To Err Is Cumin - (Spice Shop Mystery) by Leslie Budewitz (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Leslie Budewitz is back with another savory mystery waiting to be solved. . .

One person's treasure is another's trash. . .

Pepper Reece, owner of the Spice Shop in Seattle's Pike Place Market, wants nothing more than to live a quiet life for a change, running her shop and working with customers eager to spice up their cooking. But when she finds an envelope stuffed with cash in a ratty old wingback left on the curb, she sets out to track down the owner.

Pepper soon concludes that the chair and its stash may belong to young Talia Cook, new in town and nowhere to be seen. Boz Bosworth, an unemployed chef Pepper's tangled with in the past, shows up looking for the young woman, but Pepper refuses to help him search. When Boz is found floating in the Ship Canal, only a few blocks from Talia's apartment, free furniture no longer seems like such a bargain.

On the hunt for Talia, Pepper discovers a web of connections threatening to ensnare her best customer. The more she probes, the harder it gets to tell who's part of an unsavory scheme of corruption--and who might be the next victim.

Between her quest for an elusive herb, helping her parents remodel their new house, and setting up the Spice Shop's first cooking class, Pepper's got a full plate. Dogged by a sense of obligation to find the rightful owner of the hidden treasure, she keeps on showing up where she's not wanted, asking probing questions.

One mistake, and she could find herself cashing out. . .

Review Quotes

"A fun and original read from cover to cover for all cozy mystery fans, To Err is Cumin is author Leslie Budewitz newest 'whodunnit' novel and a part of her 'A Spice Shop Mystery' series from Seventh Street Books. Superbly written, To Err is Cumin is a deftly crafted cozy culinary mystery featuring an avid amateur female sleuth confronted with a deadly murder mystery with cliffhanger plot twists that fully engage the reader down to the final page." --Midwest Book Review

"The Spice Shop mysteries have long been a favorite series and To Err is Cumin is more than just a book. It's a visit home to a place you never lived." --Kings River Life

"What makes this book special is the portrayal not just of Pepper's Spice Shop but of her staff, her fellow merchants and restaurant owners, and simply the folks she meets along the way. . .It's also the character development that make the book a standout. . ."--Aunt Agatha's

"Rich in details of the Seattle area and the Pike Place Market and framed by facts about spices and cooking with them, this cozy, with recipes, will appeal to fans of Joanne Fluke, Ellie Alexander, Jenn McKinlay, and Krista Davis."--BookList

"Fans of the "Spice Shop" cozy mystery series will enjoy the return of favorite characters, and the spices, food, and flowers that are a treat for the senses."--Lesa Holstine, Library Journal

About the Author

Leslie Budewitz tells stories about women's lives, seasoned with friendship, food, a dash of history, and a heaping spoonful of mystery. She writes the Spice Shop mysteries set in Seattle's Pike Place Market, as well as the Food Lovers' Village mysteries and historical short fiction set in her native Montana. As Alicia Beckman, she writes moody suspense. A three-time Agatha Award winner--2013 Best First Novel for DEATH AL DENTE, the first Food Lovers' Village mystery; 2011 Best Nonfiction, and 2018 Best Short Story, for "All God's Sparrows," her first historical fiction--she is a past president of Sisters in Crime and a former board member of Mystery Writers of America. Leslie lives and cooks in NW Montana.