Cozy Mystery Blog Tour Author Guest Post & Giveaway: Crime Rib (Food Lovers' Village Mystery #2) by Leslie Budewitz

Gourmet food market owner Erin Murphy is determined to get Jewel Bay, Montana’s, scrumptious local fare some national attention. But her scheme for culinary celebrity goes up in flames when the town’s big break is interrupted by murder . . .

Food Preneurs, one of the hottest cooking shows on TV, has decided to feature Jewel Bay in an upcoming episode, and everyone in town is preparing for their close-ups, including the crew at the Glacier Mercantile, aka the Merc. Not only is Erin busy remodeling her courtyard into a relaxing dining area, she’s organizing a steak-cooking competition between three of Jewel Bay’s hottest chefs to be featured on the program.

But Erin’s plans get scorched when one of the contending cooks is found dead. With all the drama going on behind the scenes, it’s hard to figure out who didn’t have a motive to off the saucy contestant. Now, to keep the town’s reputation from crashing and burning on national television, Erin will have to grill some suspects to smoke out the killer . . .

INCLUDES DELICIOUS RECIPES!

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Happily Ever - When? 
by Leslie Budewitz

When I started writing Death al Dente, the first book in my Food Lovers' Village Mysteries, I know my protagonist, Erin Murphy, was a single, 32-year-old who returned to her hometown of Jewel Bay, Montana, to take over her family's hundred-year-old market.  She brought with her a decade of experience in the grocery business, oodles of ideas about retail and marketing, a chic Seattle wardrobe, and a cat.  

She did not bring a husband or a boyfriend.  

So it didn't surprise me one bit when Rick Bergstrom walked in.   A year or two older than Erin; like her, a Montana kid who couldn't wait to leave, then couldn't wait to come back; as obsessed with food and business as she is.  Tall, blond, and broad-shouldered, he's the sales rep for his family's grain business, charged with getting their flours, oats, and packaged products ino groceries, specialty shops, and restaurants - prompting Tracy, Erin's shop assistant, to dub him "farm boy."  "I never thought of Nordic wholesome as my type," Erin thinks, "until meeting him." 

Not my type either, but I admit, I fell for him almost as quickly as she did. 

So I rocked back a bit when Adam Zimmerman strolled on to the page.  A dark-haired, self-described wilderness geek who crushed on Erin in college, he knew she was the girl of his dreams - though she barely noticed him.  Now he runs a nearby wilderness camp for kids, requiring him to fund raise among the local merchants.  When Erin returns to Jewel Bay, he sees a second chance - and he's not about to blow it.  

I finished writing Death al Dente genuinely not knowing which man Erin would choose.  But in Crime Rib, the second in the series, true feelings emerge - including a shade or two I hadn't expected.  Erin's a strong-minded young woman, and it's only natural that she attract - and be attracted to - men with equally strong opinions and feelings.  

And if my characters didn't surprise me, then chances are, they wouldn't surprise you.  

I hope you'll think they make the right choices in Crime Rib.  Yes, I said "they," not me.  Because these characters, they have minds - and hearts - of their own.  

 

Leslie Budewutz is the national best-selling author of Death al Dente, first in the Food Lovers' Village Mysteries set in northwest Montana, and winner of the 2013 Agatha Award for Best First Novel.  Crime Rib, the scond in the series, was published by Berkley Prime Crime on July1, 2014.  Her Seattle Spice Shop Mysteries will debut in March 2015.  

Also a lawyer, Leslie won the 2011 Agatha Award for Best Nonfiction for Books, Crooks & Counselors: How to Write Accurately About Criminal Law & Courtroom Procedure (Quill Driver Books), making her the first author to win Agatha Awards for both fiction and nonfiction.  

For more tales of life in the worlds of northwest Montana, and bonus recipes, visit her website and subscribe to her newsletter.  

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Thanks to the awesome ladies at Penguin, I have 1 paperback copy of Crime Rib by Leslie Budewitz to give away to one of my lucky readers!  Just enter the Rafflecopter below for your chance to win, and be sure to keep checking back for more awesome giveaways!

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