Saturday, December 10, 2022

BLOG TOUR - Death at Beresford Hall


DESCRIPTION:


Francesca Eve, chef, caterer, and baker extraordinaire, has never desired the limelight. But when she’s accepted onto the country’s favourite cooking competition, she can’t help but wonder – what would it be like to win? The one thing she’d never imagined, though, was sharing the kitchen with a killer…


When Francesca Eve arrives for the Christmas special of the country’s most popular baking competition, she knows she’s out of her depth. For not only is she there undercover, reluctantly investigating strange threats to Miranda Appleby, the famous presenter-come-chef, but she swiftly gets roped into competing herself when another contestant can’t cut the mustard and quits.


Cooking may be bread and butter to Fran, but under the bright lights her cranberry sauce won’t set and her mince pies burn. When the real reason she’s there ends in total failure and Miranda is found with a cake slice through the heart - ‘lights, camera, cook’ becomes ‘lights, camera, murder…’


Miranda may have looked like butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth, but looks can be deceiving… From her harassed PA to the rakish producer and even the disappointed contestants, everyone on set seemingly had reason enough to want to bump her off. But who would be nuts enough to cook Miranda’s goose in such an obvious way?


As the police arrive to take over the investigation, Fran can’t help but continue her own lines of enquiry. She’s come to know the crew and contestants and can’t believe that any one of them would be guilty. But Fran must harden her heart to her new friends and focus her mind.


Someone may have thought Miranda was justifiably given her just desserts, but what Fran uncovers takes things to a whole new tier. Can Fran uncover the truth before another death occurs, and before the spirit of Christmas (cake) is ruined forever?


An utterly gripping cozy crime mystery set at a Christmas cooking competition. This is perfect for fans of Faith Martin, M.C. Beaton and The Thursday Murder Club.


MY THOUGHTS:

Title:   Death at Beresford Hall
Author:  Emma Davies
Series:  Adam and Eve Mystery #4
Publisher:  Bookouture
Genre:   Cozy Mystery
Format:  Kindle ARC
No. of Pages:   292
Date of Publication:   December 7, 2022
My Rating:   4 Stars

Francesca Eve and Adam have worked well together in the past. They met while Fran was catering a luncheon for his mother. Not only does Adam now lend a hand with the various catering jobs Fran accepts, the pair are proving to be more than adept when it comes to solving murders. Being called to her latest job is mainly due to Fran’s reputation. Currently, a popular baking competition is being filmed for the holidays. A famous chef named Miranda Appleby has been receiving dangerous threats and she hopes that Fran can get to the bottom of things. 

Before Fran and Adam can discover what is happening, one of the competitors quits, and Fran is thrust even further into everything going on. She is pressured to being one of the show’s contestants. Them Miranda is found dead, thus leaving credence to the threats she had been receiving. However…the show must go on. With Fran still cooking for the competition, Adam takes more of a role as amateur sleuth in the midst of everything going on around them. As a lover of this series, it was a real treat to watch Adam as he steps up. He was a shy young man who had been living a quiet life of solitude. Now, his tech savvy skills really come into play, as well as his sharp intuition. Fran and Adam make an excellent team, no matter who appears in charge. 

While this story offers a behind-the-scenes look at cooking shows, I certainly hope that it is just pure fiction, as these shows are one of my guilty pleasures. With this book and setting, lies, secrets, backstabbing and betrayal apparently underscore everything happening on and off screen. Then, with Miranda’s murder having taken place, the tension never once lets up. This latest installment in this delightful series by Emma Davies was really an excellent read. 

Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

Please enjoy my YouTube video review - 



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

After a varied career, Emma Davies once worked for a design studio where she was asked to provide a fun and humorous (and not necessarily true) anecdote for their website. She wrote the following: 'I am a bestselling novelist currently masquerading as a thirty something mother of three.' Well the job in the design studio didn't work out but she's now a forty something mother of three and is happy to report the rest of her dream came true.

After many years as a finance manager she now writes full time, and is far happier playing with words than numbers. She lives with her husband, three children, and two guinea pigs in rural Shropshire where she writes in all the gaps in between real life. It's a county she adores, her love of its beautiful people and landscapes providing endless inspiration for her books, and in fact the only thing that would make Shropshire more idyllic is if it were by the sea.

Pop over to her website www.emmadaviesauthor.com where, amongst other things, you can read about her passion for Pringles and singing loudly in the car. You can also wave to her on twitter @EmDaviesAuthor or find her on Facebook (a little too often than is good for her).

Social Media
Bookouture Email Sign-up: https://www.bookouture.com/emma-davies

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