One Taste Too Many (A Sarah Blair Mystery #1)

Author:  Debra H. Goldstein
Genre:   Mystery

Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #:  9781496719478
Kensington Publishing
323 Pages
$7.81; $1.99 Amazon (Sale)
December 18, 2019

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Married at eighteen, divorced at twenty-eight, Sarah Blair reluctantly swaps her luxury lifestyle for a cramped studio apartment and a law firm receptionist job in the tired hometown she never left.  With nothing much to show for the last decade but her feisty Siamese cat, RahRah, and some clumsy domestic skills, she's the polar opposite of her bubbly twin, Emily - an ambitious chef determined to take her culinary ambitions to the top at a local gourmet restaurant...

Sarah knew starting over would be messy.  But things fall apart completely when her ex drops dead, seemingly poisoned by Emily's award-winning rhubarb crisp.  Now, with RahRah wanted by the woman who broke up her marriage and Emily wanted by the police for murder, Sarah needs to figure out the right recipe to crack the case before time runs out.  Unfortunately, for a gal whose idea of good china is floral paper plates, catching the real killer and living to tell about it could mean facing a fate worse than death - being in the kitchen!

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When Sarah Blair gets a phone call from her sister telling her that Sarah's ex-husband is dead, she's stunned.  But when Emily tells her that she's now suspected of murdering him, Sarah does the only thing she can do.  She gets her attorney boss, Harlan, to defend her sister and decides to find out who really killed Bill and why...

Well, I'm probably going to go on a rant here, so you've been forewarned:  I really, really, get tired of reading about divorcees who were married to wealthy men but somehow left the marriage penniless and not able to cook, clean, or handle finances in any way.  Seriously?  She's been married ten years but hasn't managed to figure out how to cook?  In whose world is this reality?  It's just crazy how many of these protagonists have no idea what a grocery store looks like.

It's also hard to feel sympathy for Emily at all.  We never get to meet Bill because he's already dead when the book opens, and we only have Sarah's recollections of how things were.  What was Bill's relationship to Emily?  Did she have a real reason to want him dead?  You can amass evidence, but if there's no motive, what do you have?  That's called reasonable doubt.

I also dislike books where we're just slapped in the face with a victim.  We never get to meet the person, there's no build up as to who might want them dead or why, etc.  We didn't get to see any relationship between Emily and Bill.  I never enjoy that in mysteries because there's nothing to draw you into the murder. 

Also, how shallow is Sarah?  She keeps talking about Harlan’s bald spot.  Seriously?  She's such a prize that she's thinking about him wearing hats to cover a bald spot, or that she can see it?  Does it mean he’s less attractive in any way?  Sean Connery.  Bruce Willis.  Yul Brynner.  Dwayne Johnson.  Having hair on your head doesn't make men any sexier than those who don't.  She doesn’t deserve Harlan with that kind of attitude.  It doesn’t make her likable at all.  This is probably the biggest reason I don't really care for Sarah in this book.

Anyway, reading the ending was a bit disappointing for me, since the clues were there but Sarah was so focused on yelling at Harlan and looking for anyone else to pinpoint the murder on that she couldn't see what was right in front of her.  Maybe the next book will be better; I'll give it a chance and see.

https://www.amazon.com/Taste-Many-Sarah-Blair-Mystery/dp/1496719476/ref

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3000051607

More on Debra H. Goldstein's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/g/debra-h-goldstein/