Larissa Reinhart's Blog, page 6
July 4, 2024
Happy 4th of July
Have a safe and happy celebration, and may your 4th of July be filled with laughter, love, and lots of sparklers! And always, thank you to our active military and veterans for protecting and fighting for our freedom!
June 28, 2024
#FridayFunday: Brunswick Stew-ing Up a Southern Cozy Mystery Recipe
If you didn't see, Mystery Fanfare has a wonderful list of "Summertime Mysteries," including STILL LIFE IN BRUNSWICK STEW (A Cherry Tucker Mystery book 2). In honor of that mention, I thought I'd share my recipe for Brunswick Stew that was added to the book's second edition.
“The hilariously droll Larissa Reinhart cooks up a quirky and entertaining page-turner! This charming mystery is delightfully Southern, surprisingly edgy, and deliciously unpredictable.”
— Hank Phillippi Ryan, Mary Higgins Clark, Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity winning author
Living in Georgia, I, of course, learned to make Brunswick stew with my husband’s leftover pulled pork. (I make a lot of things out of leftover pulled pork.) The best meals, I think, are made from the ingenuity of using what you have. But then that’s most Southern cooking.
And I do love to eat Southern. So do my characters. They’re Southern women, but they’re too busy sleuthing to cook. They use their ingenuity to get others to cook for them. I wish I were that smart!
Brunswick stew will taste different at every establishment. Fiddle with this recipe to meet your taste. Use your favorite BBQ sauce. If you don’t like okra, try lima beans or a 16 oz bag of frozen mixed stew vegetables. No pulled pork? Use leftover chicken, stew meat, or even ground beef. Just make sure it’s cooked first. You can make it vegetarian with meatless crumbles and veggie stock.
4 T butter (1/2 stick)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 large onion, finely chopped (I use Vidalia or sweet onion)
1 15 oz can fire-roasted tomatoes with their juice
4 c chicken stock
1 1/2 c BBQ sauce (in Atlanta, we're partial to Fox Brothers BBQ but use your favorite)
2 T Worcestershire sauce
1 T light brown sugar
1/4 t cayenne pepper
1 1/2 lbs smoke pulled pork OR another kind of cooked meat, chopped or diced
1 c frozen corn (or other veg)
1 c frozen okra (or other veg)
salt and ground pepper to taste
hot sauce to taste
Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven or other deep pot over medium-high heat. Add the onions and sauté about four minutes, then add the garlic and cook until both are soft. Stir in the rest of the ingredients.
Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce to a simmer and continue to simmer over medium-low heat until thick, about 1 1/2 hours.
Note: At the point when the mixture boils, I’ve transferred it to a crock pot and set it on low for 8 hours or 4 hours on high.
Serve it with your favorite BBQ, cornbread, and other fixings!
You can find this recipe in my ebook, paperback, and hardcover copies of STILL LIFE IN BRUNSWICK STEW!
STILL LIFE IN BRUNSWICK STEW, a Cherry Tucker Mystery book 2, by Larissa Reinhart
"Reinhart's country-fried mystery is as much fun as a ride on the Tilt-a-Whirl at a state fair. Her sleuth wields a paintbrush and unravels clues with equal skill and flair. Readers who like a little small-town charm with their mysteries will enjoy Reinhart's series.”
— Denise Swanson, New York Times Bestselling author of the Scumble River and Devereaux's Dime Store mysteriesCherry Tucker’s in a stew. Art commissions dried up after her nemesis became president of the County Arts Council. Desperate and broke, Cherry and her friend, Eloise, spend a sultry summer weekend hawking their art at the Sidewinder Annual Brunswick Stew Cook-Off. When a bad case of food poisoning breaks out and Eloise dies, the police brush off her death as accidental. However, Cherry suspects someone spiked the stew and killed her friend.
Caught between helping Eloise’s family and an ongoing investigation, Cherry finds herself in hot water with her deputy boyfriend, who doesn’t appreciate her style of sleuthing. As Cherry calls on cook-off competitors, bitter rivals, and crooked judges, her love life steams. Meanwhile, the killer prepares to cook Cherry’s goose.
