Pickled And Punished

A culinary cozy mystery with a stolen recipe, a sour rivalry, and a death nobody wants to question.

At the Pickle & Relish Fair in Dill's Crossing, Iowa, family tradition comes with a tour bus, a celebrity apron, and a suspicious amount of publicity. Dorothy Meade came to judge the pickles. She soon finds herself judging the stories behind them.

Quiet entrant Iris Tandy has brought her late mother's original bread-and-butter pickles to compete against a celebrated family brand. Iris says she has proof of who created the recipe—and she's tired of watching someone else take the credit.

Then Iris is found dead in a heritage brining barrel. An accident would keep the fair running smoothly. A misplaced step-stool and a troublesome barrel lid make Dorothy doubt the convenient explanation.

The truth may be waiting on the judging bench, where two jars tell different stories about the same cherished recipe. With gossipy fellow judge Bunny Frantz, the increasingly familiar Del Rourke, and her food-minded beagle Reserve nearby, Dorothy follows the trail through family resentment and carefully packaged success. But tasting the difference is only the beginning. She must find the person willing to kill to keep a stolen legacy.

Pickled and Punished is Book 2 of The County Fair Mysteries, blending food science, small-town wit, and an amateur sleuth who refuses to let a good name disappear into the brine.

For readers who love:

•   Culinary whodunits with clues hidden in everyday food

•   Stolen recipes and tangled family loyalties

•   Older heroines and warm, gossipy friendships

•   County-fair bustle, beagle antics, and gentle romance