Such a cozy mystery in a charming village and adorable characters felt just like reading about some of my favorite British shows. This book had everything I love adorable setting mystery with a fun amateur relatable sleuth and even her fun to read about career as a traveling cook! The mystery was well written and interesting it wasn't the most complex mystery I've ever read but it was still twisty and surprising with plenty of things you wouldn't see coming! Perfect for fans of Agatha Christie and Caroline Graham!

I really enjoyed Faith Martin’s Hillary Green series, with a tough, no nonsense protagonist. Martin is a talented writer, and her series about Jenny Sterling, traveling cook and sleuth, is a lighter fare, more of a cozy mystery. Martin’s descriptions of England, of Oxford and environs are cinematic—so vivid you can almost smell the green grass! And they are well researched, whether police procedures, history, or recipes. Oh, the food, the food! I love to cook, and Sterling’s dishes have sent me many times to the kitchen, In this book, Sterling is hired to cook for a gathering of Renaissance fans, in costumes and all, who have come to a country inn to enjoy a weekend of dinner theatre and Sterling’s fabulous cooking (which, of course, features dishes from that era). There is a murder, naturally, which Sterling solves.... A couple of points—with a story taking place in the 21st century, why does Martin always talk about “the forensics boys”? In Britain, surely that profession must include women. And, if I never see the word “Junoesque” again, it will be too often.

I liked it very much, an engaging mystery. The setting was intriguing. The characters were believable. I enjoyed it, it kept me interested.

The Country Inn Mystery by Faith Martin. Joffe Books, 2019.

While her chef friend vacations in Italy for two weeks, Jenny Starling is her stand-in at a Cotswold inn holding fully booked Regency themed weekend. When the local historical society’s lead actress is dies during a scripted drowning scene, Jenny senses that all is not what it seems.

The seventh in the Jenny Starling/Travelling Cook series, this engaging whodunit focuses on the murder and its victim. The Detective Inspector on the case has heard of Jenny’s success with previous murder investigations so enlists her help right away. As with the previous books I’ve read in the series, we hear more about meal preparation and meal enjoyment than we do the extraneous and often negative details of characters’ personal histories, or cultural and political overtones; I find this a refreshing change.

I enjoyed this well-written, engaging story.

Disclosure: I received a review copy of The Country Inn Mystery 0for free via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Country Inn Mystery was a fun and quick read. The plot was nicely laid out and it wasn't an "instant death" as in a lot of crime/mystery novels. The characters are realistic and complex, as well as there's tension between a few of them.

Received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in return for an honest review. I really enjoyed this book. I must confess that this is the first book that I have read by this author and I really like the premise and our main character, Jenny Starling. Also enjoy that she is a traveling chef so that plots never will get boring or repetitive since new locales and people are always involved. Very good writing, sometimes a bit too flowery with some descriptions but that also lends it the books British charm. Plot was well laid out and I like it when the events that lead to the mystery (in this case a murder) are not set forth in the first 25 pages of the book. Thought we really got the feel for the characters Jenny Starling is a really great cozy mystery solver. Would be a great series for AcornTV or some sort of Brit TV channel.

Meet Jenna Starling, traveling cook and amateur detective.  In Faith Martin’s newest Jenna Starling mystery, The Country Inn Mystery - an am-dram weekend in the Cotswolds goes seriously awry when the leading lady dies for real.  Part police procedural, part amateur investigation ala Christie, this charming British novel makes for a relaxing afternoon read. Like a glamorous, junoesque Miss Marple, Jenna Starling has a gift for observation and a talent for understanding human psychology.   I am eagerly looking forward to more of Faith Martin’s clever mysteries.


5 / 5


I received a copy of The Country Inn Mystery from the publisher and Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.


-- Crittermom

This is the seventh Jenny Starling who done it and continues the enjoyable series with travelling cook Jenny working at the Spindlewood Inn for their weekend Regency Extravaganza. All does horribly wrong when the lead actress of the local amateur dramatics society is murdered and the suspects mount up. Jenny of course runs rings round the local police officers and solves the crime. A comforting who done it with a very likeable sleuth, I would very much like Jenny as a friend!

Once again Faith Martin proves she has the perfect recipe for a good old fashioned murder mystery.
Jenny Starling finds herself once again reluctantly thrust into the middle of a puzzling murder enquiry when a renaissance reenactment weekend takes a deadly turn.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and find Faith Martin's unpretentious style refreshingly easy to read. The plot kept you guessing throughout and although I had figured out 'who done it' uncovering the how at the end was well done.
Highly recommended.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy of the book for my.honest review.

Martin writes excellent mystery series, and this one featuring freelance chef Jenny Starling is a fairly new entry. However, I'm finding that the protagonist is just too smug. After several outings with her, the character is wearing thin. That said, the food descriptions are superbly mouthwatering, and the settings and plots are always interesting. In this story the identity of the murderers was too obvious to be completely enjoyable. I much prefer the absolutely sterling Martin series: Hillary Greene and Ryder & Loveday - these are not to be missed!

I would like to thank Joffe Books and Net Galley for the ARC of this book. It is the seventh book in the Jenny Starling mystery series, and I will definitely be going back to read the previous books!

Jenny Starling is impressive in many ways. She stands over six feet tall and is a modern woman. She drives a cherry red van and works as a traveling cook. This, of course, throws her into various situations where murders inevitably occur.

She is filling in for her vacationing friend who works at The Spindlewood Inn, and is set the task of preparing authentic meals to go along with the Regency Extravaganza, which involves customers in historical dress, an amateur dramatic company, and sumptuous meals. One of the highlights of the weekend is the amateur society's enactment of a romantic entanglement that led to a tragic drowning in the property's lake.

