SUMMER OF MYSTERY – Death on the Menu

AdminAugust 2, 2018Post a Comment

Welcome to the “Summer of Mystery Reads” happening July 9th to August 17, 2018, at THE PULP AND MYSTERY SHELF!

DISCLAIMER: This content has been provided to THE PULP AND MYSTERY SHELF arranged by Great Escapes Book Tours. No compensation was received. This information required by the Federal Trade Commission.

Death on the Menu: A Key West Food Critic Mystery
by Lucy Burdette

About the Book

Death on the Menu: A Key West Food Critic Mystery
Cozy Mystery
8th in Series
Crooked Lane Books (August 7, 2018)
Hardcover: 295 Pages
ISBN-13: 978-1683317463
Digital ASIN: B078MBKH95

When a killer strikes just before flan time, beloved food critic Hayley Snow is forced to sniff out the killer before someone else bites the dust.
Hayley Snow, fiery food critic for Key Zest magazine, has just landed a ticket to one of the most prestigious events in Key West: a high-brow three-day conference at the Harry Truman Little White House. Even though she’ll be working the event helping her mother’s fledgling catering business, there’s plenty of spicy gossip to go around. But just before her mother’s decadent flan is put to the test, Key West’s most prized possession, Hemingway’s Nobel prize gold medal for The Old Man and the Sea, is discovered stolen from its case.
Unsavory suspicions point to Gabriel, a family friend and one of the new busboys working the event, who mysteriously goes missing moments later. Anxious to clear his name, Gabriel’s family enlists Hayley to help find him, but right as they begin their search, his body is found stabbed to death in the storeroom.
Hayley has no shortage of suspects to interrogate and very little time before the killer adds another victim to the menu in national bestselling author Lucy Burdette’s delectable eighth Key West Food Critic mystery, Death on the Menu.

Interview with the Author

What initially got you interested in writing?

Honestly, I consider all this to have been a mid-life crisis. After meeting my husband, I became obsessed with golf and spent way too much time learning the game. I wondered what I could make of all that investment, and my golfer character, Cassie, became the answer. It makes no sense, but it’s true!

What genres do you write in?

I write traditional mysteries as Lucy Burdette. The Key West series featuring food critic Hayley Snow is my third, and the eighth book is about to be published, called DEATH ON THE MENU. My first five books starred an aspiring but neurotic professional golfer (SIX STROKES UNDER), and a clinical psychologist and advice columnist was at the helm of the second series (DEADLY ADVICE.)

What drew you to writing these specific genres?

I’ve read and enjoyed mysteries since I was a kid, and so trying to write in this genre was a natural!

How did you break into the field?

I did this the old fashioned way—took classes, hired mentors, studied the genre, and finished a book. Then I sent the manuscript out by snail mail, and a year later, found an agent. It took her almost a year to sell that book, and now I’m on #16!

What do you want readers to take away from reading your works?

I’m hoping readers will feel immersed in the magic and heartbreak of Key West, and will want the characters as their friends (or hate them as enemies!) I want them to come away hungry, yearning for the food that Hayley cooks and writes about, but understanding that food is always about more than food. Here’s how she describes food writing in DEATH IN FOUR COURSES: “When we wrIte about simmering a stew or a sauce for hours or days, we are really talking about how much we owe to the folks who came before us and the importance of cherishing their memory. And how much we yearn to give to the people in our present who’ll be gathered around our table. We are writing about food as family history, and love, and hope, and sometimes a little splash of guilt.”

What do you find most rewarding and challenging about writing?

The first draft is the hardest for me—figuring out the story and a rough idea of what needs to happen and who’s involved. I enjoy the editing process. And I love love love having the book read and hearing from readers!

What advice would you give to people wanting to enter the field?

Don’t take shortcuts, because writing is hard! Study the craft, read the kinds of books you want to write, and get involved with writers’ organizations. In these days of the Internet, the biggest trap for new writers is sending their work out before it’s really ready.

What type of books do you enjoy reading?

Lots of mysteries of course, and also memoir and women’s fiction.

Thank you for welcoming me to your blog today!

What are the best ways to connect with you, or find out more about your work?

Lucy’s links:

Crooked Lane Books: http://www.crookedlanebooks.com/titles/death-on-the-menu/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/lucyburdette

Instagram: www.instagram.com/lucyburdette

Twitter: www.twitter.com/lucyburdette @lucyburdette

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/robertaisleib

Jungle Red Writers: www.jungleredwriters.com

Mystery Lovers Kitchen: www.mysteryloverskitchen.com

Website: www.lucyburdette.com

About the Author

Clinical psychologist Lucy Burdette (aka Roberta Isleib) has published 16 mysteries, including the latest in the Key West food critic series, DEATH ON THE MENU (Crooked Lane Books, August 2018.) Her books and stories have been short-listed for Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity awards. She’s a member of Mystery Writers of America and a past president of Sisters in Crime. She blogs at Jungle Red Writers and shares her love for food with the culinary writers at Mystery Lovers Kitchen She lives in Madison CT and Key West FL. Read more at www.lucyburdette.com.

Author Links:

Facebook: WWW.facebook.com/lucyburdette

Twitter: www.twitter.com/lucyburdette

Instagram: www.instagram.com/lucyburdette

Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/robertaisleib

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4781149.Lucy_Burdette

Purchase Links:

Amazon B&N IndieBound BookBub Kobo

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

August 1 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW

August 1 – Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

August 2 – Mystery Lovers Kitchen – RECIPE