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.
Four Cuts Too Many
by Debra H. Goldstein
Series: Sarah Blair Mystery #4
Series Rating:
Published by Kensington Books on May 25, 2021
Genres: Cozy Culinary Animal Mystery
Pages: 304
Format: Kindle
Source: Great Escapes Book Tours
Goodreads
BookBub
Get Your Copy at: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, IndieBound, Google
Also in this series: Two Bites Too Many , Three Treats Too Many , Five Belles Too Many
When it comes to murder, there's no need to mince words . . .
Sarah Blair gets an education in slicing and dicing when someone in culinary school serves up a main corpse in Wheaton, Alabama...
Between working as a law firm receptionist, reluctantly pitching in as co-owner of her twin sister's restaurant, and caretaking for her regal Siamese RahRah and rescue dog Fluffy, Sarah has no time to enjoy life's finer things. Divorced and sort-of dating, she's considering going back to school. But as a somewhat competent sleuth, Sarah's more suited for criminal justice than learning how many ways she can burn a meal.
Although she wouldn't mind learning some knife skills from her sous chef, Grace Winston. An adjunct instructor who teaches cutlery expertise in cooking college, Grace is considering accepting an executive chef's position offered by Jane Clark, Sarah's business rival--and her late ex-husband's lover. But Grace's future lands in hot water when the school's director is found dead with one of her knives in his back. To clear her friend's name, Sarah must sharpen her own skills at uncovering an elusive killer...
Includes quick and easy recipes!
Four Cuts Too Many by Debra H. Goldstein takes a new level to knife skills.
Will Sarah clear Grace’s name before Chief Gerard arrests her?
Sarah Blair, our Sleuth
Some things in Sarah’s life haven’t changed, and some things are changing. She is moving on. It felt like Sarah is honestly getting her self-confidence back. We see her making some life decisions, and she is listening to her own feelings more. I like the revised Sarah.
One of the things that haven’t changed is Sarah’s ability to find a killer. People talk to her and tell her more than they should. Even Harlan sees it. He doesn’t like when she puts herself in danger, but he changes his tactics a bit in this installment. I feel like she and Harlan have a connection beyond boss and employee. However, neither of them is willing to go there.
The Mystery
Well, a crime of passion or opportunity has rendered a man dead. Either way, he wasn’t a well-liked man. But who lost their temper and took him out. Sarah and Grace show up shortly after the body is found. Grace is, of course, the one blamed as she had a public yelling match with the victim before his body was found. We know how Chief Gerard doesn’t really investigate the crimes; he goes with the easiest suspect. So, Sarah finds out what happened. I was a little surprised as I had dismissed the culprit a while back—the things academics will do for their colleges.
Five Stars
I enjoy Sarah and the way she thinks. I also think her family is funny. Honestly, I am glad that she is getting over Jane. My rating for Four Cuts Too Many by Debra H. Goldstein is five stars. I recommend it to all you cozy fans out there.
Emily’s Egg Salad, Sal and Laurie’s Tiramisu, and Stained-Glass Jell-O are three recipes at the back. They all sound good for summer serving.
Excerpt
“There’s something obviously still bothering you. You’ve laid out lots of theories, but you don’t sound convinced about any of them. From what you’ve said, besides Grace, you’ve got lots of possible suspects for Harlan and Chief Gerard to look at. Right?”
“In a sense.” Sarah held up her fingers as she ticked them off. “They should consider anyone who was on the floor when Grace and I got there. That would be Wanda, Franklin, Chef Bernardi, Fern, Nancy, Dr. Williams, and the people who waited to be interviewed in their offices who I don’t even know. The same holds true on the tenure issue, because most of the faculty is working its way toward tenure.”
Sarah put her hands back on the table. “I don’t think I have enough fingers to count everyone. When I add in family, there’s Wanda, but also Wanda’s biological mom, Dr. Martin’s new wife, Lynn, and Kait. There might also be someone at the retirement home who has a connection to Dr. Martin that I haven’t discovered yet. Someone mentioned that because of Kait, they considered Dr. Martin to be part of the Sunshine Retirement Home family.”
“That a long list of potential suspects. Surely Harlan can find enough motivation for most of them to raise doubt if Grace is arrested or tried. What’s really bothering you? What’s going on in your head?”
“I have to admit that if I were Chief Gerard and I was committed to following the money and the blood, Grace would be my primary suspect too . . .”
Other Books in the Series
Giveaway
Prize: 1. (1) A Print Copy of Four Cuts Too Many and either a $10 gift certificate to Amazon, Barnes & Noble or the indie bookstore of the winner’s choice. (U.S. ONLY)
2. (3) Print Copy – Two Bites Too Many (U.S. ONLY)
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 Four Cuts Too Many by Debra H. Goldstein. Check out the other stops and giveaway if you have time.
Until the next time,
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.
Thank you for having me and for your great review! Glad you enjoyed the book.