A Night Owl Reviews Top Pick and part of the best-selling and award-winning Cherry Tucker Mystery series.
June 20, 2024
#ThrowbackThursday A Southern Writer in Japan
This #ThrowbackThursday post was originally from the now defunct but previously fun and informative Mysteristas blog from December 2015, soon after I returned to living in Japan for the fourth time. As a Southern writer, I wrote about Georgia in my Cherry Tucker Mystery and Maizie Albright Star Detective series while living in Japan. Now that I'm back in Georgia, I'm getting nostalgic to write about Japan!
I’ve lived in Japan four times over the last twenty years. This summer’s return has garnered me a lot of room for reflection. In the five years since my last move, I’ve had five books and a novella published. I actually began writing on our last stint in Japan: one manuscript that will never see the light of day and my first Cherry Tucker mystery. Both stories were set in Georgia. Now I’m back in Japan and still writing about Georgia.
Why Georgia while in Japan? Setting aside the obvious—write what you know—I’ve often mused over the similarities between the South and the Land of the Rising Sun. And so I don’t reflect for days, I’ve whittled down a much longer list to three topics.
Lipstick. In the South, ladies still wear hats to church and lipstick to the market. I’m talking capital L ladies, now. The no white after Labor Day rules are still taught in polite society and children still do cotillion. In fact, where I lived, getting your child an invitation to cotillion classes can get competitive.
In Japan, ladies wear lipstick to the market, dress up for shopping and lunch, and still do kimono or yukata (a cotton, less formal kimono) for ceremonies and special occasions. As do men (except for the whole lipstick thing). There are specific suits and dresses for funerals, weddings, graduations, and any number of events. Lipstick and blush. Heels and pearls. Hats and parasols. If hoop skirts caught on here, we might have an East/West Gone With the Wind mashup. And I’d never rule out anything in the Japanese fashion scene.
Politeness. One of the things I love best about the South is the respect for polite conventions. I’m surprised when I travel north and strangers don’t offer me a hello. In the South, children are drilled on their “Yes, ma’am's" and “No, sir's." If you have to wait in line, you pass the time by chatting with folks around you. You shake hands and you smile. You just do.
In Japan, there are a generous handful of polite phrases in constant use. You can’t walk into a shop without the greeting "Irisshaimase" (welcome to the store). When you meet someone, after your initial introduction you always say yoroshiku oneigashimasu (please be kind/take care of me). Yoroshiku and oneigashimasu are used liberally for sorry, please help me, pass the salt. Maybe not pass the salt, but pass the salt oneigashimasu works. It’s an awesome, all-encompassing phrase.
In the office, you apologize for leaving at the end of your workday, Osaki ni shitsureshimasu (Excuse me for leaving before you). And the response is Otsukaresama deshita (Thank you for your hard work). At home, upon leaving the house you say, Ittekimasu (I’m leaving) and ALL the family replies Itterasshai (take care). When arriving you say Tadaima (I’m home) and everyone responds Okaeri (welcome back). And of course there are greetings for morning (ohayo gozaimasu), afternoon (konnichiwa), evening (konbanwa), and good night (oyasuminasai). The list goes on and on.
And the bowing. I find myself bowing when talking on the phone and driving my car. And so does everyone else. Including the deer (see my daughter in the video below).
Cynics might consider these standards of politeness meaningless because they’re in such constant use. However, the standards unify society. Polite phrases keep social mechanisms lubricated. You get to know your neighbors, coworkers, and shopkeepers without invasiveness. You can interact with a large volume of people in the gentlest way possible. If you’re introverted, it’s a great communication method because you always know what to say.
Food. It’s not just the South who loves fried chicken. People tend to think of sushi and ramen when they think of Japan. Although those are staples of Japanese cuisine, that’s not every day eating here.
Except for ramen. Ramen can easily be eaten every day.
