Mysterious Saturday Review: Fatal Reservations

* Book 6 in the Key West Food Critic series *

Trouble's brewing in Key West between the police and the community. Things aren't so happy between the street artists either. There have been a string of burglaries and when a performer is murdered, Hayley's friend Lorenzo becomes the prime suspect.

Hayley can't believe her friend's capable of murder. But when he runs, she has to admit it looks suspicious. Hayley can't help asking a few questions on behalf of her friend.

With work and relationship both on rocky terms, she could use a distraction. But the more she digs, the more she wonders if she could be wrong about her friend.

My Thoughts: Another great addition to this charming series. I loved learning more about Key West from the politics to the street performers and the hoops the restaurateurs have to jump through. I loved learning more from Miss Gloria's new gig at the cemetery. Lorenzo's been a key characters in these books, I liked learning more about his back story too. As usual, I love the moments where Hayley eats for her reviews or cooks up something delicious. Her troubles at work are better, but a new set of concerns has popped up. I learning about her writing process for her reviews, and how they're changing with new management. 

Cover Thoughts: Cute
Source: Sent for Review

Final Thoughts: Reserve your time to read this series, it's delightful. Fatal Reservations digs into the community to create an entertaining book full of characters that jump off the page and mouth-watering food. 

Blog Tour: Topped Chef

 * Book 3 in the Key West Food Critic series*

Hayley Snow just gave her first bad review for a restaurant. It killed her, but after eating there three times, she couldn't justify a positive review for Key Zest magazine. On the day it's printed, she gets called into the office as the owner of the restaurant's complaining about it.  She overhears the conversation between him and her boss - it's not pleasant.

Afterwards, her boss gives her another assignment. She's to represent the magazine as a judge for a reality TV show featuring chefs from Key West. One of the judges is none other than the restaurant owner she just reviewed.

When he ends up murdered, Hayley doesn't believe the show should continue. The producers disagree as the winner of Topped Chef could become the next cooking TV star. As the show proceeds, Hayley wonders if one of the contestants wants to eliminate the competition or if Sam's business practices and politics on the island made him a target. Could someone be targeting the judges?

My Thoughts: I'm a big fan of this series - I love the setting and all the talk about food. It makes me want to get into the kitchen and whip up something delicious. I loved the idea for this book - where a murder happens on a reality TV show setting. It was amusing to see the behind the scenes of TV series - the work that it takes, the encouraged drama, and people it draws. I loved Hayley and how she struggles making decisions, but has a team of great friends for support, including her tarot card reader Lorenzo. I like how she struggled over her critical review. I like that in this book, we learned more about some characters: her ex-boyfriend's secretary and her new house boat mate. I love the romance frustrations and the possibility of romance. All in all, Topped Chef is a  fabulous addition to this charming series!

Cover Thoughts: Perfect
Source: Sent for review for blog tour

I got to meet Lucy when her last book came out and she went to RJ Julia's. I wrote up a post about it. She'll be there next week and I wish I could attend, but I have a program at the library that night. If you're in the area and you like cozy mysteries and/or books about food - go check it out. It's sure to amazing.

Prizes:

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1. Fill in the form here.

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3. Giveaway ends on May 15, 2013 at midnight and the winners will be contacted via email.

Mysterious Saturday Review: Death In Four Courses

 *2nd in the series -read my review of Appetite for Murder*

Hayley's Christmas present to her mother was a trip to Key West including admission to the annual Key West literary festival - featuring food writing. All of Hayley's heroes will be there, including the amazingly young but talented Jonah Barrows.

He gives the welcoming address revealing his plans to share several guarded secrets in the industry. Moments afterwards Hayley spies his body floating in a decorative pool. She hauls him out, only to discover he's expired.

No one knows what happened. Hayley's concerned that he's been murdered as a decorative bird statue goes missing. It could be a murder weapon. She never though that her BFF Eric would be seriously questioned by the police. What could he possibly have done and why isn't he talking?

My Thoughts: I really like this series. I love the addition of Hayley's mom. She was funny, sweet, and a typical mom. I loved the interaction between her and Hayley - while most of the time it was sweet, it also had a bit of snark and irritation (mostly on Hayley's side). I liked the setting of the foodie conference. As a librarian, I've been to quite a few conferences and it's fascinating to read about in a book. Everyone's so similar and yet so different. It's hard to approach the food critic (or author) you admire without fangirling them or making a total fool of yourself. I also enjoyed the moments between Hayley and the detective. I look forward to the next installment of this delicious series!

Cover Thoughts: Awesome
Source: Bought at the book launch at RJ Julia's