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Faith Martin
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THE BIRTHDAY MYSTERY an absolutely gripping whodunit (Jenny Starling) Paperback – December 10, 2018

by FAITH MARTIN (Author)
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 11,815 ratings
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Discover a new series of whodunits by million-selling author Faith Martin. These classic-style mysteries will have you scratching your head to work out who the murderer is.

Meet Jenny Starling: travelling cook and reluctant amateur detective.

Please note this book was first published as “BIRTHDAYS CAN BE MURDER” under Faith Martin’s pen name JOYCE CATO.

Jenny Starling is catering the twenty-first birthday party of upper-class twins, Alicia and Justin.

She arrives at their parent’s country house and is immediately met by the police. A young man has drowned in the pond. Was it an accident or murder?

But the birthday party goes ahead. Then just after midnight, everyone gathers for a champagne toast . . . and one of the guests falls down dead. The police are baffled and there is a whole party full of suspects.

When it comes to someone adding the extra ingredient of poison to her own precious recipes, Jenny isn't going to take it lying down. She has a reputation to protect.

Jenny Starling won't stop until the murderer is found.

This is the first of a series of enjoyable murder mysteries with a great cast of characters and baffling crimes which will keep you in suspense to the final page.

Perfect for fans of classic whodunits by authors like Agatha Christie, LJ Ross, TE Kinsey, and J.R. Ellis.

What readers are saying about THE BIRTHDAY MYSTERY

“It felt (in a way) like I was reading a young Miss Marple, with Jenny's straight talking and the way she solved the mystery.

It looks like we are in for another great series.” Louise

“I’m a huge fan of Faith Martin’s Hillary Greene series and I have a feeling I’m going to get just as hooked on the Jenny Starling series.” Nerys

“Plenty of action in the book with some light humour.” Barbara

“Probably even more atmospheric than the Hillary stories.” Jane

JENNY STARLING

In her late twenties, Jenny Starling is an impressive woman. Physically, she stands at 6ft 1inch, and has shoulder-length black hair and blue eyes. Curvaceous and sexy, she’s a modern single woman, living the lifestyle that suits her – that of a travelling cook. Her famous (and now very rich) father, is a ‘celebrity’ cook, divorced from Jenny’s mother. Jenny drives a disreputable cherry-red van, and is happy travelling the country catering events and cooking great food. She is on a one-woman crusade to bring back ‘real’ food. And definitely doesn’t like having to divert her attention from achieving the perfect Dundee cake or creating a new sauce recipe by having to solve a murder. She finds crime very distracting, especially when there is chocolate to temper or pike to poach. Nevertheless, she is very good at reading people, and with a quick and agile brain, becomes very good at unmasking killers. And her always-undaunted sense of humour goes a long way in keeping her sane when all around her people are dropping like flies.

FAITH MARTIN is the best-selling author of the DETECTIVE HILLARY GREENE mysteries, which have sold over 1 million copies globally in just over a year.

More JENNY STARLING mysteries coming soon. Join the Joffe Books mailing list to be the first to hear about the next in the series.
Previous page
  1. Book 1 of 7
    Travelling Cook Mysteries
  2. Print length
    243 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publication date
    December 10, 2018
  5. Dimensions
    5 x 0.61 x 8 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    178931061X
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1789310610
  8. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Joffe Books (December 10, 2018)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 243 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 178931061X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1789310610
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 11.7 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5 x 0.61 x 8 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 11,815 ratings

About the author

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Faith Martin

Faith Martin

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Faith Martin has been writing for over 30 years, and JOFFE BOOKS have reissued all of her popular, multi-million bestselling DI Hillary Greene novels in new updated editions, and are set to publish the new novels in this continuing series. Box sets are available. JOFFE have also reissued all her modern but classic-style whodunits featuring amateur sleuth/travelling cook Jenny Starling and vicar's wife Monica Noble.

HARPERCOLLINS HQ, have published her series of 1960's-set Ryder & Loveday novels and she is currently busy writing a new series for HQ, set in the 1920's, which feature locked-roomed mysteries, the first of which, MURDER BY CANDLELIGHT is now available.

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
11,815 global ratings
Very good writer
4 Stars
Very good writer
I have started reading some English writers & almost immediately get bored. Sorry. But this one, as I started, I thought it would be the same. NOT. This is a good author, one that can regularly use 5 syllable words, moves the story along at a good pace & develops good characters. The story, unpredictable. I bought the next one.
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Top reviews from the United States

