feliciar33ds's review
4.0
A tasty little mystery about a woman who's sorting through big changes in her life while solving the murder of unlikeable shop owner. Will make you hungry for fish and chips....As an aside, the cover art for this books is awesome - very retro, detective novel.
melissapalmer404's review
5.0
Book #63 Read in 2015
Fillet of Murder by Linda Reilly
This is the first book in a new cozy mystery series. Talia has returned to her hometown after quitting her job and breaking up with her boyfriend. She begins working at a diner that she worked in during high school and lives in her deceased grandmother's house. A short time after her return home, a fellow business owner is murdered and Talia's boss Bea is considered to be the prime suspect. Talia begins an investigation in order to clear Bea's name. This mystery had good twists and turns which kept me guessing the murderer's identity until the reveal at the end. I enjoyed the small town setting and the characters in the town. Hopefully, in the next installment, calico cat Bojangles will play a more prominent role. This was a great read. I was lucky enough to receive a signed copy of this book from the author; thank you Linda Reilly for sending me your great read!
http://melissasbookpicks.blogspot.com
Fillet of Murder by Linda Reilly
This is the first book in a new cozy mystery series. Talia has returned to her hometown after quitting her job and breaking up with her boyfriend. She begins working at a diner that she worked in during high school and lives in her deceased grandmother's house. A short time after her return home, a fellow business owner is murdered and Talia's boss Bea is considered to be the prime suspect. Talia begins an investigation in order to clear Bea's name. This mystery had good twists and turns which kept me guessing the murderer's identity until the reveal at the end. I enjoyed the small town setting and the characters in the town. Hopefully, in the next installment, calico cat Bojangles will play a more prominent role. This was a great read. I was lucky enough to receive a signed copy of this book from the author; thank you Linda Reilly for sending me your great read!
http://melissasbookpicks.blogspot.com
deannaksmith's review
3.0
The number of times the word 'luscious' was used in this book is just something I can't get over. I just. I can't.
underwater_reader's review
4.0
So I picked this book, or rather this book was picked for me based on the adorable cover. While browsing in the library one evening, my husband saw this book on a display of cozy mystery books and brought it to me asking if I'd read it. I told him I'd never even heard of it, but I asked him to take a picture of the book and send it to me so I'd remember to read it! One of the prompts during 24K Resolutions Bingo was "Read a cozy where the cover makes you happy". Well, this one certainly does. The fact that my husband knew immediately based on that sweet calico baby on the cover that this was one for me sealed the deal, and he was right, I loved it!
Talia has returned to her small hometown in the Berkshires after a nasty breakup and leaving a very unfulfilling job. She is living in her deceased Nana's house and working at Lambert's Fish and Chips just like she did in high school. Talia loves it there and she loves her boss, Bea, an ex-pat from England. When another shopkeeper in the arcade who has been badgering everyone to sign a petition to keep out a new comic book store is found murdered, suspicion falls onto Bea. Talia sets out to prove her friend innocent.
I really enjoyed this book very much. I love Talia and I love her interactions with her friends and how caring she is towards others. I loved the small town and the arcade where the shops are. I love how sweet Talia was towards her new kitty Bojangles! The book was well-paced and plotted and I felt like we get a great introduction to the characters and the town without a lot of info-dump passages. The murder was very well crafted and I could not solve it for the life of me, and it didn't help that there were so many red herrings and twists and turns! The only thing that stopped me from giving this book a full five stars was a slight, probably only me thing. I am verysensitive to animal stuff. Like, it really bothers me and gets under my skin and sticks there. There was a back story of a character who had a pet rabbit that was not treated super well by her brothers and the scene where we learn about Bojangle's back story both got to me. I know, I know it's minor stuff, but it bothered me enough to take a half-star off. Other than that, though, this book was great and I'm so glad my husband spotted it for me! 4.5 stars!
