A Deadly Grind (Vintage Kitchen Series #1)

by Victoria Hamilton

Overview

A Hoosier to die for?

When vintage cookware and cookbook collector Jaymie Leighton spies an original 1920s Hoosier brand kitchen cabinet at an estate auction, it’s love at first sight. Despite the protests of her sister that the 19th-century yellow-brick house they share in Michigan is already too cluttered with Jaymie’s “junk,” she successfully outbids the other buyers and triumphantly takes home her Hoosier.

But that night on the summer porch where they’ve left the Hoosier to be cleaned up, a man is murdered, struck on the head with  the steel meat grinder that is part of the cabinet. Who is this stranger—and what was he doing on their porch? Does his death have anything to do with the Hoosier?

As the police struggle to determine the man’s identity, Jaymie can’t help doing a little digging on her own, accompanied by her three-legged Yorkie Poo, Hopalong. But in her bid to uncover the truth about the hidden secrets of the Hoosier, Jaymie may be the one who ends up going, going…gone.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780425248010
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	05/01/2012
Series:	Vintage Kitchen Mystery Series , #1
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	398,942
Product dimensions:	4.10(w) x 6.70(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Victoria Hamilton is a pseudonym for national bestselling author Donna Lee Simpson, who is also a collector of vintage cookware and recipes.

What People are Saying About This

Susan Wittig Albert

 “All the right ingredients: small town setting, kitchen antiques, vintage cookery, and a bowlful of mystery. A perfect recipe for a cozy.”

Sheila Connolly

"Victoria Hamilton's charming new series is a delightful find. Jaymie is as dependable as the vintage Pyrex cookware she collects and the plot is as full of surprises as the old Hoosier cabinet she wins at an auction."

Editorial Reviews

All the right ingredients: small town setting, kitchen antiques, vintage cookery, and a bowlful of mystery. A perfect recipe for a cozy.” — Susan Wittig Albert, author of Cat's Claw

 "Victoria Hamilton's charming new series is a delightful find. Jaymie is as dependable as the vintage Pyrex cookware she collects and the plot is as full of surprises as the old Hoosier cabinet she wins at an auction." — Sheila Connolly

From the Publisher

"Victoria Hamilton's charming new series is a delightful find. Jaymie is as dependable as the vintage Pyrex cookware she collects and the plot is as full of surprises as the old Hoosier cabinet she wins at an auction."

Sheila Connolly

 “All the right ingredients: small town setting, kitchen antiques, vintage cookery, and a bowlful of mystery. A perfect recipe for a cozy.

Susan Wittig Albert

Jaymie coveted the Hoosier (a vintage kitchen cupboard) she snagged at auction, but she didn't anticipate the people she outbidded fighting on her back porch and dying over it. But now there's an unidentified body on her property and continued threats to her safety. Her idyllic Michigan tourist town is full of visitors celebrating one of its seasonal events, so there are a number of possible suspects. Jaymie speculates as to what might be hidden in her cabinet that would motivate desperate collectors to kill. Thankfully, old friends and new ensure a rescue for the intrepid Jaymie. VERDICT Smartly written and successfully plotted, the debut of this new cozy series set on the U.S.-Canadian border exudes authenticity. I like partnering this title with Sharon Fiffer and Virginia Lowell for both tone and the vintage collecting topics. Hamilton is a pseudonym for well-known romance author Donna Lea Simpson.

Library Journal

Emily Woo Zeller brings sensitivity and depth to the character of Jaymie Leighton, antique collector and budding cookbook writer. In this debut novel in the Vintage Kitchen series, Jaymie finds a new love at an estate sale. But winning the bid on the classic Hoosier kitchen cabinet places her in the middle of a murder scene. Zeller’s high, soft voice lends itself to Jaymie's self-consciousness about her age and romantic history, as well as her initial trepidation toward criminal investigation. However, as Jaymie's confidence in her instincts grows, Zeller's voice sheds some hesitancy and deepens. Though Jaymie is at the center, many characters move in and out of the story, and Zeller does well keeping them distinguished, particularly other female characters. A.S. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine

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