Pasta Pinot \u0026 Murder (Willa Friday Food \u0026 Wine Mystery #1) by Jamie Lee Scott

Pasta Pinot \u0026 Murder (Willa Friday Food \u0026 Wine Mystery #1) Reviews

• 
  Kathy - Books & Munches

  An interesting story, but simply not quite what I expected for a murder mystery - cozy or not.
  
  The main character felt like she kept intruding and getting involved in things she shouldn't, asking questions that were none of her business. However nobody really remarked on it or fought her on what she was doing? That alone felt off to me.
  
  The story itself was good though; liked it. Wasn't too predictable either.
  
  And the food-aspect? Safe to say I loved that! Especially loved the recipes mentioned at the end of the book. Need to try those out sometime.
  
  3 / 5
• 
  Gina Lorax

  Tedious writing. Every little thing was described in more detail than necessary. She washed her hands and then she dried them. No! Really? You didn't leave them wet? Wow. She made a cup of coffee for like the third or fourth time and still described it step by step. Even though how she took the coffee was exactly the same. Then Willa carried her mug of coffee by the handle. Who cares? It doesn't move the story forward. It doesn't connect the reader to the character. It's just wasted words.
  
  Willa made coffee for her and Hattie. And then brought it to the table and then put the her coffee in front of her and the other coffee in front of Hattie. No?! Really? You mean you didn't put your coffee in front of Hattie?! Wow! Who'd have thunk it? 🤦🏻‍♀️
  
  The story itself could've been a lot more interesting if all the stupid, unimportant details were left out. It just made it wordy and hard to connect to the characters. I won't be reading any more in the series as I just don't care about Willa and the rest.
• 
  Trisha

  This was cute and I liked the recipes at the end. But for being #1 in the series, the book lacked most of the character information. It started kind of assuming you knew everyone and who was dating who and who had divorced. There were a lot of names to start so not really getting much intro to them was confusing and I kept forgetting who her ex-husband was and who Hattie was currently or had previous or never wanted to date. I didn't care enough to really clarify it all.
  
  and I thought the "who done it" was obvious and easy to guess.
• 
  Diane Wachter

  A Willa Friday Culinary Cozy Mystery, Bk 1, Nook-M, @ 2017, read 2/2/19. Fiction, mystery, vineyards, restaurants, food. When a food blogger/photographer/stylist goes to meet with her Mother-in-law's best friend for a charity fundraiser, she finds the woman dead in her own home. She gets involved because she suspects her M-I-L. Pretty far-fetched. She's not very bright confronting possible suspects. The real PD play it much closer to the vest when working to solve a crime. 2☆'s = Just Okay.
• 
  Teri

  Typical cozy with interesting premise. I didn't cringe from the heroine putting herself into ridiculous and dangerous situations by "investigating". (I'm not sure why people are ok with a lot of books doing this - there's being nosy in a small town way and then there's too stupid to live outside of a cozy mystery (I don't think there's an acronym for that .. TST-LOCM?)
  
  It's cute, it was free, I didn't feel the urge to smack her.. and there are interesting recipes at the end. 🤷🏼
  
  Sometimes that's enough.
  
  On a side note: the behind the scenes of food styling that was described is always fun to read. I mean I knew about ice cream being faked with mashed potatoes but not the foods she mentions. The author has a food industry background and it definitely shows.
• 
  Jillian

  A very quick, easy read. I find it hard to identify with a woman who makes her living photographing fake food and policemen who are happy to discuss a murder investigation with nosy locals. The narrative trips happily along but this is a world whose values I reject.
• 
  Gloria ~ mzglorybe

  3.5 star rating.
  
  A cozy mystery and recipes. Meet Willa Friday, food blogger and food photographer, which requires styling food for the photographs. I found the topic interesting, especially when they use "fake" food and drink to look real for a photo and what they use to do it. No wonder, I thought, my husband always asks me when he sees commercials for food..."why doesn't it look like that when you actually get one in your hand?" Well, it's cause there are professionals who arrange food or fake food to look its best.
  
  Willa lives with her ex-husband on a winery that his family owns which includes an upscale restaurant. In fact, her ex, Peter is a chef, and that is how they met. They are very amicable with each other even divorced.
  