Talia has returned to her small hometown in the Berkshires after a nasty breakup and leaving a very unfulfilling job. She is living in her deceased Nana's house and working at Lambert's Fish and Chips just like she did in high school. Talia loves it there and she loves her boss, Bea, an ex-pat from England. When another shopkeeper in the arcade who has been badgering everyone to sign a petition to keep out a new comic book store is found murdered, suspicion falls onto Bea. Talia sets out to prove her friend innocent.
I really enjoyed this book very much. I love Talia and I love her interactions with her friends and how caring she is towards others. I loved the small town and the arcade where the shops are. I love how sweet Talia was towards her new kitty Bojangles! The book was well-paced and plotted and I felt like we get a great introduction to the characters and the town without a lot of info-dump passages. The murder was very well crafted and I could not solve it for the life of me, and it didn't help that there were so many red herrings and twists and turns! The only thing that stopped me from giving this book a full five stars was a slight, probably only me thing. I am verysensitive to animal stuff. Like, it really bothers me and gets under my skin and sticks there. There was a back story of a character who had a pet rabbit that was not treated super well by her brothers and the scene where we learn about Bojangle's back story both got to me. I know, I know it's minor stuff, but it bothered me enough to take a half-star off. Other than that, though, this book was great and I'm so glad my husband spotted it for me! 4.5 stars!
morticia32's review
2.0
This book was ok, especially for a first go. I had a rough time really getting into it though. And while I was keen on the fish n chips shop, the rest of Talie's deep fried foods struck me as fair food, something you might eat once in a blue moon, but you certainly couldn't eat often. I'm certainly no health food fan, but even I know too many fried foods aren't good for you. Battered & fried meatballs, hot dogs (because they aren't bad enough for you already! Makes me think of corn dogs, and we're back to the fair!), raisin bread, you name it and Talie's going to fry it.
I'll give book two a try. We shall see....
I'll give book two a try. We shall see....
marjolaine_lafreniere's review
DNF. I tried, I really did. But the collection of quirky characters was overwhelming (yes, I know that cozies are supposed to have quirky characters, but there's a balance that needs to happen) and the story did more hopscotch then flow from one point to the next. It's been giving me the feeling that the story isn't moving at all.
angrygreycatreads's review
4.0
This is a new author and a new series for me, A Deep Fried Mystery. Talia Marby has returned home to nurse her broken heart and to look for a new job after leaving one that made her miserable. In the meantime, she is working at the fish and chip shop she worked at in high school and living in her Nana’s bungalow while trying to sell it.
The fish and chip shop is part of a strip of shops, which like most small independent businesses straddle the line of financial solvency . The possible opening of new shop in their midst has the shop owners in a tizzy with battle lines drawn resulting in the death of one of them. Talia finds herself drawn into the investigation in an attempt to clear her friend’s name.
Talia’s back story is well done here and interesting. The setting of the fish and chip shop is fun and engaging. The whole cast of background and what I assume will be recurring characters are interesting and colorful adding depth to the story. The mystery has several suspects and red herrings to keep the reader guessing. Talia as a sleuth is relatable and intelligent. Fillet of Murder is a really good first in a cozy mystery series.
The fish and chip shop is part of a strip of shops, which like most small independent businesses straddle the line of financial solvency . The possible opening of new shop in their midst has the shop owners in a tizzy with battle lines drawn resulting in the death of one of them. Talia finds herself drawn into the investigation in an attempt to clear her friend’s name.
Talia’s back story is well done here and interesting. The setting of the fish and chip shop is fun and engaging. The whole cast of background and what I assume will be recurring characters are interesting and colorful adding depth to the story. The mystery has several suspects and red herrings to keep the reader guessing. Talia as a sleuth is relatable and intelligent. Fillet of Murder is a really good first in a cozy mystery series.
drokka's review
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.75
dollycas's review
5.0
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.
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.
deereadsthings's review against another edition
3.0
The number of times the word 'luscious' was used in this book is just something I can't get over. I just. I can't.
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