Still spinning from the hustle and bustle of life in London, ex Met police officer Jodie ‘Nosey’ Parker is glad to be back in the Cornish village she calls home & the change of pace means she can finally start her dream catering company and raise her daughter, Daisy, somewhere safer.
But there’s nothing like having your first job back at home to be catering for the wedding of Tony an ex-boyfriend. When the bride, Cheryl, vanishes Jodie is drawn into the investigation, realising that life in the countryside might not be as quaint as she remembers. With a missing bride on their hands, there is murder and mayhem around every corner but surely saving the day will be a piece of cake for this not-so-amateur sleuth?
A new author to me & a new series. I thoroughly enjoyed this cosy mystery, it was well written with strong characters & a story that never lagged. Jodie lives up to her schoolgirl nickname & constantly butts heads with dishy DCI Withers. There are plenty of twists & turns before all is revealed. There also could be a burgeoning romance for forty year old divorcee Jodie, I look forward to more in the series. I do hope Jodie managed to use all of those sausages!
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

I thought this was a pretty strong entry into modern cosy crime.

Jodie 'Nosey' Parker moves back home to Cornwall with her daughter after leaving the met police and becoming a caterer instead. The idea is to have a quieter, safer life. Then she caters for an old friend's wedding and the next thing she knows there's a dead body on the ground and the local police refusing to look in the right directions! Naturally she has to get involved.

Jodie has a strong voice and the crime is interesting enough to keep you turning the pages. The author has a nice sense of humour and has created a fascinating new Cornish village with characters to match.

A nice diversion from the cold and miserable world outside!

What a great Cozy Mystery! I enjoyed getting to know “Nosey Parker” her daughter, mother and all of her friends who helped solve her mystery. I look forward to seeing the characters again! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange of an honest review.

Jodi is forced to cater her ex boyfriend's wedding. While doing so the bride goes missing. The suspense was killing me. I had to read the book until I finished it. I really loved it.

Murder on the Menu is a refreshing take on a British cozy mystery that delights with its fast pace, genuine characters, and ingenious narration.

What I Loved

I loved the characters, particularly Daisy, daughter of Jodie "Nosey" Parker. She is wise beyond her years, loves animals, and has spunk and sass that is endearing and fun to read. She is a preteen with all the intricate layers of a much older character. I also can relate to her mother, who made the tough decision to give up her career in the police force to take a much safer path of starting her own catering business in the village where she grew up. They are a delightful pair that make me anxious to read more tales featuring the little family unit.

Jodie narrates the story, and I loved the first-person narration with little asides directed at the reader. These asides are the primary source of humor in the novel as Jodie reflects on the things going on around her with wit and cynicism that often had me laughing out loud. It also acts as the most significant misdirection as I found myself engrossed in her thought process rather than looking at the story with my discerning eye.

The story stays focused on the murder mystery and does not get side-tracked with the catering business's different components. I found this particularly enjoyable as I often get frustrated with cozies that are as much a cookbook as a murder mystery. Though, I wouldn't mind some recipes being thrown in at the end in future novels. I always love discovering good recipes.

To Read or Not to Read

I am very excited to see where this series goes. I could see the potential for some very intriguing plotlines in future novels, which has me eagerly anticipating the next book. If you love a good cozy mystery- one that pays homage to the master of the genre, Agatha Christie – you will love this new series by Fiona Leitch.

The excellent start for a new cozy series. I just ended the first and I'm ready for the second
I thoroughly enjoyed it and read it in one setting, it's highly entertaining and engrossing.
The plot is fast paced and tightly knitted, full of twists and humour.
I loved Jodie, an interesting and well written heroine, and the cast of characters is well thought and likable.
The mystery is full of suspects and the solution came as a surprise.
I can't wait for the next installment, highly recommended.
Many thanks to HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I requested this as an ARC from Netgalley and One More Chapter because I liked the idea of the Cornish village setting and always enjoy seeing a protagonist changing careers and making a new life for herself. And as a summer cozy read it was just what I had hoped for. Jodie is an engaging amateur detective, and quite funny at times. I also liked that she's in her forties and has a twelve-year-old daughter. The mystery is fun, with plenty of bodies piling up before the final solution, which was just twisty enough without being too complicated. And the secondary characters are all well-drawn and interesting. I'm looking forward to meeting them again, along with Jodie. A great start to a new series.

Jodie Parker is an ex-copper with that wry humour that so many officers have, combined with the ability to keep a cool head in a crisis. So it's hardly surprising that when a body turns up at her first-ever catering job she wades in to help out - much to the annoyance of the satisfyingly handsome but officious detective in charge of the investigation.

From the first page I sank into Murder on the Menu knowing that I was going to love the Cornish setting, the snappy dialogue, and the twists and turns of the story. I'd have liked to see more of the supporting characters - Jodie's mum and daughter - but I expect that will develop in later books. I'd recommend Murder on the Menu as a great lockdown read - especially if you can't make it to Cornwall this year.

Oh wow what a wonderful read this was. It was as such a gripping read with the right dose of humour and seriousness needed. Simply perfect

An entertaining English cozy. Jodie Parker quit the police force to move back to her small peaceful hometown to start a safer career in catering for the sake of her daughter. However, her first job results in her being involved in a murder and she soon finds that old habits die hard.

