The Chef-to-Go Mysteries by Denise Swanson

    I am always looking for a new mystery series to read. That is why when I find a premise or title I like, I give the series a try. This time it was the title Leave No Scone Unturned I found intriguing. But, as so often happens, I discovered this book was not the first in its series. Something I figured out after I brought it home from the library. I then had to rush out and get the first book. Once I had that one home, I read both books very quickly.

    Dani Sloan’s life is up in the air. She lives in an apartment building full of college students. Her HR job is over after leaving it because of an ethics issue; plus, the fact she simply did not like it. And she has broken up with her boyfriend after discovering he is engaged to another woman.

    All this going on in her life is why Dani finds it such a relief when she learns she has inherited a mansion from one of her grandmother’s friends, Geraldine Cook. Geraldine is a woman Dani never knew. Yet, still, Dani takes the inheritance. The mansion will be a new start.                     

    Before Geraldine died, she was remodeling her mansion into a bed and breakfast. The remodel is only partially finished, but there is enough done for Dani to bring in boarders.

    Bringing in boarders is not part of Dani’s original plan for the mansion. Nor is opening a B&B. It is only when three former college student neighbors; Ivy, Starr, and Tippi; need a place to stay that Dani agrees to have them live in the mansion. In exchange, they must help with her catering business.

Roll 'Em Out
Artwork by Kate Dorsey

    Dani has always loved to cook. She would have gone to culinary school if it weren’t for her disapproving father. With the mansion in her possession, Dani has the freedom to do as she pleases. That is to open a catering business.

    The biggest aspect of the business is the to-go lunches Dani creates and sells out of her house. While she is happy doing this, Dani wants the business to expand.

    One way Dani does this is by acting as a personal chef to clients. Another is by catering events and having the occasional booth at events held by the local college. For nearly all the catering occasions, Dani has her three boarders to help her.

    Ivy was a friend of Dani’s when Dani still lived in the apartment, despite their more than ten-year age difference. It was Ivy’s idea for her and her friends to live with Dani when they were kicked out of their apartment. And it is Ivy’s Uncle Spencer who checks in from time to time to make sure everything is going okay.

    Spencer Drake is a former undercover cop. One undercover assignment was so dangerous, Spencer still has to be careful about being found. His cover was “killed”, and no one, outside those he worked for, knows what he did. Now Spencer is the head of security at Normalton University, where his niece attends college.

    Because of different circumstances, it takes a while for Dani and Spencer to meet. When they do, neither is what the other expected. They are instantly attracted to each other, but neither are ready for a relationship as they are both recovering from bad ones. A decision Spencer starts to regret when another man becomes interested in Dani.

    Amongst the catering and romantic feelings are murders to solve. In Tart of Darkness, Dani is the main suspect. This is mostly due to a vindictive detective, something that is yet to be resolved.

    In Leave No Scone Unturned, Dani is not the suspect, but she had met the victim. He was a homeless friend of Ivy’s.

    With both cases, Dani works with Spencer and others to figure out the real culprit and why they did what they did.

***

    Dani is different from other protagonists in series I have read. While Dani does try and solve cases, she does not put it before everything else, as happens in many other series. Her business comes first. She is fine with other people finding out information. The information does not have to come to her first, but she does want to hear about it!

    Also, Dani isn’t pushy. When talking to someone, she knows when to stop. Characteristics not necessarily seen in other series. I certainly hope they continue here.

    The college students I struggled to deal with at times. Starr is perfectly fine. There was only one truly negative incident with her.

    Ivy can be too much. Very young because she skipped two grades, Ivy has a tendency to act as though she knows better than everyone else. Dani especially.

    Tippi is just flat-out entitled. She thinks if she puts on a cute face, she can get whatever she wants. Thankfully, this does not work on either Dani or Spencer.

    The Chef-to-Go Mysteries are a light, fun, funny series. I read them as quickly as I did because of that. A third book for the series has already been published. I look forward to seeing what happens next.