Lilah Drake’s Covered Dish business discreetly provides the residents of Pine Haven, Illinois, with delicious, fresh-cooked meals they can claim they cooked themselves. But when one of her clandestine concoctions is used to poison a local woman, Lilah finds herself in a pot-load of trouble…

After dreaming for years of owning her own catering company, Lilah has made a start into the food world through her Covered Dish business, covertly cooking for her neighbors who don’t have the time or skill to do so themselves, and allowing them to claim her culinary creations as their own. While her clientele is strong, their continued happiness depends on no one finding out who’s really behind the apron.

So when someone drops dead at a church Bingo night moments after eating chili that Lilah made for a client, the anonymous chef finds herself getting stirred into a cauldron of secrets, lies, and murder—and going toe to toe with a very determined and very attractive detective. To keep her clients coming back and her business under wraps, Lilah will have to chop down the list of suspects fast, because this spicy killer has acquired a taste for homicide…

Amazon/B&N

About the Author:

Julia Buckley is a Chicago mystery author whose career started in 2006 with the publication of THE DARK BACKWARD. Since then her work has appeared on Kindle in the Madeline Mann series and the novel THE GHOSTS OF LOVELY WOMEN.  Her new series from Berkley Prime Crime will begin with THE BIG CHILI, to be released in October of 2015.

She is a member of the Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and the Romance Writers of America, along with the Chicago Writer’s Association. In addition, she has worked with the same writer’s group since 2000.

 Julia has taught high school English for twenty-seven years; she lives near Chicago with her husband, two sons, and three cats.

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Review of The Big Chili

Review (4.5 Stars):  Loved The Big Chili and I want to be Lilah’s sous chef and taste all her yummy recipes.  Lilah runs a covered-dish business where she cooks these amazing meals and her clients take the credit.  When her prized chili poisons someone at the church bingo, it is up to Lilah to find the killer before her business venture goes up in smoke.

The Big Chili was a savory mystery delight that will have you coming back for seconds.  I loved Lilah and her sweet companion, Mick, and this book was a treat from beginning to end.  The mystery was fun, engaging and I had to hunt for the clues right along with Lilah.  Looking forward to reading book number two because this series is sure to be a winner.

Giveaway

I’m excited to give away a copy of The Big Chili. This giveaway is for US Residents only.  To be entered in the drawing by October 15th, please leave me a comment below: