Scan barcode
marlynb's review
4.0
It's been a while since I read a Hemlock Falls mystery, and I realized that I'd missed Quill and Meg like old friends I hadn't seen in a long time. The previous book in the series (#15, A Carol for a Corpse) was published in 2007.
Since then, Quill has become a parent to Jackson Myles McHale, almost two. Her husband, Myles, is overseas on an extended assignment for the government, so she and Jack have moved back into her rooms in the Inn. A culinary school (the Bonne Goute Culinary Academy) has opened nearby and the Inn at Hemlock Falls, though filled with guests, is not serving many meals. Most of the people registered at the Inn are there to tour and dine at the Academy.
Meg, the head chef at the Inn, is understandably upset. But when the owner of the Academy, well-known chef Bernard LeVasque, begins to harass her by spreading rumours of deadly viruses at the Inn, and advertising that the Inn is serving free food, she is also extremely confused. Is it because she took in the pastry chef he fired?
When, a few days later, LeVasque is found in his wine cellar with a knife in his throat, pastry chef Clarissa is the prime suspect. Certain that the Hemlock Falls sheriff is not going to look any further, Meg and Quill begin investigating again.
Welcome back to the Quilliam sisters. Here's hoping we see you again soon!
Since then, Quill has become a parent to Jackson Myles McHale, almost two. Her husband, Myles, is overseas on an extended assignment for the government, so she and Jack have moved back into her rooms in the Inn. A culinary school (the Bonne Goute Culinary Academy) has opened nearby and the Inn at Hemlock Falls, though filled with guests, is not serving many meals. Most of the people registered at the Inn are there to tour and dine at the Academy.
Meg, the head chef at the Inn, is understandably upset. But when the owner of the Academy, well-known chef Bernard LeVasque, begins to harass her by spreading rumours of deadly viruses at the Inn, and advertising that the Inn is serving free food, she is also extremely confused. Is it because she took in the pastry chef he fired?
When, a few days later, LeVasque is found in his wine cellar with a knife in his throat, pastry chef Clarissa is the prime suspect. Certain that the Hemlock Falls sheriff is not going to look any further, Meg and Quill begin investigating again.
Welcome back to the Quilliam sisters. Here's hoping we see you again soon!
audreyintheheadphones's review against another edition
4.0
Synopsis: Simply the best culinary mystery I've ever read.
And Toast Mortem, in addition to having a really fabulous title (no I can't explain the popularity of puns in cozies) is an outstanding cozy.
The Qwilliam sisters' upstate New York inn is threatened by the establishment of a culinary school right next door, whose famous French chef holds a grudge. In between deflecting his unfunny practical jokes and trying to keep the city council from killing each other, Qwill, the innkeeper, must also find time to raise her son, Jack, put up with air-heads at the front desk, and stop her chef-sister Meg from throwing frying pans at people. And what's the deep dark secret their pastry chef is protecting?
Cue more mayhem.
And it's glorious.
The town of Hemlock Falls is adorably quirky and better yet, well delineated, with the various tangled relationships between the characters adroitly managed. The Qwilliam sisters are fantastic: Qwill, the pragmatic worrier is the perfect foil for her hot tempered and snark-mouthed sister Meg. The front desk airheads are hilarious. Things fall apart in deliciously ghastly ways and the characters respond to situations in ways I could definitely relate to.
Well-written, interesting loopy plot, passes the Bechdel test, and features both placeporn and madcap good times (did I mention I love madcap? I love madcap).
Plus there's a librarian who manages to be neither a bunned spinster or a flowing-locked sexpot, but an intelligent and savvy individual who's amazingly good at her job. Bonus.
For a culinary mystery, it's not very food-oriented so much as it is kitchen-oriented, as in the focus remains squarely on what it's like to work in a kitchen, making all the food people squee over. The included recipes are kind of terrible, but that's also a plot point, so I'll let it pass.
Adela chaired the library board. Just as John Deere bulldozers were good at moving dirt, Adela was good at fund-raising. So the library was a pleasant, well-ordered place with good lighting, lots of books, and up to date computer equipment.I've seen lots of articles puzzling over the popularity of cozy mysteries, those mysteries where the main character is usually a woman employed in a domestic or semi-domestic sphere, who negotiates between that and the world of crime-solving due to unforeseen necessity. And I think I have the answer: these books generally all pass the Bechdel test with flying colors. The protagonist usually has a female sidekick with whom she banters back and forth about the crime. If there's a romantic subplot, it takes a backseat to solving the mystery.
And Toast Mortem, in addition to having a really fabulous title (no I can't explain the popularity of puns in cozies) is an outstanding cozy.
The Qwilliam sisters' upstate New York inn is threatened by the establishment of a culinary school right next door, whose famous French chef holds a grudge. In between deflecting his unfunny practical jokes and trying to keep the city council from killing each other, Qwill, the innkeeper, must also find time to raise her son, Jack, put up with air-heads at the front desk, and stop her chef-sister Meg from throwing frying pans at people. And what's the deep dark secret their pastry chef is protecting?
Cue more mayhem.
And it's glorious.
The town of Hemlock Falls is adorably quirky and better yet, well delineated, with the various tangled relationships between the characters adroitly managed. The Qwilliam sisters are fantastic: Qwill, the pragmatic worrier is the perfect foil for her hot tempered and snark-mouthed sister Meg. The front desk airheads are hilarious. Things fall apart in deliciously ghastly ways and the characters respond to situations in ways I could definitely relate to.
Well-written, interesting loopy plot, passes the Bechdel test, and features both placeporn and madcap good times (did I mention I love madcap? I love madcap).
Plus there's a librarian who manages to be neither a bunned spinster or a flowing-locked sexpot, but an intelligent and savvy individual who's amazingly good at her job. Bonus.
For a culinary mystery, it's not very food-oriented so much as it is kitchen-oriented, as in the focus remains squarely on what it's like to work in a kitchen, making all the food people squee over. The included recipes are kind of terrible, but that's also a plot point, so I'll let it pass.
More...