It’s my stop today on the blog tour for Eat, Drink and Drop Dead by T.C. LoTempio. Many thanks to Lori from Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours for the invite.
NOTE: This post contains review + author interview. There’s also a giveaway at the end of the post so please participate. 🙂
Review of Eat, Drink and Drop Dead
Title: Eat, Drink and Drop Dead (A Tiffany Austin Food Blogger Mystery #1)
Author: T.C. LoTempio
Published on: 4 April 2023
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Review
Food Critic and Blogger Tiffany Austin eats for a living. Her six-month trial period at Southern Style magazine is up and she wonders if she’ll be made permanent. The rumor is that the management is making a choice between Tiffany and a rival columnist Jenny Lee Plumm.
Former chef Tiffany (trained in CIA – Culinary Institute of America) knows she has a battle in her hands. But she didn’t realize it would result in a death. Tiffany and Jenny have a nasty argument in public and Tiffany says she would kill Jenny. The same night, Jenny is found dead. No bonus points to guess who the main suspect is!!
Assisted by her close friend Hilary, Siamese cat Lily and King Charles Cavalier puppy Cooper, Tiffany starts to investigate. After all, she has to prove her innocence!
What a fantastic, fun, and totally engrossing cozy series debut. I remember reading LoTempio’s The Time for Murder is Meow a couple of years ago and when I received a blog tour invite, I knew I had to read this series debut.
First, the series theme. I LOVE IT! A chef turned food critic who eats at local restaurants and reviews/rates them for a living. What a dream come true moment! Don’t get me started on all the mouth-watering dishes that Tiffany gets to eat – from cheesecakes to empanadas, reading this book made me drool.
Next, the writing – LoTempio’s the best. I loved the storytelling, the dash of humor and romance, inclusion of furry babies, and everything else. Ooh, speaking of romance, Tiffany gets a makes-you-weak-in-the-knees kiss…. *hearts*
When Tiffany and Jenny fight in the office and Tiffany says she would kill Jenny, the whole world hears them. So, when that same night, Jenny is found dead, the local cops would obviously suspect Tiffany, right? But Tiffany is innocent. In fact, Jenny had asked Tiffany to meet her at a restaurant – and Tiffany was waiting for her when she was ‘busy’ getting murdered.
In spite of being warned (multiple times) not to interfere in a police investigation, Tiffany starts to poke her nose where it doesn’t belong. She HAS to know who killed Jenny. And that ‘HAS to know’ comes at a price – the killer might be aware of the fact that Tiffany is onto them.
Speaking of killer, their identity was a huge shocker. I was like, jaw dropped, heart skipped a beat, WOW! I didn’t see it coming (the killer’s identity and not my heart skipping a beat.) Did I mention the weak-in-your-knees kiss? Don’t mind if I repeat myself, eh… my gosh, that kiss… so lovey-dovey!!!
I enjoyed reading every bit of this fantabulous series debut. This is one of the best cozy debuts I have read this year. If you are looking for a super fun, unique and engrossing cozy mystery, you might want to give Eat, Drink and Drop Dead by T.C. LoTempio a try.
Interview with T.C. LoTempio
Hello T.C. LoTempio and welcome to my blog, The Book Decoder. Please tell me and my readers about yourself.
Hello and thanks for having me today! I’m a former New York born New Jersey bred gal who moved to Arizona three years ago. I retired from my day job and now I write full tiime. I write the Nick and Nora mysteries and the Urban Tails Pet Shop mysteries which are published by Beyond the Page, and my new series is the Tiffany Austin Food blogger series published by Severn House.
A first in new series, Eat, Drink and Drop Dead, released recently. Tell us more.
Eat, Drink and Drop Dead is the first in the Tiffany Austin series. She’s an ex-chef who returns to her hometown of Branson, Georgia and takes a job as a food blogger on a local magazine. When a co-worker she had an argument with is found dead, she finds herself the number one suspect and has to work, along with her BFF Hilary, to clear her name.
What’s the inspiration behind Tiffany Austin Food Blogger Mystery?
I would have to say my love of food. I thought it would be fun to write a series about a food blogger and by making her an ex-chef I lcan ive vicarously through Tiffany’s food reviews LOL
What’s next for T.C. Lotempio? What are you currently working on?
I have the third Pet Shop mystery coming out in late June, and the next Tiffany Austin, A CRUST TO DIE FOR, will be out either late this year or early next. Then of course there is my Nick and Nora series. The seventh will be out a little later next year because it’s a Halloween mystery!
What does an ideal day in your life look like?
An ideal day in my life would be hours of uninterrupted writing! A typical day isn’t as calm LOL. I find myself busier since I retired than when I worked full time!
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The Book Decoder 
Thank you for the review.
😊