The Mango Murders Have Arrived… and I Was There for Every Juicy, Dangerous Bite by Hayley Snow #spotlight #LucyBurdette #giveaway

Hello from Key West, readers and eaters! I'm Hayley Snow, main character in the Key West food critic mystery series, wrestling away the spotlight from that wacky Lucy Burdette.

This time, it all started with a mango daiquiri. Or was it the Key West shrimp fritters with mango salsa? My detective hubby Nathan would tell me that in the middle of a big crime scene, the food that people were eating is not the point. (Understand that he’s not the kind of guy who lives to eat, but this time he could be right.) Either way, my boss at Key Zest magazine and I had come up with the bright idea to invite local celebrities on a sunset cruise—people from the foodie world, city leaders like our mayor, and local developers. I was assigned the job of light schmoozing, while our guests nibbled canapés and sipped tropical drinks. The whole affair had a mango theme, and my mother and stepfather had been selected to cater. (Nepotism much, Lucy??) Mom didn’t really know much about mangoes, coming from New Jersey, but she went with the flow and the food looked amazing. This event was going to be brilliant publicity for our ezine and, for my mother’s catering business. But, as so often seems to happen in my life, the party took a sharp turn—straight into murder.

Yes, The Mango Murders, the 15th book in the Key West food critic mystery series, is finally here. This time around, I find myself up to my eyeballs in tropical fruit, desperate secrets, and an explosion that turned a glamorous evening into a life-or-death mystery. There’s a tangled family history, an elusive killer, and a whole lot of sleuthing. Despite all this mayhem, we’d already planned the celebration of all celebrations for my dear friend Miss Gloria. She’s turning 85 and no one in her life wanted to miss this occasion, whether they got along or even liked our island. So everyone was coming! Tension? Yes! I could smell the rubber burning.

If I was in therapy—which I'm not because I have a good friend who’s a shrink and another who’s the smartest tarot card reader around—I might be asking myself why I take this much on. Or maybe the better question is why this Lucy Burdette person feels compelled to pile on the stress that ends up torturing us characters? Really, who does this to people? I'm going to investigate that. 

If you’ve been following my adventures around the island—my food writing, my crime-solving, my love life (hi, Nathan!)—you know that life here is never boring. But this one? Let’s just say I’ll never look at a mango or a sunset cruise quite the same way again.

So grab your sunblock, pour yourself something tropical, and dive in.

P.S. On the bright side, I came away with a few excellent mango recipes. (And no serious injuries, though my nerves are another matter.) The book includes real recipes from my kitchen to yours. Mango scones, mango upside down cake, mango daiquiri, anyone?

P.P.S. If you enjoy the mystery, I’d love it if you’d leave a review or recommend it to a fellow book lover. It helps more than you know—and it might even keep me and my pals in more adventures.

Thanks for reading and sleuthing with me. See you on the next page!

With mango-sticky fingers and love,

Hayley Snow

Food critic, accidental detective, mango convert

P.P.P.S I almost forgot a very important thing—we’re giving away a signed copy of THE MANGO MURDERS! To be entered in the drawing, leave a comment letting us know whether you’re more the eat-to-live type (like my Nathan) or the live-to-eat type (that’s me!)

PPPPS Won't you please sign up for Lucy's newsletter so you get all the news about Key West, Miss Gloria, and me?

Lucy Burdette writes the Key West food critic mystery series including USA Today bestselling A POISONOUS PALATE and A CLUE IN THE CRUMBS. 

Book 15 in the Key West series, THE MANGO MURDERS, is in bookstores now!

The trade paperback edition of A POISONOUS PALATE is out now! If you like to listen to audiobooks, A Poisonous Palate is on sale (75% off) until September 5.

And the trade paperback edition of A CLUE IN THE CRUMBS is out now!