Death Al Dente - Spotlight

The latest Food Lovers' Village Mystery, As the Cookie Crumbles, was released last month and author Leslie Budewitz visited the blog. Today, however, I'd like to go back in time and shine a spotlight on the first book in the series, Death Al Dente.

 From the back cover:



The town of Jewel Bay, Montana-known as A Food Lovers' Village-is obsessed with homegrown and homemade Montana fare. So when Erin Murphy takes over her family's century-old general store, she turns it into a boutique market filled with local delicacies. But Erin's freshly booming business might go rotten when a former employee turns up dead...

Murphy's Mercantile, known as the Merc, has been a staple in Jewel Bay for over a hundred years. To celebrate their recent makeover as a gourmet food market, Erin has organized a town festival, Festa di Pasta, featuring the culinary good of Montana's finest-including her mother Fresca's delicious Italian specialties

But Erin's sweet success is soured when the shop's former manager, Claudette, is found dead behind the Merc on the Fiesta's opening night. With rival chef James Angelo stirring up trouble, and rumors swirling that Fresca's sauce recipes were stolen from Claudette, Erin's mother is under close scrutiny. Now Erin will have to hunt down some new suspects, or both her family and her store might wind up in hot water...

Recipes Included.