On Flashback Fridays I will share with you the books I missed when they were first
released that have been screaming at me from my To-Be-Read bookshelf.
Fillet of Murder:
A Deep Fried Mystery
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – Massachusetts
A Berkley Prime Crime Mystery (May 5, 2015)
An Imprint of Penguin Random House LLC
Cover Illustration by Dan Craig
Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
ISBN-13: 978-0425274132
E-Book – ASIN: B00O2BS33O
Talia Marby serves up delectable English deep fried fare in the heart of the Berkshires—but she soon discovers there’s something fishy going on…
Sometimes in this life, you have to fish or cut bait. After walking away from a miserable job and an even worse boyfriend, Talia Marby has no regrets. She’s returned to her hometown and is happy to help her dear friend Bea Lambert by working at Lambert’s Fish & Chips, a cornerstone of a charming shopping plaza designed to resemble an old English village.
But not all the shop owners are charming. Phil Turnbull has been pestering Bea to sign a petition against a new store opening up, and his constant badgering is enough to make her want to boil him in oil. When Talia and Bea stumble upon Turnbull murdered in his shop, the police suspect Bea. Now it’s up to Talia to fish around for clues and hook the real killer before her friend has to trade serving food for serving time…
Includes delicious recipes!
Dollycas’s Thoughts
What a delicious mystery!
Talia Marcy leaves a job she hates and a crumby boyfriend behind to return hometown and work at a place that is like her second home. She worked at Lambert’s Fish & Chips in high school and the owners Bea and Howie became almost a second set of parents. She knew it was just the place for her to reset and regroup her life until the right job comes along. Then the cantankerous Phil Trumbull shows up to torment Bea with some kind of petition to stop a new comic book store from opening. Bea has a few choice words for him, deep frying him in oil were some of the included words, but she never meant it in the literal sense. When Talia and Bea find him dead, (not fried), Bea’s words come back to bite her when she becomes the #1 suspect. Talia decides to prove Bea’s innocence by trying to catch the killer herself. Hopefully she doesn’t become the day’s catch herself.
I love Talia, she’s strong and smart and she deeply cares about her friends. Bea means the world to her and they work together like a well-oiled machine. Bea is a special lady too. Not afraid of hard work and with a heart as big as all outdoors. She reminds me of my own mom. I was really engaged by both of them. Whitnee also works for Bea. She is a student with a very overbearing mother. Both Bea and Talia do their best to look out for her.
The setting for this story is the charming Wrensdale Arcade. A shopping plaza where all the shop exteriors looked like they popped right out of an old English village. It sounds like a very unique place.
The murder happens very early in the story but readers still have time to figure out enough about Phil Turnbull to understand why he was so disliked. As the story continued and more suspects were revealed and we see they all had motivation to kill the man. As quickly as the man was killed the clues quickly lead to someone I totally didn’t expect as the killer. I had the WOW light bulb over my head. A really well executed twist.
I really enjoyed the background story of Talia staying in her Nana’s house while it was up for sale. Dealing with realtors, trying to to make herself not too much at home because this is just a temporary living arrangement. She even has a kitty come to her door who she starts to feed and soon the little guy has not only wormed his way into the house but also Talia’s heart.
This is truly a grand debut. It checks all the boxes of what I love in a great cozy mystery. – Likable and believable characters, a comfortable setting, and a mystery that keeps you guessing right up to the final reveal.
You can find out all about Linda Reilly on her Webpage here. Find her on Facebook and GoodReads too! The second book in this series, Out of the Dying Pan
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Thanks for an interesting and thoughtful review. I have this on my TBR list but haven’t got to it yet. Thank you for the giveaway.
I love your flashback Friday. Linda Reilly’s series is a great one to have on your bookshelf. Thanks so much for the giveaway. robeader53@yahoo.com
I remember reading about this book when it first came out and putting it on my wish list. Thanks for the review and giveaway.
Looks like great cozy mystery. Thanks for having this great giveaway.
The google form isn;t loading right but i filled out what i could as I don’t want to miss will share on facebook and i figured i have 8 pts from above that. I would really love to read and review this on goodreads and amazon it looks like a great read. Also perfect book to do on a Friday only eat fist!
New author for me.
Sounds like a fun read! Thank you for the chance to win.
This sounds like a really fun read Lori! Thanks for the review & a chance to win!
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