I enjoyed both the humor/sarcasm and the unknowns that keep you speculating until the end. It is a first in the series but I felt that knew Jodie (Nosey) early on in the story. I look forward to more books in this series. Thanks to Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter and NetGalley for an ARC. The opinions expressed are my own.

Murder on the Menu is a delightful new cozy mystery from Fiona Leitch. Set in Cornwall we follow Josie as she can't seem to give up the sleuthing she was meant to leave behind after returning home. The book had so many funny moments and honestly kept me guessing until the end. The pace of the story was perfect, giving me just enough about the people and the town while keeping the story moving. It's basically everything I love in a cozy mystery.

4/5 Stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a delightful, cosy mystery, based in beautiful Cornwall. Some really likeable characters and at times an amusing storyline, even though it was also a murder investigation. It had a comfortable conclusion and was an enjoyable read.

This was the first time I have read a Cozy Mystery novel and I really enjoyed it. Right until the end I was wondering who had done it. It had humor, is set in a wonderful location and is good detailed. This was also the first book by Fiona Leitch I have read and I will definitely be reading more as I found out there will be more of Nosey Parker coming soon.

This is the first in a new series Nosey Parker mystery series. Jodie (nicknamed Nosey) Parker has moved back to her hometown in Cornwall to start a new catering business. Jodie was a met police officer in London and decided to leave the force to ease her-daughter Daisy’s worries. She decides to step into a local department store Penhaligon’s and runs into an old friend from school Tony Penhaligon (a boy she dated briefly for 2 weeks as a teenager). He is about to get married and the caterer has cancelled and he asks Jodie to do it. She agrees and begins her new business. Unfortunately at the rehearsal dinner Tony’s ex-wife Mel attacks Cheryl Tony’s fiancé and Jodie jumps in and stops the fight. She talks to Mel and then decides to check up on Cheryl who appears to be packing and as rude as ever to Jodie. The next day Cheryl is missing and Mel is found dead. Jodie wants to help but DCI Withers the detective in charge is demeaning and says she is a chef not a copper. This infuriates Jodie and when Tony becomes the prime suspect Jodie knows that Tony could not possibly have done this. She butts heads with detective Withers but eventually she wins him over and he begins to share some information with him. Jodie aka Nosey really lives up to her nickname but she is keen on observing things and reading people. This is fun quick paced mystery that keeps you engaged in the story. I am looking forward to the next installment.

A delightful mystery from Fiona. The story begins to take off when Jodie is preparing to cater for a wedding. I felt this was beautifully written and was swept along with events as they happened. Will definitely look out for more mysteries from Fiona.

This is the first time that I have read a book by Fiona Leitch, and I have found it to be quite entertaining. It certainly isn't high-brow literature, but it doesn't pretend to be.

The Nosey Parker is Jolie who has recently left her life as a detective in the Metropolitan Police, to return to her childhood home town in Cornwall.

I found the style of writing to be entertaining and rather amusing. The storyline is fairly unbelievable, yet I still enjoyed the Agatha Christie-esque red herrings which abound along the way to discovering who had killed whom at the wedding in a country hotel.

I give my thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins UK for a copy in exchange for this review. I will keep my eye open for future books in this series.

Very enjoyable first in a new cozy mystery series by Fiona Leitch.

We are introduced to our heroine, Jodie (aka Nosey) Parker, who has left the bright lights of London and her job at the Met to return to her childhood home in Cornwall and a new life as a caterer and chef.

As in all of these types of mysteries Jodie finds herself almost immediately immersed in local life and offering to cater for the wedding of an old school pal and one time love, Tony.

At the party pre the wedding the bride, who has not taken to Jodie and the feeling is mutual, is confronted by Tony’s ex wife, both of whom subsequently disappear.

Jodie gains a pooch along the way and enters into her own investigation and knocks heads with dishy detective Withers.

A great start to a new series abs I can’t wait to see where this will go and what adventures Nosey Parker will have abs who she will have a romantic encounter with.

Great and likeable characters and very easy to read.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Loved this,all the ingredients for a great whodunnit! Interesting characters, good location, spattering of humour...a nice easy read..with a few twists and turns. Liked Jodie and her approach! Will look forward to reading more by this author.

Jodie Parker (nickname ‘Nosey Parker’) served in the Met Police but when she finally gave up on her horrible husband, she returned to the Cornish village in which she’d been born and bred, taking her daughter, Daisy, with her. Jodie also decided on a career change and had always loved baking, so she did a college course with the intention of setting up a catering company.

An ex-boyfriend, Tony, urgently needs a caterer for his wedding so Jodie agrees to help him, and this is the first booking for her new company. However, the dead bodies then start to appear, and Jodie crosses paths – and swords! – with DCI Withers.

I absolutely loved this book and was pleased to discover that it’s the first in a series, so I can’t wait to meet up with the characters again before too much longer! The category of ‘cosy murder’ is apt because there are elements of comedy and drama in it, as well as murders. A similar style to ‘Midsomer Murders’.

Thank you to NetGalley, HarperCollins UK, and One More Chapter for an advance reader copy in return for an honest review.

A humorous tale, despite being based around a murder, or two? An ex policewoman returning to her home town, and reuniting with old schoolfriends.
Plenty of red herrings, dodgy characters and people who remember her 'copper' father, plus a couple of interested gentlemen.
An easy reading story to pass the time away. I look forward to future stories
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