The Key Lime Crime by Lucy Burdette

The Key Lime Crime

THE KEY LIME CRIME is the tenth in Lucy Burdette’s  Key West Food Critic Mystery series.  I’ve been a fan since reading AN APPETITE FOR MURDER which was the first in this series.  This is what they call a cozy mystery and it’s set entirely in one of my favorite locales: Key West, Florida.  These books are filled with great food, atmospheric pages and all the crazy-wonderful spots  you love in this amazing old city. And there are cats. And the main characters live on houseboats. How cool is that!

In this newest installment we find Hayley Snow up to her last nerve dealing with work angst and personal stress. You see, her new husband Nathan who is a police detective,  has just announced a big surprise. His mother who was not able to attend their recent wedding, is coming for a visit. Could the timing be worse? Probably not. Key West the week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve is exploding with snowbirds and tourists.  Plus, Haley works for Key Zest magazine and will be covering a big bash:a key lime pie baking contest that all the pastry chefs on the island are wild about. And there are a lot of them.

Key West Houseboats

Haley and Nathan live on a houseboat that they share with an elderly housemate of Hayleys. They’re in the midst of renovating their own boat but it’s far from ready.  So they set Helen, Nathan’s mom, up with Hayley’s mom and dad not far from old town.  I have long been intrigued with the houseboats of Key West and so I thoroughly enjoy this aspect of the stories.  Throw in Hayley’s housemate Miss Gloria who is somewhere in her eighties and I am all in.

The Conch Train is a great way to see the island  especially when all the holiday lights are offering such a show. It’s during one of these island tours one evening that Miss Gloria spots something awry on one of the conch cottage porches and so she returns to the cottage after the train tour with Haylee and Helen to do some sleuthing.

T-bone

And low and behold while she’s sniffing out an orange tabby kitten under the house, Helen unearths a dead body dressed in a Santa costume on the porch. Let the mystery begin.

I’ve loved Key West since my first visit thirty some years ago. I love its quirkiness, it’s be-who-you-are atmosphere, and all the  food. And the cats.

Haylee begins to see her mother-in-law is a very curious woman.  Helen is all over this murder. Why?  And we find that the murdered woman is a very high profile  pastry chef who has already caused plenty of trouble surrounding this pie contest. But why would anyone want to kill her?

I started reading this novel jonesing for key lime pie. My hunger for it just kept getting crazier. But, to tell you the truth, by the end of the story I was sick to death of it. Yes, more than enough pastry shops offer amazing key lime confections. They are ubiquitous in Key West.  I remember the mile high meringue on the Blue Heaven creation.  Love Blue Heaven. Have enjoyed many a breakfast outside with the chickens pecking around my feet.

We at Copperfish were lucky enough to have Lucy Burdette

Lucy Burdette signing books at Copperfish Books (2019)

speak and sign her books last spring as she traveled back north to her summertime home. She was delightful and everyone fell in love with her. It’s then that she told us about adopting T-Bone, her orange tabby kitten. And she’s incorporated him perfectly in this new crime caper. She also mentions Evinrude who is another Key West kitty. Love it.

I loved disappearing into this novel. I was hunkered down in the Key West I know and love. Back walking the atmospheric tucked away streets, eating in my favorite restaurants, and enjoying everything the island on the rock offers. If you haven’t been to Key West you have no idea what you are missing. And did I  even mention the sunset events?

Copperfish Books

As I was enjoying reading the acknowledgements at the end of the book I was thrilled to see Lucy had mentioned me and Copperfish Books. How cool is that!

THE KEY LIME CRIME will be published in hard cover on Tuesday, August 11 by Crooked Lane Books.  Cathy and I will be hosting the virtual book launch at 5 o’clock on the 11th. You can sign up through eventbrite on the Copperfish website. The event is free. Just click on eventbrite above and follow the directions. We sure hope you’ll be able to join us for what is sure to be a fun time for us all. After all, we’ll be talking about Key West and asking Lucy to tell us about her writing process. And since it’s 5 o’clock, maybe we’ll have a happy hour cocktail 😽

You’ll be able to purchase copies of THE KEY LIME CRIME on Tuesday, August 11. We will be discounting them 20%. All the paperbacks will also be available. When you spend $35 the shipping fee is free. A good choice would be the new book plus at least one of the paperbacks. They are all delightful! And Lucy’s sending signed book plates to go with…. Thanks Lucy.

