I love the premise and I’m glad to see someone writing about their Polish experience. However, this didn’t click with me. If anyone asked for a book about Polish food and a mystery, I would recommend it, even if it didn’t catch my attention.

A fun enjoyable read,
Mystery,murder,suspense,humor,great characters.
Like the pierogi concept
Voluntarily reviewed.

Thank you NetGalley and Severn House for the opportunity to read this ARC.

It’s 1982 and Lydia Wienewski’s dream is coming true when she opens her cafe and bakery specializing in Polish-American fare on the shores of Lake Erie. Not even her old nemesis and tutor Madame Delphine can resist Lydia’s delectable pierogi, who arrives with several students in tow. But a dark cloud settles over Lydia’s idyllic dream when she finds Madame Delphine dead behind her cafe the day after their reunion. Lydia and Grandma dive back into investigation mode to quickly find the culprit and uncover the truth about Delphine’s death.

Growing up in a family with Polish heritage, I have always been drawn to books and movies that highlight it. I loved the tidbits of the Polish language and the talk of pierogi and kielbasa, as that had been one of my favorite meals growing up. Many of the characters reminded me of my family, which gave me such nostalgic feelings of making pierogi with my aunts and family friends.

This book has a cozy mystery feel as we venture alongside Lydia and Grandma Mary as they try to solve Madame Delphine's murder. Their tenacity and banter made it an enjoyable experience. Though I did not read the first book, the author does add snippets to recap the events of book 1 without it feeling overwhelming and without giving away all the details of book 1. I would definitely suggest reading book 1 first, so you don't miss a thing! If you love cozy mysteries that have strong family bonds and strong female characters, check out The Kielbasa Queen Mystery series.

⭐️: 3.5 / 5

Publication Date: January 2, 2024

I want to thank Severn House and Net Galley for allowing me to get an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This is the second book in a cozy cuisine mystery series. I’m happy I read the first book before picking this up because it is repeated alluded to and brought up as a point of character development. This story picks up shortly after the end of the first book.

Some of the coolest aspects of this story, were all the descriptions around the polish food! I’ve never tried it before but this definitely piqued my interest in trying this particular cuisine. I also found the grandmother’s commentary to be witty and funny.

As for my reservations, l was underwhelmed by the twists and reveals. I also found that many of the plot points were repeated over and over which made this overall just less enjoyable. I also found some of the choices the FMC made just didn’t make sense and rolled my eyes a few times because of it.

Overall I thought this book was fun and cozy but fell short for me. If you like a mystery that revolves around a woman in her 30s amateur sleuthing with her grandmother you’ll get a kick out of this book.

Would recommend for those who are fans of
- Polish cuisine
- 80s
- Buffalo, NY setting
- Amateur sleuth mysteries

⚠️ body horror

This had such an adorable cover and I was immediately drawn in by the idea of a Polish bakery as the setting.

Lydia has to deal with a pierogi baking competition, finally settling in with her boyfriend. And oh yes, her old baking mentor turning up dead outside her café.

Interesting mystery, and I liked the setting of 1980s Buffalo (although that could have been used more.) And I really liked the relationships she had with her family, especially her grandmother.

But there was something about how this was written that rubbed me the wrong way. And I can’t entirely put my finger on it In the end, I just did not like Lydia as a narrator or as a character. And so I did not care if she solved the mystery or not. And I didn’t really like how she kept inserting herself into the investigation. Other cozy mysteries, the protagonist has a vested interest in solving the crime, or the police appear to be completely incompetent. Instead, Lydia just seems to be nosy and self righteous

The recipes at the end look really good, and I can’t wait to try them.

Thanks to NetGalley and Severn House for this ARC.

Lydia Wienewski has had a hectic life since returning to Buffalo, NY. Following her father’s stroke, she had to take over running his butcher’s shop to keep the family business afloat. Then she found a body in the smoking shed behind the shop and solved that murder. Now she’s trying to look forward, and in addition to working at the butcher shop, she is running her own café specializing in Polish food, and preparing to renovate a little cottage nearby. Meantime, she catches what moments she can with her equally busy boyfriend, Stanley. The one thing she absolutely does not need in her life is more excitement.

