On Flashback Fridays I will share with you
the books I was not able to review
when they were first released that have been screaming at me
from my To-Be-Read bookshelf.
Scam Chowder (A Five-Ingredient Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Setting – Maryland
Publisher : Kensington (June 30, 2015)
Mass Market Paperback : 304 pages
ISBN-10 : 1617731404
ISBN-13 : 978-1617731402
Kindle ASIN : B00ONTS4V6
Val Deniston loves the historic Chesapeake Bay town where she lives with her grandfather, the Codger Cook. Running the fitness club’s Cool Down Café—and salvaging the five-ingredient dishes Granddad messes up—keeps her busy. She’s used to his catastrophes in the kitchen, but not in the dining room…
Especially when one of his dinner party guests winds up face down in the chowder. The demised diner apparently scammed Granddad’s best buddy, and since the other dinner guests have suddenly clammed up, the police have all the ingredients to cook up a conviction for Granddad. With his freedom—and Val’s café job—on the line, Val is in a sweat trying to avert a catastrophe. But dredging up old secrets might just be a recipe for murder…
Includes 6 five-ingredient recipes!
Dollycas’s Thoughts
Val Deniston’s grandfather, the Codger Cook is hosting a dinner party with her actually making the meal he will take credit for. She has prepared some appetizers and both light and cream clam chowder.
Not long after his guests have sat down to eat one of the guests “pitched face-first into the chowder”. While Scott Freaze comes around he isn’t feeling well and others are worried about food poisoning, but no one else had any ill effects from the meal. Then the next day Mr. Freaze passes away at the hospital. Val’s grandfather invited the man to dinner to hopefully get him to admit he scammed his best friend out of a lot of money but never expected the man to die. None of the other guests are talking so the Codger Cook is the sheriff’s prime suspect. Now not only is her granddad’s freedom at stake so is her job at the fitness club’s Cool Down Café.
Val has to find a perfect recipe to solve the murder and save her job. Of course, her grandfather wants to help, but that could lead to both of their demise.
The number 5 is the key here.
- 5 ingredient recipes
- 5 suspects
- 5 key clues
Val Deniston is supposed to be working on a cookbook but working at the Cool Down Café and keeping her grandfather out of trouble pretty much takes up all her time. He recently landed a recipe column with the local newspaper. A huge feat for a man who can’t cook. Her relationship with Gunnar Swenson is totally in flux, their romance didn’t work but can they still be friends or can they find a romantic spark? He had so many other things going on in this story he didn’t have much time for her. Val’s cafe assistant and tennis partner Bethany is a good friend. She fills in at work when Val is off investigating and is a great sounding board and sleuthing partner. All the characters are evolving. I just wish Val’s grandfather wasn’t so curmudgeonly with her. She does so much for him and he should appreciate it.
7 dinner guests; Granddad, the victim, and 5 suspects set off the murder mystery. Frankly, they were all cagey. At one time or another, all five were at the top of my list. A second murder twisted things up nicely. I pared my list down to two and when the killer was revealed all the clues, 5 key ones, fell into place sans a few worthy misdirections. Ms. Corrigan did a fine job plotting this one out to keep her readers guessing right up to the end.
There are recipes from the Codger Cook, aka Val’s recipes in the back of the book including, Waterman’s Clam Chowder, Crunchy Lime Chicken, and No Crust No Fuss Spinach Pie.
This series has a great Five-Ingredient theme. Scam Chowder has a strong mystery, takes on elder fraud, and has characters that continue to develop. I enjoyed the story very much. I am unsure why I didn’t keep up with this series when it first came out but I am happy to return to it now. I will be moving Final Fondue up on my To-Be-Read stack.
*This book was from my private collection. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Your Escape Into A Good Book Travel Agent
About the Author
Maya Corrigan is the author of the Five-Ingredient Mystery Series, featuring a café manager and her kooky grandfather with five suspects, five clues, and five ingredient recipes in each installment. Corrigan lives near Washington, D.C., close to the setting for her series, Maryland’s Eastern Shore. A winner of the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery and Suspense, she has published essays on drama and short stories as well as taught courses in writing, detective fiction, and American literature at Georgetown University and NOVA community college. Please visit her online at MayaCorrigan.com and Facebook.
Scam Chowder is on sale now for $1.99 in Kindle format.
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