Restaurateur Sally Solari has a nose for trouble, but when her sense of smell goes missing, it's not just her career on the line . . . it's her life. Restaurateur Sally Solari is a champion, both in the kitchen and on the case, but after getting mixed up in one too many murders, her nonna's friends have taken to crossing themselves every time they meet. Sally's determined to stay out of trouble and focus on her cooking. It's too bad the food scene in Santa Cruz is cut-throat - sometimes literally. When a head cold knocks out Sally's sense of taste and smell, at the same time her old acquaintance Neil Lerici is murdered at the annual Artichoke Cook-Off, her powers of investigation are once again called into action. Could Neil have been killed by the local restaurant owner who took his winning spot at the competition? Or maybe by one of his siblings, who were desperate to sell the family farm to a real estate developer? Sally plunges headfirst into the case, risking alienating everyone she knows - including the handsome Detective Vargas, who finds her sleuthing both infuriating and endearing. And soon it's not just her restaurant and her tentative new relationship that are on the line - it's her life . . . The Fragrance of Death is a non-stop fun cozy mystery that will keep your mind buzzing and your mouth watering, and contains a selection of delicious recipes to cook at home.
About the Author
The daughter of a law professor and a potter, Leslie Karst waited tables and sang in a new wave rock band before deciding she was ready for 'real' job and ending up at Stanford Law School. It was during her career as a research and appellate attorney in Santa Cruz, California, that she rediscovered her youthful passion for food and cooking, and she once more returned to school - this time to earn a degree in culinary arts. Now retired from the law, Leslie spends her time cooking, cycling, gardening, singing alto in her local community chorus, and of course writing. She and her wife and their Jack Russell mix split their time between Santa Cruz and Hilo, Hawai'i.