Then her former pastry instructor, Madame Delphine, shows up in the café, along with some of her former classmates and Lydia’s ex-boyfriend. Lydia had hoped never to see any of them again. When Madame Delphine’s body is discovered the next day behind the café, Lydia knows she needs to act fast before he dreams for her business are destroyed by negative publicity.

This is the second book in this series set in the 1980s in Buffalo, NY. It easily works as a stand-alone book because plenty of backstory is provided.

The mystery was well-crafted with well-hidden clues. The suspect pool was just the right size. Some information necessary to solve the mystery wasn’t entirely revealed. I feel like there was just enough information provided that it can be said the author played fair, but I was not entirely happy with the identity of the murderer.

I loved the setting in the 80s in Buffalo. The story was rich in detail and it felt very authentic. The details about the time period were accurate and well-researched, and Buffalo was brought in through the use of local vernacular and the ethnic and regional communities. 

I also very much enjoyed the descriptions of the food. My family isn’t Polish, but I was raised in a region similar to Buffalo, with a large historic immigrant population from Poland, so the food very much spoke to me. There are two recipes at the end of the book - one for pierogi and one for cookies.

The book contained a good cast of characters. Even among the suspect pool, the characters were well-defined and easy to tell apart from one another. 

Lydia and her grandmother have a very sweet, and unique, relationship. They are only 36 years apart in age, which seems fairly unusual nowadays, but I suppose there was a time not long ago when being married and having a child at 18 wasn’t as surprising as it is now. I appreciated the way the two of them worked together to solve the mystery. Her grandmother was my favorite of the characters. 

I found it hard to really like Lydia. She was occasionally abrasive and rude. When her grandmother called her out on her behavior, Lydia maintained she was a strong woman who asked for what she wanted. While I absolutely believe everyone should ask for what they want, asking and demanding are not the same, and saying please or thank you is a basic courtesy no matter what gender. However, Lydia does recognize that she is changing and growing. She admits that she was embarrassed by the person she was in pastry school; she realized she had acted like a brat. So it’s clear she is growing, and it will be interesting to watch her character develop further. 

The overall pacing of the book was slow. I feel like this story needed a secondary mystery or some other sub-story to help it move along rather than adding so much backstory as filler.

I received a free eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Severn House for this ARC of The Pierogi Peril.

AHHH THIS WAS THE SECOND BOOK IN THE SERIES !!! I didn’t know that before requesting it. But that aside I did read and well, I don’t think I am the audience for this book. It felt slow to me but it might have been different if I had read first book. It’s a cozy mystery and if you want that this book shall deliver !

This book is just darling!! I actually read it before the 1st in the series and now I’m going to go back and read it. It’s engaging, smart writing and always made me smile! Definitely recommend.

This is a fun cozy mystery featuring one of my favorite foods. It was a little slow at times but I enjoyed the journey. I would like to reread this as an audiobook. I was denied an ARC of the audiobook but I would listen to it anyways.

Geri Krotow's cozy mystery series is highly entertaining and the mystery are fast paced and solid. This second installment is even better than the previous one and I was glad to catch up with the characters
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I haven’t read the first book in this series but I think I’ll have to after reading this one. I saw pierogi in the title and as any good Polish person, I said heck yeah. I enjoyed this murder mystery, but I think it would have been beneficial for me to read the first book as some things related back to it. But that didn’t takeaway from the story, It was nice to read a book that has Polish people as main characters but is not set in Poland during WWII (nothing wrong with that- I love a good historical fiction novel). This novel is fairly fast paced and you can’t help but to root for Lydia. If you want a mystery book that’s easy to read and makes your mouth water from all the mentions of kiełbasa, pierogi and Polish food then this book is for you. 5/5

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the eARC.

I wasn’t sure what to think at first but after the first few chapters i fell in love with the characters. This unlikely crime fighting duo just can’t be stopped!