Fried foods aren’t just for tempura. If you can drop it in hot oil, it can and will be fried in Japan. The main difference is bite-sized frying because you don’t cut with chopsticks. Frying is done for traditionally similar reasons as in the South. Frying preserves meat. You can eat it cold. Frying makes a tough vegetable edible (okra’s in Japan, too). Frying tastes good…
Other staples of the Japanese diet you find in the South are greens, ham, shrimp, pork, chicken, sweet potatoes, shelled peas, green beans, tomatoes, and watermelon. And the most obvious—rice. Not just served on the side. One of the basic dishes here is don, a bowl of rice with simmered meat on top. Doesn’t it sound like low country fare?
As you can see, there’s plenty of Southern to inspire me in Japan. I’ll just grab a side of chicken and okra to go with my sushi as I bow and greet my neighbors. Although I’ll skip the lipstick and pearls.
June 11, 2024
16 MILLIMETERS, A Romantic Comedy Mystery Novel Excerpt
It's #TeaserTuesday with an excerpt from 16 MILLIMETERS, A Romantic Comedy Mystery Novel (Maizie Albright Star Detective book 2) chosen by cozy mystery book blogger, Jane Reads, who rates with cats instead of stars.
16 MILLIMETERS
Chapter 22 #MaizieMakeover
I had a plan. Because I was me, my plan involved makeup, hair, and wardrobe. But you know what you know, right? At least Giulio wasn't in charge this time.
Giulio, who was still not answering his phone. I'd texted him throughout the night, unable to sleep with worry.
The girls were waiting for my pre-office hour appointment. I would call it the perks of celebrity, but that wouldn't cut it with Tiffany. She'd only come in early for a friend, and that was even better.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" asked Rhonda. She glanced at Tiffany who hummed as she mixed chemicals in a plastic bowl.
"It's either this or a gun. I don't want to use a gun."
"You need to find some middle ground in your life. Dr. Phil says choosing extremes is not crushing it; it's crushing you." Rhonda tapped a finger against her lip. "Or maybe that was Dr. Oz. Wendy Williams? I can't remember."
"Me? I'd take the gun any day." Tiffany grinned and waved a paintbrush. "But this is going to be fun."
I squirmed in my chair. "Remember, I still have to look fabulous. Theodore's party is tonight. You're coming with me, right?"
"A Black Pine party. I've never done a downtown party." Rhonda fingered her long tresses. "I think I need a change, too, Tiff."
"One subject at a time." Tiffany cackled.
I swiveled to study Tiffany. "You're licensed for hair, right? You know what you're doing? Because my hair has been through the Hollywood ringer with chemicals, heat, and products. I don't have natural body or thickness. It's all an illusion."
"It's not that much of an illusion," said Rhonda. "But we know hair. Right, Tiff?"
I sighed. Ted Gibson, they were not. But it wasn't like I could afford Ted Gibson anymore. I'd already seen the brown contacts and outfit they'd picked out for me. I wasn't just getting a disguise; I was getting uglified. "Now that we've figured out that someone is trying to kill me—"
"Girl." Rhonda's hands flew to her mouth. "That's bad juju. Don't say it out loud."
"Voldemort isn't trying to kill her," said Tiffany. "It's the reality of the situation."
"You just don't have the issue with violence that I do, Tiff," said Rhonda. "There are things you don't say to the universe. Like cancer. Or tax audit. Hammer toes. It's bad juju. Everyone knows that."
"Anyhoo," I said. "We're pretty sure it's because I saw the dead Cam-Cam who is not Cambria. I need to figure out who the woman is. I can't stop thinking about her family and friends and how much they must miss her."
We took a moment to let that sink in. During the moment, Tiffany tossed a cape and towel over my shoulders and began pinning my hair into sections. I said a silent prayer for the dead lookalike and another for my hair.
June 10, 2024
June New Releases & Book Deals
It's beach read season! Time to fill your reading device &/or book bag!
Here are June's new releases in cozy mysteries, paranormal women's fiction, and funny romantic mysteries from some of my writing friends.
