One Potato, Two Potato, Dead is light, relaxing story with a smidgen of mystery tossed in. If you have not read the previous A Farm-to-Fork Mystery novels, you will not be lost. The author provides the necessary information for new readers. Angie Turner is not herself in this story. She is moody, short-tempered and negative (it is off-putting). Angie has her farm with Mabel (the hen), Precious (the goat) and Dom (St. Bernard). I am particularly fond of Dom (though I could do without the endless walks Angie and Dom take). She co-owns The county Seat with her best friend, Felicia. While Angie is a whiz in the kitchen, she leaves the front of the house to Felicia. There are a variety of characters that include Estebe Blackstone (chef at the restaurant), Hope (dishwasher, college student training to be a chef), Bar Travis (owner/bartender of the Red Eye), Ian McNeal (the boyfriend) and Sheriff Allen Brown (who loves Angie's baked goods). Felicia is dating Taylor Simpson who runs the local homeless mission and Angie wants to check him out to see if he is suitable for her friend. I will say that Taylor is dedicated to the mission. Hope is infatuated with Professor Daniel Monet, a visiting professor and chef from Canada. When Daniel turns up dead the morning after Hope gives him a ride home, she is at the top of Sheriff Brown's suspect list. It does not help that her fingerprints are on a wine glass near the body. There is little investigation into the murder. When Angie tries to give Sheriff Brown information, he tells her to keep her nose out of the investigation (which she cannot do). It is not apparent that the sheriff is investigating (it is not mentioned). There needed to be proactive investigating by Angie and Sheriff Brown. Angie feels Hope is young, innocent and naïve and wants to protect her. There is a lack of suspects, and, when the killer is finally introduced, it is obvious that this person is the guilty party. Most of the novel comprises Angie doing day-to-day activities like feeding her animals (twice a day), walking Dom, cooking, working on her cookbook, chatting with friends, eating, driving, working at the restaurant, getting ready for the day, and wondering why Ian took off without talking to her (he left for England the day after the murder). There were a couple of mentions that Angie's neighbors are out of town. I kept expecting that to play into the story (like the killer using their house as a hideout), but it never did (then why was it mentioned more than once). The books pacing is mild (it lacked action). This is not my favorite book by Lynn Cahoon. It needed more substance.
