A review by booksuperpower
A Bad Hair Day Cookbook: Recipes from Nancy J. Cohen's Cozy Mystery Series by Nancy J. Cohen

4.0

The Bad Hair Day Cookbook by Nancy J. Cohen is a 2019 Orange Grove Press publication.

This is a fantastic idea for cozy mystery fans

Cozy mystery readers often find a handful of recipes at the end of a book, a nice added bonus, whether it’s a culinary themed mystery, or not.

Occasionally, I do remember to jot down a recipe I find in a book, but often times I’ll shove the book back on my shelf after I’ve finished reading it, thinking that if I need the recipe again, I can always look it back up.

But I also read books from subscription services and from the library, and I usually forget to copy the recipe down before I return it. It then becomes impossible for me to remember which recipe was in what book.

I would imagine many readers have that same problem, so having the author thoughtfully compile all the recipes featured in their cozy mystery series in one place is genius!

The author reminds readers of the book certain recipes were featured in, and provides a brief overview of that book, so fans of the series can recall their favorite stories, too.

For those who are unfamiliar with the series, this book will make you want to get to know Marla Shore Vail and acquaint yourselves with this series while enjoying 'Marla's' wonderful, down to earth and comforting recipes.

This is a no- frills cookbook, and my pre-release, ARC copy did not come with pictures. However, these recipes are very easy to follow, with common ingredients one can usually find at their local supermarket- under normal circumstances, that is. Mainly, this is a book for fans of the series, and is a great marketing tool, I’d like to see catch on with other cozy authors.

The recipes are organized into sections, like most cookbooks, beginning with appetizers and ending with desserts and includes ‘Themed Menus’ as well. It should be noted that there are no pork recipes out of respect for Marla’s Kosher kitchen upbringing.

Overall, This book will be a huge help for cozy mystery fans who will find it so very helpful to have all the recipes featured in the ‘Bad Hair Day’ series all together in one book, as well as an easy reference to the books in the series, with a buy link included for convenience.

I admit I’ve only read one book in this series, but after reading through this recipe book and getting to know a little more about Marla, I’m looking forward to reading through this series, starting at the beginning and working my way up.

4 stars