randombookgrl's review
4.0
Interesting start to a series. A lot of suspicious characters with enough back and forth that I remained confused about the killer until near the end. Granddad got on my nerves a bit, but hey, he's old and has put his time in...he's allowed to be a curmudgeon! Simple recipes at the end of the book are always a plus as well.
thatlemonadelife's review
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
angrygreycatreads's review
4.0
Just finished this new cozy mystery, first in the series of Five Ingredient Mysteries. I enjoyed reading this one, more than I expected. The cover drew me in…I know, I’m shallow, but the idea of 5-ingredient recipes is not, on its own, a big draw for me. The protagonist, Val, has crashed and burned from her big city life as a cookbook publicist and has arrived at her grandfather’s home, ostensibly to get the house packed up, sold, and him moved, but really to work on her own cookbook and find her footing again.
Her day job is in a fitness club cafe and on the side she is working on her own recipes. Her grandfather is somewhat of a typical grouchy old man with a heart of gold. He seems to have her best interests at heart, although he is not against finding something in it for himself. There is a lot going on between real estate deals, tennis fanatics, affairs, disguises, gambling rings, fraudulent business practices, and murder. There is also a romantic subplot with two love interests to choose between. Aside from the main murder mystery and the romantic subplot, there is also a mystery from Val’s past which she is trying to work through but can’t quite remember due to the side effects of a concussion.
Lots going on and lots to think about making for a fast, fun cozy read.
And as an aside the recipes were not what I thought. When I think of the 5 ingredient recipes, I think bland, tasteless food or worse the classic …”start with a can of Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom soup” recipes and these didn’t seem like that. I am tempted to try out the crab cake recipe because it really sounds good.
Her day job is in a fitness club cafe and on the side she is working on her own recipes. Her grandfather is somewhat of a typical grouchy old man with a heart of gold. He seems to have her best interests at heart, although he is not against finding something in it for himself. There is a lot going on between real estate deals, tennis fanatics, affairs, disguises, gambling rings, fraudulent business practices, and murder. There is also a romantic subplot with two love interests to choose between. Aside from the main murder mystery and the romantic subplot, there is also a mystery from Val’s past which she is trying to work through but can’t quite remember due to the side effects of a concussion.
Lots going on and lots to think about making for a fast, fun cozy read.
And as an aside the recipes were not what I thought. When I think of the 5 ingredient recipes, I think bland, tasteless food or worse the classic …”start with a can of Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom soup” recipes and these didn’t seem like that. I am tempted to try out the crab cake recipe because it really sounds good.
dollycas's review
5.0
Dollycas’s Thoughts
The number 5 is the key here.
5 ingredient recipes
5 suspects
5 key clues
Maya Corrigan is off to an excellent start with this mystery! Val Deniston is a great character with a tragic past. She is trying to get on with her life but is haunted with nightmares of the night when a car accident changed her life. She thought coming to Bayport would make things easier but a recent murder that has her best friend pegged at the prime suspect has her remembering that fateful night again and again as she tries to find the real killer.
I love the relationship Val has with her grandfather. She thinks he needs her there to take care of him and he does to a certain point but that man has more going on than she gives him credit for. He even turns the table on her and it was so much fun to read. Brought back a few memories of my own grandfather.
The other characters were great too. I think everyone in town has a secret and Val considered them all suspects at one time or another, even the one whose kisses gave her that warm and tingly feeling. The reason for this is a masterfully plotted mystery. There were several red herrings in this mystery’s recipe and they all needed to be sifted through to find the real killer and I figured it out just as Val did. Isn’t that what we readers want?
The author has served up a wonderful story with more than mystery to solve, a pinch of romance and a morsel of humor. It also contains a huge “hang on to your seat” moment that had my heart pumping.
I am truly excited for the next book in this series. I think the author has just given a tidbit of what she can dish up. “What are the chances of another murder in a peaceful small town?” We shall have to wait and see…
cozyuptocrime's review
3.0
By Cook or by Crook centers on Val Deniston, who runs a cafe inside of a fitness club and just moved back to her hometown to live with her grandfather in the hopes of helping him fix up his old Victorian to sell and convince him to move into a more manageable place. Her career in New York City working in publishing promoting cookbooks was destroyed after an accident with a chef that she was blamed for, and she is looking to rebuild her life and write a cookbook of her own.
