Lila Wilkins, along with the rest of the agents at A Novel Idea literary agency, are planning the first Books and Cooks Festival and have several authors lined up to attend. But when they arrive, it's obvious that there's more brewing under the surface with them than there is in a coffee pot. They don't like each other, and the main attraction, as it were, Klara Patrick, has been making snide remarks to everyone about their cooking, which is making emotions run high.

After a particularly heated encounter, one of the chefs leaves in a huff, and then there is an explosion in the kitchen shortly after. When it is determined he's been killed, it doesn't take the police long to figure out that he was murdered. But discovering the reason why or the person responsible isn't going to be easy, and when another chef is also killed, it's obvious that whomever is doing this has some serious hatred toward the deceased. But figuring it out could be more complicated than anyone expects...

I really was hoping that the author(s) had improved this series by now, but in the first few pages Lila’s boyfriend cop almost sets the kitchen on fire because he doesn’t know not to add liquor to a pan that’s on high heat. Really? Also, he’s in his 50’s and he tells Lila that he can’t even scramble an egg. Oh, sure. A lifelong bachelor but he never learned to cook. Not. Even. An. Egg. Is he so stupid he can't figure it out? I sure hope he was joking, because how is he a cop if he’s this idiotic?

Also - and I've mentioned this before - where are the homicide detectives? Patrol officers do not investigate murders, and if there's none in town they would import one from the nearest city. I'm guessing he's a patrol cop, because not once has he been addressed as Detective Griffiths. Not. Once. Another reason he's not very good at his job: the person murdered wasn't supposed to be in the kitchen, and they never even looked for the real target; they just assumed someone wanted to kill that chef. A real detective never would have made that assumption.

What didn't make sense:

Sean is talking to all the agents and he asks Franklin a question, and Franklin responds with "There are some things that I'd rather remain confidential. Not everything about the private lives of my clients should be laid bare for all to see and judge." When Sean agrees, what does Lila do? In front of everyone, she points out that she gets the impression that Maurice and Joel were a couple at one time. Did she not just hear Franklin say that some things should remain confidential? Could she not have told Sean privately? This, my friends, is what a busybody sounds like. Butt into everyone's business and tell it for the world to know without thinking of ramifications.

At another point in the story when they're talking about Klara's affair, Jude mentions that he thinks Klara is perfectly capable of hurting another person, and Lila wants to know why he thinks that. Hello! She's having an affair! Doesn't Lila think that's hurting another person? Did she forget that her own husband was having an affair? What. A. Moron!

Sean asks Lila to sit in while he's questioning suspects. Say what? Since when do the police allow private citizens - who have no connection to the case - to sit in on interviews?

She mentions that Ryan is 'obviously unstable' and therefore, dangerously unpredictable. Again, the man just lost his wife. Does she expect him to go shopping?

Bentley states that Vicky is one of the agents, which she's not. She's the office manager, although she acts like she's the owner of the company. If I had an office manager like her, we'd have a bit of a talk about her attitude, as in giving one to Lila when she goes to lunch. Not to mention Vicky acts like she has a stick up her rear and is the least likable character in the book.

Speaking of book characters, every single resident of Inspiration Valley is so nice. There isn't a normal person around them; not one crabby soul, no one who is miserable once in a while; they should rename the town Happy Valley. They're all so poetic and loving and sweet. I'm surprised the town's streets aren't covered in sugar while you wade through it, the people are so saccharine.

To top that off, I, for one, am getting really tired of nearly every character in the book quoting literary lines. Geez, you'd think even one of them would get tired of doing it. Not only that, they feel the need to tell us where the line derived from. I'm sure if the reader were curious enough, we could look it up ourself. Instead, we're given that information because it's assumed the reader is too stupid to figure things out in our own way, right?

At the last, why is Sean so willing to allow Lila to help investigate the crime - and now her mother, too? They aren't officers, and shouldn't be investigating. In fact, even when he says he doesn't want to talk about the case, he does anyway. Oh, right - there's no homicide detective so he has no real idea of what guidelines to follow. Never mind.

The ending felt forced - the killer just decided to tell Lila the truth out of the blue. Why on earth would they think that Lila would just allow a killer to walk away? There wasn't even any suspense building up, and even though the police said they had enough evidence, we never found out what it was. There didn't seem to be any to this reader.

There is always the hope that the author will improve the series, but that hope is fast dimming as it continues. Sorry, but there seems to be very little intelligence in this town. ( )

Read for Fun (Kindle)
Overall Rating: 4.00
Story Rating: 4.00
Character Rating: 4.00

Read It, Rate It Thoughts: I really enjoyed Books, Cooks, and Crooks by Lucy Arlington! I found the characters delightful, the mystery fun, and the town to be one that I want to visit again. I also may watch Food Network now with a little bit of "I wonder how they are behind the scenes" LOL

Part of my Read It, Rate It, File It, DONE! Reviews ( )

Because I'd read book four, Played by the Book, first, I was already spoiled for a few revelations in book three, Books, Cooks, and Crooks. I still enjoyed it, except for two things: Why didn't heroine Lila Wilkins or her cop beau, Officer Sean Griffiths, ask an obvious question after the first incident? No one seemed to have thought to save the vomit left in another scene, let alone have it analyzed. Neither omission made Lila or the Dunstan police look good.

