A Fatal Feast at Bramsford Manor is the first book in a cozy "reality show" mystery series by Darci Hannah (Beacon Bakeshop mysteries). Released 20th Aug 2024 by Kensington, it's 321 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.
This is a well written, engaging, and fun cozy. Escapist reading written around a reality TV cooking series premise. Chef Bunny's big break came with an unexpected side serving of murder which threatens to stop her career progress in its tracks. The "spirits" part of the title refers to filming in a haunted mansion, which is the hook... paranormal elements, some cooking (bonus recipes at the back of the book), quirky characters, and a few lighter humorous moments with a nice denouement and resolution guaranteed. It's comfort reading.
Four stars. Readers should bring a healthy suspension of disbelief to the read (it's a cozy stately home mystery with a big ghost-hunter element full of skullduggery, outlandish motives, lost brides, etc).
It would make a nice choice for public library acquisitions, for light cozy mystery fans, or for a buddy read. Publishing details for the second book are not released yet, but the publisher tends to release on a yearly schedule. Then again, the author's other series (Beacon Bakeshops) just released another series book in late Nov 2024.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
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