It’s the Christmas season in Ocean Crest, which also means the Jersey Shore’s local Polar Bear Plunge is scheduled. This year, the Polar Bear Plunge is benefiting the Ocean Crest senior center so all the local businesses are participating. Lucy Berberian is representing her family’s restaurant, Kabob Kitchen. The freezing temperatures are unnerving enough, but things take a turn for the worse when a businessman is found dead in the aftermath. Deacon Spooner wasn’t a popular man and there are suspects aplenty. However, when Lucy’s friend, Susan Cutie, becomes the prime suspect, Lucy and her best friend, Katie Watson, are determined to find out who the real killer is.

MISTLETOE, MOUSSAKA, AND MURDER is the fifth book in the Kabob Kitchen Mystery series. As with most of Tina Kashian’s delightful books, it can be read as a standalone although readers more familiar with the series and the characters will better appreciate the reasons behind Lucy’s premarital jitters. I love the depth that Tina Kashian provides to her characters, adding layer upon layer as we progress in the series, while still allowing for new readers to jump in and enjoy the stories.

Tina Kashian’s books always make me hungry and MISTLETOE, MOUSSAKA, AND MURDER is no exception. The moussaka sounds quite tasty (and the recipe is in the back) as does everything Susan Cutie makes! The lemon meringue pie recipe is also in the back of the book and both recipes are on my list to try to recreate as MISTLETOE, MOUSSAKA, AND MURDER has me hungering for a bite of both!

And speaking of Susan Cutie and her tasty treats, Susan is the primary suspect for most of the book and I was getting worried we were about to lose her and her Cutie’s Cupcakes forever. Tina Kashian keeps the reader in suspense as Deacon Spooner was so unlikable that almost everyone who knew him had reason to want him dead. I love that Lucy and Katie didn’t give up on Susan even when the odds seemed stacked against her.

MISTLETOE, MOUSSAKA, AND MURDER is yet another entertaining cozy mystery from Tina Kashian. While the story line is Christmas-themed, MISTLETOE, MOUSSAKA, AND MURDER can be read at any time of year as the focus is more on the Polar Bear Plunge than the town’s Christmas festivities. However, I love the inclusivity of the final Christmas party as well as the diversity of the menu as it steers away from what many consider traditional Christmas foods to open our eyes to some other tasty delights from other cultures. I love the Kabob Kitchen Mystery series, both for its scrumptious foods and its puzzling mysteries, and MISTLETOE, MOUSSAKA, AND MURDER is the perfect example of both!