Lavender Lies Bleeding - by Leslie Budewitz (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Success isn't always so sweet in Leslie Budewitz's ninth addition to the Spice Shop Mystery series . . .

At Seattle Spice Shop, owner Pepper Reece has whipped up the perfect blend of food, friends, and flavor. But the sweet smell of success can be hazardous . . .

Spring is in full bloom in Pike Place Market, where Pepper is celebrating lavender's culinary uses and planning a festival she hopes will become an annual event. When her friend Lavender Liz offers to share tips for promoting the much-loved--and occasionally maligned--herb, Pepper makes a trek to the charming town of Salmon Falls. But someone has badly damaged Liz's greenhouse, throwing a wrench in the feisty grower's plans for expansion. Suspicions quickly focus on an employee who's taken to the hills, though Liz herself is not convinced.

Then Liz is found dead among her precious plants, stabbed by a pruning knife. In Salmon Falls, there's one in every pocket.

Pepper digs in, untangling the tensions between Liz and a local restaurateur with eyes on a picturesque but neglected farm, a jealous ex-boyfriend determined to profit from Liz's success, and a local growers' cooperative. She's also hot on the scent of a trail of her own, sniffing out the history of her sweet dog, Arf.

As Pepper's questions threaten to unearth secrets others desperately want to keep buried, danger creeps closer to her and those she loves. Can Pepper root out the killer, before someone nips her in the bud?

Includes delicious recipes!

Review Quotes

"This delicious cozy mystery hits all the right marks with a whip-smart plot, delectable settings, ... and delightful characters you'd love to spend time with if they actually existed . . . Ms. Budewitz writes a complex, twisty story that will keep seasoned armchair detectives puzzling over the whodunit. With an edge-of-your-seat reveal, an adorable faithful companion by Pepper's side, the pieces fell into place with a highly satisfying conclusion." --Kim Davis, author of Essentials of Murder

"Lavender Lies Bleeding, with its "Food, friends, and flavors" is another strong entry in one of my favorite cozy mystery series." --Lesa Holstine

"I truly enjoy . . . the richly detailed Seattle setting and Pepper herself, who is good humored but quirky enough to be an interesting human being."--Robin Agnew, Aunt Agatha's Mysteries

About the Author

Leslie Budewitz tells stories about women's lives, seasoned with friendship, food, a dash of history, and a heaping spoonful of mystery. She writes the Spice Shop mysteries set in Seattle's Pike Place Market, as well as the Food Lovers' Village mysteries and historical short fiction set in her native Montana. As Alicia Beckman, she writes moody suspense. A three-time Agatha Award winner--2013 Best First Novel for DEATH AL DENTE, the first Food Lovers' Village mystery; 2011 Best Nonfiction, and 2018 Best Short Story, for "All God's Sparrows," her first historical fiction--she is a past president of Sisters in Crime and a former board member of Mystery Writers of America. Leslie lives and cooks in NW Montana.