ONE BAD BOUNCE AND YOU'RE TOAST
Midlife Muddle book 4
by Sam Cheever
Releasing June 11
My name is Raelene Kitt. My friends call me Rae. Not Kit Kat or Kitten, despite what my ex-husband told the local newspaper. Bless his heart. I’m a traveler. Not the suitcase-bearing, sunscreen-wearing, snotty hotel clerk glaring kind of traveler. I travel through dimensions taking on bad guys…er…monsters. And occasionally I take on problems at home. Such as when the King of the Ghouls decided to dig himself a kingdom in our local ballpark a few weeks ago. Or like now, when a weird contagion has overcome the city. And somebody’s decided I’m the right person to fix it. Awesome.
PINEAPPLE PIRATES
Pineapple Port Mystery book 21
by Amy Vansant
Releases June 18
Charlotte and Declan enjoy a free honeymoon on the Bahamian island of Duppy Cay in return for investigating who’s been vandalizing the local resort. The trade seems like a deal until someone tries to kill the island’s most colorful character. There’s no shortage of trouble for such a small island—a pirate’s curse, angry ghosts, shipwrecks, hidden pirate caves..
19 CRIMINALS
Maizie Albright Star Detective Audiobook 7
Read by Joan Dukore
Releasing soon!
Will be available on Audible , Amazon audiobook, and iTunes
IS IT CONSIDERED STALKING YOUR BOYFRIEND IF HE'S INVOLVED IN YOUR MURDER INVESTIGATION? (ASKING FOR A FRIEND) #WannabeMrsSmith Ex-celebrity and current (assistant) private investigator Maizie Albright finds her already strange life has become even odder. Her new partner is 150 pounds and canine. And her ex-partner/still-boyfriend is on the wrong side of her infidelity case.
NO ONE LIVES TWICE
A Lexi Carmichael Mystery
by Julie Moffett
$1.99 sale (limited time)
Get your geek on! Prepare for adventure with reformed hacker and trouble magnet Lexi Carmichael as she does whatever it takes to help the good guys win.
MOTH BUSTERS
Freaky Florida Investigations book 1
by Margaret Lashley
Free for Amazon Prime Members in JuneTap for Amazon
Love The X Files? Stranger Things? Psych?This funny, fast-paced paranormal series is for you! Dive into your first Freaky Florida Investigation today. With unique plots and twists and turns you'll never see coming, this humorous take on the supernatural is the smart, addictive, hilarious escape you've been yearning for!
May 9, 2024
Okonomiyaki - Japanese savory pancake recipe
We're planning on okonomiyaki for Mother's Day (my request). This is one of my many, many favorite foods in Japan (how many favorites can I have? Never make me choose one). It's easy to cook, fun, and delicious. It's a party food. A festival food. A food court food (while living in Japan back in the 90s, a discount department store's food court was our introduction). There are several regional versions of okonomiyaki of course, each region claims theirs is the best), but basically it's a kind of pancake batter mixed with cabbage and topped or mixed with anything you could want.
This post is a reprise of one I did on my original blog, The Expat Returneth. I started it the third time we returned from Japan, back in 2012. I hope you enjoy it!
"This week is a fun festival food that's popular in Japan in the summer: Okonomiyaki. The pancake that isn't a pancake.
The quickest way to wax nostalgic is through the stomach. At least for us. Which is why we started cooking Japanese food. We continue to cook it because most of the home-cooking dishes are simple, affordable and delicious. And fun.
Grilling or cooking your own food at a restaurant is popular in Japan. Our kids especially loved these restaurants. One of their favorite things to cook was okonomiyaki, which translates as "cook how you like." It looks like a giant pancake, but the flavors are savory, not sweet. And like all good Japanese food, it tastes great with beer.
As you can decipher from the translation, you can cook okonomiyaki with a variety of ingredients and differences in cooking technique. There is regional pride in different styles of okonomiyaki. Our friend from Hiroshima swears by Hiroshimayaki-style and voluntarily cooked it at our house for our edification. Tokyo and Osaka have their own variations in cooking.
All okonomiyaki begins with a pancake-like batter with cabbage in it. You can go in many directions from there.
I borrowed this recipe from a wonderful site called Okonomiyaki World. Check them out for okonomiyaki information. You can also buy ingredients on this site like the flour, sauce, and Japanese mayonnaise. Good to know for all you expat returnees who miss your food and have no Asian grocer close to home!
