A Poisonous Palate by Lucy Burdette
Food critic Haley Snow receives an intriguing email from a writer, Catherine Davitt. Catherine is coming to Haley’s town with a dual-purpose in mind: 1) to do research for a book on Ernest Hemingway’s wives 2). To solve the decades-old mystery of the disappearance of her friend and traveling companion, Veronica (Ronnie).
Why would Catherine want to contact Haley? Because Haley Snow is not only a well-known food critic/reviewer but also has a reputation for crime solving. And when Catherine blows into town and meets Haley face-to-face, she tells Haley about her friend, Ronnie, who seemed to vanish into thin air in the late 70’s.
According to Catherine, the police back then didn’t try very hard to find Ronnie. After all, they were both just teenagers, drifting around together “trying to find themselves.” They wound up in an encampment outside of town and things seemed to be going well, until they weren’t.
The police questioned everyone in the encampment, but no one could shed any light on Ronnie going missing. The police cleared out the encampment and seemed satisfied that there was no foul play — a young teenage girl just “moved on.” Catherine didn’t buy it.
Fast forward to current times and you’ll find Catherine still deeply troubled by the entire incident. But when Haley and Catherine start poking around, suddenly the past is brought forward to the present – and it’s not a good mix.
The two of them begin to delve into the mystery by interviewing several of the now adult residents who were once part of the encampment during their younger years. Arthur Combs was the camp leader. He was and still seems like a “straight-up” kind of guy. Suzanne was the camp’s chef and Ginny, is now a waitress in a local restaurant. Ned was the creepy older guy hanging out with them. The young Officer Ryan who helped clear the encampment, is still around – but something seems “off” about him.
Much to their surprise and horror, it doesn’t take long for them to discover a murder victim – someone who was connected to the encampment. It also doesn’t take long for Catherine herself to mysteriously disappear. No phone call, no note – just “gone.”
And while Haley’s worries for Catherine’s safety come to a head, she suddenly realizes that Catherine’s trip may have been a facade – maybe there’s more going on here than she’d been made aware of – maybe she’s been “played.” Her worries turn to fear.
There’s a cold-blooded killer on the loose. Haley suspects it’s one of the encampment people. Someone didn’t like Ronnie and wanted her to be permanently gone from the camp – someone who also wants Haley permanently gone from the Keys!
Lucy Burdette does it once again! She’s given us a delightful cozy, perfect for summertime reading. Grab a copy of A Poisonous Palate – a perfect mystery to toss into your beach bag or enjoy on your porch or patio with a cool drink in hand.
A copy of this book and cover photo were provided by Crooked Lane Publishing.