I must firstly apologise for the amount of time it has taken me to provide a review of this book, my health was rather bad for quite some time, something that had me in hospital on numerous occasions and simply didnt leave me with the time I once had to do what I love most.

Unfortunately that does mean I have missed the archive date for many of these books, so It would feel unjust throwing any review together without being able to pay attention to each novel properly.

However, I am now back to reading as before and look forward to sharing my honest reviews as always going forward. I thank you f0r the patience and understanding throughout x

This is exactly what readers of cozy mysteries are looking for. Extra points because it's the first in a series so I can look forward to many more entertaining mysteries to come.

Having left her life in London to start over in a new town....but really ending up in her hometown.....Jodie decides she's had enough of being a police officer and starts a catering company, something she's always dreamed of. Her first job is a wedding and since she's back in the town where every one knows everyone else, the groom is a former boyfriend. But the calm, quiet life she expected when moving out of London is not to be. It wouldn't be a cozy mystery without some crime, would it? Jodie lands in the middle of the investigation where her "Nosey" nickname follows her to ground. If there were a checklist for the perfect cozy mystery, Fiona Leitch would have checked every box with this series. I'm so looking forward to the next one.

3 stars!

This is a fun, fast-paced read that is perfect for someone looking to be entertained.


Small village, cosy mystery, it delivers on what it promises to be.

This was an entertaining read but I found I lacked the drive to keep reading it at first. While it picked up I'm not sure it would stay in my memory very long.
I enjoyed the character of Jodie, she made me laugh while reading!

This is quite typical of many cosy murder mysteries, but is a great start to a series I will for sure continue.

This type of cozy has been done before. A lot. However, with the heroine being British, it did help keep the book fresh. This was a quick and easy read and I would gladly read other books in the series.

Loved reading this book and series. I highly recommend her books and series. Enjoy reading this book and series

I love to read some cozy crime in between my usual gruesome go to thrillers.
You get most of the elements needed but in an easier and cosier style of writing.

As this is the first in the series it was good to establish who's who. And I will definitely keep an eye out for the next in the series.

I really really like it. It has all ingredients of a cozy mystery, it’s very funny and also had a very well designed plot, with unexpected twists like a real thriller. It’s absolutely a recommended reading.

I received an advanced copy, of this book from the publisher, through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This book is well written and the characters are described well. Fiona Leitch has a great writing style. You are not just reading this book you are the characters in the book. This ebook is in stores for A$11.99 (AUD). I can't wait to read the rest of this series as soon as the books are published.

This was a quick and easy read which I finished in one sitting. I found it well enough written, but I'm not sure there is enough to distinguish it from the many other cozy mysteries on offer.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

Murder on the Menu makes me want to quit my job, move to a small town and start sticking my nice into everything! This book is such good fun and at times tugs on the heart strings in how well the relationships are presented. This is a cozy mystery classic in the making.

Very light entertaining book,. Enjoyed the characters and the theme. Will look out for more books my Fiona.
Great title too

Murder on the Menu by Fiona Leitch is the 1st book in the Nosey Parker Mystery series, and my first book by this author. Jodie “Nosey” Parker quit the Met Police Department to move back to the Cornish village where she was raised. Jodie wants a safer life for her daughter Daisy, and herself, so she is starting her dream business as a caterer. Once I started this book I could not stop reading it. It was a quick read that kept me guessing. I look forward to the next book in the series. I recommend this book for all cozy mystery book lovers, you will not be disappointed.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Returning to her Cornish home town of Penstowan after resigning from the Met police in London, Jodie "Nosey" Parker hopes to start a new career of caterer. Her very first event was the wedding of her childhood best friend which ended disastrously with a death and a missing bride. On the positive side is this cozy debut takes off with a fresh tone and really engaging characters. I've already lined up the second book in the series as I totally enjoyed this one.

Murder on the Menu is the first Nosy Parker Cosy Mystery by Fiona Leitch. Murder on the Menu is a British Cozy Mystery that takes place in a Cornish Village. Jodie Parker, former cop turned chef, returns to her hometown with her daughter, Daisy, in tow. Throughout the book, Jodie is trying to clear her childhood friend and first-ever boyfriend, Tony, of murder. In all honesty, some situations in this book were uncomfortable to read and the language and innuendos were too colorful for my taste. Usually when a book is like this I can overlook the parts that I don’t like and focus on the plot, but unfortunately these things were too much part of the main plot and you couldn’t get around them. This book, sadly, was not my cup of tea, but other people may enjoy this book. I appreciate NetGalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read this book. (This review is also on GoodReads.)

This was a nice first book in the series. The characters were intriguing and realistic. The mystery was well plotted. It was an okay book. I will probably read the next book to see where the story goes.

I do have a soft spot for a cosy crime. I know that the beauty of the crime genre lies in its ability to hold such fundamentally different writers as, for recent examples from this blog, Liz Mistry and her gritty crime dramas straight out of Bradford, the latter day Enid Blyton represented by Tessa Buckley and the, frankly bonkers, charm of Syl Waters and her guina pig detective together under one banner, with something for everyoizlne.

Here Fiona Leitch has managed to create another version of a frightfully nice world – except for the corpses, naturally.

Moving back down to Cornwall after having left the Met, Jodie ‘Nosey’ Parker is greeted by a place which has not changed much since she grew up there. Ex-boyfriends are still there, mothers hover with tea on offer and people’s the ex-wives of characters’ drive HGVs up and down the country “with just [a] dog – a Pomeranian called Germaine – for company”. It’s adorable.

It doesn’t take long for the bodies to begin piling up, a man who Jodie used to care about is accused and this catering investigator is putting her skills to good use clearing his name.

If you are looking for an enjoyable romp, this is a nippy, zippy tale with a talented writer with a nose (geddit?) for characters in search of some TLC.

This is a good cozy mystery and I am excited to see the author has already put out a couple of sequels since I am reading this on a little delay. I think folks will enjoy following this series!

I’ve mentioned before that I’m a great fan of novels with recipes in them. While most of those I’ve read have been women’s fiction or romance, I also like the idea of cosy mysteries with associated cookery and/or baking. So obviously I was keen to look into the first book in this new series, especially given that I’m also partial to books set in Cornwall. Jodie Parker is the daughter of a popular and well-known senior police officer, who followed her dad into the force, but then moved away to avoid being compared to him. After a longish stint with the Met, she leaves the police to take up what she expects to be a less risky career as a baker and chef, returning to her old hometown with her daughter to be close to her now widowed mum. Of course, mysteries immediately spring up around Jodie.

Jodie’s first big catering job is a last minute rescue of the wedding reception for her old friend Tony and his soon-to-be second wife, which she offers to take on for whatever the previous company was going to charge, plus the sofa she had her eye on in Tony’s family’s department store. The wedding party includes several other old friends, plus their families, and is gatecrashed by Tony’s first wife – and the story of their break-up is fun in itself. When the first wife is found dead and the second one disappears, Jodie finds herself investigating – much to the disgust of the man now installed in her dad’s old post.

Fortunately Jodie knows far more of the locals than the incomer DCI, and can use her charms on her dad’s former colleagues to find out just what the police know. She also has help from her mum, her daughter, and the adorable fluff-ball of a dog they’ve managed to take on in the course of the investigation.

I liked this book a lot. The characters were well described and suitably over the top without being unbelievable. The settings were also very vivid, and the whole plot made sense in the context of the story. I definitely need to track down more books in the series.