The Wine Jelly Murder

Luscious Delights Mystery, #5

by

Meg Benjamin

A hurry-up wedding rushes Roxy and Nate into the midst of another murder.

The Wine Jelly Murder is the fifth book in author Meg Benjamin’s clever, cozy, and culinary-themed Luscious Delights Mystery series, and this time, a hurry-up wedding catering job puts Roxy and Nate at the scene of a murder once again. When the obnoxious father of the bride is found murdered after an engagement party and Madge Robicheaux’s friend, wedding planner extraordinaire Thalia Rosenberg, becomes the prime suspect in his death, Madge begs Roxy to work her investigative magic to find out who all had it in for Emerson Pollack and get her friend off the hook. 

Roxy and Nate are a fun couple, slowly moving closer to a real commitment, and both are working their tails off to build their respective businesses. The upcoming holidays are critical to their success as catering opportunities abound and the demand for Roxy’s gourmet jams and jellies for gifting booms. I enjoyed how they consciously tried to spend additional time together, even if it meant working evening events or completing unplanned tasks to move the arrangements for Uncle Mike’s and Madge’s wedding to each other along to do so. 

As is usual for this series, there is a lot of discussion of delicious food and Roxy’s processes for inventing jams and jellies, all worked into the story between wedding preparations, catering events, community dinners, and amateur sleuthing. Roxy’s involvement garners results, though, with twists and turns along the way to keep readers guessing. I enjoyed the appearances of recurring characters and the variety of new ones, especially the awful father of the bride and his daughter, Jennifer. Although this is the fifth book in the series, each one can be read and enjoyed as a standalone novel. 

I recommend THE WINE JELLY MURDER to cozy mystery readers, especially those who are fans of culinary-themed stories. 

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advance Review Copy from the author through Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tours.