A Poisonous Palate by Lucy Burdette

Item: A Poisonous Palate
Rating: 5
Author: BaronessMom

Posted June 20, 2024 by BaronessMom in #BookishRecipe, Mystery, Review, Series / 0 Comments

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

A Poisonous Palate

by Lucy Burdette

Series: Key West Food Critic Mystery #14
Series Rating:

Published by Crooked Lane Books on August 6, 2024
Setting: Key West, Florida
Genres: Cozy Culinary Mystery
Pages: 288
Format: Kindle
Source: NetGalley
Goodreads
Bookhype
BookBub
Storygraph
Get Your Copy at: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Nook
Also in this series: A Deadly Feast, The Key Lime Crime, A Clue in the Crumbs

The heat is turned up for Hayley Snow and her friends in the next installment of the Key West Food Critic mystery series by USA Today bestselling author Lucy Burdette.

When food critic Hayley Snow receives an intriguing email about a mysterious, decades-old disappearance, her curiosity is piqued. Writer Catherine Davitt has returned to the Keys to research a book about Hemingway’s wives, but she’s also on the hunt for the truth about her missing friend. Hayley quickly agrees to help investigate and they hit the road to see what clues they might find.

Back in the late 1970s, Catherine and her friend Veronica were part of a group of lost souls camping in the mangroves of Big Pine Key, until Veronica vanished, and the sheriff’s office cleared out the camp. Catherine and Hayley begin interviewing Big Pine Key residents who were around at the time of Veronica’s disappearance, but uncover more questions than answers.

Catherine and Hayley stop to speak with a motel owner who frequented the fringes of the commune, but they find him stabbed to death. Then Catherine also goes missing, and signs point to a connection between the old case and the new murder. It’s up to Hayley to unravel the knot of secrets and lies before time runs out.

A Poisonous Palate by Lucy Burdette brings a cold case into the present.

Will Hayley uncover what happened to the charismatic Veronica forty years ago?

Hayley Snow

Our sleuth is a food critic by day and a mystery-solving superhero, too. Hayley says she is just curious. However, her mind sees things that most don’t notice, making her a great investigator. However, she isn’t trained in self-defense, nor does she know how to use a gun.

Hayley is one of my favorite characters. I especially love her relationship with Gloria. The two of them are funny and fantastic together. I enjoyed Hayley’s way of moving from appointment to appointment throughout the book. She is a great friend. I am so glad that she found Nathan. The two of them are perfect for each other.

The Mystery

So, we start with Catherine, an author who contacts Hayley to assist with trying to locate her old friend, Veronica, who went missing in 1978. Hayley tries to be careful, but once she hears the story, she is curious to see what they can find. Then they find one of the suspects murdered, bringing the Sheriff’s Department into the investigation. Shortly after that, Catherine goes missing, and Hayley can’t figure out what happened to her, but she keeps digging for answers.

Five Stars

My rating for A Poisonous Palate by Lucy Burdette is five stars. I absolutely didn’t want to put it down and devoured it in one afternoon. What an excellent read. I highly recommend this installment and the whole series. Ms. Burdette is amazing at transporting me to the Keys. I always feel like I am right there with Hayley and her friends.

The recipes included are Nathan’s Favorite Italian Pot Roast, Chicken Cacciatore, Crabcakes with Avocado and Mango Salsa, Profiteroles with Hot Fudge Sauce, and Cottage Cheese Oat Waffles.

Key West Food Critic Mysteries Series

Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of A Poisonous Palate by Lucy Burdette.

Until the next time,

About Lucy Burdette

Clinical psychologist Lucy Burdette (aka Roberta Isleib) has published 16 mysteries, including the latest in the Key West food critic series, A DEADLY FEAST (Crooked Lane Books, May 2019.) Her books and stories have been short-listed for Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity awards. She’s a member of Mystery Writers of America and a past president of Sisters in Crime. She blogs at Jungle Red Writersand shares her love for food with the culinary writers at Mystery Lovers Kitchen She lives in Madison CT and Key West FL.