Death by a Thousand Spices
(2025)(The fourth book in the Lucy Blackstone Mystery series)
A Story by Maisy Marple and Wendy Winchester
In Brentwood Falls, someone is cooking up murder...
When the annual Spice & Herb Cook-Off turns deadly, librarian Lucy Blackstone finds herself in a recipe for disaster. The town's most formidable cook, Betsy Loudermilk, collapses after tasting her own signature dish—and suspicious circumstances suggest this was no accident!
As rivalries simmer and accusations fly, Lucy discovers Betsy had been investigating counterfeit spices being sold at premium prices. Was her death related to what she uncovered? Between the cook-off drama and a mysterious spice merchant passing through town, Lucy must sort through a pantry full of suspects:
• Dottie Caldwell, Betsy's longtime cooking rival who had a very public argument with the victim
• Buck Landry, owner of the upscale specialty food shop with something to hide
• Frank Barlow, the town's banker who seems unusually interested in the cook-off's finances
• And others with secrets worth killing to protect
With Sheriff Pritchard warning her to stay out of police business, Lucy knows she should stick to organizing bookshelves. But when she discovers Betsy's hidden stash of evidence, she realizes the murderer might be cooking up another recipe—with Lucy as the main ingredient!
Can our favorite librarian detect the truth before the killer adds her to the menu? Find out in this deliciously twisty cozy mystery where the clues are as complex as an artisanal spice blend and twice as dangerous.
Genre: Mystery
When the annual Spice & Herb Cook-Off turns deadly, librarian Lucy Blackstone finds herself in a recipe for disaster. The town's most formidable cook, Betsy Loudermilk, collapses after tasting her own signature dish—and suspicious circumstances suggest this was no accident!
As rivalries simmer and accusations fly, Lucy discovers Betsy had been investigating counterfeit spices being sold at premium prices. Was her death related to what she uncovered? Between the cook-off drama and a mysterious spice merchant passing through town, Lucy must sort through a pantry full of suspects:
• Dottie Caldwell, Betsy's longtime cooking rival who had a very public argument with the victim
• Buck Landry, owner of the upscale specialty food shop with something to hide
• Frank Barlow, the town's banker who seems unusually interested in the cook-off's finances
• And others with secrets worth killing to protect
With Sheriff Pritchard warning her to stay out of police business, Lucy knows she should stick to organizing bookshelves. But when she discovers Betsy's hidden stash of evidence, she realizes the murderer might be cooking up another recipe—with Lucy as the main ingredient!
Can our favorite librarian detect the truth before the killer adds her to the menu? Find out in this deliciously twisty cozy mystery where the clues are as complex as an artisanal spice blend and twice as dangerous.
Genre: Mystery
Used availability for Maisy Marple's Death by a Thousand Spices