Death of a Kitchen Diva

Hayley Powell Food and Cocktails Mystery Series, Book 1

By: Lee Hollis

Narrated by: Tara Ochs

Welcome to Bar Harbor, Maine, one of New England's most idyllic coastal towns. But as new food writer Hayley Powell is about to find out, the occasional murder can take a bite out of seaside bliss....

Single mom Hayley Powell is barely keeping her leaking roof over her head in Bar Harbor, Maine, when her boss at the Island Times gives her a new assignment - taking over the paper's food column. Hayley's not sure she has the chops - she's an office manager, not a writer, even if her friends clamor for her mouth-watering potluck dishes. But the extra income is tempting, and Hayley's chatty first column is suddenly on everyone's menu - with one exception.

When rival food writer Karen Appelbaum is found dead facedown in a bowl of Hayley's creamy clam chowder, all signs point to Hayley. To clear her name, she'll have to enlist some help, including her BFFs, a perpetually pregnant lobster woman, and a glamorous real estate agent. As she whips up a list of suspects, Hayley discovers a juicy secret about the victim - and finds herself in a dangerous mix with a cold-blooded killer.

©2012 Rick Copp and Holly Simason (P)2021 Tantor

Give it a listen

I love culinary mysteries, and this book didn't disappoint. I look forward to reading/listening to more from this author.

Good read

I enjoyed this lighthearted quaint mystery. I was surprised when I realized Karen's funeral sequence was lifted straight from an episode of the "Maude" television series. The title was "Vivian's first funeral." Uncanny.

Love her sense of humor

You should read this for the bake sale alone! Great characters who could be given names for people you already know!

Good story

Good story. Narrator seemed a bit stilted. Hopefully it gets easier for her as the books progress.

Story might have been good, couldn’t stomach the narrator.

When the narrator gave the Brazilian sheriff a stereotypical Mexican accent, I couldn’t stomach listening any more. The story wasn’t compelling enough to finish.