Deadly Grind

Author: Victoria Hamilton
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Type: e-audiobook
Series: 1st book in the Vintage Kitchen mystery series
Source: Local Public Library
Length: 9 hours, 33 minutes
Publisher: Tantor Audio
First Published: May 2012
First Line: "Hoppy was snuffling at the man who lay on the floor of the summer porch by the Hoosier cabinet."

Book Description from GoodReads: When vintage cookware and cookbook collector Jaymie Leighton spies an original 1920s Hoosier brand kitchen cabinet at an estate auction, it's love at first sight. Despite the protests of her sister that the 19th-century yellow-brick house they share in Michigan is already too cluttered with Jaymie's "junk," she successfully outbids the other buyers and triumphantly takes home her Hoosier.

But that night on the summer porch where they've left the Hoosier to be cleaned up, a man is murdered, struck on the head with the steel meat grinder that is part of the cabinet. Who is this stranger—and what was he doing on their porch? Does his death have anything to do with the Hoosier?

As the police struggle to determine the man's identity, Jaymie can't help doing a little digging on her own, accompanied by her three-legged Yorkie Poo, Hopalong. But in her bid to uncover the truth about the hidden secrets of the Hoosier, Jaymie may be the one who ends up going, going . . . gone.  

My Rating: 3/5 stars

My Review: This was a typical cozy mystery set in small town Queensville, a town on the Canadian-American border.  I enjoyed all of the accurate references to Canada, specifically south-western Ontario - my neck of the woods.

There is a vast cast of characters that were sometimes hard to keep track of at times.  Some were interesting but quite a few were bland causing them to blend into each other in my mind and most I'd consider forgettable. Jaymie, the main character was likable and her reasons for getting involved were believable as were the reasons she continued to be caught in the fray.  My only beef was that she comes off as a little overly naïve at times.

The mystery itself was solid but a little long winded.  I wish there were some bigger twists and while I had my guesses as to the identity of the culprit it was fairly enjoyable seeing the mystery play out.

Overall, this was a decent cozy mystery.  I found it enjoyable to listen about Jaymie's interest in old-fashioned family recipes and kitchen gadgets, specifically the hoosier.  Nothing too complicated in the mystery, a slew of culprits and it was a nice to listen to this e-audiobook while I gardened.