3.5/5

This series mixes two great things - Dessert and the classic whodunit.

This was so funny, from Jodie ‘Nosey’ Parker's voice, her family, the recipe at the end, and we can't forget [spoiler in GR review].

Onto the romance. [spoiler in GR review].

And the third book is going straight to the TBR.

Might add more to this later.

I enjoyed the second foray into Nosey Parker's life in Cornwall as much as the first installment. She continues to make me smile. It's like everything that could go wrong does, but she still comes out on top and helps the handsome DCI solve the crime!

The characters are well developed. Some of them are quirky, some not so much, but I loved learning more about them!

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for the opportunity to read and provide an honest review of this book.

Thanks to NetGalley, I received a copy of this book. It was a great read! The characters were engaging and real. I could empathize with the main character right away. Finding a second chance at love, she becomes entangled in a murder of a very unpleasant man. Did her new love become a murderer? The romance is as tangled as the mystery, but both are worth the ending. I enjoyed this story very much and would read more by the author.

I love cosy mysteries so I was really interested in this book. And I was not disappointed. I loved it. The plot is interesting enough with the unexpected twists and turns, without being too frightening or gory. The characters are very likeable. The protagonist Jodie (Nosey) Parker herself, her mother and daughter (a lovely teenager for a change) and her different love interests. Having more than one of the lattter brings an extra frisson into the story. Just like the witty dialogues. I also liked the little town where the story takes place with its close-knit community.
I can hardly wait the next instalment of the series.

Jodie is starting to feel like an old friend. I’m loving the characters develop and the study friendships she is making.
The will they won’t they aspect of it with tony and Nathan.
It’s a really pleasant series or a standalone.
Thankyou netgalley for this free arc n exchange for an honest review.

First of this authors work that i have read but highly enjoyable and will be looking to read more, quite a change from the gruesome and psychological genres that i tend to read

A very well written and easy to follow story line

Highly recommended

I enjoyed the first book in this series but I did not finish this one. There are certain things that I expect in a cozy mystery and the main character 'falling' for a married man is not one of them. Thank you for allowing me to review.

"A Brush with Death” is the 2nd instalment in The Nosey Parker Cozy Mystery series by Fiona Leitch. I love visiting Cornwall and the village of Penstowan. Once again it was a really enjoyable read, full of village life in the summer a fete no I mean gala ... Jodie is caught up in a love triangle that becomes more complicated by artist Duncan Stovall and all the drama surrounding him.

The mystery is interesting, well plotted, and had a few twists to keep you wanting to read on.

I recommend this book to all my cozy lover friends.

I requested and received an Advanced Readers Copy from Harper Collins UK. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Another brilliant cosy mystery from Fiona Leitch. As always a great storyline, wonderful characters and more than a dash of romance. Fiona's writing is so witty and fun that it will have you racing through the pages. Loved it.

Jodie "Nosey" Parker is hired to cater the gala for the towns Art Festival Week. A speaker of the gala turns up dead and Jodie can’t help herself but to get involved.
#abrushwithdeath#netgalley

Rounded up to 3.5 stars!

Through reading this book I accidentally stumbled upon a new favourite genre of book for me - cozy murders! I didn’t even know this genre existed. About 30% into the book I thought ‘wow this is moving very very quickly’ so I googled what is a cozy mystery? Here are the top points that I found:

.1. A fun read
2. The crime-solver is usually a women who is an amateur sleuth
3. Usually set in a small town or village
4. The characters are often likeable
5. Fast-paced with several twists and turns
6. Emphasis on plots and character development

Okay so Fiona Leitch hit the nail on the head with this one! This book was all of that and more! I found myself giggling and veraciously reading to solve the mystery along with Nosey. I even bought the first book of the series (this second book can be read as a stand alone) and I plan on purchasing the third when it comes out next month!

Second in a series that takes place across the pond.
New scenery is a nice change now and again.
Witty, enjoyable read like a cozy mystery book should read. Characters who make you laugh, you find relatable and enjoy their story make it that much more enjoyable.

4.5 stars

This is the second book in the Nosey Parker series by Fiona Leitch.

Jodie has met who she thinks is “the one”. Problem is… he is married! Duncan is everything she wants in a man. Then someone falls off a nearby cliff and it looks like Duncan might have been involved. So Nosey Parker gets involved.

There is a bit of relationship angst in this book. She can’t decide between Nathan the cop, Duncan the artist or Tony the best friend. She is a lot wishy washy in that regard. Glad she is better at mysteries than boyfriends.

I am really enjoying this series. It is interesting and it really keeps your attention. I was captivated by her budding relationship with Duncan wondering all the while would he be a new recurring character. The mystery was nice but it was the people that kept me reading. Loving Leitch’s character set here. So me!

Loved so much about it. If you like cozy mysteries, definitely check this one out. You won’t be disappointed.

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.

Fiona Leitch cannot write fast enough for me and having devoured the first title in her new Nosey Parker series featuring sleuth Jodie Parker, I pounced upon the second installment in the series A Brush with Death with glee and I was not disappointed. Funny, tense, captivating and an absolute joy from beginning to end, cozy fans who are yet to discover Fiona’s brilliant books, what on earth are you waiting for?

Jodie Parker had left her job with the Met in London and returned back home to the Cornish village of Penstowan where she had hoped for a quieter life. Having set up her own catering business, Jodie had thought that the only thing she would have to worry about would be sourcing the best ingredients for her food, but when a dead body turned up at her first event, she not only had to find out whodunnit, but she also had a reputation to salvage. With Penstowan being a very small town with a very active rumour mill, Jodie needs to ensure that her next gig – providing food for the village festival – goes off without a hitch. However, Jodie should know by now that wherever she goes, trouble seems to follow and that she will soon have more pressing issues than her amuse bouches to worry about!

With the whole of Penstowan attending the village festival, Jodie needs to make sure that everything is as close to perfect as it is possible to get, which is no mean feat when she has to cope with stroppy teenagers, geriatric waitresses and the ghosts of boyfriends past. The last thing Jodie is expecting is for Penstowan to have another dead body to contend with, but when the body of a writer from the festival is found at the bottom of a cliff, it looks like she will have to don her amateur sleuth hat all over again. The evidence might be stacked against esteemed painter Duncan Stovall, but Jodie is not convinced. After all, when it comes to murder, things do have a habit of being rather twisted in Penstowan as Jodie knows only too well…

Will Jodie manage to find the killer before another victim is claimed? Or will this dangerous murderer end up escaping justice?

Cozy crime does not get any better than Fiona Leitch’s A Brush with Death. A delightful village mystery that will have readers chuckling from page one, A Brush with Death is a tense and thrilling tale where the wit will make you laugh out loud on plenty of occasions, the characters are delightful and the twists and turns will leave you on the edge of your seat with a surprising revelation at the end you simply won’t see coming.

I love Jodie, her family and the town of Penstowan and I am counting down the days until the third book in the series.

A terrific read cozy fans will absolutely adore, Fiona Leitch has written another superb mystery with A Brush with Death!

I liked the plot for this book but had a hard time getting into it. The writing seemed awkward and uneven.

Jodie ‘Nosey’ Parker is back to solve another murder with the help of smoking hot DCI Nathan Withers. This was a fun whodunnit mystery that was filled with hilarious banter and great characters. My favourite characters would definitely be Nathan, Daisy, Jodie’s mother and her dog Germaine. I found that I didn’t like Jodie’s character as much as I did in the previous book especially after I found out about her past relationship and the one she pursues in this story. There was something about the situation that really made me cringe and I didn’t find it enjoyable.

I would love to see more of the secondary characters because they bring so much humour to the story. I’m interested to see what happens in the next one and hopefully I can move past not really liking Jodie anymore.

I recieved an advanced copy for free, and this is my honest opinion.

While I haven’t read Jodies first adventure this works well as a stand-alone and I very much enjoyed it. A healthy dash of humour, a pinch of crime and a sprinkling of handsome fellas - and yes that is plural. Jodie is immersed in a love-square! I can only hope I’ll be getting that much attention when we finally venture out into society again. I’m #teamnathan (just saying).

