Dining
with Murder
By
Frankie Y. Bailey
When my Lizzie Stuart mysteries were
published by Overmountain Press, the authors writing under the imprint, were
asked to contribute a recipe to a small collection that could be offered to
readers as a giveaway. I had an obvious choice. In Death’s Favorite Child, the first book in my series (being reissued
by Speaking Volumes), the victim dies after eating a lethal substitute for the
“yummy balls” her aunt made for her. I asked a friend to come up with a recipe
(see my website) for the nonexistent snack I had described. But this was not
the only appearance of food in that book. Lizzie was on vacation in Cornwall,
England. I drew on the research I’d done in London and in the coastal town where
a friend and I met for a holiday.
In that book, Lizzie shares meals
with her best friend, Tess, and the other guests at the private hotel. These
are the people who will be among the “the closed circle of suspects” common in
whodunits. She also has dinner with Philadelphia homicide detective, John
Quinn. Like Lizzie, Quinn is on holiday in Cornwall. Like Lizzie, he is drawn
into the murder investigation.
In A Dead Man’s Honor, Lizzie has moved to Gallagher, Virginia, the fictional
city that will become her home base. In this book, I introduce readers to “Miss
Alice,” a woman who knew Lizzie’s grandmother when they were both children. Miss
Alice continues to reign over the Orleans Café. As a crime historian, Lizzie
spends time in libraries reading old newspapers and going through archival collections
looks for clues. But she also knows the value of oral history interviews. Miss
Alice is her source when she has a question that she is not able to answer or
when she needs more context (See recipes from the Orleans Café on my website).
In A Dead Man’s Honor, there are other characters with whom Lizzie shares
intriguing conversations during meals -- including
the soon-to-be victim and John Quinn. It is giving nothing away to say that as
the series has evolved, Lizzie and Quinn have gotten to know each –and shared
both romantic moments and conversations about murder as they ate. In Book Six,
they will be in Santa Fe for Thanksgiving dinner before coming home to Gallagher.
Brief bio and links:
Website URL:
www.frankieybailey.com
Twitter: @FrankieYBailey
Amazon: A Dead Man’s Honor
Amazon: Death’s Favorite Child
