Welcome to my stop on the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour for Poaching Is Puzzling: A Cookbook Nook Mystery by Daryl Wood Gerber. Stop by each blog on the tour for interviews, guest posts, spotlights, reviews and more!
Poaching Is Puzzling: A Cookbook Nook Mystery
by Daryl Wood Gerber
Poaching Is Puzzling: A Cookbook Nook Mystery
Cozy Mystery
12th in Series
Setting – California
Beyond the Page Publishing (April 25, 2023)
Paperback : 264 pages
In the cutthroat world of crossword solvers, Jenna Hart will have to decipher some puzzling clues to catch a killer . . .
The annual crossword puzzle contest has drawn contestants from near and far to Crystal Cove, and Jenna watches in amazement as puzzle-themed books fly off the shelves at the Cookbook Nook. Her aunt Vera is putting up a sizable cash prize, and no one is more surprised than Jenna to discover there’s bad blood between Vera and the prominent puzzle constructor who’s acting as master of ceremonies. And when the puzzle guru has his throat slit while he’s out hiking, the police instantly peg Aunt Vera as the culprit.
Jenna can’t stand by and watch her aunt take the fall. It’s been clear since the victim arrived that he had contentious relationships with a number of the contestants—even going so far as to steal puzzles from some of them and claim them as his own—and Jenna’s certain one of them is the killer. Trading puzzle solving for crime solving, she sorts through the convoluted clues and cryptic suspects, hoping to nab the guilty party before they decide she’s a problem they’ll solve with another murder . . .
Includes mouthwatering recipes!
My review of Poaching is Puzzling
Though Poaching is Puzzling is the 12th book in the Cookbook Nook Mystery series, it’s the first one I’ve read from the series, and I loved it! So, obviously, you don’t need to read the prior 11 books to enjoy this one though I’m sure they’re great too. So, if you don’t mind knowing who is married to whom or how relationships came about, go ahead and jump in with Poaching is Puzzling!
Jenna and her aunt Vera own the Cookbook Nook, which is exactly what its name suggests. But they sell more than just cookbooks. Since the annual crossword puzzle competition is in town, they’ve stocked lots of crossword puzzle themed items like aprons, cookie jars, salt and pepper shakers, etc. in addition to the puzzle-themed books, and they’re selling like hot cakes! It doesn’t hurt that one of the most famous crossword puzzle makers was friends with Aunt Vera and is giving a lecture at the Cookbook Nook. But then he’s murdered, and Aunt Vera becomes a suspect!
I quickly came to love the main characters in this series. Jenna is delightful and her aunt is full of spunk. Jenna’s friends are loyal, and her husband is loving and attentive. The characters who are “just visiting” for this book are also very well-written and seem real! I think that when you feel like the characters in a book could be your neighbors, the author has done his or her job well! And Daryl Wood Gerber always does it well. I’ve read her Fairy Garden Mystery series, so I know she writes amazing characters! I’m looking forward to reading more in this series and getting to know these characters.
The crossword puzzle theme totally drew me in! I’m not good at them unless they’re about celebrities or pop culture….and most aren’t! I’m amazed by people who do them with no errors and in awe of those who create the puzzles. It’s one of those things where you think a computer must be coming up with crossword puzzle clues and themes. I think I have a pretty good vocabulary, but some of the words used in these puzzles in the book…nope. I have no clue! But I absolutely loved everything about the puzzle theme and how the whole village got involved in the crossword competition.
The mystery was extremely well plotted. Being a regular cozy mystery book reader, I had my suspicions as to who the killer was, but plenty of red herrings sent me down different paths early on!
I highly recommend Poaching is Puzzling! It’s got everything a good cozy mystery needs: wonderful characters, a well-plotted mystery with an intriguing theme, delicious sounding food (with recipes!), and a satisfying conclusion. I think you’ll love it as much as I did!
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.
About Daryl Wood Gerber
Agatha Award–winning and nationally bestselling author Daryl Wood Gerber is the author of the Cookbook Nook Mysteries, the Fairy Garden Mysteries, the French Bistro Mysteries, the Cheese Shop Mysteries (as Avery Aames), the Aspen Adams Novels of Suspense, and two other stand-alone suspense thrillers. Little known facts about Daryl are that she’s jumped out of a perfectly good airplane, has hitchhiked around Ireland by herself, and has appeared on an episode of Murder, She Wrote. She loves to read, cook, and golf, and has a frisky Goldendoodle named Sparky who keeps her in line!
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Poaching is Puzzling TOUR PARTICIPANTS
April 25 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT
April 26 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT
April 26 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – REVIEW
April 27 – Angel’s Guilty Pleasures – SPOTLIGHT
April 27 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW
April 28 – Hearts & Scribbles – SPOTLIGHT
April 29 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT
April 29 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
April 30 – Indie Author Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
May 1 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee – SPOTLIGHT
May 2 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT
May 2 – Ascroft, eh? – AUTHOR GUEST POST
May 3 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW
May 3 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
May 4 – StoreyBook Reviews – AUTHOR GUEST POST
May 5 – Ruff Drafts – SPOTLIGHT
May 6 – Baroness Book Trove – SPOTLIGHT
May 7 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
May 8 – Melina’s Book Blog – REVIEW
May 8 – My Reading Journeys – SPOTLIGHT
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Christy, I’m so excited that you enjoyed this story though it was the first you’d read in the series. Yay. Thanks for a lovely review. May your readers enjoy it as much. ~ Daryl
You’re welcome! Thank you for stopping!
Thanks for the review! Looking forward to reading this book.
Sounds like a book I will enjoy reading.
I have read a number of the books in the Cookbook Nook Mysteries and enjoyed them all!
Thanks for sharing!
Lovely new review!
I love the title on this book. Makes me so curious, which is great
I love the book cover!
Congrats on your tour!
I love the cozy mystery genre. Thanks for the giveaway!
It’s funny. When I read the title I was thinking of poaching as in illegal hunting, not cooking. I don’t quite know how I came up with that idea. I’m looking forward to reading about cooking instead of hunting.