Cozy Mystery / Culinary Cozy Mystery / Bookish Book
Publisher : Kensington Cozies
Publication date : October 28, 2025
Print length : 320 pages
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In a beautiful mountain community near Asheville, North Carolina, caterer and personal chef Allie Catt serves up mouthwatering, literary-themed dinner parties inspired by her clients’ favorite books. Her next event is sure to be a roaring success—if a murderer isn’t a killjoy.If it were true that the best thing a girl can be in this world is a fool, then Allie Catt would be out of luck. Fortunately, Allie’s business is a smashing success. And following her Pride and Prejudice event, grander plans await.Feast for the Eyes bookstore manager and Allie’s best friend, Tegan, is hosting a book club soirée and wants it to be a glittering affair based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s iconic Jazz Age-set novel, The Great Gatsby. Soon, art deco table settings and visions of flappers are dancing the Charleston in their heads. Even Tegan’s prickly sister, Vanna, is on board. And surely, Allie’s tuxedo cat, Darcy, thinks it’s the cat’s meow.Amid the planning, charismatic developer Jason Gardner arrives in town to buy some historic buildings on Main Street. He, too, has plans: to create a modern mall. Allie is more than concerned. She even wants to protest. But when Jason invites her to cater a lavish party, she finds him surprisingly likable. Then she’s summoned to his estate for a meeting—and finds him dead.Once again Allie’s landed in the middle of a crime scene. Worse, one of her earrings is later discovered near the body. And when police learn she was upset about the mall, she’s suspect number one. Allie’s blossoming sleuthing skills once cleared Tegan’s name, but can she save herself—before a killer writes her a not-so-great Gatsby-esque ending?
Though
I think I’d have had an easier time had I started with the first book in Daryl
Wood Gerber’s Literary Dining Mystery series, Murder by the Millions, the
second installment, certainly stands alone. Part of my struggle was figuring
out the ages and connections of many peripheral characters – and there are MANY
peripheral characters. Happily, Gerber provides a “Cast of Characters” section at
the beginning of the book, and I referenced it frequently (though two were
notably absent from the list. Intentionally? Hmmm.)
Murder
by the Millions builds
up towards a big (and getting bigger by the minute) Gatsby-themed dinner, and starting
each chapter, there’s a telling quote from The Great Gatsby. I liked seeing similarities between that novel
and the unfolding stories within Murder by the Millions. I was expecting
that the party would be where the big reveal and turning point occur, but that is
just one of the several guesses I had wrong in reading Murder by the
Millions.
Author
Daryl Wood Gerber provides a carefully researched and interesting history of not
only the 1920s fashion, food, and flair, but the goings-on and architecture around Asheville, North Carolina, where Murder
by the Millions is set. She excels at providing grand descriptions and
using precise words to convey the scenes and attitudes of the characters,
though admittedly, I had to look up a more than a few words to get their exact
meanings. (Context clues are there, but inquiring minds want to know more!) I read
an ARC of the book and expect any typos and errors I noticed will be cleaned up for
the final version for purchase.
Regarding
character diction, for some characters, the language and vocabulary didn’t seem
authentic to the ages of the characters (says the mom of five quite intelligent
children ranging from twenty-eight to thirty-five). Along the same lines, the situations
of these twenty-somethings aren’t realistic but they’re certainly idyllic. But
what better place than fiction to have so many young women owning successful small
businesses and being homeowners, with no struggles in life other than personal
ones (like dating and dead bodies)? I’m
all in for this kind of fanciful town (minus the murders, of course).
Foodies
will enjoy the play-by-play of main character Allie making delectable dishes for
her business, Dream Cuisine, and there’s an extensive list of recipes of said dishes
at the end of Murder by the Millions. As someone who just wants to know
what time it is and not how the watch works, these scenes aren’t very appealing
-- though the menus sure are, and I can appreciate the effort that goes into
them. Bookish people will enjoy the time in the bookstore Allie co-owns, Feast for the
Eyes, with the behind-the-scenes peeks, the book talking, and the
sprinkling of well-known titles. It’s clearly the community’s third space, as
it should be in a perfect world.
“If Dream Cuisine continued to grow, I would have to curtail my time at Feast for the Eyes or give up reading.” – Allie Catt
As
someone who’s been in a similar quandary to Allie’s and who found the only viable option
to having time to read was to retire, I’m again happy that the universe of the
Literary Dining Mystery series is a fictional one. In that world, I expect that
Allie will find a way to balance two businesses, a needy cat, a budding
romance, and the occasional untimely mysterious death. And readers will get to
ride along for the fiction, food, and the neatly tied endings. Score!
About Daryl Wood Gerber
October 21 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW
October 21 – The Avid Reader – REVIEW
October 21 – Hall Ways Blog – REVIEW
October 21 – Jody’s Bookish Haven – SPOTLIGHT
October 21 – Books, Ramblings, and Tea – SPOTLIGHT
October 22 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW, AUTHOR GUEST POST
October 22 – Ascroft, eh? – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
October 22 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – REVIEW
October 23 – Ruff Drafts – RECIPE
October 23 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
October 23 – The Plain-Spoken Pen – REVIEW
October 24 – View from the Birdhouse – REVIEW
October 24 – Books1987 – SPOTLIGHT
October 24 – Sarandipity’s – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
October 24 – Novels Alive – REVIEW
October 25 – Boys’ Mom Reads! – REVIEW
October 25 – Caboodle of Cozies – AUTHOR GUEST POST
October 26 – StoreyBook Reviews – REVIEW
October 26 – Elizabeth McKenna – Author – SPOTLIGHT
October 27 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
October 27 – @bibliophile_foodie – REVIEW
October 27 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT
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