BLOG TOUR – Quiche of Death

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Quiche of Death (A Sugar & Spice Mystery)
by Mary Lee Ashford

About Quiche of Death

Quiche of Death (A Sugar & Spice Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
3rd in Series
Publisher: Lyrical Press (July 21, 2020)
Print Length: ~254 pages
ASIN: B0855Q9JFW

When editor Sugar Calloway and baker Dixie Spicer went into business creating cookbooks, they found a sideline as amateur sleuths. Now a bitter family grudge could leave a fatal aftertaste…

At Sugar & Spice Community Cookbooks, the friends and business partners have secured a tasty new commission: producing a cookbook for the Arbor family. The Arbors have made their fortune in quiches, and Sugar and Spice have been invited to a weekend gathering where all the siblings, along with crusty matriarch Marta, will be in attendance. But it’s soon clear that this trip will come with a hefty slice of drama.

Theo, the only grandson, arrives with his flaky fiancée, Collette, who quickly stirs up trouble . . . and is found dead the next day. As the investigation unfolds, secrets—and recipes—are shared, and Sugar and Spice realize just how messy and murderous the situation may be. As another family member falls ill, can they solve the case without getting egg on their faces . . .and a target on their backs?
* Includes delicious recipes! *

Excerpt

“Quiche me, you fool.”

The demand was followed by hoots of laughter as the sister—Jezzie, I think her name was—leaned into her spouse for a smooch. He hesitated but obliged.

I smiled at the boisterous group who clearly shared some inside joke about quiche and kissing. The warmth of the table and the sibling love melted my heart like butter on a biscuit. Taking a sip of water, I glanced over at Dixie, who sat across from me at the huge oak table.

She rolled her eyes.

“What?” I mouthed.

Dixie shrugged. Jezzie had perhaps a teensy bit too much wine, but still: When did my best friend and business partner get so darn stuffy? Maybe it was the inside-joke part that she found off-putting.

But we did know quiche was the family’s stock-in-trade, so it wasn’t that much of a stretch to figure out the expression had something to do with the Arbor family’s food business. After all, that was why we were here.

Guest Post by the Author

Hungry and Afraid

What do you get when you combine a classic cozy or as the Brits say a “gentle” murder mystery with mouth-watering recipes? Well, you might end up hungry, but probably not afraid. Even though you’re reading about a murder.

I started reading Agatha Christie as a teen and so when I started writing the choice of genre was no surprise to anyone. However, the addition of a culinary theme might have been.

Often I hear from reviewers that my books make them hungry and I have to say I’m sort of proud of that. After co-authoring the Pamper Pets mystery series as part of the Sparkle Abbey writing team, I was looking for another theme that involved something that I loved. And though I don’t love the day-to-day, what’s-for-dinner, cooking, I do love to bake.

This series allows me to combine my love of a crime-solving puzzle with an appreciation for great baking. The first book in the series had me experimenting with scone recipes for Games of Scones. And book two found me researching variations of biscuit recipes for Risky Biscuits. This latest book, Quiche of Death, was a bit more of a challenge as the crust took several tries before it was as flaky as it should be. It was either falling apart or tough and brittle. I eventually got it down. After that, the variations were as fun as figuring out how Sugar & Dixie, my two amateur sleuths, were going to solve the murder.

Sugar (Rosetta Sugar-Baker), a down-sized magazine editor and Spice (Dixie Spicer), a blue-ribbon baker, are both starting over in life and believe they have the perfect ingredients for a successful community cookbook publishing business. And Sugar & Spice Community Cookbooks has been doing quite well. Until this most recent commission producing a cookbook for the Arbor Family who has made their fortune in quiches. Invited to a B & B weekend with the family, they hope for some family recipes and colorful stories to include in the book, but instead find themselves in the middle of a murder investigation.

I hope readers enjoy the family aspect, the interesting setting, and that I make them hungry with some of the Arbor Family recipes!

About Mary Lee Ashford

Mary Lee Ashford is a lifelong bibliophile, and avid reader, and supporter of public libraries.

In addition to writing the Sugar and Spice series for Kensington Books, she also writes as half of the writing team of Sparkle Abbey, author of the national bestselling Pampered Pets mystery series from Bell Bridge Books.

Prior to publishing Mary Lee won first place in the Daphne du Maurier contest, sponsored by the Kiss of Death chapter of RWA, and was a finalist in Murder in the Grove’s mystery contest, as well as Killer Nashville’s Claymore Dagger contest.

She is the founding president of Sisters in Crime – Iowa and a past board member of the Mystery Writers of America Midwest chapter, as well as a member of Novelists, Inc., Romance Writers of America, Kiss of Death the RWA Mystery Suspense chapter, Sisters in Crime, and the SinC internet group Guppies. She loves encouraging other writers and is a frequent presenter for writers’ groups.

Mary Lee has a passionate interest in creativity and teaches a university-level course in Creative Management to MPA candidates, as well as presenting workshops and blogging about creativity.

She currently resides in the midwest with her husband, Tim, and cat, Zoey. Her delights are reading and enjoying her two sons and daughters-in-law, and six grandchildren.

Author Links

Website – https://maryleeashford.com/

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/maryleeashford1

Twitter – https://twitter.com/maryleeashford

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/mary_lee_ashford/

BookBub – https://www.bookbub.com/profile/mary-lee-ashford

Pinterest – https://www.pinterest.com/maryleeashford/

Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/maryleeashford

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