Murder Is No Picnic: 10/16/22

Murder Is No Picnic by Amy Pershing and Patti Murin (Narrator) (2022) is the third book in the Cape Cod Foodie mystery series. Samantha Barnes gets a chance to cook with one of her favorite chefs, Clara Foster. Together they bake the best blueberry buckle. Then sadly, the next morning, Clara is dead in a house fire, but Samantha knows it has to have been murder.

The mystery centers on three factors. The first is the habits of a world renown chef. The second is the priceless items presumably destroyed in the fire. Cookbooks and paintings lost. Or were they? Finally there is an environmental factor. Clara's estate: her funds and her home can make the difference for a local conservation organization.

There are so many possibilities in this mystery that I had trouble (but fun) keeping track of everyone and every potential motive. Eventually things settle down and I did spot the murder before Samantha does.

The only frustrating thing about this volume is Samantha's relationship with the harbor master. I don't read mysteries for the romance. I find the added drama of him being offered a job elsewhere unnecessary. Either the series will continue and Samantha will still be there working for the paper, writing her articles and making her videos. Or, it won't, and I guess, we can assume that she goes after her boyfriend.

As of writing this review, there are no further volumes announced.

Five stars

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