Murder from Scratch

A Sally Solari Mystery, Book 4

By: Leslie Karst

Narrated by: Adrienne Cornette

Length: 8 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

Restaurateur Sally Solari’s cousin, Evelyn, may be blind, but she can see all too clearly that her chef mother’s death wasn’t an accidental overdose - she was murdered.

Santa Cruz restaurateur Sally Solari’s life is already boiling over as she deals with irate cooks and other staffing issues at the busy Gauguin restaurant. The rainy December weather isn’t cooling things down, either. So, she’s steamed when her dad persuades her to take in Evelyn, her estranged blind cousin whose mother has just died of a drug overdose.

But Evelyn proves to be lots of fun, and she’s a terrific cook. Back at the house she’d shared with her mom, Evelyn’s heightened sense of touch tells her that various objects - a bottle of cranberry juice, her grandfather’s jazz records - are out of place. She and her mom always kept things in the same place so Evelyn could find them. So, she suspects that her mother’s death was neither accident nor suicide, no matter what the police believe.

The cousins’ sleuthing takes Sally and Evelyn into the world of macho commercial kitchens, and the cutthroat competitiveness that can flame up between chefs. In Leslie Karst’s scrumptious fourth Sally Solari mystery, Sally will have to chop a long list of suspects down to size or end up getting burned.

©2019 Crooked Lane Books (P)2019 Paradise Audio

Murder from scratch

I found the beginning slow going but as the book progressed it gets better. I am glad the author did not make the detective stupid. I hate books that make law inforcment incompetent. They work really hard to get to the position they are at and they have to be good at what they do to get there.
However, there are some things that I found unrealistic like when the police did not do a good job of searching the victims house. But other then this and the situation the main character put herself in, it is not a bad book.

Enjoyable

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

I enjoyed these characters and the well-developed mystery. The female character voices were pretty good but occasionally words were overemphasized. I wasn’t a fan of some of the male voices.

Overall, a fun story and enjoyable listen.

Murder from scratch

I found this to be one of the better cozy foodie mysteries. Decent storyline.Adrienne Cornette was a fine narrator.I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.' 

Great book

Great book with a great mystery. Definitely want to see where this character is headed. Sally is very likeable and I enjoyed the food references and recipes at the end

I received a free copy and left my honest review

Accidental death or murder?

This is such an enjoyable cozy! Not only does it follow a classic crime & mystery, but there are also a lot of personal side stories going on that add to the charm. Sally (the lead character) takes in her second cousin Evie, who is also blind, when her mother suddenly dies. Evie believes that her mother’s death was foul play, and she enlists Sally to help follow down the clues.
Lots of fun, well narrated, and an enjoyable listen!

A good read!

Sally has enough going on in her work life, like a volatile chef and a pending partnership agreement with the other chef, when her father calls with a need for her to help out with a blind cousin whose mother is suddenly dead. Evie believes that the alcohol and pills death is not suicide as the cops believe, and Sally becomes convinced when events indicate that someone is trying to get information or eliminate evidence. Let the sleuthing begin!
The plot progresses through a lot of personal and professional problems full of twists and red herrings. Even an attempt to strangulate Sally! The publisher's blurb will give you more clues, and no spoilers here. ENJOY!
Adrienne Cornette is excellent in her audio interpretation!
I won this audiobook in a giveaway!

Murder and cooking tips too!

Lots of suspects and twists and turns hold your attention throughout.

Adrienne Cornette does a great job of narrating.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Pasta with peas, onion, porcini and garlic.

Not to be read on an empty stomach. Murder from Scratch is a tasty, lightweight cozy with such mouthwatering references it almost qualifies to be thought of as food pornography. Sally Solari inherited a restaurant, Gauguin, from her aunt a few months previously. It's a bit of a family tradition, it seems - her father is a chef, as was her grandmother and aunt, and this latter has just died, an apparent suicide, who leaves behind a twenty years o!d, blind daughter, Evelyn. When cousin Evie moves in with Sally, briefly, she shows that she, too, creates fabulous fresh pasta. Oh, and yes, she believes her mother's death must have been murder.

The book is great fun, delicious for foodies, with some characters beginning to lift themselves off of the page to become realistic people: nice little vignettes. And if the plot is rather weak and not verybelievable, it really doesn't matter as it feels very secondary to the book as awhole. The fourth in the series, it is completely stand alone. Narrator Adrienne Corvette reads well, clearly and with good intonation, and gives separate voice to each protagonist, although she has difficulty portraying the male protagonists believably. Playing the recording at 1.25 speed also helps to compensate for the rather slow delivery.Sent

I was fortunate in being freely gifted with a complimentary copy of Murder from Scratch by the rights holder at my request. Thank you - it was very enjoyable. The book concludes with five clearly given recipes, at least two of which I definitely intend to try. If you enjoy reading about food, this is definitely a book for you, and murder mystery fans will probably enjoy it, too. Recommended.

Tasty treat

I enjoyed this book. I liked the insight into the life of a blind person and the fact that she found some of the clues or evidence that solved the case. The characters were like able and the mystery plot was good too. There was plenty of suspects to keep you guessing, just don't listen if you are hungry because they talk about food a lot and even give you some recipes at the end of the story.
Family stick together, that's what Sally is finding out when her Dad asks her if the cousin she has never met can stay with her. Evelyn has just found her mother dead in there family home of an apparent drug over dose and Evelyn who is blind is rightly uncomfortable stay at home, while the police carry out an investigation. The problem is dissipate knowing her mum was having problems at work Evelyn doesn't believe her mum used drugs or would take her own life. Sally busy at work running a restaurant and sorting out all problems that entails still finds time to help her cousin. Can the pair prove to the police that suicide was not an option for the single mum? Or better yet find the killer?
I liked the narrator and thought she did an excellent job with all the voices she had to do.
I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.