Frog Princess
5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting ending
Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2024
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The murderer is not revealed until the last few pages and then is a real surprise. So much other characters appear to be the one, but none of them are actually the real killer. Definitely one of Faith Martin’s best books.
One person found this helpful
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Tundra Gal
4.0 out of 5 stars Good read
Reviewed in the United States on August 31, 2023
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A bit shy on of suspenseful nail biting, but a good story.. It could use some beefing up and a bit more character. development. Not enough gritty build up.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Mystery…
Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2024
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And an amazing cook who produces scrumptious food and also solves murder mysteries, well what’s not to like? I also love that she is a big and tall beautiful woman (several prominent female actresses came to mind) with what to me would appear to be Mensa level reasoning skills. I couldn’t help but laugh as she confounded the professionals and skipped ahead of them in solving the murder. Excited to read the next book in this series!
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C. Ralston
3.0 out of 5 stars WRITER IS OBSESSED WITH SIZE
Reviewed in the United States on May 27, 2019
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The book is okay, the main character is likeable and the murder mystery is good but this author is absolutely obsessed with size and weight. The main character is 6'1 and takes a size 18 but the author seems to take great delight in stressing how a size 18 is fat. Another character tells her if she weighed 40 pounds less he would marry her. The author loves the words junoesque and voluptuous. At one point the main character, Jenny Starling, desires to leave a room quickly and the author says "Jenny needed no second prompting, and was out of the door like a greyhound. Given her full and rounded figures, it was an impressive accomplishment," Virtually every conversation or descriptive paragraph dwells on Jenny's size. There are other characters in the book that do not feel full formed because all we know about them is that they are fat. This book would be much better if the author had concentrated on fully forming the characters.
One person found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars very deceptive
Reviewed in the United States on November 9, 2023
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Difficult to narrow down a suspect. This is the third book I’ve read tater than the first. Not sure why but just didn’t like it as much as the 3rd and 4th books. Still looking forward to reading the second book now. Faith Martin a very good writer!!
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Dennis A. Pascale
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Classic Cozy Mystery
Reviewed in the United States on March 9, 2019
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The Birthday Mystery is everything I want in a classic cozy mystery. Faith Martin proves that she has an ability to write in the tradition of Agatha Christie yet with a modern flair. Her amateur detective, Jenny Starling, is a great character I cared about and can't to find out more about. She is cook who is hired in wealthy circles, due to her culinary skills and like Miss Marple with her knitting, Jenny sometimes cooks to get her thoughts in order. I love a classic whodunit. I enjoy today's cozy mysteries, (the kind that the Hallmark Channel loves to make), because the main characters are who I want to read about again and again. However I find many cozy writers don't create a solid mystery or puzzle for the reader to solve. Sometime the amateur sleuths simple stumble on the killer who just before they can kill our hero a friend or lover saves them and the killer is caught. Or even worse, the killer seems to be chosen at random and there isn't any solid clues that lead to the solution. Faith Martin creates characters we care about but also plants some fair play clues with a solution that may not be shocking but makes sense. I thought I guessed the killer until my suspect died. Eventually I was able to guess the true culprit however I was still surprised by certain answers in the resolution of the crime. For example, a clue left at the scene of the crime had me believing it was there for one reason yet I was pleasantly surprised to see that it actually proved to be there for a different reason and one that actually pointed to the real killer in a way I didn't see. (I don't mean to be so vague but I really don't want to spoil the puzzle). I think Jenny Starling is a likable sleuths with a keen mind. Her job allows for her to be on hand at some exciting venues (kinda like how being a mystery writer helped Jessica Fletcher be on hand in some exotic places). Yes, this is a typical country-house whodunit, with all the proper mystery cliches. However it is executed in the proper way that all the good classics are. I plan to read the entire series and look forward to more of Faith Martin.
10 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Loved this mystery. I thought enjoyed the main character😀. I read this all in o me sitting on a snowy afternoon. I ranked it 5 stars as I couldn't stop till I was done
Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2024
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I have enjoyed books by Faith Martin and recommend her Hillary Greene series and look forward to reading all the Jenny Sterling 📚.
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Julia
4.0 out of 5 stars Surprise ending!
Reviewed in the United States on March 27, 2023
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Author very successfully wove a plausible and surprise solution to this confusing story! Worth the read, and likable characters, especially the protagonist
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Top reviews from other countries

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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Jenny and the scheming twin
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 5, 2024
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What a fantastic book, I simply could not put it down. Twists and turns, the traveling cook has a razor sharp mind for solving a convoluted murder. I loved the DI in this book, intelligence and a knowing that he was stumped, he needed Jenny to spell it out who did the deed and how. You will love it, highly recommend.
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Ubiane
4.0 out of 5 stars easy read
Reviewed in France on January 11, 2023
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A perfect book for an easy and quite amusing read on a wet evening when there's nothing of interest on the television.
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Woodbend
5.0 out of 5 stars She does it again.
Reviewed in Canada on September 11, 2020
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Another great read by this excellent author. She crafts her mystery by cleverly leading you along clue after clue. And again, the identity of the murderer was a complete surprise. Miss Jenny Starling is a force to be reckoned with, and I am looking forward to more books featuring her.
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Daniela Leonardini
5.0 out of 5 stars Ottimo x rilassarsi durante le ferie
Reviewed in Italy on August 3, 2021
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Interessante ed accattivante con avvenimenti in continua evoluzione che tengono sempre viva l’attenzione di chi legge
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Joost Boswijk
3.0 out of 5 stars Not much of a mystery
Reviewed in the Netherlands on February 21, 2021
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This book makes a few hours of pleasant reading, but as a mystery novel it’s not much. Right from the moment of the murder you can easily guess who did it, who had the means, the motive and the opportunity. In that respect the Hilary Green books are much better. But this book won’t bore you.
Aside from that, there are some blatant mistakes. No one could cook a six course diner for twenty guest, party nibbles for quite a few more and two cakes, one a six layered one, almost single handed in one day with just an Aga, a big oven and a microwave. And nobody in his right mind would open a champagne bottle with a cork screw. At a festive party the waiters might show of by sabering - an idiotic way to open a bottle IMNSHO - or pop the cork. But a cork screw? Looks pretty dangerous to me.
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