Quiche of Death (A Sugar & Spice Mystery)
by Mary Lee Ashford
About Quiche of Death
Quiche of Death (A Sugar & Spice Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
3rd in Series
Publisher: Lyrical Press (July 21, 2020)
Print Length: ~254 pages
ASIN: B0855Q9JFW
Cozy Mystery
3rd in Series
Publisher: Lyrical Press (July 21, 2020)
Print Length: ~254 pages
ASIN: B0855Q9JFW
* Includes delicious recipes! *When editor Sugar Calloway and baker Dixie Spicer went into business creating cookbooks, they found a sideline as amateur sleuths. Now a bitter family grudge could leave a fatal aftertaste…
At Sugar & Spice Community Cookbooks, the friends and business partners have secured a tasty new commission: producing a cookbook for the Arbor family. The Arbors have made their fortune in quiches, and Sugar and Spice have been invited to a weekend gathering where all the siblings, along with crusty matriarch Marta, will be in attendance. But it’s soon clear that this trip will come with a hefty slice of drama.
Theo, the only grandson, arrives with his flaky fiancée Collette, who quickly stirs up trouble… and is found dead the next day. As the investigation unfolds, secrets — and recipes — are shared, and Sugar and Spice realize just how messy and murderous the situation may be. As another family member falls ill, can they solve the case without getting egg on their faces… and a target on their backs?
About the Excerpt
“Quiche me, you fool.”
The demand was followed by hoots of laughter as the sister — Jezzie, I think her name was — leaned into her spouse for a smooch. He hesitated but obliged.
I smiled at the boisterous group who clearly shared some inside joke about quiche and kissing. The warmth of the table and the sibling love melted my heart like butter on a biscuit. Taking a sip of water, I glanced over at Dixie, who sat across from me at the huge oak table.
She rolled her eyes.
“What?” I mouthed.
Dixie shrugged. Jezzie had perhaps a teensy bit too much wine, but still: When did my best friend and business partner get so darn stuffy? Maybe it was the inside-joke part that she found off-putting.
But we did know quiche was the family’s stock-in-trade, so it wasn’t that much of a stretch to figure out the expression had something to do with the Arbor family’s food business. After all, that was why we were here.
About the Character Guest Post
Character: Rosetta Sugarbaker Calloway
From: Quiche of Death (Book 3 in the Sugar & Spice Mysteries)
Well, you all probably noted that my name is Rosetta and thought to yourself, “Who on earth names a child Rosetta?” I have to tell you I’ve thought that a time or two myself. So, just to be clear, no one, absolutely no one, not even my mother calls me that. (I’ll bet most of the people I talk to day in and day out don’t even know that’s my real name.)
Everyone calls me “Sugar” and you can, too.
A while back, after going through a “re-structuring” (which is the new term for downsizing) at the magazine where I worked, I went into business with my best friend, Dixie Spicer. Dixie is not only the most awesome person I know, she’s also a blue-ribbon baker. So, with my publishing experience and Dixie’s culinary experience, we started Sugar & Spice Community Cookbooks. We publish the kind of cookbooks that clubs, churches, and other groups often use as fundraisers. I handle the business end of things and Dixie handles the food details. She’s not really interested in outreach and marketing and I can’t cook to save my life. The division of duties is working out well and business is booming.
However, recently we were approached by the Arbor Family about doing a cookbook with their family recipes. Easy-peasy, right? That’s what I thought, too. And then they invited us to spend a weekend with the family at a beautiful Bed & Breakfast. A great opportunity to collect the recipes we’d use. Taste some of the family’s hallmark dishes. Maybe get some anecdotes to sprinkle in the book in for flavor.
But I’m afraid I have to tell you, though the weekend started all warm and delicious, it did not end well. You see, I was just out trying to get my steps in to ward off the extra pounds caused by tasting too much of Dixie’s fabulous cooking… when I stumbled over a dead body.
Now, Dixie and I have a little experience in murder investigations, much to the chagrin of the local sheriff. But this one is a bit of a tangle with family drama, hidden identities, and dangerous threats.
We were definitely hoping to leave this one to the sheriff, but as the investigation unfolds, we find ourselves right in the middle of the mess. We’ve simply got to figure this out, but right now there are too many cooks in the kitchen and no one is cooperating!
About Mary Lee Ashford
Mary Lee Ashford is a lifelong bibliophile, and avid reader, and supporter of public libraries.
In addition to writing the Sugar and Spice series for Kensington Books, she also writes as half of the writing team of Sparkle Abbey, author of the national bestselling Pampered Pets mystery series from Bell Bridge Books.
Prior to publishing, Mary Lee won first place in the Daphne du Maurier contest, sponsored by the Kiss of Death chapter of RWA, and was a finalist in Murder in the Grove’s mystery contest, as well as Killer Nashville’s Claymore Dagger contest.
She is the founding president of Sisters in Crime – Iowa and a past board member of the Mystery Writers of America Midwest chapter, as well as a member of Novelists, Inc., Romance Writers of America, Kiss of Death the RWA Mystery Suspense chapter, Sisters in Crime, and the SinC internet group Guppies. She loves encouraging other writers and is a frequent presenter for writers’ groups.
Mary Lee has a passionate interest in creativity and teaches a university-level course in Creative Management to MPA candidates, as well as presenting workshops and blogging about creativity.
She currently resides in the midwest with her husband, Tim, and cat, Zoey. Her delights are reading and enjoying her two sons and daughters-in-law, and six grandchildren.
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