A Parfait Crime (A Five-Ingredient Mystery #9), by Maya Corrigan

 Publication October 24, 2023

What a delight. Just like Agatha Christie's "The Mousetrap", it kept me guessing until the end. The author does an excellent job weaving modern day murder into the framework of "The Mousetrap," all without giving away its ending, either. As a once-upon-a-time theater buff, both on and off-stage, I thoroughly enjoyed the interactions of the cast and how the casting put main character Val's relationship with Bram in the spotlight, so to speak. Her novice stage actress questions do an excellent job of letting readers unfamiliar with theater understand what is going on, too, as well as the frequent terminology. I'd also forgotten Bram's magic skills, so that was a fun surprise. I did feel like I was right there in the theater with them, especially since doing a reading of a play can be just as stressful and require almost as much preparation as acting it out, a reminder of the teamwork/community of actors needed to make it work. That the play was a known classic would have added that much more pressure. Toss in murder and, well, real murder, and  things were definitely stressful.

I won't belabor the plot, however. The blurb does an excellent job of that and, well, like the mystery of the play, I don't want to give away too much. I'll just say the plot flowed, with occasional pauses that involved food (have snacks handy as you read) and interactions between the characters. I give kudos to author Maya Corrigan for her obvious attention to detail and research that made it all come together. The various characters felt like people we might want to as friends and the five-ingredient recipes at the end will help you deal with the hunger the food sections will create. In the meantime, you'll learn more about the connections between the regular characters, not to mention even some birding expertise. 

One of the things I most appreciated was the inclusion of how our protectors and rescuers are supported in dealing with the trauma that they may encounter on any given day. I mean, let's face it, it has to be traumatic to find not just a dead body from a house fire but a skeletal body in the same house in a freezer. Nope, not explaining. You'll just have to read the book. Thanks #NetGalley and #KensingtonBooks - #KensingtonCozies for giving me a sneak peek at Val and Granddad's world. I thoroughly enjoyed it and how everyone pulled together to solve crimes. And, loved the ending!