Five Belles Too Many by Debra H. Goldstein

Item: Five Belles Too Many
Rating: 5
Author: BaronessMom

Posted June 17, 2022 by BaronessMom in Blog Tour, Contest - Giveaway, Mystery, Review, Series / 2 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.

Five Belles Too Many

by Debra H. Goldstein

Series: Sarah Blair Mystery #5
Series Rating:

Published by Kensington Publishing Corporation on June 28, 2022
Genres: Cozy Culinary Animal Mystery
Pages: 304
Format: Kindle
Source: Great Escapes Book Tours
Goodreads
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Get Your Copy at: Amazon, Barnes & Noble
Also in this series: Two Bites Too Many , Three Treats Too Many , Four Cuts Too Many

When Sarah Blair's mother participates in a reality show competition for brides in Wheaton, Alabama, things get a little
too real as a murderer crashes the wedding party . . . Sometimes Sarah's mother, Maybelle, can be higher maintenance than her Siamese cat RahRah. Maybelle and her friend, Mr. George Rogers, have been chosen to be one of five couples competing for a small-town "perfect" wedding and dream honeymoon on a Southern Belles reality show--and guess who has to be chaperone. Even more vexing, the producers have decided to put up the crew and participants at the restaurant/bed and breakfast owned by Sarah's nemesis Jane Clark.
But when someone turns up dead with Jane kneeling by the body with blood on her hands, she goes from being Sarah's chief rival to the police's chief suspect. Neither Sarah nor her twin, Chef Emily Johnson, can stand Jane--still, they don't think she's a murderer. The producers vow the show must go on, but to protect their mother and the other contestants, Sarah vows to find the true killer before someone else gets eliminated . . .

Five Belles Too Many by Debra H. Goldstein joins reality television with murder and mystery in a witty tale of wedded bliss.

Will Sarah figure out what happened before her archnemesis Jane ends up in jail?

Sarah Blair

Our sleuth, Sarah, is wearing a few hats in this installment. She is her mother, Maybelle’s chaperone for the Southern Belle contest, and must stay at Jane’s Place overnight until all the scenes have been filmed. Yet, Sarah is still working with Harlan, the attorney’s secretary during the day. Harlan has a trial coming up, keeping him and Sarah busy at the office. To add to the mix, Southwind, her family restaurant, is one of the vendors competing in the contest.

Sarah’s boyfriend isn’t in this story. However, she rekindles her friendship with Cliff. Taking them back to the friend zone works out well for the two, especially since Maybelle and Cliff’s Uncle George are seeing each other. Sarah seems to be doing well. She is there for her family but able to be present at her job. It is slightly different with her not spending so much time with her pets. That did seem to throw her off balance a bit. Yet, overall, Sarah appears to be in a good place.

The Mystery

We start with Jane Clark arguing with the producer of the Southern Belle show about her contract. Seriously, that woman is drama. You would think that she would learn, but obviously, she doesn’t. Later that same night, we find Alan dead with Jane kneeling over the body. It doesn’t look good for Jane as Chief Gerard always looks for the easiest culprit. He is another one that you would think should learn from past mistakes. Although, it feels as if he is trying to be better at his job in this installment. Then we have another body found with Jane leaning over him. Clues are adding up for Jane. Honestly, Sarah helping Jane was a surprise, but then again, Sarah is such a nice person.

I was caught off guard. I thought it was a completely different person, one who was briefly made a red herring but nonetheless seemed shady to me. Ms. Goldstein surprised me. Next time I will have to follow the clues better.

Five Stars

I enjoyed Five Belles Too Many. Sarah Blair is one of those really nice, shy people that takes a bit to warm up to you. Sarah makes an excellent sleuth as people talk to her. Ms. Goldstein has a way of sucking you into the Wheaton community. My rating for Five Belles Too Many by Debra H. Goldstein is five stars. If you are looking for a cozy culinary animal mystery, this is a good one.

There are three recipes included: Chef Bernardi’s Breakfast Biscuits, Chef Wanda’s Honey Baked Apples, and Wanda’s Baked Pears. I plan to try that baked apple recipe this fall. I sound scrumptious.

Other Books in the Series

Giveaway

Prize: (1) Print Copy – A Complete Set (total of 5 books) of the Sarah Blair Mystery Series (U.S. ONLY); (1) A Print Copy OR Digital Copy of Five Belles Too Many (Print U.S. ONLY); and (1) $10 Amazon Gift Card

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About Debra H. Goldstein

Judge Debra H. Goldstein is the author of Two Bites Too Many, as well as One Taste Too Many, the first of Kensington’s new Sarah Blair cozy mystery series. She also wrote Should Have Played Poker and IPPY Award-winning Maze in Blue. Her short stories, including Anthony and Agatha nominated “The Night They Burned Ms. Dixie’s Place,” have appeared in numerous periodicals and anthologies including Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, Black Cat Mystery Magazine, and Mystery Weekly. Debra serves on the national boards of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America and is president of the Southeast Chapter of MWA and past president of SinC’s Guppy Chapter.