Although this was slow to start with I eventually got more and more engrossed. The story was gentle and funny, the characters and the relationships between the characters felt very real. I also liked the inclusion of recipes at the end. Adds a little extra flavour or... gives the book some real zest. Ok, I’ll stop with the jokes.

I recommend this to anyone with a sense of humour and/or a fan of a good mystery.

Criminally good 😌

Thank you NetGalley for my e-arc in exchange for an unbiased and honest review.

(Also apologies for posting this after publication day)

This is a captivating, engaging and thoroughly original cosy mystery with bags of charm and I found escapades fun and entertaining from the beginning. Amongst the trials and tribulations they face, we are treated to a cast of characters who come alive on the page and have a special place in my heart. Each character is believable and relatable. It's sharply observed with a decent dollop of wit and playfulness and I found the narrative rich in detail and both enjoyable and thoroughly entertaining. If you loved the previous book in the series then you are in for another treat with the right honourable Nosey Parker getting herself into all sorts of kerfuffles. It is the perfect escape from our real-world issues with a genuinely cosy atmosphere. A warm, comforting and often farcical read I highly recommend.

I had high hopes and this book absolutely did not disappoint. The first few chapters sets the scene and builds up to the mystery, providing just enough back story to bring new readers who have chosen this as a stand alone up to speed, whilst maintaining a good level of pace and interest for readers of the previous book. I really dislike it when a series book spends too long covering old ground. In my opinion, this is perfectly balanced.

Once the introductions and contextual information was done, I found this to be a faster paced read than the first book, which was great. I loved the drama of the love story running alongside the mystery, and it was made all the more exciting by the fact Jodie’s love interest is a key suspect.

This was quite a twisty tale, with some unexpected turns of events. I’d say the tone overall is a little more serious and the plot a little more complex than the last book, but it was still a fabulously enjoyable and entertaining read.

Overall, this is so far a series with wonderful characters, a striking setting and a clever plot line, which I have no hesitation in giving five stars.

It is a few months after the excitement of book one, Murder On The Menu, and it is the opening night party for the first ever Penstowan Arts Festival. Jodie is doing the food – at least she will unless another body gets in the way like last time at Tony’s wedding! Guest of honour is the artist Duncan Stoval who had hit the headlines with his million pound selling paintings of Penstowan years ago, there with his business manager and biographer wife, Genevieve. The mayor announces that Duncan is due to paint a new picture of the town in front of an audience to be auctioned off for the lifeboat funds and the artist doesn’t look at all happy about the prospect. However he looks very happy to be in Jodie’s company and she’s not unhappy about the situation either. She makes a point of attending his wife’s talk the next day and runs into DCI Withers. He tells her about threats made to one of Duncan’s investors, a man who a lot of people blame for losses in the stock market crash and a journalist turned novelist causes a scene during the talk. The following night Jodie, Tony, Debbie and Callum are enjoying the rather dubious delights of the fisherman’s band playing at the festival when sirens are heard and a man is found at the bottom of the cliffs. Initially it is thought to be Duncan since it is near the cottage he is renting but turns out to be the author from earlier, Robert Holmes. Was Robert pushed or did he jump? Once again, Withers and Jodie have opposing thoughts on the guilt of the chief suspect and the DCI lets her do a bit of investigating on her own. It turns out that the dead novelist was claiming to have a big expose coming out and suddenly the field of suspects opens up. Jodie and Withers have been pussyfooting around each other for a few months now and she still really sees Tony as her best friend, so the minute Duncan shows he is interested in her, she pounces!! Whilst snuggling up to this charming married man, she sets her sights on proving his innocence and “helping” Withers once more, although to be fair the detective is not complaining! Can the pair catch the killer in time and what secrets will they unearth in the process?
The whole cast from book one is back - Daisy, Jodie’s mum Shirley, DCI Nathan Withers, Tony, Debbie and Callum now moved back from Manchester, of course Germaine, the dog she inherited from Tony’s dead ex-wife and there are also a few appearances from members of the OAP coffee club. With now three lovely men to choose from, Jodie is spoilt for choice, and she has a wonderful selection of friends and family who all make these stories such a delight to read.
This author has me in stitches from start to finish with all the utterings from Jodie on life, love and family, and I am looking forward to more humorous exploits in book three. 5*