Murder on the Green follows Ben Hunter, local pub owner and chef, as he tries to unravel the mystery of who is blackmailing famous chef, Justin McCleish. Ben is hired by Justin and his manager to find the culprit among his kitchen staff. As the bodies pile up, Ben must work quickly before more lives are put at risk.

I love a good cozy mystery. Despite the addition of some violence, I would describe this as a well done cozy. The mystery is enjoyable with plenty of twists and turns to the plot to keep you guessing right up to the end. The setting, both in the small village and in the kitchen scenes, are well described and really immerse the reader in the story. There’s an added bonus of quite a few humorous scenes that keep the story from feeling too heavy and dark.

The cast of characters was quite lengthy. It was hard at times to keep them sorted as some weren’t well described so as to be memorable. I just didn’t feel connected to many of them because of this. Also, there was a side story that at times was a little implausible, especially in regards to the role of a certain police officer.

Overall I enjoyed the book, and will be sure to stay tuned to find more from this author. Thank you to the publisher, Avon Books UK, and NetGalley for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. ( )

Extortion, murder, humor and good eats - all are a part of this story by H.V. Coombs. This book is about Ben Hunter and how he gets what he thinks of the opportunity of a lifetime. He runs a restaurant and is burning the candle at both ends due to being overworked. He is invited to join a temporary kitchen at an opera that is in town. There will be several hundred people there each night and he will be working for one of his culinary idols Justin McCleish.

Ben is rather disappointed to discover that his culinary skills is not what got him offered the job. It is his reputation as a bruiser. He is being hired to find the blackmailer threatening Justin. Ben is asked to hurt the blackmailer enough to end the action. The blackmailer in question must be one of Justin's team. If Ben succeeds, he is hoping to make enough money to hire another chef, thus greatly reducing his workload. More than one murder takes place, thus making Ben's job not as simple as he would have imagined.

Murder on the Green was an engaging read, with a couple of surprising twists and turns. There are several interesting character which make the story more intriguing. I would have likely given this book three stars due to a slow start, but the unexpected ending ramped it up to four.

Many thanks to Avon Books UK and to NetGalley for this ARC to review for an honest opinion.

Date of publication: June 25, 2018 ( )

Described as Midsomer Murders meets The Great British Bake Off - it fell a bit short on both but was still entertaining in the mystery category. In my opinion it had a few too many characters and didn't really stand alone as a mystery alluding to a activities and character connections from a previous book. I think I would havew enjoyed it more had I read the first book in this series. ( )