Liver Let Die
A Clueless Cook Mystery, No 1
Liz Lipperman

Berkley Prime Crime
Oct 2011/ 978-0-425-24404-3
Myster y/ Cozy / Culinary
Amazon

Reviewed by Laura Hinds

Jordan McAllister has moved to Ranchero, Texas to start a new life. After her long-time boyfriend dumped her, she wanted to get as far away from him as possible. She wanted to be a sports writer, but the only job she could land was writing the personals ads for the Ranchero Globe.

When the food critic at the paper breaks her hip, Jordon is assigned to fill in for her. The problem is, Jordon can’t cook worth a lick, and lives on baloney and Hostess Ho-Hos. Her first article is to be about a steak house that has recently reopened. Having an aversion to steak, she goes along with the waiter’s suggestion of foie gras; being unable to stomach that either, she dumps it into her purse.

The mystery begins when the waiter-who had asked for her phone number for a date- calls later and leaves a message that he is on his way to her apartment. When he is murdered at her building, Jordan becomes a person of interest. After her apartment is ransacked, things get even dicier. There’s another murder related to the restaurant, and Jordan isn’t sure whom she can trust. Except for her kooky batch of friends from her building, including retired cop Ray, property owners Victor and his partner Michael, sweet Rosie who loves to cook, and Lola a Tarot card reader.

Author Lipperman has created an interesting debut novel, and the series has a lot of promise. The recipes in the back don’t hurt, either! The characters are colorful, and the story is well paced. There are a couple of incidents in which Jordan herself compares her situation to TV characters who are careless and might be too stupid to live. However, the author manages to wind the details into believable resolutions.

If you love a good cozy mystery with that small town feel, crime scenes that aren’t too gory, and characters that will grow on you, you’ll enjoy “Liver Let Die.” It isn’t graphic and is a quick read. I enjoyed it very much and hope to see more in this series soon.