In this entry, Novel Idea Literary Agency has put together a 'Taste of the Town' festival, which includes authors who have written about food. Lila loves chef Klara Patrick's show, 'Tales From the Table'. Her new book, My Grandmother's Hearth, is coming out the same day as that of another celebrity chef, Joel Lang's, Fusing Asian. Three more celebrity chefs who are also Novel Idea clients are Charlene Jacques (boo title?), Leslie Sterling, author of Over the Top, and Maurice Bruneau, author of Flavor is Everything. (Bruneau is available in case one of the chefs can't perform. Good thing he's on hand.) A chef who owns a St. John's Bistro in two big cities, Bryce St. John, is the handsomest. His book, Samplings From St. John's, isn't new.

Doug Corby, famous food critic, has had the joy of his new book becoming a 'New York Times' bestseller. A Foodie's Diary: Meals Worth Remembering (and some not so much) sounds interesting. Because I'm a fan of old cartoons, I like the fact that he twirled his mustache in chapter eight.

The festival, aside from murder, sounds wonderful. I'd have loved to have attended the food from children's literature segment. I don't know if I'd have cared for the foods prepared to honor famous lovers, but Joel Lang's summary of the Chinese tale, 'The Butterfly Lovers' was my favorite.

Among other eateries in Inspiration Valley, I wish I could visit their ice cream parlor, the Snow Queen. In fact, there are so many delicious-sounding dishes described that you might want to make sure you read this book with a full stomach.

If you're yearning for the romantic, you'll enjoy the actions of Makayla's secret admirer. The scene where he revealed himself to Lila's beautiful friend was special!

There aren't as many tips for aspiring authors in this entry, although there is a cautionary tale. Poetry lovers will be given some poets' names and there's an author recommendation for Tolkien fans.

Now, alas, I must wait for book five.

Notes:

Warning -- chapter 1 contains a spoiler for Agatha Christie's Miss Marple book, At Bertram's Hotel.

See chapter 2 for a charming story about Big Ed of Catcher in the Rye sandwich shop/café and Nell of Sixpence Bakery, two regular supporting characters.

A tour of the Marlette Robbins Center for the Arts appears in chapter 3, although a display honoring that author is described in chapter 2.

See chapter 11 for what Lila said Makayla was to Inspiration Valley and MaKayla's reply.

See chapter 14 for how Flora & Brian Merriweather got their two 17-year-old cats, Skimbleshanks & Fiddle (short for Firefrorefiddle).

See ch. 16 for an anonymous poem quoted that one need not be a mother to appreciate. ( )

Books, Cooks, And Crooks is the 3rd book in the A Novel Idea Mystery series.

Exciting time are on the horizon for the Novel Idea Literary Agency and Inspiration Valley as everyone is getting ready for the cookbook fair. Some of the top chefs from around the country. At the welcoming dinner for the participating chefs their huge ego's begin to shine and nerves get on edge. After the dinner, Joel Lang, Japanese fusion chef, heads for kitchen where the next days competition will be held. As he turns on the stove, there is an explosion in the kitchen that kills Lang. Lila has the utmost confidence in her boyfriend, Sean Griffths', investigating skills, but this hits to close for her not to get involved in the investigation. Then, when Chef Klara is poisoned, Lila knows she has to dig in with her sleuthing.

The staff at the Novel Idea Literary Agency, played a lesser role in this book than in previous ones, but the reader has a chance to get to know Makayla, owner of Expresso Yourself, Lila's first stop in the morning. Makayla's tip jar has recently been getting been getting romantic type poetry wrapped in a two dollar bill recently, but has never been able to see who has been leaving them. And in one of the more touching scenes in the book, Makayla meets her secret admirer. The reader is also introduced to Jay Coleman, the new owner of the Constant Reader bookstore. And Jay just might be the one to write the sequel to Marlette's exciting novel that made it possible for Inspiration Valley to have the Arts Center where the cooking competition is taking place. Trey, Lila's son is home from college and provides his mother were more reasons to be so proud of her son.

So looking forward to the next story from Inspiration Valley. ( )

Lila Watkins and her coworkers at the Novel Idea Literary Agency are busy running the Taste of the Town Festival. Among the guests are several authors who prove to be quite a handful. As difficult as they are to work with, Lila is still shocked when one of the cooks is murdered. Lila’s boyfriend, police officer Sean Griffith, is investigating the case but Lila soon finds herself caught up in also investigating the case. She needs to be careful as her snooping may land her in hot water.

“Books, Cooks, and Crooks” is the third book in Lucy Arlington's (authors Ellery Adams and Sylvia May) a Novel Idea cozy mystery series - a series that gets stronger with every book. The setting - both the literary agency and the taste of the Town Festival is a nice one – you are bound to get hungry while reading this book! What struck me the most about this book is the theme of love throughout it - love in all its shapes and sizes good and bad: love that is still growing; love between a mother and child; love that is just blossoming; love that is still (unfortunately) forbidden in many places; betrayal; unrequited love; and more. Even the recipes the chefs create are based on literary lovers. This theme is carried throughout the book and makes for some sad, heartbreaking moments as well as some romantic moments - including one very romantic moment that would equal anything found in a romance novel and had me smiling the whole time I was reading it. The mystery itself is well plotted with more than a few surprises and readers will have a hard time figuring out who the killer is.

You'll be hooked not only on “Books, Cooks, and Crooks” but the entire series! ( )