Murder in the Kitchen

I’ll admit, I rolled my eyes at the ‘murder mystery weekend’ premise—how many times can that trope work? But *Murder in the Kitchen* won me over by subverting it entirely. The moment Harley stumbles over the body (thanks to a dog with *impeccable* timing), the story pivots from farce to genuine intrigue. Chase balances humor and horror deftly: one minute you’re laughing at Cordelia’s disdain for ‘rustic’ plumbing, the next you’re piecing together clues about a victim whose past is far darker than the cozy setting suggests. Marisa Calin’s performance is a standout. She gives Harley a raspy, no-nonsense edge that sells the character’s London grit, while her Scottish accents (particularly the gruff groundskeeper) are just cartoonish enough to charm without veering into parody. My only critique? The pacing stumbles slightly in Act 2, when a subplot about a missing heirloom feels tacked on—though it *does* pay off in the denouement. And while the culinary angle is clever, I wished for more sensory detail in the narration; a murder tied to food *should* make your mouth water or your stomach turn. Still, the final reveal—delivered over a literal kitchen table—is so satisfyingly *petty* that I forgave the minor missteps. This isn’t just a cozy; it’s a cozy with *bite*." "tags": [ "cozy mystery with edge