Death on the Eastern Shore: A Review of "By Cook or By Crook" by Maya Corrigan




From the back of the book:

Haunted by the car accident that ended her career as a cookbook publicist, Val Deniston has traded in the chaos of New York City for a quieter life near the Chesapeake Bay. Living with her curmudgeonly grandfather in the tourist town of Bayport is hardly glamourous, but she enjoys working at the Cool Down Cafe at the local fitness club, and she finally has time to work on her long-planned cookbook. But when one of the club's patrons is found dead, she'll have to cook up a scheme to find the killer. As the number of suspects rises like crabs in a bucket, it's out of the pan and into the fire for Val. If she can't find the culprit soon, she might as well be chum in the water.

My thoughts on the book...

Honestly, I enjoyed the grandfather character the most in this book. The main lead had a bit of a negative outlook throughout the story, most of the other cozy mysteries the main lead tries to look for something positive. On a high note, the end was unexpected. The identification of the villain will make you question what the heck did I just read?

The included recipes are unique as well, each one only uses five ingredients and there are a few to choose from if you like cooking along as you read.

Currently, there are nine books in the series, the most recent published in 2023. I'm putting them on my OK, I'll Keep Reading List because I am optimistic that the main lead will develop over the series.

Your thoughts...

Have you read this book, if so leave your comments below!

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