There were aspects of this start to a series that I really enjoyed; I liked the setting in a small touristy town in Maryland along the Chesapeake Bay, and the mystery was pretty twisty and well-plotted. I think where it kind of missed the mark for me was I expected a culinary cozy mystery, not a tennis-themed cozy mystery. Although Val is a cook, she mostly cooks health food so I wasn't interested in any of the recipes (sorry, I prefer the baking cozies), and she was very judgemental of anyone who ate so-called greasy food. So there just wasn't the cozy cooking vibe you'd expect; instead, she served smoothies and granola bars in a cafe inside a health club, and everything was about tennis. The murder was tennis-themed, there were lots of tennis metaphors, and everyone talked about tennis constantly. I also found Val, although smart and a good sleuth, too judgemental and hard to like, as was her grandfather.
So, not for me, but you may enjoy it if you aren't expecting it to be a culinary mystery.
There were aspects of this start to a series that I really enjoyed; I liked the setting in a small touristy town in Maryland along the Chesapeake Bay, and the mystery was pretty twisty and well-plotted. I think where it kind of missed the mark for me was I expected a culinary cozy mystery, not a tennis-themed cozy mystery. Although Val is a cook, she mostly cooks health food so I wasn't interested in any of the recipes (sorry, I prefer the baking cozies), and she was very judgemental of anyone who ate so-called greasy food. So there just wasn't the cozy cooking vibe you'd expect; instead, she served smoothies and granola bars in a cafe inside a health club, and everything was about tennis. The murder was tennis-themed, there were lots of tennis metaphors, and everyone talked about tennis constantly. I also found Val, although smart and a good sleuth, too judgemental and hard to like, as was her grandfather.
So, not for me, but you may enjoy it if you aren't expecting it to be a culinary mystery.
pandemoniumpizza's review
4.0
I am absolutely loving cosy mysteries right now and so I have been trying out different series' to see which ones I enjoy enough to keep reading. I'm finding that I really love the cosy mysteries that have a food theme to go along with it.
I had a lot of fun reading By Cook or by Crook. The food theme throughout the book was really good and it left me feeling pretty hungry by the end. Luckily, there are recipes in the back for the foods mentioned in the book and I am definitely going to be trying a couple of them because they sound so good.
The mystery aspect of the book was really interesting and I was left flying through the pages trying to sift through the clues along with Val to try and get to the bottom of the mystery. I felt like there were just so many clues and so many different angles at play here that I loved every minute of it. There was never a dull moment and practically everyone was a suspect in some way. I have to say that I didn't quite guess who the murderer was but I think in the end I had made a good effort.
Overall, I really loved reading By Cook or by Crook, I thought it was a really fun and interesting cosy mystery and I am definitely looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
I had a lot of fun reading By Cook or by Crook. The food theme throughout the book was really good and it left me feeling pretty hungry by the end. Luckily, there are recipes in the back for the foods mentioned in the book and I am definitely going to be trying a couple of them because they sound so good.
The mystery aspect of the book was really interesting and I was left flying through the pages trying to sift through the clues along with Val to try and get to the bottom of the mystery. I felt like there were just so many clues and so many different angles at play here that I loved every minute of it. There was never a dull moment and practically everyone was a suspect in some way. I have to say that I didn't quite guess who the murderer was but I think in the end I had made a good effort.
Overall, I really loved reading By Cook or by Crook, I thought it was a really fun and interesting cosy mystery and I am definitely looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
cyntax's review
3.0
Val Deniston recently relocated from NYC to Chesapeake Bay, MD to live with her grandfather. Val is hoping to build up her resume by working at her tennis club's cafe, which gives her the flexibility to experiment with recipes and work on the cookbook she hopes to publish. Val gets sidetracked from her cookbook writing when she discovers the body of one of her tennis teammates and needs to solve the mystery before the police's prime suspect - her cousin - is arrested for the murder.
This is a fun, fast-paced, clever mystery. I liked the 5 suspects/5 clues premise, and the setting is great. There was an info dump at the beginning that was a bit confusing, and I'm not sure how much I like some of the characters (notably, Granddad is not at all charming), but I enjoyed this mystery and plan to read the rest of the series.
This is a fun, fast-paced, clever mystery. I liked the 5 suspects/5 clues premise, and the setting is great. There was an info dump at the beginning that was a bit confusing, and I'm not sure how much I like some of the characters (notably, Granddad is not at all charming), but I enjoyed this mystery and plan to read the rest of the series.
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