February 15, 2019
Starting a second career by founding a catering business is not simple; mix in murder, and Tish Tarragon is in for a rocky introduction to the tight-knit community of Hobson Glen. When Tish is asked to cater the biggest library fund-raising event of the year by the finicky director, Binnie, she thinks her Cookin' the Books Caf� and catering business is off to a great start. But things sure turn sour when Binnie dies in the middle of the event after eating her meal! With strong, supportive friendships and a budding romance, Tish races to solve the murder before her business dreams burn up in the frying pan. From the pun-filled title to the literature-inspired food, cozy-mystery fans will love Meade's newest novel. The full cast of characters creates a robust community that will make bibliophiles want to travel to Hobson Glen, Virginia, and partake in some tasty literary delights. Readers of Rita Mae Brown and Joanne Fluke should be excited by this new series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)
September 1, 2019
Tish Tarragon, owner of Cookin' the Books Caf� and Catering, is hired to cater the annual awards luncheon of the Coleton Creek Sixty-Plus Community Garden Club. When retired businessman Sloane Shackleford, the unpopular five-time winner of the best-garden prize, is murdered just before the judging, Tish reluctantly investigates. Suspects abound among the residents and staff, from contest-winner hopefuls to the numerous women Shackleford scorned, to clients he cheated, and to those he harassed just for the fun of it. As Tish readies for The Secret Garden-themed luncheon, various suspects confide in her, and she shares her findings with Sheriff Reade. Complicating matters, Tish must comfort an old friend whose husband has just left her for a younger woman, and her romance with attorney Schuyler begins to heat up. However, there may be another suitor in the wings. Tish ultimately identifies the killer in this gardening- and food-framed cozy, set in hot, humid Virginia and featuring a strong, principled female business owner. Suggest this series to fans of Joanne Fluke's Hannah Swensen novels.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)
July 1, 2019
Meade’s appealing sequel to Cookin’ the Books takes caterer Letitia “Tish” Tarragon, who owns a café in Hobson Glen, Va., and Tish’s occasional assistant, weatherman Julian “Jules” Jefferson Davis, to the Coleton Creek Sixty-Plus Community to prepare for the annual garden club luncheon. While touring the top contenders for the prize for best garden, Tish and Jules discover the body of wealthy retiree Sloane Shackleford, who has won the event for the last five years, his head bashed in with a garden spade. Would someone kill to win a gardening competition? Nathan and Mariette Knobloch, Coleton Creek’s developers, seem to think so and are adamant about cancelling the proceedings. But popular opinion dictates that the garden show must go on. Tish insists that she will not investigate; however, her sympathetic listening skills uncover more potential motives and enough suspects to keep the novel zipping along at a good clip. Happily, Meade keeps the cute puns to a minimum this outing. Cozy fans will have fun. Agent: Jessica Faust, BookEnds Literary.
August 1, 2019
Could a fiercely contended garden competition provide a motive for murder? With a surname like hers, it's no wonder that Tish Tarragon is a wonderful chef. She also has a talent for solving puzzling crimes (Cookin' the Books, 2019). Since she moved to Hobson Glen, Virginia, at the behest of her college pals, TV weatherman Jules Davis and Mary Jo Okensholt, devoted wife and mother of two, her literary-themed cafe has become very successful. Now she's landed the job of catering an extravagant luncheon for the Coleton Creek garden club's annual awards ceremony. The winner the past five years has been Sloane Shackleford, a womanizer with the morals of a tomcat who's hated by almost everyone in the 60-plus community. People even suspect he leaves his dog, Biscuit, free to roam and damage the neighbors' gardens. Together with Jules, who'll help by tending bar, Tish visits the venue, joins club president Jim Ainsley for a tour of the wonderfully imaginative gardens, and meets the contestants who've slaved over them. When the tour arrives at Shackleford's stunning garden, they discover him bludgeoned with a garden spade. The victim's extensive list of enemies presents a challenge to Sheriff Clemson Reade, and Tish claims that she's not on the case. Because her crime-solving reputation has preceded her, however, many of the residents share their tales of woe with Shackleford. Tish is overwhelmed between prep work for the party and soothing Mary Jo and her family when her husband, in an apparent midlife crisis, suddenly admits to an affair with a much younger woman. But she takes in Biscuit and finds that people won't stop confiding in her. Despite the fierce competition, she can't believe that the nice people she's met would kill over a garden prize. So she slowly builds a case for murder with a better motive that she still finds shocking. Obscure secrets, eccentric characters, and a soup�on of romance embellish an appealing mystery.
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