EAT, DRINK AND BE WARY

Recipes may hold the clue that catches a killer.

Connecticut-based chef Sherry Oliveri, who loves to compete in culinary competitions, has tapped her brother Pep as sous chef for the New England Fall Food Fest Cook-Off to be held in their hometown. Since Pep’s been away, Sherry has been looking forward to spending time with him, but he’s strangely uncommunicative and spends a lot of time on his phone. Their father would love Pep to eventually take over The Ruggery, the family business, but he’s unwilling to make a commitment. At a cocktail party the night before the cook-off at Ginger Constable’s Augustin Inn, where most of the contestants are staying, Sherry notices the tension between some of the chefs and the sponsors of the competition, and she’s trolled by Fitz Frye, a tough competitor who’s beaten her before. Fitz never shows up at the competition, which Sherry handily wins; instead, his body is found in the remains of the ice sculpture from the cocktail party. This isn’t Sherry’s first brush with murder, and when Pep becomes a suspect, she’s pushed into investigating. It turns out that Fitz and several others involved in the contest had secrets to hide, and even Ginger, desperate for money to save her failing inn, is a possible murderer.

A complex but curiously unsatisfying mystery that may still appeal to foodies.