 

 

Death On The Menu by Lucy Burdette

Death On The Menu

 

Welcome to the exciting and fun world of Haylee Snow, food critic for Key Zest Magazine in breezy Key West, Florida.  If this is your first time reading the series,  settle yourself in for a treat. If you’re already a fan, get ready to enjoy DEATH ON THE MENU which is number eight in the Key West Food Critic’s Mystery Series.

I fell head over heels  years ago when I read the first of the series,  AN APPETITE FOR MURDER. You see, I’ve loved Key West for thirty years. Visited every chance I could get. When I discovered Lucy Burdette,

Lucy Burdette

I knew I had hit on something big.  Each book returns to the island with a new adventure filled with great food, atmospheric restaurants, sunset pier, Houseboat Row, Miss Gloria, the cats, and all the colorful characters I’ve come to love. Oh yeah, and  there’s always a murder.

DEATH ON THE  MENU begins with Miss Gloria and Haylee reading  over the Key West Citizen and speculating about the upcoming event of the season. Haylee will be helping her mom who is just getting her fledgling catering business off the ground. They’ve gotten a big gig and will be doing all the food for a three day affair at Harry Truman’s Little Whitehouse. There’s lots of chatter as to who will be showing up. Could even be Jimmy Buffett or President Obama. It’s going to be that big of a deal.  But when Haylee’s boyfriend Nathan who’s a detective with the Key West Police Department shows up to warn Haylee of expected trouble at the event, they start getting a premonition.

Haylee doesn’t scare off easily. Off she goes in the morning, just as planned, to help mom.  Celebrities do show up. Even Diana Nyad gives a speech, Obama says a little something, and Jimmy Buffett sings some tunes and strums his guitar and adds a lot of color. And then the trouble comes along.  Along with a murder. And the theft of  rErnest Hemingway’s Nobel prize gold medal for THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA that was stolen right from its case in the museum.

Let the crime solving begin. Lots of amazing food shows up in this novel. And Burdette very generously shares eight recipes at the back of the book. Very cool.  I am so impressed that I’ve decided to try my hand at the black bean soup later this week. It looks like the most authentic black bean soup I’ve seen and I can’t wait to try it.

I never get tired of hearing about the tucked away side streets of Key West.  Just the thought of the bakeries and restaurants make my mouth water . And the Cuban  coffee.

Haylee Snow lives on a houseboat with Miss Gloria, a very feisty octogenarian.  She might be a senior citizen but she’s no slouch. Sharp as a whistle and quick on her feet, she also loves animals. That totally endears me to her.   Evinrude and Sparky are wonderful editions to the cast of characters in that they are both cats and live on the boat. I have always been fond of the eclectic  houseboats of Key West.

Key West Houseboats

Haylee seems to have a dream job. After all, who wouldn’t want to review restaurants for a living in Key West? But you have to know there are trials and tribulations a plenty.

This is a colorful series full of “take me away from it all” scenarios. Just what we all need right now.  There are nine books in the series and one coming in a couple weeks. So you have plenty of back stock to keep you reading . DEATH ON THE  MENU  came out last spring in hardcover and is now available in mass market paperback. You can get your copy at

Copperfish Books

Copperfish Books. Word on the street is they have them in stock right now. But, don’t wait. These puppies disappear quickly. Oh, and before I forget, we’ll be doing a zoom event with Lucy Burdette  on August 11, the pub date for THE KEY LIME CRIME. More on that later this week!

Camino Winds by John Grisham

Camino Winds

I loved CAMINO ISLAND.  Discovering that a sequel was coming, well, it is here!! And it’s wonderful. Perfect. Entertaining but with a murder mystery to be solved,  during a hurricane at that.

The story begins with a  sumptuous party at Bruce Cable’s home on Camino Island. Celebrating the return of now best-selling literary ,  Mercer Mann. All the usual suspects are there. What a bunch of literary gossips. A delightful and very colorful group.

But the fun quickly dissipates as hurricane Leo changes course and makes a beeline straight for the island. Mandatory evacuations go out. Most residents heed the alarm. But  Bruce decides to stay behind and ride the storm out.  I knew this would not end well. It rarely does. The scenes during the storm are harrowing. Anyone who’s endured a storm such as this understands the aftermath. Sometime as you hunker down in the midst of the storm, your mind reminds you that this was not a good plan.

