Book Review - A Taste of Death by H.V. Coombes

Amazon UK

Title: A Taste of Death

Author: H.V. Coombes

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Avon

Publication Date: 24th July 2017

Rating: 3 Stars

Midsomer Murders meets The Great British Bake-Off in this foodie delight with murder at its heart.

The first murder happened while I was making meringues…

When Ben Hunter moves to become head chef at the Old Forge Café in the quiet village of Hampden Green, a tricky recipe for egg-based desserts isn’t the only thing he gets embroiled in. As he struggles with a whisk in his first week, he gets an unexpected visit from DI Slattery – there’s been a murder and he’s a suspect.

Ben resolves to get to the bottom of the mystery, and he soon discovers that this sleepy Chilterns village is covering up a whole lot more than an appetite for sweet treats…

One of the things that attracted me to this book was that it was being described as a cosy mystery but that it also contained food.  Well unfortunately for me the mystery didn’t really grab my attention, although the ending did redeem it slightly

Now on the other hand, this is an author that knows his food, especially during the early part of the book, we have descriptions on how various dishes are made, assorted cookery tips throughout and I really felt as though I was in Ben’s one man kitchen.

I loved the turn of phrase and the writing style of this book, it felt fresh and in places did make me chuckle a bit.  Easily though my favourite character was Francis, who was hired as a kitchen porter. He is a rather large man, not overly intelligent but very kind hearted. He knows his own limitations, and puts himself down a lot but does try to do whatever is asked of him, even if the results aren’t really to Ben’s standards.

The early part of the book I really enjoyed and felt it flowed well, I enjoyed the ending, but thought the story lost its way slightly in the centre, where I was finding it harder to pick up and continue reading.  It may be because I just had no interest in the crime that was being investigated and I also had no guesses as to the outcome either!

As a debut novel, I have certainly seen worse and I’m sure others will enjoy the mystery of this book a lot more than me, it just didn’t quite work how I’d have liked.  I am certainly curious as to what this author will write next.

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.