Amateur Sleuth Book Club

From the back of the book: Leland Montgomery's death was deemed accidental, but when his daughter Lucie returns home from France, she finds the once-thriving family vineyard run down, collapsing under huge debt. Lucie's godfather warns her that Leland's demise may have been the result of an attempt to force the sale of the vineyard. Her extravagant brother and rebellious sister are determined to sell the estate, and there's something suspicious about the vintner her father hired right before he died. When another oenophile turns up dead, asphyxiated in a tank of Merlot, Lucie - the lone holdout preventing the vineyard's sale - realizes she's next in line for an "accident." Can she trust the proverb in vino veritas - in wine there is truth - as she attempts to survive a very bad year for Merlot? My thoughts about the book... Honestly, I learned more about wine than I really wanted to. Don't get me wrong, I love a good Chardonnay while reading, I...

From the back of the book: Romance is supposed to be the spice of life. But Maxie Pierce is so done with bad relationships - well, almost. She just has to get rid of the latest loser, Roberto. Besides, she has more important things to worry about. Her daddy, Texas Jack Pierce, king of the chili cook-off circuit, has been missing for nearly six weeks now. In his place, she must team up with her irritating half sister, Sylvia, to promote the family business at the Taos Chili Showdown, to be judged by celebrity chef Carter Donnelly. But when Maxie discovers Roberto's body in the chef's trailer - only hours after publicly breaking up with him while wearing a giant red chili pepper costume - she suddenly finds she's the one in the spotlight as the police pepper her with questions. Not this Chili Chick needs to kick up the search to catch the real killer and get back to finding her father... My thoughts about the book... I enjoyed this story as I could relate to the difficulties ...

From the back of the book: Catering a wake is not Goldy's idea of fun. Yet the Colorado caterer throws herself into preparing a savory feast including Poached Salmon and Strawberry Shortcake Buffet designed to soothe forty mourners. And her culinary efforts seem to be exactly what the doctor ordered...until her ex-father-in-law gynecologist Fritz Korman is struck down and Goldy is accused of adding poison to the menu. Now, with the Department of Health impounding her leftovers, her ex-husband proclaiming her guilt, and her business about to be shut down, Goldy know she can't wait for the police to serve up the answers. She'll soon uncover more than one family skeleton and a veritable stew of unpalatable secrets - the kind that could make Goldy the main course in an unsavory killer's next murder! My thoughts about the book... I first read this book in 2003, a time when I found myself going through a contentious divorce. This helped me relate to Goldy as a single mother w...