Who killed Madame Delphine? That's the question that Lydia and her grandmother Mary decide they must answer. Lydia's finally got her own shop even though she still helps out her dad at his and she's busy. She didn't like Madame Delphine, who wasn't nice to her when she was a student, but they've just managed to have an adult, positive conversation. Cozy fans know that Madame Delphine wasn't nice to a lot of people. I liked this for the focus on food (yum) and family (even though I found Mary a bit much), Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. And- there's a recipe you might want to try.

I was unable to finish this book and thus will not be posting a full review. I found the prose exceptionally verbose and kept waiting for something to happen. The set-up was very long and just did not work for me. Thank you for the opportunity.

A homage to the Polish dumplings and other similar delights mixed in with a bit of murder.
The second in this series, Lydia has now opened her cafe and bakery and is so busy with that and helping her Dad out in his butcher's shop that she has forgotten to enter the Pierogi contest at the international festival being held locally.
She is disappointed, but carries on as normal. When she arrives at the cafe one day she discovers her nemesis and former teacher there enjoying her food. They talk and all is forgiven between them. To Lydia's horror Madame Delphine's body is discovered the next morning on her beach. Cue Lydia and Grandma to investigate.
A nice cozy mystery and very easy to read.

I didn’t know this was the second in the series when I requested it! Anyway, I liked this cozy mystery! I’ll definitely have to go back and read the first in the series.

The Pierogi Peril is the second book in a cozy mystery series that follows a young Polish woman. She helps at her families butcher shop and she just opened her own cafe. When her old culinary school teacher who she had problems with shows up announced and then ends up dead, she is on the case to find out what happened.

I liked this cozy mystery! I loved the characters and the family dynamics. The family really loves each other and it shows. I also liked the Polish food throughout. I am not polish but my husband is so I am familiar with some of the foods and it’s fun to see. I loved the Buffalo setting and how descriptive it was! I also really like the cover. I enjoyed the first book as well.

I feel like the mystery was pretty predictable but I still enjoyed it! Thanks so much to netgalley and Severn house for the arc in exchange for an honest review!

This book releases January 2nd and i would recommend checking it out.

NetGalley WHY wouldn't you mention ANYWHERE that this is the SECOND BOOK IN A SERIES before reviewers request books!

Ranting aside, I read about 40% before I decided this wasn't for me. Yes, because it is the SECOND BOOK IN A SERIES, but I also don't think I'm the target audience. The start was really slow for me and by the time the mystery was getting started, I had already clocked out. I think this will be great for 1. people who read the first book 2. people looking for a mindless, super simple, cozy mystery. That being said, the writing was great. It was easy to follow and the descriptions were very illustrative, but another big reason why I didn't love this is because at times it was TOO descriptive. For instance, the very start, where the audience is given a super long, drawn own pierogi making class, which felt like a very wrong place to start this story. I could have saved my time and money with a quick Google search if I wanted to learn how to make pierogi. I understand why this would be useful LATER in the story, with the title and all, but for the first chapter it’s incredibly boring.

Overall, not my cup of tea, but I think this book's target audience of middle aged Polish women who like cozy mysteries will love this.

Thank you NetGalley and Severn House for this ARC of The Pierogi Peril.

Right off the bat I was excited to read this book. The concept of reading a book about one of my favorite childhood memories- making pierogis- was so enticing. Pair that with some Polish words and phrases that reminded me of my childhood mixed into the book, and I was sold.

As I began reading, I also started to notice some uncanny similarities between characters and members of my family. (For example, a couple characters were Ted and Stanley— also some names of my family members. The cook off was being held at Saint Stanislaus— a church in my hometown my family frequented.) I loved those quirky coincidences and I was excited to keep reading.

However, as the story progressed, I felt like it was missing something? I began to lose interest towards the end of the book because I felt like I just wanted things to progress quicker.

Would I still recommend this book? Yes. Would I recommend it to someone looking for a lighthearted book about murder (if there is such a thing)? Also yes.

The Pierogi Peril will be available for purchase on January 2, 2024. I recommend getting a copy!

What an absolute delight of a book. I’m in my cozy mystery era and grew up in a very Polish neighborhood, so this was right up my alley. Even though I haven’t read the first in this series, the author did a good job establishing recurring characters and plot points from book one.