Hayley
Snow is a food critic for Key Zest magazine. There is an important
three-day conference to be held in Key West and Hayley’s
mother has been awarded the catering job for the prestigious
event. The catering business is rather new, and naturally,
Hayley agrees to help her mother.
The Havana/Key
West conference is underway at the Harry S. Truman Little
White House. There have been rumors that Raul Castro and Jimmy
Buffett might attend! There is also a surprise appearance
by former President Barack Obama. The police presence is strong,
but that doesn’t stop crime in its tracks!
Detective Nathan
Bransford is with the KWPD and he’s warned Haley that
she and her mother should stay away from the conference since
there are likely to be protests that might turn violent. While
that is something to be expected, no one expected Hemingway’s
Nobel Prize gold medal for “The Old Man and the Sea”
would be stolen and that the prime suspect, a busboy named
Gabriel, would be promptly disposed of by a ruthless murderer.
As well as an
interesting murder mystery, there is an element of timeliness
about Cuba/USA relations and also about immigration. There
are also some history lessons in the story. Although my hackles
were raised initially as I feared the book might swerve and
become preachy, I am happy to say that the author did not
engage in overt political correctness or virtue signaling
and I was able to enjoy the story with the focus on the characters
and on the crimes.
One could easily
enjoy this book during a day at the beach and then head home
to try out one of the delicious recipes included. I love black
bean soup and will try that recipe soon, and I’m intrigued
by the baked bananas with a Cuban flair as well!
Reviews
of other titles in this series
An
Appetite for Murder#1
Death
In Four Courses #2
Topped
Chef #3
Murder
with Ganache #4
Death
on the Menu #8
Reviewers
Note: Author also writes as Roberta Isleib
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