Jenna Hart may not know a thing about cooking but she's a whiz at crafting a marketing plan. Together with her Aunt Vera who excels at cooking, Jenna is opening up a cookbook bookstore and cafe. She's already got her first celebrity guest lined up- an old college friend of hers, Desiree Divine. Unfortunately, Desiree winds up dead and Jenna is a possible suspect. Will the real killer be found in time to save Jenna's new career?

FINAL SENTENCE is the first book in the Cookbook Nook Mystery series, a series that features both food and books. Who can resist such a combination? I love the recipes they discuss and wish Daryl Wood Gerber had room to include even more of the delicious sounding foods that our characters are allowed to sample. Daryl Wood Gerber does a marvelous job at crafting the town of Crystal Cove as it's one of those fictional places I wish was real.

Jenna and Vera are great main characters but oh how I despise Pepper Pritchett! Pepper is the mother of Cinnamon, the Chief of Police, and her animosity towards Jenna creates havoc for Jenna at every turn. We are given glimpses as to what has made Pepper so embittered but redeeming her will definitely not be an easy task.

FINAL SENTENCE is a great start to a new series. Fans of cozy mysteries who love both food and cookbooks in particular will relish FINAL SENTENCE. Daryl Wood Gerber is a new author to me and I can't wait to read the rest of the series as well as her cheese shop mysteries!