Tina Kashian

Tina Kashian has published 5 books. The recommended reading order starts with Hummus and Homicide (2018).
Tina Kashian is an American author who writes cozy mysteries, best known for her Kebab and Kitchen Mystery series. Before turning to fiction, she had a career as a mechanical engineer and an attorney, experiences that helped her through years of academic study. Kashian spent childhood summers by the Jersey shore and grew up immersed in the restaurant business, as her Armenian parents owned and operated a restaurant for thirty years. This background directly informs her popular book series, where the main character also hails from a New Jersey town and works with her family in their restaurant.
Her series began with Hummus and Homicide and has since expanded with numerous titles. Her books have been recognized as Barnes & Noble top picks and have appeared on the B&N bestseller's list. Readers can connect with Kashian through her website, where she offers a newsletter with recipes and contest information, and on social media platforms.
Shelf & Shadows
Order of Kebab Kitchen Mystery Books
- TagsmysteryDescriptionWhat happens when you trade your law career for the family restaurant—and stumble straight into murder? Lucy Berberian thought returning to her Jersey Shore hometown to help run Kebab Kitchen would be a fresh start, a chance to reconnect with her roots and escape the grind of corporate life. But when a body turns up and the investigation points uncomfortably close to home, Lucy realizes that hummus recipes aren't the only family secrets simmering in the kitchen. Suddenly she's navigating more than just Mediterranean menus and her mother's matchmaking schemes. There's a killer to catch, a restaurant to save, and a whole town watching to see if the lawyer-turned-restaurateur can handle the heat. Lucy's sharp legal mind might just be her best asset as she digs into motives, alibis, and the tangled relationships of Ocean Crest's tight-knit community. This cozy mystery serves up the perfect blend of savory food, family drama, and small-town intrigue. Kashian creates a warm, inviting world where the scent of grilled kebabs mingles with danger, and where Lucy's journey back home becomes something far more complicated—and deadly—than she ever imagined. If you love your mysteries with a side of baklava and a protagonist who's still figuring out where she belongs, pull up a chair at Kebab Kitchen.Publication dateFebruary 27, 2018Amazon rating4.3/5Print length320LanguageEnglishPublisherKensington
- TagsmysterycrimeDescriptionA family-run Mediterranean restaurant. A murder weapon hidden in flaky pastry. Lucy Berberian returns to her hometown to help at her parents' kebab kitchen, trading her Philadelphia law career for the chaos of Ocean Crest, New Jersey. She's barely settled into the rhythm of hummus prep and customer service when a body turns up—and the crime scene points straight back to the restaurant. The victim had enemies. The suspects multiply. Lucy's got a sharp legal mind and a sharper sense that something's wrong with the official investigation. She starts asking questions, digging into small-town secrets that some would rather keep buried. Between managing the grill, dodging her mother's matchmaking, and navigating old flames, Lucy's got her hands full. But when the killer sets their sights closer to home, she realizes the stakes are higher than a bad Yelp review. This is a cozy mystery with Mediterranean flavor, family drama, and a heroine who knows her way around both a courtroom and a kitchen. The baklava is sweet. The murder is not.Publication date2018
- TagsmysterycrimeDescriptionWhat happens when family loyalty collides with murder in a small-town restaurant? Lucy Berberian returns to Ocean Crest, New Jersey, to help run her family's Mediterranean restaurant, Kebab Kitchen. The scent of grilled lamb and warm pita fills the air. The boardwalk hums with summer tourists. But beneath the surface of this seaside town, tensions simmer. When a body turns up and suspicion falls close to home, Lucy can't stand by and watch. She knows the kitchen. She knows the regulars. She knows this town better than the police give her credit for. Armed with sharp instincts and a stubborn streak inherited from her Armenian-American family, Lucy starts asking questions. The answers lead her into places she didn't expect—old grudges, hidden motives, secrets that taste bitter on the tongue. The stakes are personal. The clock is ticking. Lucy must untangle the truth before someone she loves pays the price. Tina Kashian serves up a cozy mystery with Mediterranean flavor, family warmth, and just enough danger to keep you turning pages. One Feta in the Grave delivers comfort food for mystery lovers—savory, satisfying, and seasoned with heart.Publication date2019
- Tagsmysteryliterary-fictioncrimeDescriptionLucy Berberian returns to Ocean Crest, New Jersey, where the holidays bring more than just festive cheer to her family's Mediterranean restaurant—they bring a body under the mistletoe. When a murder disrupts the seasonal rush at Kebab Kitchen, Lucy finds herself caught between preparing moussaka for hungry customers and untangling the motives of a killer who struck during the most wonderful time of the year. The investigation pulls Lucy deeper into the secrets of her seaside town, where everyone seems to have something to hide beneath their holiday smiles. With her family's restaurant at the center of the chaos and suspicion falling on people she knows, Lucy can't just stand by and let the wrong person take the fall. She's got to balance her duties at Kebab Kitchen with some serious sleuthing, all while the clock ticks down to Christmas and the pressure mounts from every direction. This cozy mystery serves up the perfect blend of Mediterranean flavors, small-town charm, and holiday atmosphere with a side of suspense. Kashian delivers a warm, engaging whodunit that captures the chaos of running a family business during the busiest season while keeping readers guessing until the final page. It's comfort food for mystery lovers—satisfying, flavorful, and just the right amount of spice to keep you turning pages late into the winter night.Publication date2020
