A Slice of Murder (A Pizza Lover's Mystery) [Hardcover]

Chris Cavender (Author)

Book Description

Series: A Pizza Lover's Mystery | Publication Date: August 1, 2009

Not too much happens in the sleepy little town of Timber Ridge, North Carolina - which is fine with pizza-purveyor extraordinaire Eleanor Swift. The spunky owner of A Slice of Delight is trying to mend her broken heart and could use a little quiet time. But when a late night delivery customer turns up dead, she's in for just the opposite in this delicious mystery series debut, featuring pizza as the prima character...Eleanor figures somebody must have been really mad at Richard Olsen to bury that kitchen knife in his chest. But when Kevin Hurley - her ex-boyfriend and Timber Ridge's police chief - starts eyeing her as a prime suspect, Eleanor knows she better get to the bottom of things before the gossipy townspeople decide to stop ordering her specialty pies. With her sassy and occasionally married sister Maddy by her side, Eleanor finds the list of suspects begins to outnumber the ingredients on the Slice's famed Smorgasbord Special pizza. Like Richard's eccentric sister, who appears out of nowhere to learn she's the heir to $100 grand...in what looks like dirty money. Richard worked for a shredding business - and it seems he read before he shred, and very well could've been a blackmailer. What about Richard's boss, who now stands to lose his shredding company? And then there's that steamy scented letter from none other than the mayor's wife. But when someone takes a shot at Eleanor on a late-night delivery run, she and Maddy know time is running out. To find the killer - and keep the pizzas rolling out of A Slice of Delight's ovens - she'll need to put it all one the line and hope that her search for the truth doesn't end in an unmarked grave.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Pizza lovers will relish the pseudonymous Cavender's delightful first in a new cozy series, which introduces Eleanor Swift, owner of A Slice of Life, a pizzeria in Timber Ridge, N.C. When late one winter night Eleanor delivers a pizza (one of my specials decked out with pepperoni, sausage, ham, bacon, hamburger, and little bits of sliced sirloin), she finds her customer, Richard Olsen, lying dead on the floor with a kitchen knife in his chest. Kevin Hurley, the surly local police chief who pursued her back in high school, responds to her 911 call. Suspecting Eleanor is guilty, Kevin does his best to make her life difficult. Olsen's dotty sister thinks so, too, but once she's convinced of Eleanor's innocence, she asks Eleanor's help in solving the murder. Eleanor's occasionally married sister, Maddy, assists in the sleuthing. A lively pace and a thrilling climax more than compensate for some distracting chatter and not always relevant sibling spats. (Aug.)
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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Kensington; 1 edition (August 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0758229488
• ISBN-13: 978-0758229489
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,377,001 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars love pizza....loved A Slice of Murder !!, September 12, 2009

By 

Frances M. Freel (California USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Slice of Murder (A Pizza Lover's Mystery) (Hardcover)

the title interested me & I always enjoy a good mystery. I'm new to this author & thoroughly enjoyed the people of Timber Ridge, North Carolina. Eleanor & Maddy kept sleuthing while keeping the pizzeria open...I really enjoyed their ups & downs & would look forward to reading 'just one more chapter' ...finished the book in two days !..another book about them would be most welcome...a great read..highly revcommend it !! thank you !

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I'll take another slice, August 23, 2009

By 

Sassy girl "Sassy" - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Slice of Murder (A Pizza Lover's Mystery) (Hardcover)

I picked this book up because it was from an author I hadn't heard of before.
The whole time I was reading this book, I kept thinking I know this author.. I know this author. Now, I find out it is Tim Myers.
I don't care what name he uses,I love his books.
I enjoyed meeting new characters and feeling my way through the plot
and emotions of the town people. A good cozy read.
I hope there is another book on the way.
Maybe add some pizza recipes in the next installment. I'll bite.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars My husband swears that there's no such thing as bad pizza. I disagree., July 25, 2011

By 

L. Burns "Bigdog Mom" (New England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Slice of Murder (Eleanor Swift) (Kindle Edition)

Eleanor Swift is a thirty-something widow who owns a pizzeria in a small North Carolina town. One evening she discovers the body of one of her customers when she delivers a pizza to his home. The police Chief (obviously operating under the premise that "whoever smelt it, dealt it") is convinced that Eleanor committed the murder. Along with her sister, Maddy, Eleanor sets out to find the real killer.

I really didn't enjoy this and I felt that it was missing many of the elements that I look for in a "cozy" mystery.

What do I want from a "cozy"? I want a protagonist that I feel like I come to know and care about. I want to be drawn into the characters' lives via the domestic details. I want a sense of "place"; I like to feel as if I'm getting a picture of what gives each town it's unique regional flavor.

Despite the first person narrative, I really found out very little about Eleanor. She misses her late husband. Got it. Other than that, there were few personal details; certainly not nearly enough for me to form a picture of her as a character. I know that the story takes place in a small southern town. I know this because the author told me so in the first few pages, otherwise it could easily have taken place in upstate New York or just about anywhere else for that matter. I never got a "feel" for the town or it's residents; nothing in the narrative made the region come alive for me. The dialog between Eleanor and Maddie had such an awkward feel to it; it was stilted and didn't sound like two sisters having a conversation.

As for the mystery...I know this is a "cozy" and I'm not asking for realism, just a little plausibility. If Eleanor was the prime suspect, why wasn't she taken into custody (at least for questioning) the night of the murder? Little things like blood splatter on skin and clothing are easily disposed of - who would allow their chief suspect to go home and shower away the evidence? And Eleanor and Maddy's one and only investigative technique seemed to be walking up to people and asking "Hey, did you kill the guy?".

Now I do think there is some potential here and perhaps the author does develop the characters more fully in the next installments, but honestly it didn't pique my interest enough to want to continue with the series.

No strong language or sexual content.