One Potato, Two Potato, Dead

One Potato, Two Potato, Dead is light, relaxing story with a smidgen of mystery tossed in. If you have not read the previous A Farm-to-Fork Mystery novels, you will not be lost. The author provides the necessary information for new readers. Angie Turner is not herself in this story. She is moody, short-tempered and negative (it is off-putting). Angie has her farm with Mabel (the hen), Precious (the goat) and Dom (St. Bernard). I am particularly fond of Dom (though I could do without the endless walks Angie and Dom take). She co-owns The county Seat with her best friend, Felicia. While Angie is a whiz in the kitchen, she leaves the front of the house to Felicia. There are a variety of characters that include Estebe Blackstone (chef at the restaurant), Hope (dishwasher, college student training to be a chef), Bar Travis (owner/bartender of the Red Eye), Ian McNeal (the boyfriend) and Sheriff Allen Brown (who loves Angie’s baked goods). Felicia is dating Taylor Simpson who runs the local homeless mission and Angie wants to check him out to see if he is suitable for her friend. I will say that Taylor is dedicated to the mission. Hope is infatuated with Professor Daniel Monet, a visiting professor and chef from Canada. When Daniel turns up dead the morning after Hope gives him a ride home, she is at the top of Sheriff Brown’s suspect list. It does not help that her fingerprints are on a wine glass near the body. There is little investigation into the murder. When Angie tries to give Sheriff Brown information, he tells her to keep her nose out of the investigation (which she cannot do). It is not apparent that the sheriff is investigating (it is not mentioned). There needed to be proactive investigating by Angie and Sheriff Brown. Angie feels Hope is young, innocent and naïve and wants to protect her. There is a lack of suspects, and, when the killer is finally introduced, it is obvious that this person is the guilty party. Most of the novel comprises Angie doing day-to-day activities like feeding her animals (twice a day), walking Dom, cooking, working on her cookbook, chatting with friends, eating, driving, working at the restaurant, getting ready for the day, and wondering why Ian took off without talking to her (he left for England the day after the murder). There were a couple of mentions that Angie’s neighbors are out of town. I kept expecting that to play into the story (like the killer using their house as a hideout), but it never did (then why was it mentioned more than once). The books pacing is mild (it lacked action). This is not my favorite book by Lynn Cahoon. It needed more substance.

Lynn Cahoon's wonderful Farm-to-Fork Mystery series has been a winner from the first book. Its greatest strength is one that it shares with her awesome Tourist Trap books and that is an amazing community of characters. The characters in One Potato, Two Potato, Dead are an even stronger group than the one at the bookstore in South Cove. The staff at The County Seat are melding in to a loving family and that makes the book for me. I love that Ms. Cahoon gives us time in the restaurant with the gang and away from it with Angie. Those, what I call every-day scenes, are part of what makes the book feel real, so real that I am craving donuts! The mystery was complex and came close enough to one of the team members to stress out the whole group. In spite of the fact that one of the staff had a connection to the victim, Angie's investigation just looks like nosiness but that is a standard in cozy mysteries and it is ok with me. I suspect on of these days she will admit that she is intrigue by real life puzzles and can’t stay out of police business. I received an ARC of One Potato, Two Potato, Dead via NetGalley. I loved the book and will be sharing my pleasure with friends and followers. #NetGalley #OnePotatoTwoPotatoDead