From Ladle to Grave is the fifth book in Amy Patricia Meade’s wonderful Tish Tarragon cozy mysteries. This is one of my favourite series so I’m always excited to review a new entry to the series.
Title: From Ladle to Grave
Author: Amy Patricia Meade
Series: Tish Tarragon #5
First Published: December 7, 2021
Publisher: Severn House
Genres: Mystery
Acquired: from the publisher via Netgalley
*** Thank you to the publisher, Severn House, for providing me with an e-copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review. ***
Literary caterer Tish Tarragon’s ‘heroines of literature’ fundraising dinner at St. Jude’s Episcopal Church is a resounding success. But as Tish walks through the graveyard to lock up the church hall, she takes a tumble… over a dead body.
Retired Sheriff Gadsden Carney has been murdered. Not only that, he’s lying upon the Honeycutt family plot. Six-year-old Daisy Honeycutt was killed 25 years ago in a case that rocked Hobson Glen. Sheriff Carney was in charge of the investigation – and his murder looks suspiciously similar to young Daisy’s.
Tish and Sheriff Clemson Reade discover that Gadsden was looking into the Honeycutt case again. Could his death be linked to Daisy’s murder all those years ago? Her killer died behind bars. Or so everyone thought…
Literary caterer, Tish Tarragon, is back
First off, I think the idea of dinner parties and events based on famous books is brilliant and the menus and dishes described in this series never fail to wow me. This time around, I especially loved reading about the Sylvia Plath-inspired crab and avocado course, Calpurnia’s fried chicken (from To Kill a Mockingbird), and a Rhubarb and Raspberry cordial tribute to Anne of Green Gables. YUM!
But my favourite mention of food were the tomato sandwiches. There’s a whole discussion about them at the start of the book and since I just had them for dinner tonight (it was too hot to even think about cooking), I just felt that it was a sign that I should finally sit down to write a review. By the way, the versions in the book included a toasted brioche and bacon mayo version, a vegan version with vegan mayo, soy sauce and smoked paprika, and a traditional mayo and beefsteak on Wonder Bread. If you’ve never tried this, you’re missing out.
Anyhow, moving on to my favourite literary caterer, Tish’s life has definitely changed since the last time we checked in on her. She’s now living in a small room that was previously a storeroom in her cafe kitchen because Tish’s best friend Mary Jo and her kids are living in Tish’s apartment above the cafe. The living situation isn’t ideal, but Tish is trying to make the best of it.
Unusually for a cozy mystery (at least the ones I’ve been reading) Tish has broken up with her boyfriend Schuyler (the one we’ve spent the last four books building up a romance with) and things are… not going well. Schuyler is now the new mayor of Hobson Glen, plus he’s still Tish’s landlord, and he’s not taking the breakup well. Which could definitely mean trouble in the near future for Tish. Fingers crossed things don’t get too bad for her heroine.
The murders, old and new
The murder of Retired Sheriff Carney has Tish and her friends digging into the past, alongside current Sheriff Clemson Reade and his team. Carney had recently become obsessed with the Honeycutt case, one that he couldn’t solve, and Tish is wondering if the obsession is what got Carney killed. Reade was still new to the force at the time and Carney was his mentor, so this case hits close to home for him.
As with previous instalments, the murder and action happens at a very steady pace and there is never a dull moment. There were a couple of red herrings, and some unexpected twists, but overall, it was a nice mystery that wasn’t too far-fetched and was quite interesting to watch unfold.
You can read this book as a standalone, but I think there’s are a few things happening that are require a bit more background to fully appreciate, including Schuyler’s hostility (which, honestly, I got a bit tired of – he was so charming in the first few books, so this about-face is tough to take), and the blossoming romance between Tish and Reade.
Of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t add that, as always, the supporting characters are what make this series extra special to me. Tish’s friends, especially Mary Jo and their other bestie, anchorman Julian “Jules” Davis, are what keep Tish sane and they support her no matter how crazy things may get. I adore Jules – he’s one of my favourite supporting characters in any cozy mystery series so I’m just going to say that he didn’t get enough “air time” in this book. LOL.
All in all, From Ladle to Grave was a solid addition to the Tish Tarragon series. I’ve been reading this series from the start and it has yet to get boring or repetitive for me and I’m already looking forward to the next one.
Quote from From Ladle to Grave
