Rosemary and Crime

October 7, 2013
This quality first in a Southern cozy series from Oust (Shake, Murder, and Roll and two other Bunko Babes mysteries) introduces Piper Prescott, who has invested the money she received from her divorce settlement into a specialty food shop, Spice It Up!, in Brandywine Creek, Ga. The morning of the grand opening, Piper calls on celebrity chef Mario Barrone at his Italian restaurant. As guest of honor at the opening, Mario is scheduled to demonstrate how to roast a leg of lamb to get the business off to a brisk start. Alas, Piper finds Mario dead on his kitchen floor—after picking up a steak knife and leaving her fingerprints on what later proves to be the murder weapon. The practical, vulnerable Piper turns to her colorful BBF, Reba Mae Johnson, for help in proving her innocence. Two possible love interests add spice—and that’s not counting Piper’s former husband. This is a must-read for fans of Carolyn Hart’s Death on Demand series, as well as those who like culinary mysteries. Agent: Jessica Faust, BooksEnds.

December 1, 2013
Piper Prescott took her divorce settlement and opened Spice It Up! in a Georgia small town, only to have the chef she hired for her opening-day cooking demonstration killed at the event. She found the body, touched the murder weapon, and was seen arguing with the temperamental chef the night before his death. Police Chief Wyatt McBride is dogging her every step, and the townspeople are avoiding her and her shop. An abandoned and injured dog is connected to the crime, but the dog proves a good watchdog later when Piper's shop is broken into, and a car tries to run her down. Struggles with her teen daughter and problems trying to keep business going add dimension to the story of Piper's sleuthing efforts. A strong cast of secondary characters add to the appeal. Fans of Jenn McKinlay and Ellery Adams will want to add this series to their reading lists.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)

December 1, 2013
A divorcee starting over gets tagged as the primary suspect in the murder of a local chef. Piper Prescott is finally getting her due. She spent her younger years as a devoted wife and mother, but now that the ink is dry on her divorce, she's fulfilling her lifelong dream of opening a specialty spice store in her adopted Georgia hometown. Piper is so determined to popularize her new baby, Spice It Up!, that she's hired local chef Mario Barrone to cook up a special demonstration for her grand opening. Unfortunately, when Piper goes to Mario's restaurant with the spice delivery he's most recently demanded, she finds the cantankerous cook stabbed, leaving her holding the knife. Clearly, Piper's in need of a defense lawyer to prove she had nothing to do with the murder. But the closest she can hope to get is informal advice from her ex-husband, CJ, a glorified ambulance chaser. As the citizens of Brandywine Creek pressure new police chief Wyatt McBride to make an arrest, the otherwise friendly faces Piper usually finds around town turn against Piper and her store. Her wild-child BFF Reba Mae Johnson convinces Piper that the two must take the investigation into their own hands, even though it may provoke the ire of Chief McBride. Though the investigation is eminently predictable, Piper's real-life problems as she negotiates her peril, along with some sassy small talk from Reba, will have fans of Oust (Shake, Murder, and Roll, 2011, etc.) looking for the sequel.

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