When we make okonomiyaki at home, we use the recipe on the okonomiyaki flour bag. As for ingredients, we wing it. We are partial to adding bacon and corn, lots of sauce, and Kewpie mayo. Sometimes we toss in whatever we've got leftover in the fridge. But you know — it's okonomiyaki. Use whatever you want!
Okonomiyaki RecipeYou'll find this recipe also on the recipe page at this site. SIMPLE OKONOMIYAKI (thanks to Okonomiyaki World):
Batter:
1 cup Okonomiyaki flour (found at most Asian food stores)
or all-purpose flour (you can get fancy and add potato, corn, or yam starch to make it stickier, but regular flour will work)
2/3 cup water
Whisk flour and water together until smooth in the largest bowl you've got.
To the batter, stir in (but don't overmix):
2 eggs
4 cups of shredded cabbage
Other stuff you can mix in:
thinly sliced green onions (about 2 stalks)
pickled ginger (found in Asian stores)
raw shrimp in 1/2" chunks or very small shrimp
Or other foods of similar size, like cooked chicken (cut into 1/2" chunks), veggies (partially cooked for thicker veg), other seafoods, or meat
cheese (IMHO cheese is delicious in okonomiyaki even though we were skeptical before trying it at our favorite okonomiyaki joint in Japan. Kind of a cabbagey grilled cheese.)
Optional to put on the pancake while cooking:
Bacon or similar, about 6 strips cut into 3" pieces (Japanese bacon is more like British bacon, less crispy than American bacon. Canadian bacon works well)
we've tried pulled pork (delicious), pepperoni (wasn't our thing), smoked sausage, chorizo and pickled jalapeño (delicious), and pancetta
Traditional toppings after it's cooked (best in this order):
Sauce (recipe below)
Kewpie or other Japanese Mayonnaise (This kind of food is one of the reasons why Japanese mayo comes in a squirt bottle. It's a topper, not a sandwich condiment).
Aonori (seaweed flakes)
Katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes)
Once again, the toppings are your choice, but it's not the same without the sauce. You can buy okonomiyaki sauce or make it.
Sauce:
3 TB ketchup
1 TB Worcestershire sauce
1 ts Soy Sauce
The technique:
Oil a griddle to about 400F (200C) and pour about 1/2 the batter into a pancake shape or all batter into 2 shapes if you've got the room.
Flatten the pancake with a spatula to about 3/4" and about 12" wide.
Add bacon pieces to cover the top of each pancake. You can also brush on some sauce now, if you like it saucy.
After about 3 minutes, flip the pancake (bacon side down) and cook for another 4 minutes. It's tricky to flip! Don't sweat the mess.
Brush with sauce and flip pancake again (bacon side up) and cook for another 3 minutes or until firm and well browned.
Remove to plate and drizzle with okonomiyaki sauce. Make lovely patterns with your squirty mayo. Sprinkle with Aonori and Katusobushi (or not).
Eat it hot! It's not a reheat type of food.
Okay, it's not super healthy unless you skip the sauce, mayo, bacon, etc. But dagnabbit, it is delicious. And fun!"
VIP Reader Swag winners!
I should have posted this for #WinningWednesday! lol
Rafflecopter drew 2 names for the VIP Reader swag giveaway from last week:
Congratulations to Robyn Konopka and Crystal Stewart!
Thanks so much for entering!
Don't forget, tomorrow (Friday 5/10) is the last day for my Mother's Day Free Book a Day week, only for my VIP Readers! If you are signed up as a VIP Reader by tonight, look for the last email coming tomorrow!
May 4, 2024
May New Mystery Releases & Book Deals
In Georgia, we've had a beautifully mild start to May. I hope it continues through to the end of the month, when you'll find me sitting in a stadium watching my youngest graduate high school. Historically it's hotter than blue blazes or raining cats and dogs Memorial Day weekend. While I'm holding seats and waiting for the ceremony to start, you better believe I'll be reading! At least untill family arrives. :)
Here are my writing friends' new mystery releases & book deals for May! Check back mid-month to see if I've added books! Look for cozy mysteries, mystery thrillers, humorous mysteries, woman sleuth, and amateur sleuth mysteries.