There are interesting characters, and Jenny becomes involved in the investigation, even though she would prefer to remain in the kitchen. The detective on the case has heard of her, and finds out that she is quite observant.

I admit that I did not figure out who committed the murder, but realized that the clues had been available and perhaps a more discerning reader would have figured out what was going on. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and do plan to read more in this series. Faith Martin has also penned the Detective Hillary Greene mysteries, and I need to look into those as well!

Another good story featuring peripatetic cook, Jenny Starling, and her propensity for attracting murders. No exception here. She's temping as cook at a country inn about to host a Regency Extravaganza complete with Georgian banquet, dressing up and plays recalling local romantic legends. A different mode of murder, panic attacks over spiders, the lovelorn swain, man eating diva, dodgy solicitors and more add to the complexities. Well written and described people and places - you can smell the weed in the village pond for example. Jenny works well with, this time, a rather pedestrian inspector and his bright young DC providing insights that they apparently missed but not being quite as assertive as in other books. They bring their own strengths to the discussions and there is humour between them too. Although slightly formulaic I don't think that this detracts - the quality of writing is there and the story sufficiently different for formulae not to matter. As Jenny is often in the West Country I'd love to see her deal with a murder on the mosaics of a Roman villa somewhere and how she deals with a Roman banquet! Thanks to NetGalley and Joffe books for an advance copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Jenny is providing holiday relief for a friend at a Country Inn in the Cotswolds, the highlight of her visit is a Regency Extravaganza, where a select few from the local amateur dramatics society will be acting out a piece of local Regency scandal with a tragic end.

The clues for this one start early on, but are so well hidden that you don’t realise their significance until the end. There is slightly less emphasis on the cooking side of things, in this first time published Jenny Starling mystery. The focus is on the characters, mostly from Jenny’s point of view.

The characters are realistic and the tensions between individuals in the group of guests, and actors gradually revealed, but none seem relevant until an unfortunate incident occurs and someone dies. Is it suspicious or not? If it is, it appears to be a perfect crime, committed in plain sight of all.

The relationship between the investigating police officers and Jenny is less antagonist than usually the case, but her amateur sleuthing and astute observation skills make interesting reading.

An enjoyable book, with a well-described setting, enigmatic amateur detective and a twisty, absorbing plot.

I received a copy of this book from Joffe Books via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

There is no getting away from the fact these books are a bit formulaic, production line as such. That aside however it doesn’t stop them from being enjoyable and this again is no exception. Plot lines are all too familiar but you soon fall into a “whodunnit” mindset with varying backdrops. This one, obviously, being a country inn. The Am-Dram upon which this centres along with the Ghost Walk will be familiar to anyone who has visited say York or Edinburgh and certainly took me back to when I had seen and done both and that worked for me. Having worked it out I none the less enjoyed the book but, for me, a bit like tea and scones, very nice and a bit of a treat but not something I would want every day. Thanks to Joffe Books and Net Galley for the treat.

This is the seventh Jenny Starling book, and they get better as they go along. One doesn't have to have read the earlier books in order to read this exciting mystery.

Jenny is filling in as chef for a friend at the Spindlewood Inn in the Cotswold. There is a Regency Extravaganza going on for the weekend which includes the local am-dram group. The female star, Rachel, has been flirting with all the rich people around as well as her costar. The next morning, Rachel's part has her going to the lake and drowning herself. Unfortunately, she really does drown while the audience is looking at a guest screaming because a spider has dropped on her.

As usual, Jenny begins thinking about what happened and why. There are several possible suspects. As in the previous books, Jenny is many steps ahead of the local police, especially when they arrive at the hotel ready to arrest the wrong person. Jenny fills them in on why this person can't have done it and figures out who has the motive - someone who wasn't even a suspect!

A twist I didn’t see coming, I could not figure out how the murder could have happened! Clever and satisfying as always.

Faith Martin's 7th book centering around her character Jenny Starling, the travelling cook and amateur detective, continues the wonderful journey. Jenny has been hired to substitute for her friend, Patsy, who is taking a Holiday. What can happen in a weekend while being the cook at the Spindelwood Inn during their Regency Extravaganza. The Inn host and hostess are presenting a drama performed by the Amateur Dramatic Society.
Ms. Martin once again has developed her characters for their roles and the plot draws you in. Since historical fiction is a popular reading format this definitely fits the genre. I will definitely be waiting for her next book to come out.

The seventh in the Jenny Starling mysteries. Jenny, a travelling cook, has agreed to cater a Regency Extravaganza taking place at a country inn but when it transpires that there's more than fish in the pond Jenny finds herself once again mid murder mystery. A fun, entertaining, quick read with a likeable protagonist and a colourful cast of characters. Can be read as a standalone although there is a timeline in characterisation and enjoyment to be had in reading from the start of the series.

When travelling cook Jenny Starling is employed to cover at a Cotswold country inn while their cook is on holiday it is inevitable that murder will be on the menu. The inn is hosting a Regency weekend with amateur dramatics doing a period play when the leading lady is murdered. Jenny then helps the police to solve the murder ,
This is an enjoyable cosy mystery that keeps you wondering until the end.

Faith Martin never fails to deliver a good read. You can rest assured that the book will be a true ‘ who dun it’ and this book is no exception. Nice easy read with all the clues there if you are clever enough to work them out, which I never quite get them all right but keep trying. If you’ve not read any Faith Martin books you should try them. The DI Greene series is equally as good