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As the new food critic for Key Zest magazine, Hayley Snow went from being a culinary groupie to one of Florida’s cutting-edge tastemakers. But as always, when life serves Haley a dream come true, it comes paired with a most exquisite murder....
The annual Key West literary conference is drawing the biggest names in food writing from all over the country, and Haley is there to catch a few fresh morsels of insider gossip. Superstar restaurant critic Jonah Barrows has already ruffled a few foodie feathers with his recent tell-all memoir, and as keynote speaker, he promises more of the same jaw-dropping honesty.
But when Hayley discovers Jonah’s body in a nearby dipping pool, the cocktail-hour buzz takes a sour turn, and Hayley finds herself at the center of attention—especially with the police. Now it’s up to her to catch the killer before she comes to her own bitter finish.
Hayley Snow is the new food critic for Key Zest magazine. The annual Key West literary conference is featuring food writing this year. This is bringing all the famous food writers from across the country to Key West. Hayley is excited to be attending the conference and has asked her mom to join her. They are both such "foodies".
Superstar food critic Jonah Barrows is the keynote speaker. Hayley hopes to glean some knowledge to make her reviews more modern and cutting edge. But his address is like nothing she or any other attendee or speaker had imagined. He has recently released his memoir and has included many secrets that have many of his colleagues up in arms and in his speech he promises many more secrets will be revealed. He has decided honesty at all costs in his new mantra.
When Jonah is found dead the suspects are many and Hayley is right in the middle of the action. She needs to grill everyone involved and find out who had the biggest beef with Jonah. She has to do it carefully or she could be the one getting burned.
I love this amateur sleuth! In my review of the first book of the series, An Appetite For Murder, I gushed that I wanted to be this character. Well that feeling has grown with this next installment. It is even better than the last.
Lucy Burdette takes us on a trip to Key West from the seat of out comfy chairs. She has created wonderful characters in an very engaging mystery that kept me guessing whodunit until the end.
My favorite character was Hayley's mom. The apple did not fall far from the tree there. We can see clearly where Hayley gets her spunk and drive. The also both love food. I had no trouble at all picturing her mom cruising around Key West on that little pink scooter.
The topic of reviews whether they be for food or books have a lot in common and this installment makes me want to continue to make my reviews better and better. I honestly felt for Hayley when she was "scooped" by another critic from a large newspaper. Reviewers work hard to keep their thoughts original, meaningful and informative. The feeling is awful when you go to post your review around the blogosphere and see other reviewers used the exact same words you did to express their feelings about the book. Sometimes it means a major rewrite in a hurry. Thankfully though most book reviews don't add to your waistline the way food reviews do :) o.k. some do but darn I try hard to stay away from cookies, cupcakes and Hot Fudge Pie. Yes, there is a super easy recipe for Hot Fudge Pie in the back of this book! Who knew reading could be so delicious
There is no question that this story deserves 5 stars! I am just sad that we have to wait until May for our next Key West adventure!!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.judiOH
Posted September 8, 2012
there is a gathering of the most famous of food critics at key west. hayley's mom is visiting and is thrilled to be included in all the festivities with hayley. jonah incites the critics with his honesty plea and someone doesn't like the idea. jonah is murdered, then in short order another critic is also murdered. hayley's best friend eric is arrested, and hayley feels she must help solve this before eric is put in prison for something he didn't so. hayley does her best, but wnhodunit? you will have to read tis delightful mystery for yourself, i won't tell!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.This deliciously entertaining book based in Florida, is a murder mystery taking place over the duration of a conference of food critics and cookbook authors. The attendee characters run a gamut of restless, snobbish, overzealous, and friendly, but all have secrets buried and the star speaker has just announced that there should be clarity and transparency in the writings of all, basing it particularly on transparency of who the original recipes come from. One might expect this to be a reasonable statement, but he goes on to naming names and explicitly states he will expose all their secrets over the next few days.
At first glance this seems like it will be a high-class conference, but once we get into the meat of the book, comfort meals are more readily embraced when the arrogant yet esteemed food critic, star of the conference, ends up dead. How many cooks cherish their grandmothers' recipes I wonder? It seems that not only traditional home cooking revolves around these treasured memories, but some of the cookbooks also feature original recipes from the past, but whose past?
This is a question that runs through the story and appears to be related to a further death. Was it murder or suicide?
Our plucky food critic reporter, Hayley Snow, on her first major assignment for "Key Zest" to the conference, befriends some of these authors and food critics, and of course, is the first to discover not one but two bodies. Accompanied by her mother with whom she has had a volatile relationship for years, these two play off each other beautifully. As their relationship changes during her mother's visit, the partnership becomes serious yet playful as they involve themselves in solving these murders, a matter that is causing some major stress for Hayley, particularly when her mother goes missing, and in her blooming relationship with the very handsome and very protective Detective Nate Bransford. But how can they leave this alone when one of their long-time friends is being investigated for murder?
I really enjoyed reading this book, the second in the Key West Food Critic mystery series. It is well-written with good solid characterizations, great descriptions of place, and as a bonus a few recipes are included which I'm sure I'm going to enjoy as well. I'm sure this series by Lucy Burdette will soon be on the menu for many readers.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.booklady1CT
Posted September 11, 2012
I enjoyed this delightful second installment in this mystery series. It had many twists and turns for mystery lovers, humor for comic relief and food descriptions that will send you to your kitchen to try the recipes included at the end of the book! I laughed at Haley trying to keep up with her young- at- heart mother who is more adventurous in love & life! I'm lookiing forward to the next in this series since I love a mystery!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted October 15, 2012
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Overview
As the new food critic for Key Zest magazine, Hayley Snow went from being a culinary groupie to one of Florida’s cutting-edge tastemakers. But as always, when life serves Haley a dream come true, it comes paired with a most exquisite murder....
The annual Key West literary conference is drawing the biggest names in food writing from all over the country, and Haley is there to catch a few fresh morsels of insider gossip. Superstar restaurant critic Jonah Barrows has already ...