Shut Up and Cook by Erica Reid is a cookbook that encourages people to stop making excuses and just cook. I appreciated how a few of the recipes offer options for vegetarians and meat eaters. The book has a wide variety of recipes that are fairly simple. My favorite chapter is the one on dressing and sauces. I was most disappointed by the pizza chapter. Pizza dough and sauce are two easy to make items. Store bought dough appeared in all of the recipes including one for focaccia. This book would be best for people looking to add some vegetarian/vegan dishes to their diet. I am afraid vegetarians/vegans would find too many animal products for this book to be useful.
Lynn Cahoon's Hospitality and Homicide is book eight in the Tourist Trap Mystery series. I had read a previous book in the series, but it is not necessary to enjoy this book. An owner of a bed and breakfast is found murdered, and Jill, owner of Coffee, Books, & More, is pulled into the mystery. The plot includes a side story of a missing child. I enjoyed the setting and characters. My main problem was that the book focused too much on Jill's every day life and very little on the murder. So much time is devoted to piles of little things - dog walking, studying for finals, Jill's commitment issues - and not enough on the murder. At one point I had set the book aside for a day and when I picked it back, I completely forgot about the murder victim. I hope future books will be more structured.
The Woodpecker Always Pecks Twice by J.R Ripley is book three in the Bird Lover's Mystery series. Amy, owner of Birds & Bees, is up early thanks to the woodpecker outside her window. She witnesses a body being thrown out of the window of a local hostel. Unfortunately the police cannot find any evidence of a body. When two women are found dead, the police (and Amy) are on the case. The characters and setting in this series are charming. I particularly love all of the bird information thrown in. This book did not disappoint, and I am already looking forward to the next!
disclosure: I received these e-books from NetGalley but was not otherwise compensated for these reviews. All opinions are my own!
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