  When Willa accidentally uncovers a top client has been murdered in her own home, in fact the victim is her mother-in-law's best friend, it opens a can of worms, that brings about some sleuthing on her part to find out who actually killed the woman. Humorous in parts, sad in others, interesting in many, I did enjoy the read and recommend it to any lover of clean, cozy mysteries.
• 
  Rachel

  Hmmm
  
  What I liked ...
  The price
  The setting -Sonoma Valley is gorgeous country!
  The length
  What I hope gets improved for the next book...
  More character development
  Less of a story rush - the length pushed the story to conclude without letting the characters become real and plot really unfold
• 
  Aղցela W.

  This was a short quick read that I didn't really connect to. The plot of this book was kind of weak, the recipes in this book were good. This was my first time reading this author. This book was well written with no errors in grammar or spelling.
• 
  Grace

  quick, easy, frivolous read. enjoyable, but not memorable.
• 
  Trish

  Decent first in series with a tasty foodie twist.
• 
  Meg

  A quick, easy read; a good 3.5*
• 
  Nola Arganbright

  A toast to murder
  
  A very good mystery. The plot was very strong and the subplots kept the reader guessing. Great characters and story development.j
• 
  Jess

  It's written like the 6th book in a series not the first. You have no description of the characters and no emotional connection to them. There was no mystery I had it figured out from the time the murderer was introduced. However there are some tasty recipes at the back and it's a really easy read. Great for a camping trip or bath tub relax.
• 
  Jane

  2.5 stars
• 
  Ambrosia

  This seemed like a cute set-up: cozy murder mystery in Sonoma wine country.
  
  But there are many holes in the plot (not the murder mystery - I didn't read that far). The main character constantly says that she loves her ex-husband but couldn't be his wife. Doesn't really explain that - other than he did have an affair. And they still.live together. But at 63%, she hadn't explained what's going on. (Or why she let him name their daughter "Tomorrow"!!!)
  
  And the food blogger/photographer MC sticks her nose into the murder - with no real explanation for why. Or why people let her push her way around.
  
  She's playing private investigator with no background, no real motivation, despite breaking down after finding the body. .
  
  Wtf.
  
  And she gets mad at her ex-mother-in-law because she doesn't want her college-aged daughter (who admittedly seems unusually sheltered) to know that someone she knows was murdered. But is it really reasonable that she won't find out? Even if it IS solved before she comes home?? Seems like a weak excuse to put a time pressure on the solution.
  
  The writing isn't horrible, but the characterizations could use a lot of work.
• 
  OpenBookSociety.com

  
  http://openbooksociety.com/article/pa...
  
  Title: Pasta Pinot & Murder
  Series: Willa Friday Food & Wine Mystery
  By: Jamie Lee Scott
  ASIN: B071HH5JR1
  Author’s Website:
  http://www.jamieleescott.com/
  Brought to you by OBS reviewer Andra
  
  
  Summary:
  
  Love food? Enjoy a nice glass of wine? How about a murder mystery?
  
  Food blogger Willa Friday is excited to start training her new assistant to make recipes and style food. And she��s excited that A Dish in Thyme is finally making enough money to hire an assistant. But she has other obligations too, like the food photography for the annual Whine & Roses Benefit poster.
  
  Dreading her meeting for the poster, Willa gets a surprise when she arrives for the meeting and the vineyard owner is dead.
  
  With her mother-in-law as the prime suspect, Willa reluctantly gets involved in the investigation. In the process, she learns of the many secrets the vineyard owners of Pear, California are hiding, which puts her directly in the killer’s line of fire.
  
  Review:
  
  I felt right at home with Willa in wine country. And now that I have finished the book – I ask myself – why have I never read a book by Jamie Lee Scott before? Pasta Pinot & Murder is the first in the new series “Willa Friday Food & Wine Mystery” by Jamie Lee Scott. I must say, right from the beginning I was comfortable with the storytelling and writing style as well as the flow of the story. The characters were also relatable – though I must say – who actually lives with their ex? I am interested in seeing where (if at all) that goes.
  
