An Eggnog to Die For - Cozy Mystery Review

Goodreads: An Eggnog to Die For (Cape Cod Foodie Mystery #2) by Amy Pershing

Rating: Liked It!
Source:   Publisher

Description:  Food writer Sam Barnes wants a lot of things: a quiet Christmas at home with her dog and the town's handsome harbormaster, to never be in a viral video again, and to stop finding dead bodies. Unfortunately for Sam, her parents are coming to visit, she's often around cameras for work, and she just found the town Santa dead in the storage room of the cocktail bar she was profiling.

Although she was only interviewing the owners of the Ginger Jar in hopes of getting the recipe for their Coquito Eggnog cocktail for the friends and family Christmas Eve dinner she's hosting, Sam quickly finds herself taking on the role of investigator once again. She needs to find out who slayed this Santa--but with holiday stress already building, will Sam be able to pull off a perfect feast and nab a killer?

Genre: Mystery - Cozy

Why I Picked This Book:  I enjoyed the first book in the series so of course I had to pick this one up.

My Impression: The first chapter or two I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy this mystery.  Sam was a bit difficult to warm up to and I had a hard time getting into the story.  However, once I got through the very beginning I was pulled in and really enjoying the story.  Sam is a bit different then the usual cozy mystery character.  She's very much in a transition period of her life. While she has inherited a house it isn't in the best shape and there isn't exactly a fortune to maintain it.  As well she's not exactly sure what she's going to do career wise since her restaurant chef career ended with a bit of a bang.  

Once I was hooked (which didn't take very long) I really enjoyed the mystery.  Not only do we have Sam, her harbor master kind of boyfriend Jason, best friend Jenny and newspaper editor/old friend Krista but we also have Sam's parents who are retired journalists itching to do some investigating.  As well there is also neighbor Helene and Sam's dog Diogi (pronounced  d- O -g).  It made for a fun team and I always enjoy a team effort when it comes to solving mystery. 

The mystery was the type I really enjoy.  Santa (aka Caleb Mayo) turns out not to be quite the person everyone thought he was leaving the number of suspects in his murder growing with every conversation.  I wasn't sure who was the bad guy until just before the reveal though I had lots of guesses.  I couldn't wait to see how it would all unravel.

Despite the slower beginning I really enjoyed this book.  I really liked Sam's parents and all the side characters.  I like the asides about food preparation and just food in general and felt it really developed Sam's love and knowledge of food.  My only real issue is that I wish Sam and Jason would just communicate!  I get they're both a bit reserved and whatnot but seriously I wanted to yell at them sometimes.  That aside I'm looking forward to the next book and am so glad that I have found a cozy that has a dog and not a cat!

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?  Definitely!  I'm looking forward to see where this series goes.  

Would I Recommend this Book?  If you enjoy foodie cozies this is an interesting series though I do recommend starting with the first book. 

* I received this book in exchange for an honest review.  As always my opinions and impressions are completely my own. *