Review

It sounds like a dream assignment. Single mom Josie Marcus loves the flexible hours of being a mystery shopper, and now she’s been asked to help a food tour group select the restaurants they will visit. Josie is given the assignment to taste such local St. Louis cuisine such as thin-sliced pizza, toasted ravioli, and gooey butter cake. What’s not to like? Josie finds out when she see fried cow brains and barbequed pig ears are also on the menu. If this isn’t enough to make her rethink the assignment, an obnoxious customer of a potential restaurant on the tour is poisoned and the restaurant owner is the prime suspect. Tillie is an old friend of Josie’s mom, so Jane insists that Josie drop everything to help prove her innocence, even if it puts Josie’s life in danger!

Death on a Platter is an excellent cozy mystery and a wonderful tribute to St. Louis cuisine. Those familiar with St. Louis favorites like “t-ravs” will appreciate seeing them front and center in a mystery story. Foodies not from the area will enjoy learning about new delicacies like Kakao Chocolates and specialty stores such as Vom Fass. A cornucopia of Information is provided as part of the storyline as Josie makes her mystery shopper visits, as well as in a detailed summary at the end of the book.

The Mystery Shopper series is my favorite of the author’s series. The author’s wonderful sense of humor is evident in all her books, but Josie is a character to which any working mom can relate. Josie tries her best to balance her responsibilities to her daughter, mother, boss, and boyfriend. In addition, her best friend Alyce accompanies her on many of her mystery shopping adventures. Alyce is a stay-at-home mom from a wealthy suburb, but she is sweet and as down-to-earth as Josie and they make a fantastic team, in both shopping and investigating.

In some of the prior installments of this series, Josie’s mother Jane and her daughter Amelia have each come across as self-centered, demanding, and ultimately annoying. This time around, while there are some tensions between Josie and Jane and between Josie and Amelia, the issues are believable and add to the story instead of taking away from it. Jane is a difficult character to get to know and sometimes hard to take, but this time there are a few touching scenes between Jane and Josie and we get to see past Jane’s sometimes gruff demeanor. Amelia acts like a typical young teen with all the good and bad that comes with that age group, but is an enjoyable part of this story.

Josie’s veterinarian boyfriend Ted isn’t thrilled with Josie’s investigating, but he is more likeable than ever in this installment of the series. Josie feels that she has been unlucky in love, but Alyce helps her look at her situation in a new light. Ted, through his words and actions, shows Josie and the reader that she may have a keeper this time.

You will definitely want to dig in to this fun new mystery by Elaine Viets. Everything comes together in this one – plot, characters, and subject - to make an especially appealing book. Those who enjoy their mysteries with plenty of humor, like a mystery by author Laura Levine, will want to get to know Josie Marcus. While you’re reading this fun mystery about a falsely accused cook, you may find yourself longing for a gooey butter cake or a chocolate truffle. That’s okay. Even if you aren’t located near St. Louis, there are website listed at the back of the book for a few places mentioned in her book that will ship throughout the U.S.

Reviewed by Christine