About the Book
Tiffany once gave his restaurant a poor review, and she's
convinced he's only accepted the job to get revenge. She fully expects Driscoll
will find a way to ruin the contest . . . but she definitely doesn't expect to
trip over his dead body backstage!
Soon, it's clear Tiffany wasn't the only person who had less
than positive feelings towards the sharp-tongued Driscoll. She's surrounded by
suspects - but which of the motley crew of contestants, family members and
scorned friends and colleagues had the guts to commit murder?
With the help of her BFF Hilary and annoyingly handsome
detective Bartell, and with cat Lily and puppy Cooper as emotional support,
Tiffany investigates, only to discover that revenge is indeed a dish best
served cold . . .
Excerpt
“Contestants, you have less than twenty minutes left to
finish your pies for the first round of judging.”
From our vantage point in the wings, Hilary and I had an
excellent view of the stage and the contestant’s entries. Hilary gave me a
swift nudge in the ribs with her elbow. “Look at Kurt Howell’s pie. It looks
like a work of art.”
I had to agree. The pie that Howell had pulled out of his
oven looked like something that should be on the cover of a food magazine.
Hilary gave me another nudge, this one harder. “Look at
Arleen. She seems upset, doesn’t she?”
I looked at Hilary’s sister. She was looking inside the oven
and frowning. She opened the oven, took out her pie and frowned at it.
“It doesn’t look like it’s cooked, does it?” whispered
Hilary.
I shook my head. “No it doesn’t. Maybe that’s why she looks
upset.”
Arleen abruptly left her station and walked around to the
other side. She bent down and fiddled there for a few seconds, then raced back
to her counter and began to swiftly assemble another pie.
“What is she doing?” Hilary cried. “Making another pie? Does
she have enough time?”
I watched as Arleen, who appeared to be cool as a cucumber,
quickly rolled out her dough. She spread a generous amount of sauce on top and
then grabbed a sharp-looking chef’s knife from her counter and sliced tomatoes
and vegetables in record time. She assembled her toppings, set them on her pie
and slid it into the oven just as Troy Howard sang out, “Thirteen minutes,
contestants.”
I gave Hilary’s arm a squeeze. “A pizza normally takes
between eight and twelve minutes to bake. Arleen’s should just make it.”
Hilary frowned. “Okay, but why on earth did she have to do a
second pie in the first place?”
“I’d like to know the answer to that myself.”
Thirteen minutes later the bell rang, signifying the end of
the first round of the bake-off. Arleen had put her pizza in a warming bag and
brought it up to the judging table with two minutes to spare. Kurt had placed
his there a few minutes before. Bringing up the rear was Colleen Collins. She
didn’t look at all happy with her pizza, even though I had to admit it looked
and smelled yummy. Troy Howard announced a half hour intermission to allow the
judges time to taste, and Hilary and I immediately made our way backstage.
Arleen was waiting for us, a grim expression on her face.
Hilary didn’t waste any time. “What happened? Why did you
make another pie?”
Arleen’s eyes were flashing sparks. “Because someone
unplugged my oven, that’s why? I thought something was wrong.” She huffed a
blonde curl out of her eye. “Thank God I walked around to check. It took a
little elbow grease to get that plug back in, but...actually it might have been
for the best. I think my second pie was better than the first.”
“I wonder how that plug came out,” Hilary mused. “I thought
they checked all the equipment before the contest began.”
“They do,” said Arleen. “Someone waited until my stove was
checked, then deliberately unplugged it.”
“No!” Hilary gasped. “Who would do such a thing?”
“Oh, I know exactly who,” Arleen cried. She whirled around and pointed a finger at Colleen Collins. “Her!”
About the Author
T. C. LoTempio is the award-winning, national bestselling author of the Nick and Nora mystery series. Her cat, Rocco, provides the inspiration for the character of Nick the cat. She also writes the Urban Tails Pet Shop Mystery Series, as well as the Cat Rescue series. Her latest series is the Tiffany Austin Food Blogger series from Severn House. Check out her and Rocco's blog, www.catsbooksmorecats.blogspot.com, and visit her website, www.tclotempio.net, for more information.
Facebook ~~ Twitter/X ~~ Goodreads
Giveaway
January 8 – Cinnamon, Sugar, and a Little Bit of Murder – REVIEW, RECIPE
January 8 – Read Your Writes Book Reviews – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
January 9 – Cozy Up WIth Kathy – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST
January 9 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
January 10 – Mystery, Thrillers, and Suspense – SPOTLIGHT
January 10 – CelticLady Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
January 11 – Christy's Cozy Corners – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
January 12 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT
January 13 – Brooke Blogs – RECIPE
January 14 – The Mystery Section – SPOTLIGHT WITH EXCERPT
January 15 – Ruff Drafts – SPOTLIGHT WITH EXCERPT
January 16 – Maureen's Musings – SPOTLIGHT
January 17 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW
January 17 – StoreyBook Reviews – AUTHOR GUEST POST
January 18 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT WITH EXCERPT
January 19 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW
January 20 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee – SPOTLIGHT
January 21 – Sapphyria's Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
This sounds like a fun read clever title too.
ReplyDeleteheather hgtempaddy
I liked the excerpt.
ReplyDeletenice excerpt
ReplyDeleteThis book looks good.
ReplyDelete