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Overview
For once, it seems, no one is trying to pin a murder on Eleanor Swift, owner of the scrumptious pizzeria A Slice of Delight in the quiet little town of Timber Ridge, North Carolina. But someone has to answer for that body in her kitchen. . .and it looks like the final stop for Gregg Hatcher, her deliveryman, may be the state penitentiary. . .Includes Delicious Pizza Recipe!Praise for Chris Cavender and A Slice of Murder
"Pizza lovers will relish Cavender's delightful first in a new cozy series... A lively pace and a thrilling climax." --Publishers Weekly
"A yummy mystery chock full of savory surprises--like an extra-large pizza loaded with extra toppings!" --Leslie Meier, author of Mother's Day Murder
"The camaraderie of the Timber Ridge, NC, sisters is reminiscent of Nancy Martin's Blackbird siblings." --Library Journal
Synopsis
For once, it seems, no one is trying to pin a murder on Eleanor Swift, owner of the scrumptious pizzeria A Slice of Delight in the quiet little town of Timber Ridge, North Carolina. But someone has to answer for that body in her kitchen...and it looks like the final stop for Greg Hatcher, her deliveryman, may be the state penitentiary...
Eleanor knows Gregg would never have lethally bashed his own brother in the head with a pizza-rolling pin. Sure, Wade was greedily claiming far more than his fair share of their family inheritance. And Gregg did catch his ex-girlfriend Katy smooching on the couch with Wade. It's no wonder that Timber Ridge's police chief—and Eleanor's ex-sweetheart—has his sights set on finding and arresting poor Gregg.
But as Eleanor and her saucy sister Maddy dig a little deeper into the mystery, they find Wade's enemies begin to outnumber the slices on a large pie. This is one mystery that's made to order, and if Eleanor and Maddy don't find out who killed Wade, Gregg's delivery days are over. But while finding the killer is one thing, escaping alive to dish the goods to the police is quite another.
Includes delicious pizza recipe!
Chris Cavender is the pseudonym for an Agatha Award nominated author who has appeared on the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association national bestseller list nine times. He's published A Slice of Murder, also featuring Eleanor Swift; over 80 mystery short stories; and has been nominated for three Derringer Awards for excellence in short mystery fiction.
Publishers Weekly
The pseudonymous Cavender (Tim Myers) offers few surprises in his talky second mystery starring Timber Ridge, N.C., pizzeria owner Eleanor Swift (after 2009's A Slice of Murder). When someone bashes in the head of Wade Hatcher, the brother of Eleanor's best delivery guy, Greg Hatcher, with Eleanor's maple rolling pin in her pizzeria kitchen, it appears at first that Greg killed Wade, who was contesting their grandparents' will. Eleanor and her sister, Maddy, join forces to investigate after the local police chief, Kevin Hurley, who always knows how to ruffle Eleanor's feathers, doesn't do much. As the sisters pursue some sticky but somewhat predictable clues, their suspect list grows. Could the killer have been Greg's estranged girlfriend, Katy Johnson; ill-tempered Sandi Meadows, who was dating Wade; or Roger Henderson, Wade's boss, who claims Wade was stealing from his customers? Some readers might wish that Cavender had added a little more spice to his comfortable recipe of food, mystery, and smalltown vibes. (Aug.)