After the storm passes Bruce emerges from his mostly unscathed to   out the island and  on friends.  When he discovers the body of  Nelson Kerr who is a popular thriller writer, the question arrises: was this an accident from the storm, or was this murder? We get up front and personal with some of the local  who seem to be totally bungling the investigation…Small town stuff.

Grisham brings back more of what he is so well known for:  murder and mystery and even legal stuff. So as much as I loved the story, I missed, missed, missed, the . Of course the is a mess and has sustained lots of damage due to flooding. It could have been much worse if Bruce and some of his employees hadn’t taken the time to move books and valuables to the second floor. Still, wreckage to be repaired.

John Grisham is a master story-teller.  CAMINO WINDS brings what is actually a   read into the murder mystery genre.  So there is more story for everyone.

John Grisham

CAMINO WINDS is pure entertainment. But  it also brings to mind that hurricane season is almost upon us. Always mindful, I can’t even imagine the fear of a storm coming during this pandemic. I shudder at that thought and pray they all just go away.

I am including a link to a very enjoyable podcast with Mitchell Kaplan of Books & Books out of . His conversation with Grisham is just delightful. You will enjoy it and hearing the passion in their voices as they speak of books and stuff is just what you need right now.

Some really great news to end my review. There will be a third in the Camino Series. Yippee. Much dancing around and clapping. You see, I’ve totally  fallen for the quirky character of Bruce Cable. I can’t wait to meet him again.

My copy of CAMINO WINDS was a gift. So I am not indebted to anyone for a review. However, I did love it! The great publishing people at Double Day, a division of Penguin Random ,  have a great gift in John Grisham.

Copperfish Book

Copperfish Books is selling CAMINO WINDS at a 20% in or online.  Free shipping to your home with $35 or more purchase. Might I suggest a paperback copy of CAMINO ISLAND….. to add to your pleasure. Cheers!

 

Camino Island by John Grisham

Camino Island

Somehow I missed CAMINO ISLAND last year when it came out in hardcover. But it’s out now in mass market paperback and I just  gobbled it up. It’s so perfect for book lovers. PERFECT. It was my Mother’s Day read.

Takes place mostly on a small island off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida. Small.  Santa Rosa is a sleepy little town with lots of character and plenty of small restaurants that will beckon to you. Bruce Cable owns the little bookshop named Bay Books. He’s built up a following of authors and has plenty of bookie friends nearby. But what most people don’t know is that he sometimes dabbles in stolen material.

Another great cover.  It’s about books and is at the beach.  But it begins with a great heist on the property of Princeton University’s Firestone Library, far from any beach.  The criminals have their heads together planning a fantastic operation. They are about steal five of F.Scott Fitzgerald’s original manuscripts right out from under the school. How do they do this? Who the hell are they? And how will the beach come into play?

Mercer Mann is a writer who had one book success years ago and has passed her deadline for the next book by three years. Yes, she’s blocked. She’s been teaching and that job is disappearing. So when she’s approached and offered a job making a lot more money than she’s making now, well, she goes for it.  She’s being asked to spy on a little bookseller who owns a small Indy store on Camino Island….. You see, the insurance people do not want to have pay out. They heard maybe Bruce Cage has the manuscript buried in his vault beneath his shop. But does he?

And we move to the beach. Mercer is living in her dead aunt’s cottage right on the beach.  And she becomes deeply involved rather quickly with the bookseller and his cronies. There are long lunches complete with wine. Dinner parties to die for. You’ll meet a host of book lovers who will make your head spin. And I learned so much about the world of antiquated books…. A feast for those of us who truly love our books.

I so enjoyed this novel. Of course it took me to the beach. Gotta love that. But it had me engrossed in the very special book world that I love right from the start. I hope they make a movie out of this book because the part of Bruce Cage just has to be played by Ashton Kutcher. I can so picture Ashton in one of Bruce’s signature pastel seersucker suits, complete with bright yellow or red bow tie and scuffed up old buckskins and no sox, ever.  Yes, a real character!

Such an enjoyable read. Made me want to go directly to this island and have lunch and visit the bookstore. Ha ha.

