This is the very first book in a new series that came out last December, Sarah Blair series by Debra H. Goldstein. I liked the different twist on sleuth and best friend. In this book, it’s twin sisters, Sarah, who married at 18 and divorced at 28; Emily, who went to CIA to become a chef due to her cooking talents. They weren’t alike in their talents, because Sarah barely got by cooking, but she was able to joke about it and it gave Emily something to do when she’d crash at her house. I can’t wait for the second book in September!
My Goodreads review:
One Taste Too Many by Debra H. Goldstein
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I really loved this first book in a new series, so many cool twists and possible suspects! I definitely had the wrong person pegged as the killer and never saw it coming until the reveal. This book was so good that it had me doubting some people that I probably should trust. I loved that Sarah (like me) was a Perry Mason fan and based some of her sleuthing on what would Perry or Paul do, lol.
Sarah and her twin Emily were different as night and day when it came to personality and talents. But at least Sarah got to pinch-hit for Emily (who was main person of interest in the murder of her ex brother-in-law) by doing a pretty funny stand-up telling about recipes that the cooking-challenged in the world like to use.
If Bill hadn’t been dead from the get-go, he’d have been on my list of people I hoped would be offed. The author did a great job of painting him as real jerk. The other person mentioned who was already dead was actually a favorite character if that’s possible, Bill’s mom aka Mother Blair. Sarah talked about her so much and the great relationship they’d had, it was almost like she was right there. She’d originally adopted RahRah and when she died, she wanted her beloved cat to go to Sarah.
As far as living characters go, I liked Harlan a lot. He was such a nice boss and incredibly patient with Sarah and all the running off she seemed to do because of helping at the Food Expo. He was just a decent human being, since he was helping a cooking student as well as doing pro bono work without complaining. I’m kind of hoping there’s a future for Sarah and Harlan along the way as something more than boss and employee. Emily was a fun, free spirit and a seriously talented chef with great people skills. It was cool how each twin sister had her own separate qualities that made up their duo–I got a kick out of hearing some of their escapades as kids. I’m really anxious to read the next installment when it releases in September!
Cuddle Up With a Cozy Mystery 
Nice review Tari, I have this one to read as well. I like that Sarah cherishes and shares her relationship with Mother Blair even though she is no longer living. I hope my DIL does the same when my time is up.
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Thanks! I thought it was sweet of her to have had a good relationship with her mil—at least that good thing came out of a bad marriage—and sweet little Rah Rah
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