  This book (and I suspect entire series, as it gets written) will embody several things I enjoy – wine, food and photography. I was kept in the dark as to ‘whodunit’ for most of the story – which is exactly how I like my mysteries.
  
  The whole town and surrounding wine country brought back memories of a wine tour in California I took a number of years ago. I could visualize the wineries, the town and this made the story so relatable (well, except for the murder part, of course).
  
  Willa Friday is the main writer and owner of A Dish in Time food blog. Her blog is more than just about food; it is also about wine. She lives in the Sonoma Valley on a family owned winery along the Russian river (her ex-husbands family to be exact). The way Willa describes her work certainly makes me want to be food blogger and photographer:
  
  “…This was the fun of food styling and photography for me. The magic of making a mouthwatering plate of food, then taking pictures of my creation in all of its glory; the perpetual beautiful food or drink.”
  
  Willa has committed herself to the annual Whine and Roses benefit; a task it seems she is not too keen on:
  
  “I had to admit, I even got a sour taste in my mouth when W&R was mentioned.”
  
  Willa dreaded the meeting with Alice (organizer of the benefit), but it was a necessary evil, after all she did get paid well for this event. This is when the murder mystery begins for when Willa approaches Alice’s house, she notices that the door is slightly ajar. Hmmm…Willa enters the home, walking slowly into the kitchen area…and then she notices the shattered crystal pitcher and…. Alice dead on the floor.
  
  The list of potential suspects is long enough and includes Willa’s mother-in-law (oh…ex-mother-in-law actually). Since Willa is living at the winery, she feels a responsibility to figure out who killed Alice. From there the fun begins as Willa sleuths away. And of course there is the requisite police department – but it seems that they just can’t figure it out. Good thing Willa is giving them a hand ☺.
  
  I quite enjoyed Willa’s sarcastic wit and banter:
  
  “Hattie’s husband had died long ago, right after I married Peter. Alice’s poor husband was dying a long, slow death. That was mean. I didn’t mean it like that. Aw heck, I guess I did.”
  
  To reiterate, while I had suspicions about “whodunit”, I was pleased that my suspicions were not confirmed until the end. The author introduced the characters with just enough information and past history to make them part of the story, yet leaving us wanting more. I suspect (but will have to confirm this) that these characters will be featured more prominently in the books to come? A mystery for me to solve ☺
  
  As hoped, there are a number of recipes at the back and I can’t wait to try the Cucumber Avocado sandwich with Pomegranate mayo…sounds delicious!
  
  I found this mystery a delight to read and I will certainly seek out more titles by Jamie Lee Scott. My first foray into her writing was a success.
• 
  Kelsey

  I normally love books like this, that's why I picked it up. I loved that Willa was a food blogger and photographer... but man this book just made me really dislike Willa. (I'm currently 88% through it and DNF'ed it before I saw how far I was so I might actually finish it to see if it's the person I thought).
  
  I was into her until she started investigating the murder.
  
  For one, she GRILLS her MIL whose best friend was the person murdered (Alice), basically accusing her of doing it, a mere hour after the MIL finds out, while the MIL is literally sitting at a bar drinking (and we're told she almost NEVER drinks) and sobbing her eyes out.
  
  Then when she goes to give an official statement she grills the cops more than they grill her and they actually give her private case information??? LIke hellllllo?
  
  The next day she grills her MIL some more as she's still sad as heck (and hungover), and then asks if she has a key to Alice's house? To go check it for evidence? "Maybe I'll find something the cops didn't' and yet we're told before this point that Willa kinda dislikes Alice and never goes to her house except for events and this yearly meeting for a charity? And you think you're going to see something out of a place in a place you're in say 3 times a year? and the MIL just gives it to her to get her out of her hair (that's how I read it anyway).
  
