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On the Lamb–deadly beach party
On the Lamb
by Tina Kashian
There is a lot of fun to be had in Tina Kashian’s latest cozy mystery, On the Lamb. Lucy Berberian, who manages her family’s Mediterranean restaurant, Kebab Kitchen, in the small Jersey tourist town of Ocean Crest has a reputation for solving mysteries with the help of a sidekick. Her best friend Katie fills the bill, only this time Katie’s husband Bill, an Ocean Crest police officer, is not assigned to the case so they are on their own in their informal investigations.
There are many suspects in the murder case as no one seems to have positive feelings about the victim Gilbert, not even his wife. You’ll want to read On the Lamb to find out what hold Gilbert had over various characters and watch the course of the duo’s inquiries that turn dangerous.
On the fun side is Eloisa Lubinski, a widow in her eighties who isn’t letting life pass her by. Lucy rents out Eloisa’s very pink upstairs apartment with an amazing oceanfront view and a sixties decor. Other interesting characters include Azad, chef at the Kabob Kitchen and Lucy’s former boyfriend, and Madame Vega, a longtime psychic on the boardwalk whose powers of observation and perception exceed any claimed clairvoyant abilities. The boardwalk setting is a fantastic backdrop and critical to the events of the story.
This cozy mystery checks off all the boxes for a fun afternoon read. My one issue is that Lucy, a former patent attorney, and Katie, the wife of a police officer, clearly break the law on several occasions. They were more concerned about how to safely share their criminally obtained information with the police than with their committing the crime. Cozies often have the main character walk in grey areas or put their own lives in danger; this one went a little too far. I still enjoyed the story very much for its interesting plot, characters, and setting and recommend it as well as the whole Kitchen Kabob Mystery Series.
I would like to extend my thanks to Netgalley and to Kensington Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: 1. #4 in the Kitchen Kebab Mystery Series, it will be fine as a standalone as the author gives lots of background as she begins the plot.
2. The book is wrapped up with some delicious sounding Mediterranean recipes.
Publication: February 25, 2020—Kensington Books
Memorable Lines:
It was old lady décor. Sixties kitchen with a limegreen refrigerator, tiered curtains, wallpaper with roosters and matching decorative wall plates displaying more roosters. One of the cabinet doors had been left open to reveal a shelf liner with a print of—she could have guessed it by now—roosters. It smelled like old lady, too. A combination of Jean Naté and BENGAY.
As she gazed at the delights behind the glass counter, she could almost feel the added extra inches on her waist and hips. The candy store took temptation to a different level.
The creamy chocolate and peanut butter combo danced like a ballet on her tongue.
One Feta in the Grave–murder under the boardwalk
One Feta in the Grave
by Tina Kashian
Welcome to the New Jersey seashore where Ocean Crest is having a beach festival. Lucy has returned to her hometown to take over the family’s Mediterranean restaurant. Her best friend, Katie, is in charge of judging the festival’s sand sculpture contest. That seems like an easy enough job until a contestant insists that one of the judges should be disqualified. Later Lucy finds one of the men involved in the argument dead under the boardwalk.
The subsequent cancellation of the festival could mean financial ruin for many in the town. Lucy steps up to try to solve the crime to help her town and to clear Katie from suspicion. Lucy may have taken on an overwhelming task as there are many suspects and leads to follow. As Lucy manages the restaurant and acts as an unauthorized private eye, she is also trying to balance relationships with two charming men.
I like the characters and enjoy watching their interactions. I think Lucy and Katie, who is a policeman’s wife, did step over a line as some of their investigative “techniques” were clearly illegal. Their actions put Katie’s husband, Bill, in an obvious conflict of interest when he learns what they have done. Lucy’s moral compass needs a little adjustment, but her heart is in the right place. She is later faced with another issue in which doing what is right hurts other people, but she does it anyway, following it up with an attempt to lessen the difficult consequences.
There are references to delicious foods from pita with various flavors of hummus to baklava all through the book. Lucy is an adventurous foodie who enjoys tasting outside her arena of Mediterranean comfort foods. Recipes for date cookies, lentil soup, and Greek salad are included.
One Feta in the Grave is not as fast paced as Tina Kashian’s first two books in the series, but is quite enjoyable anyway. I’m looking forward to the next book in the Kabob Kitchen Mystery Series.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Kensington Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: #3 in the Kabob Kitchen Mystery Series, but works as a standalone. Recipes are included at the end.
Publication: February 26, 2019—Kensington Books
Memorable Lines:
“Butch can look scary.” Butch had a chest the size of a small armoire and hands that looked like meat pounders. With his checked bandana and gold tooth, he was downright intimidating. The funny thing was that Butch was the kindest and most mild-mannered man she knew.
“Double chocolate brownie chunk. Definitely decadent if you are a chocolate lover.” “It’s too chocolatey,” Katie said. Lucy shot Katie an incredulous look. “Is that even possible?”
If there was one thing she’d learned since returning to town and stumbling upon a body…or two…is that not everyone was as innocent or guilty as they appeared.
Stabbed in the Baklava–secrets and more secrets
Stabbed in the Baklava
by Tina Kashian
Author Tina Kashian draws heavily on real life for background and details as she composes her Kitchen Kabab Mystery Series. Like Lucy, her heroine, Tina Kashian grew up working all the various necessary jobs in her parents’ Armenian restaurant on the New Jersey coast. She later worked as a lawyer honing her investigative expertise. Now she puts all of her skills together to create mouth-watering cozy mysteries.
In Stabbed in the Baklava, when Lucy Berberian and her staff cater a celebrity wedding reception, a murder victim is found. To save Lucy’s head chef, Lucy and her friend Katie work hard to find the perpetrator amidst a lot of possibilities. It seems everyone has a secret, and the secrets cause a lot of pain and misunderstandings. Lucy has to get to the bottom of the puzzle to save lives and satisfy justice.
This is a fast-moving cozy mystery with lots of twists and turns to keep the reader engaged. Several times the author uses Lucy to clearly review the complicated plot as the events appear at that point in the story—not a bad technique of summary and clarification. The ending unravels in a surprising and satisfying conclusion.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Kensington Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: This second book in the Kitchen Kabab Mystery Series works well as a standalone. The author fills the reader in on background from the first book in the series thoroughly but not tediously.
Publication: August 28, 2018—Kensington Books
Memorable Lines:
A chrome and black Harley-Davidson motorcycle was in the driveway, its engine purring like a large contented beast. A tall, good-looking, dark-haired man wearing faded jeans and a leather jacket walked out of the garage and halted by the Harley. Lucy couldn’t see his eyes from this distance, but she knew they were as bright blue as the sky on a sultry, summer day at the beach.
A knot tightened in Lucy’s stomach, and she struggled with an unexpected uncertainty. If she was getting better at misleading people in order to gather information, what did that say about her?
Lucy’s mind had seen what it expected to see rather than seeing the truth.
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