Author: Ruth Baker
Genre: Mystery
Paperback; Digital Book
ISBN #: 9798376643938
Clean Tales Publishing
178 Pages
$9.99; $2.99 Amazon
February 8, 2023
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Lucy has many reasons to be happy about Valentines' that's just around the corner. One of them includes visiting a new restaurant in town that claims to serve the best steak.
When she visits this restaurant with her friends, they're impressed by the interior décor and blown away by the yummy food. It seems not everyone is excited about this new establishment, as the chef from a rival restaurant causes a scene as he claims the new restaurant has stolen his recipe. Lucy's boyfriend, a local detective, is on hand to calm frayed nerves and usher this unruly chef out of the restaurant.
Moments later, all hell breaks loose when someone bursts into the restaurant and announces that the boisterous chef from the rival restaurant has been found dead on the sidewalk.
At first, everyone thinks he died of natural causes. However, as Lucy begins to uncover the deceased's past, she discovers he stepped on many toes and a few people had plausible motives to see him dead.
Will Lucy help to find the killer and restore the reputation of the new restaurant? Or will her amateur sleuthing draw the attention of a killer who has nothing to lose and a lot to gain?
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Lucy Hale owns Ivy Creek's bakery Sweet Delights. When she hears of a new steakhouse in town, she wants to eat there, just as all her employees do. But one of her employees has disturbing news: it seems at the opening night of the local theater's rendition of Romeo and Juliet, the actor playing Romeo proposed to his girlfriend...who promptly left the theater and then broke up with him. Now they need a new Romeo, and everyone hopes that the man will be okay.
But Lucy is not about to allow it to spoil her fun, and when she visits with her boyfriend Taylor, and employee Hannah and her new beau Miles, the evening starts off well. At least until the chef of a rival restaurant starts screaming that the establishment stole his prized marinade recipe. Taylor manages to get the man out of the restaurant without too much of a scuffle. But before everyone can enjoy the remainder of their night, someone enters the restaurant yelling that someone has collapsed outside.
When Taylor (and the rest) go to see who it is, they discover that it's the rival chef, and he's soon pronounced dead. When it's discovered that he's been poisoned, the restaurant is temporarily closed, and Lucy is suspicious. Was it accidental? Did someone want the chef dead, and if so, who? While Taylor follows the leads, Lucy follows her gut, and what she discovers isn't going to go down easily for anyone...
This is the tenth book in the series and I have read them all. I have also enjoyed them all. We are seeing the slow progression of Lucy and Taylor's getting to know each other again, and insecurities come forth that need to be dealt with. But the main story is the murder, and she's determined to see if the chef was the intended target or not.
We watch Lucy as she questions people -- including the chef's widow -- to see who had the most motive to want him dead. His past isn't pleasant, and it could have been one of many people. But it's when Lucy discovers a couple of other things that she begins to put the truth together, which once again could get her killed. But in the end, all comes out well (as we know it must) and it's a pleasant ending, one that makes the book worth reading. Recommended.
I was given a copy of this book from the publisher but it in no way influenced my review.
More on Ruth Baker's Books: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/b/ruth-baker/
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