Lucy Burdette’s “Topped Chef,” the third Key West Food Critic mystery, begins with protagonist Hayley Snow awakening to a day that is predicted to be “glorious and whimsical.” It quickly turns into anything but when a mentally unstable homeless man she knows threats against a nearby dock worker. Next, she’s called to work early to deal with the owner of a restaurant she panned in her latest review. Just when Hayley thinks her day couldn’t get worse, she’s assigned as a judge for a new reality TV cooking show titled Topped Chef.
When one of the judges is murdered, the police assume the killer is a business rival of the victim. But, Hayley has seen how competitive the Topped Chef contestants are and wonders if someone has decided to improve their odds of winning. She is convinced that the police are looking in the wrong direction and begins her own investigation. Things get complicated when the police tell Hayley to let them do the investigating, but she’s convinced that she’s on the trail of a killer and won’t let up. It doesn’t take Hayley long to wind up in hot water and in danger of becoming the next victim.
Lucy Burdette combines food, fun, and murder in a tasty and entertaining recipe that will keep cozy mystery readers guessing. Hayley’s interest in the murder case is logical, and her investigation path believable. Burdette’s creates a strong sense of Key West with clean and precise writing. Her characters are varied, interesting, and fun. At times, the diversions to the cooking contest felt a bit slow, but they created a wealth of possible suspects for Hayley to investigate and added to the local flavor. Cooking up trouble appears to be Hayley Snow’s specialty, and one that cozy mystery readers should relish.
