MURDER SERVED NEAT

A woman who barely escaped her first foray into murder with her life comes back for more.

Samantha Warren, who gave up journalism for catering with a specialty in cocktails, is busy whipping up Fourth of July libations at a local festival in Highlands, Texas. In the middle of the festivities, organizer Patty Davis, best friend of Samantha’s mother, has an altercation with Angela Clawson, an accomplished fundraiser. A disagreement over a deal to use property belonging to Highlands’ German Lodge—a century-old club “dedicated to preserving the rich German Texas heritage in the region”—to create a tennis center comes to blows. When Angela is found dead, Patty is the first to be suspected. Samantha’s natural desire to help prove her mother’s friend innocent involves her with Patty’s son, Martin. The childhood friends had a falling-out in college and haven’t spoken since. Samantha is loath to tell her boyfriend about the murder since David, a lawyer who helped her when she was in trouble, wants her to keep her nose clean. Luckily for Samantha’s search for other suspects, the imperious Angela raised a lot of money and made a lot of enemies. She was furious with her son and daughter-in-law and threatened to cut them out of her will in favor of her daughter, Christina. When Samantha and her partner, Beth, are asked to cater the funeral meal, she seizes the chance to ask questions and overhear choice tidbits. The occasion also puts her in danger from the killer.

Plenty of feuds, food, and drink offer plenty of opportunities for investigations and recipes.