Playing Cops and Robbers by Lucy Burdette
Please welcome Friend of the Wickeds, Lucy Burdette/Roberta Isleib back to the blog. Roberta is here supporting A Poisonous Palate, the 14th (!) Key West Food Critic Mystery, which released on Tuesday.
I love the covers for the Food Critic series, this one included!
Take it away, Lucy!When I first met my stepson in 1991, he was going through a phase of police adulation. Most days, he wore a miniature police uniform with his name sewn over the pocket. He carried a pretend radio everywhere and talked to his pretend police officer colleagues. He was four and this was all very cute. My husband thinks I’ve been going through a similar phase for the past few years, only I’m, ahem, quite a few years older, and possibly not quite so adorable.
But A Poisonous Palate, the newest book in the Key West series, took a different turn: much of the action takes place up the Keys in northern parts of Monroe County rather than Key West proper. This part of the county is patrolled by the Sheriff’s Department, not the Key West Police Department. That meant that Hayley Snow’s detective husband wouldn’t be involved in a case, nor would other familiar Key West police characters like Steve Torrence and Chief Sean Brandenburg.
Luckily, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office offered their Citizens Police Academy last year, and I was able to enroll. Twelve of us citizens met for seven Thursday sessions of three hours each to learn about all the amazing things the sheriff’s deputies do. As I wrote the new book, the temptation was as always to cram in more of my newly acquired knowledge of police procedure than the story needed or could support. For example, one week the Monroe County crime scene investigator showed us his lab and had us suit up in Tyvek to learn fingerprinting, foot printing, and identification of bodily fluids. But would my food critic character Hayley Snow have an opportunity to learn all of this? Probably not. She sure shouldn’t get involved in traffic stops after a felony crime has been committed or participate with a SWAT team searching an abandoned building for criminals. I did use bits and pieces in A Poisonous Palate, and definitely discovered new characters. (Sergeant Tony Lopez was our cheerleader when we practiced shoot/don’t shoot scenarios, and he graciously agreed to have his name used for a fictional deputy.)
Much to John’s relief, I learned—again—that even if I was 50 years younger, police work would not be the profession for me. I’m terrified of driving too fast—even one video of a chase from a cruiser’s webcam gave me nightmares. Swat team work would not be for me either. Too old, too short, too nervous.
But unlike our son Andrew, I don’t see myself growing out of my fascination with police work—it seems to be a side effect of writing crime fiction.
Readers: Do you notice the details of police procedure when you read?
About A Poisonous PalateKey West food critic Hayley Snow is working on this week’s articles for Key Zest magazine when an intriguing email hits her inbox, titled “Hemingway’s toxic love and an old story.” Catherine Davitt tells Hayley that she has returned to the Keys to research a book, but she also wants to investigate the disappearance of an old friend back in the late 1970s. The two young women were part of a group of lost souls camping in the mangroves on Big Pine Key, until Catherine’s friend Veronica disappeared, and the Sheriff’s Office cleaned out the camp.
Ever-curious Hayley agrees to help her, and they travel up the islands to Big Pine Key to talk to some other islanders who were around in the 70s. They stop at an old motel to visit a man who was on the outer edges of this commune. Instead of answers, they find him murdered. It’s hard not to imagine a connection. Then Catherine disappears, leaving Hayley and Miss Gloria to unravel two possible murders, one old and one new, and track down a murderer who might very well have them in his or her sights.
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.
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About Lucy Burdette
Clinical psychologist Lucy Burdette aka Roberta Isleib is the author of 24 mysteries, including her August 6 release, A Poisonous Palate, and USA Today bestselling A Clue in the Crumbs (Crooked Lane Books), Both the twelfth book in her Key West series, A Dish to Die For and the tenth, The Key Lime Crime, won the Florida Book Award’s bronze medal for popular fiction. Her first women’s fiction title, The Ingredients of Happiness and her first thriller, Unsafe Haven, have been published by Severn House. Her cookbook, Lucy Burdette’s Kitchen, recipes and stories from the Key West food critic mysteries, was also released this month. Her books and stories have been short-listed for Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity awards. She’s a past president of Sisters in Crime, and currently president of the Friends of the Key West Library.
