Title: Death at a Dinner Party
Author: Daphne McLean
Series: Jennifer Temple Mysteries #3
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: September 30, 2020
Pages: 99
Book Source: eBook

“A woman’s death is apparently from natural causes…

…but is something more sinister at play?

What was to be the grand finale of a neighborhood traveling dinner party ends in tragedy just as the evening’s final toast is given. Was the death actually caused by foul play?

Desperate to find the truth, the deceased woman’s husband reaches out to Jennifer Temple, a stay-at-home mother and private investigator in training, for help.

Jennifer encounters a cast of wicked characters as she seeks to find answers. If she doesn’t solve the case, her career may be dead before it even starts.” – Amazon

Kim’s Review

Now this was refreshing! Death at a Dinner Party by Daphne McLean is the cozy mystery series I’ve been looking for. I read a lot of cozies and I love them. But (you knew that was coming) I have two complaints that come up in a lot of them; repetition and love triangles. No love triangles here, just a happily married couple who communicate and help each other out, which is what any excellent relationship needs.
And no protagonist repeating the same thoughts over and over while she tries to solve the mystery. I will happily read a 100 page, well written cozy over a 300 page one with tons of reiteration and/or the sleuth spending half the book trying to figure out which man she wants to date, any day of the week!

I also really liked that Jennifer is in the process of becoming a private detective and the police chief is actually helping and encouraging her instead of continually telling her to keep her nose out of the investigation. This cozy didn’t have as much development in regards to getting to know the shops/community of a small town since the majority of the book finds Jennifer either at home or going to a person’s house for interviews, but I am fine with that. Perhaps more of the town was explored in the first book, Red Picket Fences, or will be written in future books in the Jennifer Temple Cozy Mystery series.

And the mystery, I did not see that ending coming, which I always really enjoy. It’s rare that the murderer sticks with me after I finish a cozy. Since I read so many cozies and other books, a week later I find myself often having to rack my brain to remember who was the killer, but now with this one. I highly recommend Death at a Dinner Party and look forward to future books in the series.

Disclosure: Some of the links we use are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, we will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This