Series: Cooking With Cyanide #2
Publication Date: 05th Nov 2023
Genre: Cooking Noir, Short Story Anthology
3.8 Stars
One Liner: Deliciously murderous
Pass the Cyanide is a second collection of food-based cozy (murder) mysteries with eight stories and a bonus un-themed story at the end.
The collection starts with an author’s note detailing how she wrote book one and why book two came into existence. The quirky and humorous note sets the tone, and I did enjoy most of the stories in the collection.
A selected list of recipes (created and tested by the author) is also provided after the stories. I might try a couple someday in the distant future.
As always, I rate each story individually.
Ernest's Choice – 4 Stars
Told from four third-person POVs, this is the story of Chef Ernest’s rise, fall, and rise before the finale. The story comes in stages, revealing the mystery toward the end. It’s a solid start to the collection.
A Little Revenge – 4 Stars
Detective Inspector Clark looks at the messy kitchen with two dead bodies covered in blood and wonders just how much went wrong. The dead man is Maurice Miller, and his wife is missing. What had happened? Well, the story comes in multiple third-person POVs, providing the necessary answers but not all. All I can say is that someone made a wise decision.
A Stroke of Luck – 3.5 Stars
A mobster story with some cocktails and food! It comes in the first-person narration by Andrew, a journalist. The plot, setting, and delivery are well done. Just that, I’m not much into mobster and mafia stories.
Seventeen Minutes – 4 Stars
Joyce and her husband George go to the Amazon rainforest for a holiday. Joyce is unhappy about her marriage, though she’s not sure what to do. The trip gives her an idea, though. The story comes in Joyce’s third-person POV. This was quite interesting and uses food differently.
The Feast – 4.5 Stars
Dee and Finn have been having dinner at Eric Strutter’s remote mansion in the woods. Erin is Finn’s childhood friend, calling out of nowhere after 15 years. Both suspect something wrong, but do they have the chance to find out and escape? Oh, this is such an intriguing theme. I won’t reveal anything. Easily the best in the collection.
The Secret Sauce – 4 Stars
Chef Jeffrey’s publisher hires celebrity food writer Desdemona to work on his new recipe book. They are making his final recipe, the most famous mushroom sauce. But Jeffrey has a secret ingredient he doesn’t want to share. So, how does he protect his recipe? This one has the right amount of tension and anticipation. The ending stretches a bit but is necessary for his character arc.
Sweet Darkness – 4 Stars
Ginny is upset that Iris, the new mom in town, takes over the parents’ committee. She has a plan ready for revenge during their meeting. However, as people and food come together, things may not be the way they seem. This is a steady-paced story with increasing tension towards the end. What happened? What will happen?
Marcel – 3.5 Stars
Nora goes to a remote countryside village to meet her friend Dani and her new house, Marcel. What’s it about the house that Dani is willing to stay in it forever? While the story is intriguing, the ending is quite open. I’m also not sure about the food connection.
Library of Emotions
(Bonus Short Story, unthemed)
This is a dystopian story where people can request to experience a single emotion for 30 minutes in a library. A lovely story. Short and poignant. (4.5 stars)
As you can see, except for 2 stories, the rest touch 4, and one of them really stands out. All the stories are of decent size and easy to read in a few minutes. Stick to one per day for maximum enjoyment.
To summarize, Pass The Cyanide is a worthy collection of food mysteries that brings a diversity of sub-themes and seamlessly blends them with the central thread. Grab this book and enjoy it with a dozen Gulab Jamuns or more!
My thanks to BookSirens and the author for the electronic ARC.
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