A Cultivated Corpse by Debra Sennefelder

Item: A Cultivated Corpse
Rating: 5
Author: karenbaron

Posted June 13, 2026 by karenbaron in #BookishRecipe, Blog Tour, Contest - Giveaway, Mystery, Review, Series / 0 Comments

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from Great Escapes Book Tours. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

A Cultivated Corpse

by Debra Sennefelder

Series: Food Blogger Mysteries #9
Series Rating:

Published by Beyond the Page on May 28, 2026
Setting: Jefferson, Connecticut
Genres: Cozy Culinary Animal Mystery
Pages: 295
Format: Kindle, Paperback
Source: Great Escapes Book Tours
Goodreads
BookBub
Storygraph
Get Your Copy at: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo
Also in this series: The Hidden Corpse, Three Widows and a Corpse , The Corpse Who Knew Too Much, The Corpse in the Gazebo, A Corpse at the Witching Hour

When the local garden club president is killed, food blogger Hope Early will have to dig through the clues to catch a killer . . .

The Jefferson Garden Club’s annual plant sale is just around the corner, but Hope Early and other members of the club are more focused on the garden restoration project at Ambrose House. The gorgeous landscaping promises to help return the stately old home to its former glory, but rumors are surfacing of unexplained delays and exorbitant costs. Then the club’s president is found dead amid signs of foul play, and Hope can’t ignore the uneasy feeling that the victim was silenced for something she knew about the renovations.

Certain that the solution to the murder is tied to the garden project and the club’s recent financial struggles, Hope begins to go through their books and uncovers more than mismatched numbers. A tangle of transactions points to an intricate embezzlement scheme, but before she can weed out who’s behind it, a local reporter chasing the same story is killed. It’s clear now that someone is dead-set on keeping the truth buried, and Hope will have to unearth a vital piece of evidence before the killer decides it’s time to bury her as well . . .

Includes mouthwatering recipes!

A Cultivated Corpse by Debra Sennefelder is bringing the spring vibes to Jefferson, Connecticut.

Will Hope solve the case?

Hope Early

Hope Early is well-known for her food blog, which she is grateful for, but she is also getting well-known for her sleuthing skills. The last part is something that she isn’t that proud to admit. Hope, once again, has a bit too much on her plate. She has her blog (like always), she’s starting her garden, joined the garden club, and has the things she already has going on at her home. Hope is a wonderful character who can’t bear to see someone she cares about hurt. I like Hope a lot, and I’m trying to get ahead on my blog as she does on hers.

Hope and Ethan are the cutest couple!

The Mystery

Hope tends to stumble over dead bodies, and honestly, it’s really not her fault. Her latest case involves the club she is attached to… the garden club. I have to say, I was so totally into the book that I couldn’t help but talk to myself as I tried to figure it out. Ms. Sennefelder, bravo to you on stumping me with this case. I had an inkling, but I kept writing it off as a red herring, since they could easily be one.

Five Stars

My rating for A Cultivated Corpse by Debra Sennefelder is five stars, and I do recommend this series. I have a few books I need to catch up on, but Ms. Sennefelder writes them, so you can literally start with this book without getting bombarded with past cases.

Ms. Sennefelder also has two recipes in the back of the book. They are Layered Cobb Salad with Chicken and Lemon Blueberry Muffins. These sound delicious. I may have to make at least the muffins.

Food Blogger Mysteries

Giveaway

Prize:$25.00 Amazon Gift Card

Tour Organized by:

To find all the tour information, click the banner at the top of the page.

Have you signed up to be a Tour Host? Click Here to Find Details and Sign Up Today!

Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of A Cultivated Corpse by Debra Sennefelder.

Until the next time,

Happy Reading!

Baroness’ Book Trove is an Amazon affiliate, meaning that if you purchase something, this blog gets a tiny percentage back. This helps with the cost of the website and a few giveaways.

About Debra Sennefelder

Debra Sennefelder, the author of the Food Blogger Mystery series and the Resale Boutique Mystery series, is an avid reader who reads across a range of genres, but mystery fiction is her obsession. Her interest in people and relationships is channeled into her novels against a backdrop of crime and mystery. When she’s not reading, she enjoys cooking and baking and as a former food blogger, she is constantly taking photographs of her food. Yeah, she’s that person.

Born and raised in New York City, she now lives and writes in Connecticut with her family. She’s worked in pre-hospital care, retail and publishing. Her writing companions are her adorable and slightly spoiled Shih-Tzus, Susie and Billy.

She is a member of Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, Women’s Fiction Writers Association and Romance Writers of America.

Reading this book contributed to these challenges: