An Untimely Death By Susan Wittig Albert 2003. This is the title of the
first story in a collection of short stories about herbalist China Bayles, a
former criminal defense attorney who now lives in Pecan Springs, a small town in
Texas. Over 40, she has settled down with husband, Mike McQuaid, a former
homicide detective who becomes a professor of criminal justice in Central Texas
State University. Mike's teen-age son lives with them. Owning a small business
is part of the background. China owns a shop aptly titled Thyme and Seasons
Herbs, and her best friend, Ruby Wilcox, owns the Crystal Cave a New Age shop.
The short stories are each followed by recipes that contain herbs. Herbs can
contribute to good taste in food, to good health, and some can cause serious
illness, even death. This book is listed also as a garden mystery.
Grounds For Murder By Sandra Balzo. Maggy Thorson, owner of the
coffeehouse Uncommon Grounds, is talked into becoming the head of the 2nd annual
Barista competition when the original leader is murdered. A barrista must
demonstrate how adept she/he is at making excellent coffee based drinks. Maggie
is hard-pressed to find time due to the many duties she has as a small business
owner who gets small profits for long hours, pressures from employees, teaching
how to make a good espresso, and competing with chain stores. She has to
understand quickly how a barrista competition works, how each has to prepare an
espresso, a cappucino and a signature drink for each judge. That is 12 drinks in
15 minutes for the 4 judges each get 3. Despite the many things she has to do,
Maggy manages to escape danger, solve the crime, and oversee a successful
competition.
Chocolate Dipped Death By Sammi Carter 2006. Subtitled "A Candy Shop
Mystery", this novel begins with a flurry of action because Abby Smith, a former
corporate attorney who owns the Divinity candy shop is busy getting ready for
the Tenth Annual Confectionary Competition, a big event in the small town of
Paradise, Colorado. When after years of being away, the beautiful Savannah
arrives to compete, Abby is warned that trouble will happen. Abby ignores the
warnings, but the naysayers turn out to be right and Abby has near brush with
death. She can call on her police detective friend Pine Jawarski for assistance.
Recipes for such delights as Srawberry Bonbons and Cappucino Divinity are
included in the book.
The Silver Needle Mystery By Laura Childs 2008. Theo Browning is the
owner of the Indigo Tea Shop in beautiful, historic Charleston, South Carolina.
At the opening of the Charleston Tea Festival, the shop has a great deal of
business. Customers enjoy the teas and desserts that Theo serves in the shop and
in the affairs that she caters. But the opening is a shock when the director is
shot in front of the audience. Theo becomes involved in finding who did it.
Recipes and tea time tips are included.
Some Like It Hot Buttered By Jeffrey Cohen 2007. Death by popcorn
becomes evident when a corpse is found in row 5, seat 18, of a movie theater.
Characters include Elliott Freed, the movie theater owner, and police officer
Levant (a lady).
Conant-Park, Jessica and Conant, Susan. This daughter (Jessica) and mother
(Susan) write about Chloe Carter who is interning at the Boston Organization
Against Sexual and Other Harassment in the Workplace. Getting a graduate degree
is the only way Chloe can come into an inheritance. She spends a good deal of
time with her friend, Chef Josh who is preparing the food for the opening of a
restaurant in downtown Boston. Crime intervenes. Buying and preparing food are
part of the action in this lively and entertaining mystery. Recipes included. A
note: Susan Conant has a series of canine mysteries.
Decaffinated Corpse By Cleo Coyle 2007. This coffeehouse mystery
features Clare Cosi who owns and operates a coffeehouse. Action centers around a
possible discovery related to coffee beans that could be valuable enough to
induce someone to commit murder. This novel presents a good deal of information
about coffee, both caffeinated and decaffinated, the brewing process and the
history of this favorite drink that became known in the west through smuggling.
The skills of the barristas, and the pleasures of the drink are part of
Murder Most Frothy, a 2006 novel by the same author.
A Catered Valentine's Day By Isis Crawford 2007. has recipes for this
holiday. Sisters Bernadette and Libby Simmons own a Little Taste of Heaven where
the food is cooked with care and only the best ingredients are used. They team
up with the owners of Just Chocolate to do a benefit for a charity but trouble
interferes. After the mystery is solved, and the story is over, the reader finds
the last pages have recipes for readers with a sweet tooth.
The Merlot Murders By Ellen Crosby 2006. is, as the title indicates, a
wine mystery. Lucie Montgomery, who was injured in a car accident, manages to
get around as she tries to return her family land to productivity and so earn
income from wine. Murder interrupts her plans. A second Wine Country Mystery,
the Chardonnay Charade 2007, continues the local history and tells of
such dangers as exposure to methyl bromide. Relationships with workers and with
other landholders are the source of problems.
Dark Tort By Diane Mott Davidson 2006. Goldie Schulz, caterer and
amateur PI, finds a body, in fact, she trips over it while she is supplying food
for a boutique law firm in Aspen Meadow, Colorado. This grim opening leads to
action and explanations of procedures from husband and Homicide Investigator
Tom. The catering background allows for information about the organization and
presentation of food. The legal background brings up questions about how fair
the system is. Descriptions of paintings of food and how difficult catering is
add to the background. Work pressure and danger are difficult for Goldie.
Recipes include a faithful version of a pioneer food, Johnnycake.
The Poisoner Of Ptah By P. C. Doherty 2008. Set in ancient Egypt, the
action in this novel originates in a possible peace treaty with a neighboring
country. But three of Egypt's leading scribes die violently, leading to grave
suspicion of poisoning. Ameratke, Chief Judge of the Halls of Two Truths, must
investigate.
Blueberry Muffin Murder By Joanne Fluke 2002. This novel is set in Lake
Eden, a small town in Minnesota at the time of the annual Winter Carnival. In
1988 the state adopted the blueberry muffin as its official muffin. Hannah
Swenson makes them along with other items for her bakery and small items shop,
The Cookie Jar. She has an assistant, Janie, and a male friend, Mike Kingston,
head of the county sheriff's detective division. Relationships are important in
this small town, including Hannah's own family interactions. The local color,
ice fishing, food, snowmobiling make a good background as Hannah must solve a
mystery made more difficult by the dark, the ice and the cold.
A Meal to Die For By Joseph Gamascoli with Allen C. Kupper 2006. The
subtitle of this mystery is A Culinary Novel of Crime. Tough and crooked
guys who use tough language and tough tactics, and New York Police are
characters in this story. The main character is Benny Lacoco, a talented chef
whose menus show how skilled he is. Each one of the chapters is named
appropriately, Chapter 1 is Appetizer, Chapter Chapter 2 is Soup, and the last
chapter is The Just Desserts. Benny's cooking helps him survive in a criminal
environment. The author, Joseph Gammascoli, is a chef and an actor who played
the part of a hitman in a series. Allen Kupper teaches at Nasau Communty College
in New York.
State of the Onion By Julie Hyzy 2008. Olivia Paras, who is 5 ft.2in.
tall, is part of the staff who prepare meals for the White House. She is one of
the only 5 permanent staff, The big question is will she be chosen for head of
the staff, she would be the first female for the position. She has a secret
service man friend, which is fortunate because danger lurks outside, in the
grounds. The high-powered food is suitable for the important people Olivia
prepares food for. Menus, and the recipes for a complete meal fit for a
president are included.
Dying On The Vine By Peter King 1998. The PI is a business consultant,
not a professional investigator, but a man who seeks out rare wines and food
ingredients like exotic spices on commission. The setting is Provence, the
descriptions of the beautiful land, the village, and the wine-making and of The
French police force, made up of the Police Nationale that handle civil matters
and the Gendarmie that take care of criminal matters are very well done. A
murder has different interpretations, locals blame sangliers (wild boars) for a
man's death. The PI reads the old mysteries about Poirot and Maigret which he
finds in the auberge where he stays. He finds the universal advice - savor the
local cuisine. He must understand the local history, the background of the
caves, good hiding places in the hills around the area.
Death, Lies and Apple Pies By Valerie S. Malmont 1997. Lickin Creek, a
town in the Appalacian mountains, is small it has only one traffic light, but it
has a goodly number of historic structures with white gingerbread trim. A
government proposal to build a nuclear waste dump site stirs up action. Tori
Miracle, who is romantically involved with the handsome police chief,
investigates trouble. Old country herbs are part of the town culture.
Murder A La Mode By G. A. McKevettt (pseudonym of Sonja Massie) 2005.
Savannah Reid, in her forties, is a private detective who heads the Moonlight
Magnolia Detective Agency. She has an assistant, Tammy Hart, and a best friend,
Detective Dick Coulter of the San Carmelita Police Department. Southern
California is an area where it is not surprising to find tryouts for a TV show.
Savannah's career as an investigator continues, in 2007, she is in Poisoned
Tart.
The Crepes of Wrath By Tamar Myer 2001. Excellent crepe recipes are
included in this mystery, one of a Pennsylvania Dutch series. Plain-dressing,
blunt Magdalena Yoder, an Amish Menomite, does not believe in evolution. She
runs a profitable inn located in Hernia, PA, pop. 2000. She becomes involved in
crime investigations when she assists local police chief Melvin Stolz who is
inept but is the only person who will work for the salary the small town will
pay. This is a funny and adventurous tale with lots of local color.
Red Hot Murder By Joanna Pence 2006. Angie Amalfi is an expert cook
whose food reflects the culture of the Jackpot, Arizona setting, such as
tortilla crisp and bourbon pecan chocolate pie. Her good friend San Francisco
Homicide Inspector Paavo Smith is her resource when she investigates a crime.
Police work is not easy; trying to get accurate information when interviewing
relatives and friends of those involved in a crime, it is curious that "Murder
victims and killers become saints." Interest in solving mysteries is high. The
local Catholic priest, Father Armand. has to close his book, "an often-read
collection of Chesterton's Father Brown stories."
Chili con Corpses by J. B. Stanley 2008. Each chapter of this "upper Club Mystery" has a food title, beginning with "Turkey Bacon Ranch Wrap"
and ending with "Glazed Mini Cake Crullers." The members of the supper club live
in the small town of Quincy's Gap in Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains. When the
opportunity comes, they happily enroll in a series of classes in Mexican
cooking. The food is great, but trouble comes when corpses are discovered. The
recipe for Milla's Vegetable Paella, a main course with lots of vitamins is
provided in the book.
The Spice Box By Lou Jane Temple 2003. Bridget Heaney is the young
immigrant Irish girl who learned to cook when she was placed in a New York City
home for children with nowhere to go. The novel opens in 1864 when Bridget is on
her own, starting a job in the home of the wealthy Gold family of the Gold
Department Store. Bridget finds a body in the house soon after she begins to
work. As she is involved in finding the truth, she moves about in the kitchen of
the big house, and in various settings in New York, which makes a very
interesting background. Descriptions of Bridget's cooking are provided.
Poison Apples By Nancy Means Wright 2000. Trying to overcome their
grief after the death of their daughter, Moira Earthrow and her husband Stan
move to rural Vermont and become owners of an apple orchard. Orchards present
problems, such as worries about the Jamaican pickers. Environmental issues,
religious differences, dangerous spray for the trees, and ripe, juicy apples
make a colorful backdrop for the mystery solving in this novel.
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