THE GARDEN CLUB MURDER
The Ozarks Cozy Mystery Series book 9
by Dianne Harman
Releases May 26
"The Garden Club Murder" is a captivating cozy mystery that combines gardening, small-town dynamics, and suspense, perfect for readers who love a plot that twists like the vines of a well-tended wisteria.
THE MAN WHO CAME BACK
A Shee McQueen Mystery Thriller
by Amy Vansant
Released April 30
Save $2 on the new release
The sunny Loggerhead Inn resort has everything—sea turtle wall art, a tiny terrier mascot who thinks she's a pit bull, and a staff of deadly, damaged military veterans, looking to redeem their troubled hearts and souls by helping others... Can Shee and her "domestic mercenaries" find redemption, love, and new beginnings?
CORNFIELD CALAMITY
Farm Fresh Cozy Mysteries book 1
by Summer Prescott
Released April 26
When a body is discovered in her cornfield, the locals, including a handsome sheriff with a bad attitude, view new farm owner Shea with suspicion.
Will Shea survive financially by making a living from her land? Can she clear her name and gain the trust of her new community? Or should she throw in the towel before the rooster crows?
DOUBLE BLASTA Davis Way Crime Caper book 12
by Gretchen Archer
Releases May 21
Davis Way Cole returns to her hometown of Pine Apple, Alabama, to fill in for her police chief father during the bustling Memorial Day Celebration.Her missteps that follow threaten to blow her life to smithereens. They include pilfering a botanical garden from her Biloxi employer, hiding out in a closed diner with a surprise in the freezer, and choosing a questionable-at-best team to aid and assist when a fireworks problem pops up. But all that pales next to Davis reopening Pine Apple’s oldest and deepest wound. Because, as she soon learns, some small-town secrets are best left buried.
A MOTHERLODE OF TROUBLE
A Cherry Tucker "Mother's Day" Mystery Novella
99¢ on Kindle
Free on Kindle UnIimited
When a cat dubbed Trouble shows more than curiosity in the house next door, Cherry also becomes intrigued with the goings-on of what seems more than a Mother’s Day reunion. Not only are the visitors packing heat, but it seems they're also smuggling stolen ice. Not only are the pistol-packin’ mamas prepared to put Cherry and Trouble in a permanent time-out, but they're also threatening Cherry's new niece. Can Cherry and her feline partner stop them?
THE GIRL WHO WANTS
Shee McQueen Mystery Thriller book 1
by Amy Vansasnt
Free through May 4
Shee McQueen grew up skip-tracing and hunting military criminals with her father, Mick, until someone put a bounty on her head, forcing her underground. Resurfacing years later, she returns to her family's hotel in Jupiter Beach, FL, to find Mick in a coma, shot by an unknown sniper.
April 24, 2024
#FridayFunday VIP Reader magnet & sticker drawing!
Aren't these the cutest?
Are you one of my VIP Readers? If not, tap the pink button above & sign up! Then enter the drawing below to win my latest swag — a VIP Reader magnet & sticker —plus some other goodies!
What's a VIP Reader? My extra special readers who receive a monthly email from me that includes book news and exclusive drawings, downloads, and freebies.
My VIP Readers are number 1 in getting my 411!
VIP Readers signed up now will be just in time for an extra special giveaway in my May email. Five emails, actually! Starting May 6th, A FREE BOOK A DAY FOR FIVE DAYS from my writing friends just in time for Mother's Day! (Not implying that you go this cheap on your Mother's day gift. It's just a bonus! LOL)
The VIP Reader magnet & sticker drawing ends May 1, just in time for the Mother's Day giveaway.<3!
Enter the drawing by using the Rafflecopter link or widget below (both go to the same drawing).
I use Rafflecopter for giveaways to ensure the drawing is completely random and your email is legit. I’ll email you back from larissa@larissareinhart.com so look for my email when I announce the winners.
