Book Review: Essence of Foul Play

Essence of Foul Play

Essence of Foul Play is a great start to a new cozy mystery series with a unique hook.

• Series: Aroma Wellness Mystery (Book 1)

• Written by: Daryl Wood Gerber

• Publication date: March 25, 2025

• Mystery type: Cozy mystery

Emma Brennan is opening a new spa with therapy rooms, a sales shop, and a cafe stocked with meditative and delicious goodies. When a rival spa owner gets bludgeoned, fingers start pointing at Emma. And with the anti-New Age anything posse badmouthing her around town, Emma realizes she’ll have to solve the mystery herself if she wants to save her spa.

This new cozy mystery series offers up a unique spa hook and a beautiful setting. The spa, known as the Aroma Wellness Spa, is brand new, freshly painted, and radiates good vibes. It is located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, a gorgeous town off the coast of California. The spa is the perfect spot to get away—even if the getaway is imaginary and located in a book.

Author Daryl Wood Gerber excels at writing lovely descriptions and really shows off her skills in Essence of Foul Play when describing the many different spa treatments and products.

The amateur sleuth, Emma, is sweet, likable, and supported by a great cast of characters. She has a wonderful grandmother who helped her get the spa set up and a super adorable Birman cat named Vivi.

Some of the characters from Daryl Wood Gerber’s Fairy Garden Mystery Series make a crossover appearance in Essence of Foul Play. This was really fun. (Note: You don’t have to read the Fairy Garden Mysteries to “get” these characters or understand what is happening in Essence of Foul Play.)

As with all Daryl Wood Gerber books, the characters’ names are included in a handy list at the start of the book, so you can refer back to the list any time you feel overwhelmed or want to check on who is who. This character list helps with the mystery aspect of the story, especially if you like to try to solve the mystery with the sleuth.

I really enjoyed Essence of Foul Play. I think it is a good start to what will be a very successful series, and I look forward to reading the next book.

To learn more about how the author wrote Essence of Foul Play and her other cozy mysteries, check out this Cozy Crime Reads interview with Daryl Wood Gerber.

Disclosures: This page contains affiliate links. Cozy Crime Reads may earn a commission on qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Cozy Crime Reads received an advanced reader copy of Essence of Foul Play from Net Galley and Kensington Cozies.