Last March, I reviewed Debra Sennefelder’s first Food Blogger mystery, The Uninvited Corpse. http://bit.ly/2JsXEtx. I said it was a promising start, with an amateur sleuth with an unusual career as a food blogger. I was very enthusiastic about the supporting cast and the potential. Unfortunately, the characters are much weaker in this second book, The Hidden Corpse.

The disappearance of Lily Barnhart, a member of the Planning & Zoning committee, has everyone in Jefferson, Connecticut abuzz. Food blogger Hope Early has other concerns. Her elderly neighbor Peggy needs help. Peggy doesn’t want her daughter to know that she fell asleep, and a pan on the stove set off the smoke alarm. Hope later regrets her decision not to inform Peggy’s daughter. Hope is the one who finds Peggy’s house on fire, and she never mentioned Peggy’s memory issues. And, there are two bodies found in the house.

The police chief and the investigating detective both warn Hope not to get involved, but she’s nosy. A retired mystery author encourages Hope, who asks a few too many questions for comfort of some powerful people. She finds a warning nailed to her door, but that’s not going to stop her.

The recipes are enticing. While Hope’s asking questions about murder, she’s also talking classes and learning more about blogging and food photography. That information is interesting. However, Hope’s attitude in this mystery alienates even her best friends. The Hidden Corpse is a weak mystery, and the other characters don’t offer much support this time around.

Debra Sennefelder’s website is www.debrasennefelder.com

The Hidden Corpse by Debra Sennefelder. Kensington Books, 2019. ISBN 9781496715937 (paperback), 304p.

*****
FTC Full Disclosure – I received a copy of the book to review for a journal.