Butter Off Dead, Leslie Budewitz’s third installment in the Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries series, finds our heroine, Erin Murphy, purveyor and lover of all things gourmet, still running her family’s business in the scenic enclave of Jewel Bay, Montana. To cheer up the locals during the gray days of winter, her friend Christine has cooked up the idea of a Food Lovers Film Festival.
Plans are well underway when Christine is found murdered. The event sets off an investigation that brings Erin’s brother under suspicion, even though he and Christine had seemingly rekindled their estranged romantic relationship.
Not content with the local sheriff’s investigative abilities, Erin, with treats and favorite beverage in hand, consults her “Spreadsheet of Suspicion” to clear her brother’s name and find the real perpetrator.
Budewitz’s gift for language and detailed descriptions wraps readers into the story like a favorite garment. As Erin goes about her search, the author adds fact to her fiction with information about the physical, cultural and political geography of the setting.
And as usual, there is food, lots of glorious food, to revel in. (Budewitz shares some of the mouthwatering recipes in the back of the book and online at mysteryloverskitchen.com).
Who would think crime could be so charming, chilling and … delicious?
Suspense Magazine praises Butter Off Dead as “delightful, delicious, and non-fattening! A calorie–counter’s trifecta of yummy fun.”
Budewitz is also the author of Death Al Dente and Crime Rib in this series, and two additional books in her Seattle-based crime series, the Spice Shop Mysteries. The Bigfork author and attorney is a two-time recipient of the Agatha Award, once for fiction and again for non-fiction. Learn more at www.lesliebudewitz.com.
– Judy Shafter