THREE WIDOWS AND A CORPSE

A food blogger probes the murder of a much-married real estate mogul.

Freelancing has many advantages for Hope Early (The Hidden Corpse, 2019, etc.). Her flexible schedule allows her to take on interesting temporary assignments, like her current gig developing quick, healthy recipes for Cooking Now magazine. It also gives her time to participate in the local civic events of Jefferson, Connecticut, with her friends Drew Adams and Jane Merrifield. Unfortunately, at this year’s annual Scavenger Hunt, Hope’s first find is the corpse of local developer Lionel Whitcomb, shot to death in the parking lot of the Avery Bistro. Lionel’s wife, Elaine, has a fit when she learns of her husband’s demise, and her initial conniption quickly escalates into a nuclear meltdown when she discovers not one, but two former Mrs. Whitcombs, neither with the divorce papers that would have freed Lionel to marry again. Miranda and Rona Whitcomb are both in Jefferson hoping to clear up their legal status, which has been complicated rather than clarified by his death. Now all three widows are also murder suspects, and Hope’s new boyfriend, Jefferson police chief Ethan Cahill, must rely on her grit and intuition to help solve a case with too many motives and not enough clues.

Standard fare for food-cozy fans.