This is the third book in the Sparrow Haven Cosy Mystery Series and again features librarian cum amateur sleuth Olivia, her best friend Milly and Olivia's veterinarian boyfriend Ethan. In this book Milly becomes the prime suspect when the judge at the Chowder Competition drops dead immediately after eating the entry that Milly had contributed the miso paste to. Turns out it was poison, but was it in Milly's miso, in the chowder prepared by two other people, or did someone else spike the chowder?

This is what our detective duo - as a suspect Milly cannot become involved - must prove, with the able assistance of Barkley the dog. Once again Olivia investigates with the full permission of Fred, the police chief, which seems unusual, but Olivia does carry her own scene of crime gloves and evidence bags so that makes it all right when she collects evidence. While in real life I am not sure how that would stand up in court, in the context of the story you just have to go with the flow.

There are some twists and turns, and the killer is not obvious until right at the end. The plot device used to determine the killer is unusual, and not entirely believable.

While I think having read the previous books would probably help with understanding the group dynamics, you can easily read this book as a stand alone novel. I am, though, curious about the library that Olivia works at, as she refers to it as "my library". Does she own it? If so, this is something most readers would probably envy. I know I do.

One thing I did enjoy is how well the author describes people and especially places. It is much better than in most cosy mysteries and I found it easy to picture the scenes the story is set in.

A quick and easy, enjoyable read.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. ( )