Review: A Side of Murder by Amy Pershing

A Side of Murder

by Amy Pershing

Publisher: Berkley

Pages: 313

Format: ebook

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Samantha Barnes was always a foodie. So when the CIA (that’s the Culinary Institute of America) came calling, she happily traded in Cape Cod for the Big Apple. Soon the young chef is a rising star in the city’s food scene—until a feud with another chef (her ex) boils over and goes viral. So when Sam inherits her Great-Aunt Ida’s house on the Cape and lands a job writing restaurant reviews, it seems like the perfect pairing. What could go wrong? Well, as it turns out, a lot.

The dilapidated house comes with an enormous puppy. Her new boss is, well, bossy. And the town’s new harbormaster is none other than her first love. Nonetheless, Sam’s looking forward to testing her inner food critic at the Bayview Grille—and indeed the seafood chowder is divine. But the body floating in the pond outside the eatery was not on the menu. Though the drowning is called an accident, Sam is certain it's murder. And as she begins to stir the pot, it becomes terrifyingly clear that she may be writing the recipe for her own untimely demise. 

Kritters Thoughts:  Samantha Barnes was an up and coming chef in the New York restaurant scene when she unwittingly goes viral from a fight she has with another chef so she retreats to Cape Cod as it was always a place of refuge in her life.  Thankfully she has a house she has inherited from her Great-Aunt Ida, so she has a place to land and quickly she has a job writing restaurant reviews and is surrounded by friends who stayed in the area and are glad she has returned!

In this first book in a series, Sam is at a restaurant with friends working on a review when she happens upon a drowned body and must work to help solve the crime.  This book was so fun with the combination of Sam trying to start up a career combining journalism and food while also being a amateur investigator when she is convinced that the body she found was murdered and wasn't an accidental drowning.  

The mystery itself was self contained in this book, but I would absolutely suggest starting with this book before diving into the sequel that I will review next.  It is nice to have the foundational knowledge of Sam and those who surround her who will be present in the next book.  

Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel

Ebook 2021 Challenge: 151 out of 100