Murder From Scratch

Pre-order purchase link 

Still trying to get her balance as owner of her late aunt's restaurant Gauguin, Sally Solari is working out a partnership with her head chef Javier. When she learns of the death of a fringe relative, she doesn't realize what is in store for her.

In Murder from Scratch by Leslie Karst, it tuns out the dead woman has a daughter and Sally's father volunteers his daughter as a guardian of sorts. Although Evelyn is nearly 21 and probably doesn't need a caretaker, the shock of her mother's death, possibly suicide or accident, in their home has left her without a place to stay. No problem for Sally, except Evelyn is blind. (Murder from Scratch will be released by Crooked Lane Books on April 9.)

That in itself would not be an issue, but sending the young woman to the place where her mother died would be cruel and unfeeling. When Sally meets Evelyn, she realizes how self sufficient she is and will really only need minimal assistance from Sally.

When Evelyn returns home to gather some of her belongings, her heightened senses tell her various objects are out of place in the home. She begins to believe her mother was murdered. The police don't find evidence of murder an dismiss Evelyn's thoughts.

Restaurant jealousies rear their heads and Sally finds herself in the middle of feuding chefs and restaurant intrigue as she works to find the murderer.

Another scrumptious adventure by Leslie Karst in culinary mystery fiction.

Death al Fresco

Running her own restaurant is an enormous task but Sally Solari keeps getting dragged into the operations of her father's restaurant Solari's. In Death al Fresco by Leslie Karst, Sally is guilted into lending a hand with the sister city dinner her father is planning.

Before the work begins, Sally tries to relax and paint with her friend Eric, overlooking the beach. She notices her dog and another dog pawing at a pile of kelp. As she clambers down to the beach, she discovers a body . . . one she recognizes. It is Gino, an old Italian fisherman and a regular at Solari's.

Sally soon discovers Gino dined with an mysterious, attractive younger woman at Solari's and appeared to stumble out of the restaurant. She knows the staff at Solari's would never overserve someone, some witnesses say Gino appeared drunk.

As public opinion begins to turn against her father, Sally decides

to investigate the mysterious woman, Gino's bocce pals and his boat friends. As if this isn't enough to keep her busy, she discovers her chef Javier is in love and wants to start his own restaurant with his new love. Hoping to avert a desertion, she encourages him to hire his girlfriend and work with her at Gauguin. She also offers Javier a partnership in Gauguin, hoping this will appeal to him.

There's still the sister city dinner to deal with as well as Gino's death, and Sally tackles both until she finds a solution.

I would love to eat in both of these restaurants. They are described so beautifully and the food "smells" wonderful.

California Restaurant Scene

Sally Solari gives up her law practice to return home to help her father run the family restaurant in Leslie Karst's Dying for a Taste. Managing the front of the house is hardly a challenging job, but when Sally's aunt Letta is found murdered in her own restaurant, Sally is thrust into managing Gauguin and dealing with her father. With the sous chef under suspicion, the mission complicates itself.

Sally must clear her chef to keep the restaurant open, but what she learns about her somewhat secretive aunt leads her to more secrets. As Sally is reviewing the books for her aunt's restaurant she stumbles across an old photo of a woman and two threatening letters addressed to her aunt.

The letters threaten violence if Letta does not stop using factory-farmed chicken and other mass produced meats. Sally also finds invoices for fresh produce ordered from Bolinas Farm, 100 miles from Santa Cruz. What is behind this odd behavior? Who is the woman in the photo and what is her connection to Letta?

When Javier is arrested, Sally steps up her investigation to clear him so he can remain as chef of Gauguin and she can appease her father by continuing to work at Solari.

I enjoyed this book and the characters very much although I worry about a young woman in her 30s experience hot flashes and symptoms of menopause, as Sally does. The solution leads the reader in different directions before it is solved and I enjoyed the chase.

The next book in the series is A Measure of Murder.