So the end is satisfying but leaves you wanting more of these people and this so atmospheric island. Low and behold, CAMINO WINDS has just been published and is getting rave reviews. I’m halfway through it and I’m loving everything about it except that it takes place in the midst of a cat 5 hurricane. Yikes. Too close to home.

We have copies  at Copperfish Books  of CAMINO ISLAND in mass market paperThey’re in stock and ready for pick up or delivery.  Do not miss this. You are going to love it. We also have copies in stock of CAMINO WINDS, hardcover marked at 20% off.  They are hot off the press and ready to go.

Hello, Summer by Mary Kay Andrews

Hello, Summer

Conley Hawkins is coming home. Home to the tiny coastal town of Silver Bay, Florida, about forty miles south of Pensacola. She’s dragging her tail behind her and  hating every mile of the journey from Atlanta where she’s been working as a journalist for the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

So, why’s she coming home? The job she thought she had in Washington, DC, fell through after she quit the AJC job. Bummer.  And what’s she coming home to? Good question. Her family still owns the town’s only newspaper, a small-time paper called The Silver Bay Beacon. Her sister Grayson’s been running the paper and barely keeping it going ever since their grandfather passed away.  But Conley is not about to work for her sister…or is she?

Conley is depending on her grandmother, fondly known as G’mama, for room and board and a shoulder to relax on.  And so she pulls up in front of the old homestead downtown knowing she has a safe place to land.  There’s also a beach house and even though it’s mostly in disrepair,  it seems like paradise to the family.

The state of print publishing is in the toilet these days. That’s a profound statement. And so we know that even though Conley has great credentials she’s going to have a hard time finding another job like she wants.  And then when she’s the first one on the scene of a deadly accident in the middle of the night, the door opens for investigation and work—at The Beacon.

Mary Kay Andrews has managed to include everything you could possibly want in a great summer read. She’s thrown in a gorgeous beach, summer cocktails and sunset, Southern hospitality, a hilarious old dog and a cat needing rescuing. And that’s only a wee part of it. There is so much more. Let me tell you.

So G’mama has a companion named Winnie who is almost as old as she is. Winnie has a “background” you  might say. What a great character. Then there’s an old boyfriend  named Sean, who now owns the town’s only drug store: Kelly’s Drugs.  The scenes in the drug store bring back so many memories for me. There is a lunch counter. Now, when was the last time you saw one of those? I used to pony- up  to the soda counter at our local drug store after school with my boyfriend and we would sip root beer floats. Aah.

A very mysterious DJ works the midnight hours of the local radio station. He drives a white 1986 Corvette and goes by the name of Buddy Bright. Now you have to know that surely can not be his real name. And does he have a real name?  And who is he really?

Senator Symmes Robinette brings politics into the story but they are of the local variety.  He has a sordid past and it brings a lot of mystery and intrigue into a story that is already a page-turner.  And then throw in a murder! Holy cow. Really? Yes.

I haven’t even mentioned Rowena Meigs who’s been the society columnist at The Beacon FOREVER.  She can’t spell and makes so many mistakes someone ends up having to completely redo her work every week. So why keep her on? You will find out. Reading her columns will make you laugh out loud.

Mary Kay Andrews

Dip your toes in the surf, grab your favorite cocktail and settle in to read HELLO, SUMMER. You are in for such a treat!!

Don’t forget that you can order your copy of HELLO, SUMMER through Copperfish Books. We will have some copies in the store come May 5th. And they will be discounted 20%.

Mary Kay Andrews will be doing a zoom cast on Tuesday, May 12th at 5 o’clock. You won’t want to miss that. You can sign up on the website at Copperfish Books.

My review copy arrived from the  very generous publishing people at St. Martin’s Press. I am so grateful.

 

Those People by Louise Candlish

Those People

I loved OUR HOUSE last year by Louise Candlish so you can imagine how happy I was to see THOSE PEOPLE coming out today!

This new novel of domestic suspense is set in an upscale London neighborhood that becomes like a war zone for a certain group of seemingly civilized parents and their children. Written with acidic wit and a lot of angst, and even touted as much like Moriarty’s BIG LITTLE LIES,  THOSE PEOPLE will have you in its grip immediately.