  So she goes to the house and the husband is there (he was on vacation when it happened), and he's like 'um wtf?' 'lol just here to upstage the cops!' 'seems legit come on in' 'so how were you and your wife getting along' 'oh we're getting a divorce but she didn't want anyone to know, also here let me show you were we keep our secret security system and I'll let you copy the tapes and look them over while I go give my statement to the cops instead of like, having them over here overlooking them because my WIFE WAS MURDERED IN THIS HOUSE AND THIS MIGHT HELP FIND HER KILLER but I'll just give it to you random bored woman' AND THEN LEAVES HER ALONE IN THE HOUSE????? (also this is suspect AF? 'hi I'm the woman who found your wife dead, I now have a key to your house so please show me where you keep your secret security footage and leave me alone here to 'copy' them.')
  
  and then SHE doesn't even bother mentioning this to the cops 'oh hey I have a video of the killer walking into the house' and y'all, I literally put the book down and looked around in a 'wtf????" way.
  
  then she goes and blabs about the divorce (that Alice and her husband didn't want anyone to know about) to anyone that would listen, in public and is even... ecstatic when she tells her MIL and some other random friend of the MIL and Alice, book quote: "It took every ounce of energy not to smile. I loved knowing more than they did." LIKE you really can't respect Alice's wishes not to have her divorce public? If she wanted her two best friends to know she would have told them when she was alive.
  
  She never goes to the cops about anything, she tells OTHER PEOPLE not to go to the cops and they listen to her (????????), then when she finally tells the cops one little bit of news he's like 'oh okay I'll go talk to him' and she's just like 'UM I'm going too I DESERVE to be there' and that's when I dnf'ed the book after I was like 'BITCH No?' out loud in my empty room.
  
  And throughout it all she's like 'how did I get stuck in the middle of this?' BECAUSE YOU INSERTED YOURSELF???? You took a human sized shoehorn and just stuck it right in there! Wedged yourself in good and tight!
  
  I'm sure there's more I'm missing, I'm sure there's going to be more to annoy me if I finish the last... 12% of the book, but I'm done, I can't put any more energy into this book tonight
• 
  Myra

  I checked this out because it was free on Kindle. It had an interesting concept, as the main character was a food stylist and blogger, and it seemed like it would be quite fun to read. It was a quick read, and not very layered. I expect a murder mystery to have some level of complexity, but this did not. I'm okay with unlikable and/or unreliable narrators or victims or any sundry characters, but at least make it work. The premise was shallow at best, and as mentioned, I did read through it very quickly. That was only because I try not to DNF books as far as possible, otherwise this would have made the cut.
  
  The protagonist, Willa, just goes around inserting herself into the investigation when it is actually no business of hers. And somehow local law enforcement authorities are completely okay with this nonsense, and are even happy to divulge private details about the ongoing investigation. It is quite illogical, and God, the details. Such unnecessary details. We don't need to know that she dries her hands after washing them. Or that to eat something, you have to move it from the serving dish to your plate. Who knew things worked like that? Not us readers, I suppose.
• 
  Rita

  Sometimes I struggle with stars. If this is across the board comparison of all literature ever written, very few works would get beyond two stars and this would only get one. It's a simple story, little psychological development of the characters and no exploration of the great questions of life.
  
  Taken in its genre of cozy mystery, however, and especially in its subset of free, first-in-a-series, e-books, this gets four stars. It's an interesting story, realistic plot, plausible characters. There are a few typos, but not nearly as bad as some of these free books! While the main character is pushing into a police investigation, it falls mostly within believable nosiness, as opposed to some self- centered protagonists who believe they have a right to stick their fingers into every nook and cranny of an investigation and grill anyone they suspect of anything. Neither did I find it insipid. I wanted to know what happened and why.
• 
  Krystyna

  Truths, half truths and downright lies abound
  
  A good little read but I felt it could have done with a bit more oomph. Living with her ex and building a new career should be enough for anyone. However her ex mother-in-law is constantly getting her involved in her own schemes. One such leaves her discovering the body of her ex mother-in-law closest friend. Who would want to hurt her. Lies and half truths abound and even though she doesn't want to get involved, she does. Will she be able to uncover the truth in the Web around her? A different kind of storyline but really not for me.
• 
  Shirley Goetz

  Willa and Peter have a unique living arrangement and unique relatiship!
  
  I enjoyed this short book, fun read but are there really people like Willa, Peter and Hattie? Perhaps yes, perhaps no, but the author made made me wonder about it. Read it you will enjoy it be introduced to some interesting recipes. The cucumber avocado sandwich with pomegranate dressing sounds good enough to try.