Countdown to Zero Hour

Family recipes and daring choices lead a rambunctious chef to a gangster’s kitchen in this vividly written, action-packed contemporary from Rosso (the Ether Chronicles). Hayley Baskov’s dream of opening her own restaurant in San Diego, Calif., has been put on hold thanks to mounting debt and the unreliability of her business partner. She’ll do whatever it takes to overcome her obstacles, including parking her food truck right outside a nightclub owned by a member of the Russian mob. Undercover investigator Art Diaz wants revenge for his father’s death, and he’s infiltrated the group of mobsters who committed the murder. His boss is so impressed by Hayley’s cooking that he demands she take a lucrative gig as his chef at a weeklong retreat, which places her right in the heart of danger. Art promises to get her out alive. Their attraction grows so quickly and believably that readers will forget they’ve only known each other a few days. After Art realizes that he’s starting to fall for Hayley, he decides to let her in on his little secret. As tension mounts, Art learns that Hayley’s skills go far beyond the kitchen. High stakes and sexual tension will keep readers eagerly turning the pages. (Feb.)