An Appetite For Murder: A Key West Food Critic Mystery [Mass Market Paperback]

Lucy Burdette (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 3, 2012 | Series: Key West Food Critic (Book 1)

Hayley Snow's life always revolved around food. But when she applies to be a food critic for a Key West style magazine, she discovers that her new boss would be Kristen Faulkner-the woman Hayley caught in bed with her boyfriend! Hayley thinks things are as bad as they can get-until the police pull her in as a suspect in Kristen's murder. Kristen was killed by a poisoned key lime pie. Now Hayley must find out who used meringue to murder before she takes all the blame.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"What fun! ....Key West and food -- a winning combination. I can't wait for the next entry in this charming series." New York Times bestselling author Diane Mott Davidson

"A true taste of paradise....The victim may not be coming back for seconds, but readers certainly will!" Julie Hyzy, bestselling author of the White House Chef mysteries

"When her ex-boyfriend's new lover, the co-owner of Key Zest Magazine, is found dead, Hayley Snow, wanna-be food critic, is the first in line on the list of suspects.  Food, fun, and felonies.  What more could a reader ask for?"
 
Lorna Barrett, New York Times best selling author of Sentenced to Death

"An excellent sense of place and the occasional humorous outburst aren't the only things An Appetite for Murder has going for it, though: There is a solid mystery within its pages....Not only does Burdette capture the physical and pastoral essence of Key West, she celebrates the food."   Ed Irvin, The Florida Book Review

"Florida has long been one of the best backdrops for crime novels -- from John MacDonald to Carl Hiassen -- and Burdette's sense of place and her ability to empathize with a wide strata of Key West locals and visitors bodes well for this new series." Joe Meyers, CT Post

About the Author

Clinical psychologist Lucy Burdette has written eight mysteries as Roberta Isleib. Her books and stories have been short-listed for Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity awards. She is a past president of Sisters in Crime.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Signet; Original edition (January 3, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451235517
• ISBN-13: 978-0451235510
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,737 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #21 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Mystery & Thrillers > Mystery > Women Sleuths
  • #28 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Mystery & Thrillers > Mystery > General
  • #78 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Mystery & Thrillers > General

More About the Author

Lucy Burdette is the author of the Key West food critic mysteries, debuting with AN APPETITE FOR MURDER (January, 2012.) DEATH IN FOUR COURSES will follow in September. As Roberta Isleib, she's also written the golf lover's mystery series and the advice column mysteries. Lucy (aka Roberta) is a clinical psychologist who loves using her background in her stories. She also loves to cook and to eat and to talk and write and read about food!

You can find more about Lucy, Key West, and the food critic mysteries at her website, http://www.lucyburdette.com. She also blogs with the wonderful writers at Jungle Red Writers, http://www.jungleredwriters.com, and Mystery Lovers Kitchen, http://www.mysteryloverskitchen.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful vacation, January 3, 2012

By 

Mike Cooper - See all my reviews

This review is from: An Appetite For Murder: A Key West Food Critic Mystery (Mass Market Paperback)

Okay, I admit, I'm not much for cozies. But Lucy Burdette's plucky heroine drew me in: this book is a big happy plate of conch fritters on a perfect evening in the Keys, watching the sun set red and pink and purple over the soft ocean. Local flavor abounds, and not just the setting and characters. Hayley is a food critic, but not the snooty sort, which means she gets to eat all sorts of great meals in all sorts of local restaurants. Oh, there's a murder mystery, too, and when the police not only fail to make progress, but seem to turn their suspicions on Hayley herself -- well, she has to buckle down and start investigating. The plot speeds along, the company is great, the setting exactly where any reader would want to be this time of year.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific comic voice, wonderful Key West setting, and FOOD!, January 3, 2012

By 

H. Touger (Milton, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: An Appetite For Murder: A Key West Food Critic Mystery (Mass Market Paperback)

I read and LOVED this book! It so captures the nutty sweetness (food metaphor, of course) of Key West where a street performer actually herds cats, has a great comic voice, and tells a compelling mystery. I am so rooting for Hayley -- can't wait for book 2 in the series.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Appetizing New Series, January 3, 2012

By 

Cindy Chow (Kaneohe, Hawaii) - See all my reviews

This review is from: An Appetite For Murder: A Key West Food Critic Mystery (Mass Market Paperback)

Despite the proliference of cooking shows on television and in books, the process of food journalism and criticism is an area just crying out to be explored. Happily, this vacuum is filled by this new mystery that features Hayley Snow, a twenty-something foodie desperate to attain her dream job as a food critic for a new Florida magazine, Key Zest.

Standing in Hayley's path is Kristin Faulkner, the co-owner of the magazine and who also just happens to be the woman caught en flagrante with Hayley's boyfriend. Moving to Florida to move in with Chad was the one spontaneous decision Hayley made in her life, and that choice has her now bunking with her college roommate on a houseboat and taking small jobs as a professional cleaner. That Kristin could also block Hayley's dream job is just one more twist of a knife.

So when Kristin is poisoned to death by key lime pie just before Hayley gets her first article published examining the dessert, it's not a shock that she is immediately hauled in by the police. As their number one suspect it's up to Hayley to prove her innocence, which happily has her investigating in the very food stands and restaurants she is critiquing. This leads to the intricate examination of characters with motives to hate Kristin along with absolutely mouth-watering descriptions of Key West's most delicious specialties.

This new series is written by Lucy Burdette, pseudonym for psychologist Roberta Isleib and the author of two other series that both incorporate characters who are therapists. In this series the therapist is Hayley's best friend Eric, who aids her in both tastings & detecting, all the while facing professional ethics that prevent him from disclosing more than Hayley might wish. All these three series share a protagonist who is smart, witty, and entirely unique. This particular novel features the conflicts a food critic must face, such as whether to alienate a chef who is a friend, if publicizing a neighborhood dive could ruin its appeal, and how a negative review can ruin a business. The solution to the mystery is surprising, the characters are left with promising futures, and a preview of the next in this series seems to feature cameos by food critics & writers Ruth Riechl and Frank Bruni. I can hardly wait!