A safe neighborhood begins falling apart when a young couple move into a vacant house that they’ve inherited. They begin creating havoc and invading everyone’s privacy by using their property to conduct a disturbing and  highly disruptive business. Everything is turned upside down and the place starts going to the dogs. And then there’s the murder….

While reading this novel I contemplated what it would mean to me if this happened in my very quiet neighborhood. Total disruption. Life turned upside down.  Ugh.

Louise Candlish

My review copy of THOSE PEOPLE by Louise Candlish arrived from Berkley a division of Penguin Random House in exchange for an honest review. It’s another great suspenseful novel from an English author I’ve come to love.  Super for summer.

The Book Artist by Mark Pryor

The Book Artist

Look at this sparkly photo taken in Paris. Aah.

Hugo Marston is back.  All the books featuring Hugo have been in black and white until this new one. I love how alive the cover is. Good move.

What is a book artist? In this case it’s a young woman who makes art from books. She erects things. And someone is after her. Not in a good way.

THE BOOK ARTIST begins on a rainy and windy winter night in Monmartre, Paris.  Hugo is on his way to an art exhibit featuring books.  He really wasn’t keen on going until he discovered the medium would be books. Right up his alley.

It doesn’t take long to find a dead body and a mystery. After all, this is what Hugo is all about.  Pryor is the master of bringing Paris jumping and leaping high off the page.  The sights, the aromas, and the tastes.. All there for the taking. You will love submerging yourself in the culture of Paris and if you haven’t read Pryor before, well, you are in for a treat.

I am grateful to the publishing house of Seventh Street Books, a division of Prometheus. Thanks again for another stellar Marston novel. It’s a real treat.

 

The High Tide Club by Mary Kay Andrews

The High Tide Club

I look forward to reading Mary Kay Andrews every spring. This spring is no exception. She’s outdone herself. Not only are we at the beach, we’re on an island off the coast of Savannah and there’s a murder mystery to boot.

THE HIGH TIDE CLUB has some strong women.  Young and old strong women. These characters are full of pepper and have a back story to “die” for.

” When ninety-nine-year-old heiress Josephine Bettendorf Warrick summons Brooke Trappnell to Talisa Island, her 20,000-acre remote barrier island home, Brooke is puzzled. Everybody in the South has heard about the eccentric millionaire mistress of Talisa, but Brooke has never met her, Josephine’s cryptic note says she wants to discuss an important legal matter with Brooke, who is an attorney, but Brooke knows that Mrs. Warrick has long been a client of a prestigious Atlanta law firm.”

Millie, Ruth, Varina, and Josephine are the four women of THE HIGH TIDE CLUB. They were all really young when it originated. Varina being the youngest of them all. Two are dead. Only Josephine and Varina have survived. And boy do they have a secret. In fact, this novel is jam-packed with secrets. Plural. 

Mary Kay Andrews has set this new novel in a unique island paradise that houses not just family memories but a murder that has gone unsolved for over fifty years.  One character does not even know who he is. And family members are in the dark about what happened all those years ago on the eve of Millie’s wedding.

I could not turn the pages quick enough. The story goes back and forth in time. Begins in 1941 with the prologue introducing the four women and the body.  Then flips forward to Chapter one where Brooke meets  old Mrs. Warrick. We begin to learn about each of the members of THE HIGH TIDE CLUB and how they fit into the here and now. Sometimes I could not wait and found myself jumping ahead to get back to the earlier story… Oooh, it’s good!

Mary Kay Andrews 

My festive review copy arrived in a box complete with a sippy cup for beverage  and logo saying Summer begins with Mary Kay Andrews.  

Mary Kay Andrews is the pen name of Kathy Hogan Trocheck.  For years she wrote wonderful cozy mysteries.  In THE HIGH TIDE CLUB her  mystery telling abilities totally shine.

THE HIGH TIDE CLUB will be on sale May 8. We will have them on my summer reading table at Copperfish Books in Punta, Gorda.

Copperfish Books

I have to thank Meg from Tandem Literary and St. Martin’s Press. I loved this book!

 

 

 

Sunburn by Laura Lippman

Sunburn

SUNBURN by Laura Lippman has a very summery cover. Very! Makes me feel the sizzle and heat of the burn.  But it’s the novel’s premise that drew me in and convinced me to read it. I can’t ignore a young mother walking away and leaving her family on the beach. Actually leaving as in I’m out of here leaving!