April 16, 2024
#TuesdayTeaser from Still Life in Brunswick Stew, A Cherry Tucker Mystery
“I see you wore your funeral dress,” I said to Leah upon exiting her mother’s minivan.
We had arrived in Sidewinder for Eloise’s funeral, held at the same church as her viewing. During the ride, I’d been too busy brooding over Luke’s anger to notice Leah’s god-awful dress in a kind of murky Mars Violet. I’d seen less ruffly dresses on those old china dolls with the spooky eyes.
And better rayon on my pre-deceased Grandma Jo.
“Those ruffles aren’t hiding your chest. You just have ruffly boobs.”
“Better than what you’re wearing.” She eyed my ultramarine-violet t-shirt dress.
I had spent the night gluing black and white sequins into a large, round pot on the back of my dress. “I ruined two church-worthy sundresses this week, so this is what I have left. Besides, I decorated this dress in Eloise’s honor. It’s a Raku pot.”
“It looks like gigantic, sparkly butt cheeks.”
“That’s not a butt crack. The white sequins are supposed to represent dripping glaze.”
“Everybody will think you’re mooning the parishioners.” Leah dipped into the minivan to lean over the seat. “Let me see if I have a sweater or something.”
“Sweater? In this humidity?” The storm had passed, dropping the temperature a few degrees and replacing the blazing heat with a sultry mugginess. My hair achieved a combination of limpness and frizz that could only be saved with a ponytail.
“Thanks for driving again,” I said. “My truck cannot handle this weather. It needs a new starter and won’t crank if it’s overheated.”
“And you don’t want to be recognized in Sidewinder.”
“That, too.”
“Which is why you wore a humongous butt on the back of your dress.”
“Not every idea of mine turns out perfectly.”
“You think?” Leah smirked.
"DELIGHTFULLY SOUTHERN, SURPRISINGLY EDGY, AND DELICIOUSLY UNPREDICTABLE"
A Night Owl Reviews Top Pick from The Wall Street Journal bestselling author Larissa Reinhart. The second in the award-winning, Sassy and Southern Cherry Tucker humorous mystery series.
"Reinhart's country-fried mystery is as much fun as a ride on the Tilt-a-Whirl at a state fair. Her sleuth wields a paintbrush and unravels clues with equal skill and flair. Readers who like a little small-town charm with their mysteries will enjoy Reinhart's series.” — Denise Swanson, New York Times bestselling author of the Scumble River and Devereaux's Dime Store mysteries
Cherry Tucker’s in a stew. Art commissions dried up after her nemesis became president of the County Arts Council. Desperate and broke, Cherry and her friend, Eloise, spend a sultry summer weekend hawking their art at the Sidewinder Annual Brunswick Stew Cook-Off. When a bad case of food poisoning breaks out and Eloise dies, the police brush off her death as accidental. However, Cherry suspects someone spiked the stew and killed her friend.
Caught between helping Eloise’s family and an ongoing investigation, Cherry finds herself in hot water with her deputy boyfriend, who doesn’t appreciate her style of sleuthing. As Cherry calls on cook-off competitors, bitter rivals, and crooked judges, her love life steams. Meanwhile, the killer prepares to cook Cherry’s goose.
“The hilariously droll Larissa Reinhart cooks up a quirky and entertaining page-turner! This charming mystery is delightfully Southern, surprisingly edgy, and deliciously unpredictable.” — Hank Phillippi Ryan, Mary Higgins Clark, Agatha, Anthony and Macavity winning author
“Cherry Tucker finds trouble without even looking for it, and plenty of it finds her in Still Life in Brunswick Stew. This mystery keeps you laughing and guessing from the first page to the last. A whole-hearted five stars.” — Denise Grover Swank, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author
“Southern-Fried Sleuthing…If you’re a fan of Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse but could do without the “supes,” then you will love Reinhart’s Cherry Tucker!” – Fayette Woman Magazine
Find Still Life in Brunswick Stew on Kindle, paperback, hardcover, and in audiobook, plus read it for free with a Kindle Unlimited Subscription!
