Livia Reasoner crée des récits captivants qui explorent les subtilités du roman policier et de la fiction historique. Son écriture plonge dans les complexités de la nature humaine et les dilemmes moraux, souvent ancrés dans des décors historiques vivaces. D'une main experte, elle construit des intrigues complexes qui captivent le lecteur du début à la fin. La voix distinctive de Reasoner et son art du récit en font une auteure remarquable dans ses genres.
A Fresh-Baked MysteryPhyllis Newsom serves a candy cane cupcake to rancher Barney McCrory at the Weatherford, Texas, tree-lighting ceremony, but when the cupcake is finished, so is he. Paramedics determine Barney was shot, and suspicion falls on his daughter and her husband. But something about this case doesn't sit right with Phyllis.
"Hollywood comes to Weatherford, Texas, as a movie company arrives to shoot scenes for a film based on the novel by Phyllis Newsom's friend Eve. But movie fantasy turns to deadly reality as a murder recreated for film turns out to be the genuine article, and once more Phyllis has to track down a cunning killer to see that justice is done"--
Phyllis Newsom serves a candy cane cupcake to rancher Barney McCrory at the Weatherford, Texas, tree-lighting ceremony, but when the cupcake is finished, so is he. Paramedics determine Barney was shot, and suspicion falls on his daughter and her husband. But something about this case doesn't sit right with Phyllis.
A Fresh-Baked MysteryPhyllis Newsom and Sam Fletcher come out of retirement to works as substitute teachers as a favor for friends. That means getting up early, dealing with students and teachers, and helping out with extracurricular activities. But for Phyllis, stumbling over dead bodies is an extracurricular activity! When murder strikes at the school's Friday the Thirteenth dance, it's unlucky for the victim and for the student who's the prime suspect. Sam's granddaughter has a crush on the boy, and can't believe he's a killer. Neither can Phyllis.
The chili in Texas is red-hot . . . and so is murder! Phyllis, Sam, Carolyn, and Eve head for West Texas to compete in a Fourth of July chili cookoff. Thousands of people have descended on a sleepy little ghost town, turning it into a boomtown for chili mavens, gamblers, musicians, and media. Raucous excitement fills the air, but so does chili when a sabotaged propane cooker explodes, killing the much-hated current champion. The victim leaves behind a tangled trail of sleeping with other men's wives, cheating at cards - and maybe at chili cooking - and deadly anger. With Sam a possible suspect in the murder, emotions run hot as a bowl of Texas red as Phyllis has to untangle these threads in order to put her finger on the killer! Livia J. Washburn's beloved Fresh Baked Mystery series is back with another novel full of tasty recipes, dastardly doings, and brilliant sleuthing by Phyllis Newsom and her friends. THE GREAT CHILI KILL-OFF is a delicious dish of murder and detection.