Book Review: A Calculated Whisk by Victoria Hamilton

I was given a free e-copy of this novel by NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

A Calculated Whisk is the 10th book in the Vintage Kitchen Mysteries written by Victoria Hamilton. I have not read any of the previous novels nor have I read anything from Victoria Hamilton before.

In this novel, Jaymie is asked for help by Alicia Vance, whose husband Jace died in a supposed accident nearly five years ago. Alicia is Mia’s mother and Mia is Jocie’s friend at school, so Jaymie feels that she must help for the little girl’s sake. It doesn’t help matters when Detective Vestry later asks Jaymie to report their conversations back to Vestry. After a couple of stunted conversations, Alicia arranges to meet Jaymie back at Jaymie’s home to finally ask Jaymie the question that she has been alluding to, but Alicia never shows. When Jaymie walks through the woods with her daughter Jocie, collecting items for a school project, Jaymie finds the poor woman dead, having been stabbed with a vintage whisk. Fearing for her own family’s safety and for little Mia, Jaymie continues to investigate what Alicia had been so nervous about. Knowing it had something to do with her husband’s death, Jaymie has to delve deep into the past, before someone decides that Jaymie may know more than she does.

Following Jaymie’s trains of thought was interesting. There were moments where the author didn’t spell out exactly what she was thinking, and while I went in one direction, a page or two later revealed Jaymie had gone another route. I wish there had been more interaction with Jakob as it felt like he was just a “prop” until the ending. I also felt that there was something missing involving Jocie and Mia as Jaymie investigated her different hypotheses. I did enjoy that Jaymie was very smart about her own safety by never putting herself into a dangerous or foolish situation. She spoke with people, either in public spaces or with someone else close by, and kept Vestry and Jakob updated as she went. I also liked her few interactions with Jocie, and how open and honest she was with her little girl.

I expected more from the vintage kitchen angle, but this novel was more about personal pasts than archaeological. I had only one issue throughout the novel and that was the amount of people and how they all connected with each other and the mystery. At times, I felt confusion as to who was related to whom, who went to school with who, and how. I don’t believe I would call this novel a cozy mystery as the subject had more depth to it than a cozy mystery. The novel had layers that showed how crimes can affect more than just the victim and the immediate families. It also had psychological implications regarding how long it can take people to heal or hold grudges from their pasts. With so many suspects with so many different motives, it did make the story difficult at times to follow. Thus making the novel a slower read for me. Even with some confusion the mystery was still very strong, and I really didn’t expect the ending to go the way it did. The author adds in her note that there is an element of a true crime in her novel, which makes the whole thing a bit more heart-breaking when it is realized.

Overall I rate this novel 4 out of 5 stars. I also highly recommend beginning the series from the very first book, because there were references to past mysteries, people, and emotions that I didn’t feel I understood fully.