This fine psychological suspense novel takes place in my old stomping grounds. Most of the story lives in a very small out of- the -way town in Delaware. Lippman has named the town Belleville. I have checked and can’t find a town with that name. And I sure don’t remember that name. However, I grew up in Seaford, Delaware and I know small back-water towns. Towns on the way to the Eastern Shore beaches. Laura Lippman has nailed the atmosphere of these towns like nobody’s business. You have to have lived there to “get” it. And I have.

Adam and Polly meet at a local tavern in the small town of Belleville, Delaware. Polly is set on heading west. Adam says he’s also passing through. 

Yet he stays and he stays-drawn to this mysterious redhead whose quiet stillness both unnerves and excites him.  Over the course of a punishing summer, Polly and Adam abandon themselves to a steamy, inexorable affair.  Still, each holds something back from the other-dangerous, even lethal, secrets. 

” In an unpromising town near the Maryland shore two souls begin a cat and mouse game that will lead to betrayal and murder. One is playing a long game. But which one?”

I don’t read a lot of mysteries. This is more of a psychological thriller. But it is also a murder mystery. Lippman has raised the bar for other mystery writers with SUNBURN.  I truly didn’t know what to expect. And what I got was more not knowing. The characters are complex. The story is compelling. People have already been murdered when the novel begins.   But why, and how?

I know those little no-nothing towns. One diner, a gas station, and a bar. Maybe two old coots at that bar.  Nobody stops unless they have to. So why would a young woman want to live there and start over???

For those of you who want a great mystery for the beach, toss this  novel into your beach bag. You won’t be sorry.

Laura Lippman

Laura Lippman

has written a slew of books.  She’s been nominated for more than fifty awards for crime fiction and won more than twenty.  Now a perennial New York times bestselling author, she lives in Baltimore and New Orleans with her family.

My review copy was sent compliments of William Morrow Books, an imprint or Harper Collins. I loved the book!

Strangers In Budapest by Jessica Keener

Strangers In Budapest

One glance at this lovely cover and I was pulled right in. STRANGERS IN BUDAPEST by Jessica Keener is not for the faint of heart. I love reading about old European cities. There’s usually a great story waiting to be told. Here, there are many stories.

Will and his wife Annie sell their house in Boston and move to Budapest with their newly adopted infant, Leo. Wow, that’s a lot. They want to live like the locals. Will intends to make a start-up business in communications. Budapest is just coming out of the communist-era and everyone believes there is going to be a big boom.

But Annie isn’t settling in as she had once thought she would. The summer is insanely hot and humid and they have no air conditioning in their central apartment on the Buda side of Budapest. Budapest is divided into two parts: Buda is hilly and Pest is flat. A bridge spans the two at the Danube River. Locally known as Duna. Annie has not made any friends yet even though there is a fairly large expat community nearby.  And the business Will has  been trying to jump -start is not going so well. They have almost blown through their savings.

One day, they get a call from their old neighbors back in the states asking them for a favor. Would they please check on an old man who is staying in their apartment across the river in Budapest. They are concerned about his health since hearing of the oppressive heat in the city. And he has diabetes.

Edward Weiss is a Jewish American WW11 veteran who helped free Hungarian Jews from a Nazi prison camp.  He has come to Hungary to find the person who he believes murdered his daughter.

Annie helped out at a homeless shelter in America and can not resist trying to help Edward. But, things turn weird, then even weirder. And she begins fearing for her own and her family’s lives. Suddenly, the people she thinks she knows, appear to change. And  this story becomes deadly.

There are enough twists and turns in this story to keep you up late at night.  Keener knows the city and manages to show its seedy side as well as its beauty and history.  In fact, this complex city is filled with problems from its pollution and mostly rude and opinionated locals, to its corrupt city officials.  I have officially crossed it from my to-go-to list.

Jessica Keener

Jessica Keeneris the author of the bestselling novel NIGHT SWIM. She lived in Budapest in the 1990’s; she now lives with her husband in the Boston area, where she is a writing consultant for Grub Street.

If you’re looking for a unique tale in a unique place, this is your book. I thank Algonquin Books for the gorgeous finished hardcover in exchange for an honest review.  I enjoyed it and I think readers of suspense will be talking about this one for a long time.