cover image Dying for a Taste: A Sally Solari Mystery

Dying for a Taste: A Sally Solari Mystery

Leslie Karst. Crooked Lane, $25.99 (304p) ISBN 978-1-62953-597-5

The stabbing murder of Violetta Solari in the prep room of Solari’s, her Santa Cruz, Calif., restaurant, propels Karst’s winning debut, the first in a cozy series. Detective Vargas, the lead investigator on the case, suspects sous-chef Javier Ruiz, since the murder weapon, a chef’s knife, belonged to Javier, but former attorney Sally Solari, who takes over Solari’s from her aunt Letta, has her doubts. Javier adored the supportive Letta. Sally sets out to find the truth, aided by DA Eric Byrne, an ex-boyfriend of hers with whom she remains on friendly terms. She soon learns that Letta received threatening letters and that many people resent that she’s now running the restaurant. Family secrets and friction as well as accusations that Letta was using inhumane food sources cause Sally to pursue lines of inquiry that lead to a surprising conclusion. An intelligent sleuth, an unusual murder, and a few recipes add to the appeal. [em]Agent: Erin Niumata, Folio Literary Management. (Apr.) [/em]