secrets from being exposed and she must find the culprit before they strike again. In addition to the turmoil her family experiences from the possible murder charges facing Nick, Erin is plunged back into piecing together new clues on how her father died while she was still in high school with the hopes of finding comfort in finally finding out the truth about the terrible tragedy. And all the while Erin must fill Christine’s position and keep the Food Lovers’ Film Festival on track to open.
I enjoyed revisiting Jewel Bay and it’s townspeople in this latest release in the Food Lovers’ Village series. The author gives us greater insight into Erin and her family’s dynamics and allows them to grow and experience life in a realistic manner. Besides the relationships, Leslie provides lots of twists and turns to the plot and kept me guessing the entire book. And as always, some yummy recipes are included....I tried the Jewel Bay Critter Crunch and without a doubt, it's the best caramel corn I've ever made!
readertate's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
asanford's review against another edition
4.0
This one was much better than the first two and I actually care about the characters now. It is also fun to have a small mountain town that feels familiar. Plus there was good closure.
jen776's review against another edition
5.0
This was my first book by this author ,but I really enjoyed it and have added her others to my tbr list.
cozyreads1988's review against another edition
Something about this authors writing and storytelling isn’t my style. Going to finish the series as audiobooks but sadly not a fan.
yetanothersusan's review against another edition
4.0
First, I want to live in a town with as many festivals as these people have. Oh wait! I do!
Lovely continuation of the ongoing events in a little Montana town that seems to get more than it's share of murder. Even though I guessed the culprit(s) early on, I was still surprised when everything was resolved. This is exactly what a "cozy" is all about!
Lovely continuation of the ongoing events in a little Montana town that seems to get more than it's share of murder. Even though I guessed the culprit(s) early on, I was still surprised when everything was resolved. This is exactly what a "cozy" is all about!
dollycas's review against another edition
5.0
Dollycas’s Thoughts
In this third installment Jewel Bay is hosting another event. This time a Food Lovers’ Film Festival, showing movies like Chocolat and Ratatouille. Sounds like a lot of fun until one of the organizers ends up dead.
The author knows the key to a great mystery series is having characters that continue to grown and evolve and story-lines that put them in precarious situations. She dishes up perfection in Butter Off Dead. Erin’s brother, Nick is hiding something and it is making him look mighty guilty. Erin has to prove his innocence and find out who the heck he is protecting and that puts her right in the killer’s sights. We also meet some high school students who have volunteered to help with festival. They are also hiding something.
This story is so well written. It kept me captivated from the first page until the very last. It was filled with many clever twists that left me guessing whodunit until the final reveal. Erin ran her butt off in this story while running the Merc, running the festival, and keeping community and family members in check, all while trying to figure out who killed her friend. She was always off doing something making the story pretty fast paced.
I know some of the residents of Jewel Bay are not pleased with all the festivals and events but I can’t wait to return to this food loving town for the next one. I also look forward to shopping again soon at the Merc and trying more of those tasty recipes.
missmarketpaperback's review
4.0
A good cozy mystery. I enjoyed the discussion of art and the min characters conversations with her family the most. The mystery itself was good. I have to say that learning the MC’s best friend has been covering up the MC’s father’s murder made it so I can’t really forgive her. She gets really close with the family over the series and I don’t get it, but maybe I’m ungenerous.
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