Friday, August 24, 2012

Review: Murder a' la Mode by G.A. McKevett

Schedule of Events:
Mon: Classic Mystery
Tues: Romantic Suspense
Wed: Urban Fantasy
Thurs: Thriller
Fri: Cozy Mystery
Sat: Paranormal Elements


Murder a' la Mode (Savannah Reid #10) by G.A. McKevett
Synopsis (Goodreads):
Voluptuous P.I. Savannah Reid's culinary cravings come second only to her appetite for adventure. Of course, every girl needs a little down time, and Savannah adores curling up with a box of chocolates, a steaming Irish coffee, and an even steamier romance novel---preferably one with sexy Lance Roman on the cover. But when she meets her dream hunk in person, things take a decidedly nightmarish turn. As a special birthday treat, Savannah's friends have arranged for her to compete for Lance's affections on a reality TV show called Man of My Dreams. She and four other women will be living in a medieval castle with Lance, trying to win his heart. Unfortunately, the antics take a sinister turn when one of the show's producers, Tess Jarvis, turns up dead. It appears she was felled by a carton of Killer Fudge ice cream, but Savannah's convinced there's more to the story. Turns out she's right. It seems no one liked Tess---not her unhappy husband, or the scheming contestants, or all the disgruntled employees she so heinously wronged. This show is quickly turning into the worst kind of soap opera---with some footage that'll never make it on the air.
My Thoughts: Okay. I have to admit that cozies are not my favorite type of mysteries. I like my death a little more bloody and a lot more gruesome and dark than cozies tend to give me. I've said this before and I'll probably say it again, but cozies are fluff. They're entertaining, but I don't tend to seek them out. Yes, feel free to point out that the ones I head straight for usually involve a #NakedWerewolf chasing his destined mate so that they can have large quantities of sex while defeating bad guys. Now, that's quality entertainment!

But back to the murder at hand. I didn't dislike this book by any stretch of the imagination. It was just one of those that's fun and then easily put aside. Savannah isn't unlikable, by any means. I like a woman who OWNS her look and is comfortable in her body. I didn't so much care for her creepy-crawly fascination with Lance Roman, but it did add some highly amusing interludes to their rather odd little reality show.

I think the biggest stumbling block for me was that I expected more foodage in this book. Savannah likes to eat and she's constantly heading into the kitchen to rustle something up (as it turns out, the kitchen is a hotspot for gossip and other clues) but this isn't a foodie mystery. Like, the food was secondary. I don't know if I'm explaining that well, but I expected more and was a little disappointed with what we were given.

Fun if you're looking for a light read but nothing earth-shattering overall.

Books in this series
1. Just Desserts
2. Bitter Sweets
3. Killer Calories
4. Cooked Goose.
5. Sugar and Spite
6. Sour Grapes
7. Peaches and Screams
8. Death by Chocolate
9. Cereal Killer
10. Murder a' la Mode - Paperback | Kindle
11. Corpse Suzette
12. Fat Free and Fatal
13. Poisoned Tarts
14. A Body to Die For
15. Wicked Craving
16. A Decadent Way to Die
17.Buried in Buttercream

Author Links
(G.A. McKevett is a pseudonym for Sonja Massie)
| Website | Amazon |

Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

8 comments:

  1. Cozies usually are a bit of fluff. I tend towards the more paranormal or para-mayber in nature but even those aren't heavy. I think you hit the nail on the head with thinking this book should have had more food :) I always have those expectations with food-themed cozies! Aka Pies and Prejudice had recipes in the back and she was always making me hungry with her pie talk!

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    1. I've read some cozies that are so food-heavy (or coffee-heavy, as was the case with a few of them) that I wanted to tell the MC and the food to get a room because the over-the-top love was getting embarrassing. This one didn't feel food-centric for all that Savannah was constantly in the kitchen.

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  2. You nailed why I'm not a bigger fan of cozies myself. I like the gruesome, dark, bloody mysteries.

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  3. I love that all the books seem to be food related. These would make me hungry!

    Though, the cover is quite funny. I know MY cats aren't that happy about pie with ice cream.

    I haven't read a lot of mysteries to really know WHICH ONES I like ... I guess I'll have to try a little of all of them!

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    1. There you go, now you have a goal to work toward. READ THE MYSTERIES!

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