A Charming Beginning to a New Cozy Series

ROSEMARY AND CRIME
Gail Oust
St. Martins Press
December 2013

Rosemary and Crime by Gail Oust combines three of my favorite things: a plucky heroine, quirky supporting characters and food! Piper Prescott, a transplanted Yankee living in a small Georgia town, suddenly finds herself dumped by her husband of 20 years for a much younger ex-pageant queen. So, making lemons out of lemonade, she takes her divorce settlement and fulfills a longstanding dream, opening her own gourmet spice shop. It's a risky plan, since adventurous gourmet cooking is not exactly the thing in the land of fried chicken and pimiento cheese spread. Piper does, however, have a big plan for her grand opening. She persuades a local well-known chef, known not only for his cooking but his womanizing and temperament, to do a cooking demonstration. Too bad that the chef is found stabbed through the heart on the morning of the grand opening by none other than Piper herself. As the person who found the body Piper is the logical first suspect and the town's new Chief of Police thinks she looks good for it.

As evidence piles up against Piper-some planted- she enlists the help of her flamboyant best friend, Reba Mae. These two very accurately describe themselves as the Lucy and Ethel of crime investigation, getting themselves into trouble and driving Chief McBride crazy in the process. Piper is also dealing with a rebellious teenage daughter, her smarmy ex, the attentions of a charming veterinarian and an unexpected attraction to Chief McBride himself . When someone tries to run her down, she knows she will have to find the killer or face jail or worse.

Rosemary and Crime is a charming beginning to a new cozy series. I am looking forward to spending more time with Piper and the quirky citizens of Brandywine Creek, Ga. 

RATING-4 Stars