- Tagsmysteryliterary-fictionDescriptionThis cozy mystery serves up murder alongside Mediterranean cuisine. Lucy Berberian returns to her family's New Jersey kebab restaurant, trading her law career for the grill and the dining room. She's barely settled into aprons and spice blends when a body turns up, and suddenly she's navigating more than just her overbearing family's expectations. The stakes are personal. Someone in Ocean Crest is a killer, and Lucy can't rely on the local police to sort it out fast enough. She starts asking questions, poking into places she probably shouldn't, all while managing the chaos of a family-run restaurant where everyone has an opinion and no one holds back. The investigation pulls her deeper into the town's secrets, and the closer she gets to the truth, the more dangerous things become. Kashian balances the warmth of family dynamics with genuine suspense, giving readers a protagonist who's sharp, relatable, and determined to protect what matters.Publication date2020
Frequently Asked Questions about Tina Kashian
Tina Kashian's Kebab Kitchen Mystery series is best enjoyed in the order they were published. The series follows the same main characters and ongoing plotlines, so reading them chronologically will provide the fullest experience of the characters' development and the unfolding mysteries. The first book in the series is Hummus and Homicide. Following this with Stabbed in the Baklava, One Feta in the Grave, Mistletoe, Moussaka, and Murder, and then On the Lamb will allow readers to fully appreciate the continuity of the storylines and the progression of the characters within the Kebab Kitchen setting.
A good starting point for Tina Kashian's books is the first book in her Kebab Kitchen Mystery series, Hummus and Homicide, published in 2018. This novel introduces readers to the cozy mystery setting and the main characters who will appear throughout the series. Reading this book will allow you to follow the characters and their adventures in the order they were intended, providing a complete and satisfying introduction to Kashian's work. Subsequent books in the series build upon the established characters and world.
While it is possible to read Tina Kashian's Kebab Kitchen Mystery books as standalones, it is recommended to read them in publication order. The series features recurring characters and plot threads that are best understood when experienced sequentially. Reading Hummus and Homicide first, followed by Stabbed in the Baklava, One Feta in the Grave, Mistletoe, Moussaka, and Murder, and On the Lamb will offer a more cohesive narrative and allow for a deeper connection with the characters and their ongoing lives and cases.
Tina Kashian writes series novels. Her main body of work is the Kebab Kitchen Mystery series, which features a consistent set of characters and a continuing narrative across multiple books. Each book in the series presents a new mystery for the characters to solve within the setting of a Kebab Kitchen. While individual mysteries are resolved within each book, the overarching character arcs and relationships develop over the course of the series.
Tina Kashian has written five books in the Kebab Kitchen Mystery series. These include Hummus and Homicide (2018), Stabbed in the Baklava (2018), One Feta in the Grave (2019), Mistletoe, Moussaka, and Murder (2020), and On the Lamb (2020). All of these books are part of the same ongoing series and are set within the same fictional universe, featuring the same main characters.
The first book Tina Kashian wrote in the Kebab Kitchen Mystery series is Hummus and Homicide. This novel was published in 2018 and introduced readers to the characters and the setting of the series. It establishes the premise of a cozy mystery centered around a Kebab Kitchen and its inhabitants, setting the stage for the subsequent books in the series.
The most recent book written by Tina Kashian is On the Lamb, published in 2020. This is the fifth book in the Kebab Kitchen Mystery series. The book continues the adventures of the characters introduced in earlier installments, presenting a new mystery for them to unravel. Following this release, there have been no further books published by the author in this series.
Tina Kashian writes cozy mysteries. Her books are set in a Kebab Kitchen and feature amateur sleuths solving crimes. The genre is characterized by its generally lighthearted tone, focus on community, and the absence of excessive violence or gore, which are typical elements of traditional mystery fiction.
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Kelly Lane
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We verified the reading order for Tina Kashian's books by cross-referencing official publication dates, ISBN databases, and publisher catalogs.
Last verified: July 2026
Shelf & Shadows. (…). “Tina Kashian Books in Order.” Retrieved …, from https://www.shelfandshadows.com/authors/tina-kashian












