"Killer Comfort Food" By Lynn Cahoon: Review/Giveaway

Review by Kathleen Costa

Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win an ebook copy of the book and a link to purchase it.

Farm to Fork to...Murder?

It seems quite awhile since Angie Turner closed her San Francisco restaurant, and with her BFF Felicia Williams, moved to River Vista, Idaho, transformed her late Nona’s farm, and opened The County Seat, a farm-to-table restaurant showcasing a “farm” load of fresh local ingredients. The kitchen crew has become like family along with her boyfriend Ian McNeal, manager of the River Vista Farmers’ Market, but it can be touchy when she runs afoul of Ian’s uncle Sheriff Brown when several pesky dead bodies show up. Her “fur” family includes a loving St. Bernard named Dom, a white and black hen called Mabel, and black goat Precious. Although they’ve been plagued with murderous intrusions, the “family” all seem to be honing skills of amateur detectives to include in the restaurant’s reputation.


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Killer Comfort Food earns 5/5 Soybean Sagas...Engaging Fun!

The holiday season is over and the new year has begun, and the last of the baking classes hosted by The County Seat and partner/chef Felicia is filled to the rafters. But, as popular and engrained in the community as the farm-to-fork restaurant is, trouble is brewing keeping Angie up at night. River Vista has blossomed from a farm town to a more “boutique” community with a variety of new businesses opening on Main Street, but a big corporation is flexing its deep pockets and buying up some of the small farms in the area for a soybean plant. Angie is adamant that Nona’s farm is not for sale, but what will she do if the other farms cave to the very well-compensated pressure? Development is often a good thing, bringing in jobs is important, but all this might catapult the small, close-knit community to something unrecognizable, something regrettable, something Angie doesn’t like.

Barb Travis owns and manages the Red Eye, the local dive bar a few doors down from The County Seat restaurant. It’s warm, dark, and whether admitted to, a hang out for many River Vista residents. Barb’s a friend, and in her current distress, she approaches Angie whose reputation uncovering the truth about mayhem and murder precedes her. Barb has a interesting story about her daughter, Sunny, and their relationship, strained doesn’t come close to describe it. However, she’s missing, and the husband’s explanation doesn’t pass the sniff test; law enforcement is skeptical there’s anything there. Sunny is responsible, but not contacting Barb at Christmas is a big red flag.

Are there connections to all that’s going on in town? What about the dead body?

I’ll Have...More! Lynn Cahoon has again transported me back to my family’s stomping grounds in and around Boise, Idaho, with a very entertaining fifth book in her Farm-to-Fork Mystery series. The well-crafted drama entangles Angie and her friends in a typical David and Goliath fight with big agriculture, but Goliath isn’t what he seems. Angie is also consumed by her friend’s plea to find her missing daughter who, wait for it, is the wife of the lawyer representing Goliath...clever, a twisty, turny delight! There’s a dead body to add a bit of suspense, and the final reveal was karmic closure. Lynn’s writing style using a third-person narrative keeping readers engaged with descriptive language to paint a small town, the farm, the various characters and dialogue to illustrate the personalities. She does well to make a couple characters act oddly enough to add to my suspicious nature.

Family, however defined, is a central theme whether it’s the close knit restaurant crew, a loving boyfriend, or the boyfriend’s family along with a foster teen adjusting, an ex-husband harassing, a birth mother worrying, and a husband distraught-ing. The lives of The County Seat crew, River Vista residents, and the fur and feathered friends are just as enjoyable as all the mayhem and murder.

Bonus! Food can solicit a flood of memories. For me, it’s mince pies, Snickerdoodles, or a big pot of stew; even serving these foods on my Franciscan apple dinnerware brings up memories of visiting my grandparents in Boise. Lynn shares with readers a childhood treat. Quick Cookies are the first cookies she learned to make suffering a few bad batches, but she offers some tips to make your attempt a success. Oddly, the recipe seems to mirror some “no-bake” cookies my mother would make and stick in our school lunches. There were always extras for sharing, trading, or bribing.

Farm-to-Fork Mystery

Who Moved My Goat Cheese? (2018)

Killer Green Tomatoes  (2018)

One Potato, Two Potato, Dead (2019)

Have a Deadly New Year novella (2019) KRL Review HERE

Deep Fried Revenge (2020) KRL Review HERE

Penned In novella (2020) KRL Review HERE

Killer Comfort Food (2020)

Be a Big Lynn Cahoon Fan! First, a big shout out to this fellow spud, Lynn Cahoon! Along with this seven-book Farm-to-Fork Mystery series, New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Lynn Cahoon pens the twelve-book Tourist Trap Mystery series which includes six novellas highlighting a particularly fun holiday or season. Along with these two popular series, she also writes the six-book Cat Latimer series set in small town Aspen Hills, Colorado, and the new magically entertaining two-book Kitchen Witch series. Both have an entertaining writing style and delightful set of characters.

Facebook—Lynn Cahoon Author

Website—Lynn Cahoon Be sure to sign up for her newsletter.

To enter to win an ebook copy of Killer Comfort Food , simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line "comfort,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen January 23, 2021 . US residents only and you must be 18 or older to enter. You can read our privacy statement here if you like.

Check out other mystery articles, reviews, book giveaways & mystery short stories in our mystery section in Kings River Life and in our mystery category here on KRL News & Reviews. And join our mystery Facebook group to keep up with everything mystery we post, and have a chance at some extra giveaways. And check out our new mystery podcast which features mystery short stories and first chapters read by local actors! A new episode went up this week.

You can use these links to purchase the book. If you have adblocker on you may not be able to see the Amazon link:


Kathleen Costa is a long-time resident of the Central Valley, and although born in Idaho, she considers herself a “California Girl.” Graduating from CSU-Sacramento, she is a 35+ year veteran teacher having taught in grades 1-8 in schools from Sacramento to Los Angeles to Stockton to Lodi. Currently Kathleen is enjoying her retirement revitalizing hobbies along with exploring writing, reading for pleasure, and spending 24/7 with her husband.
Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.

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