A Side of Murder

I wanted to start this series because the covers are so cute. And the books lived up to the covers!
Cape Cod is a great setting. The water, the boats, and the restaurants make for a fun place to ‘hang out' while we solve the mystery.
Sam is a great character! She has her faults, but really wants to do good by people. It really makes you root for her. Jenny, Miles, Krista, Helene, and Jason are wonderful as well. They all try to support her and I really liked their conversations at the end, so we see what they were thinking throughout the events of the book.
The romance is slow to start and has a few misunderstandings, but isn't stretched to ridiculous lengths. It is sweet and adds some caring and love to the book.
The foodie title is good because it gives Sam the opportunity to be chef or reviewer. Diogi is one of the best animals in all cozies. I am totally in love with him.
The red herrings were really good red herrings!!! I changed my mind so many times about who the murderer was. The final clue was so clever! I never would have caught that. I did figure out part of the solution and was mentally screaming at Sam to not trust that guy. But there will still twists that I didn't expect.
Overall, this was a really strong start to the series. I will be reading the next one right away!

See my whole review at https://novelsalive.com/2021/03/02/4-star-review-a-side-of-murder-by-amy-pershing/