A Side of Murder

 

A Side of Murder (A Cape Cod Foodie Mystery)
by Amy Pershing

About A Side of Murder 

A Side of Murder (A Cape Cod Foodie Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Publisher: Berkley (February 23, 2021)
Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
ISBN-10: 0593199146
ISBN-13: 978-0593199145
Digital ASIN: B087PL9HHF

Beautiful Cape Cod, Massachusetts, is known for seafood, sand, surf and now … murder.

Samantha Barnes was always a foodie.  And when the CIA (that’s the Culinary Institute of America) came calling, she happily traded in Cape Cod for the Big Apple.  But then the rising young chef’s clash with another chef (her ex!) boils over and goes viral. So when Sam inherits a house on the Cape and lands a job writing restaurant reviews, it seems like the perfect pairing. What could go wrong? Well, as it turns out, a lot.

The dilapidated house comes with an enormous puppy. Her new boss is, well, bossy.  And the town’s harbor master is none other than her first love.  Nonetheless, Sam’s looking forward to reviewing the Bayview Grill—and indeed the seafood chowder is divine. But the body in the pond outside the eatery was not on the menu. Sam is certain this is murder. But as she begins to stir the pot, is she creating a recipe for her own untimely demise?

“Cape Cod provides a stunning background for a debut that offers the ideal combination of mystery, romance, and recipes.” Kirkus Reviews

“An exquisite Cape Cod setting, a shamed but resilient chef, murderous secrets, and a long-buried but still steaming romance… Amy Pershing’s debut mystery will leave you longing for a seaside vacation, complete with fried clams and the next book in her charming series.” Lucy Burdette, national bestselling author of THE KEY LIME CRIME

“This is one of the freshest, funniest murder mysteries I’ve ever read. I fell absolutely in love with Samantha Barnes — the brave, sarcastic, crime-solving, relatable heroine we’ve all been waiting for. A Side of Murder is a rich, satisfying meal that delights from beginning to end, and Amy Pershing is a wonderful and clever author.” Elizabeth Gilbert, #1 New York Times bestselling author of EAT PRAY LOVE and CITY OF GIRLS

“A delicious mystery lovingly set in Cape Cod featuring a cast of charming characters. Amy Pershing writes with a fresh fun voice that will delight cozy fans. Chef turned restaurant critic Samantha Barnes proves a clever sleuth whose helpful cooking tips will be a big hit with culinary readers.” Krista Davis, New York Times bestselling author of the DOMESTIC DIVA mysteries

 

Character Guest Post

My name is Samantha Barnes.  Sam to my friends. I stand six feet one and a half inches in my stocking feet, six two and a half in my chef’s clogs.  I’m not exactly beautiful, especially when I’m sweating over a hot stove, but, as my grandfather used to say, I clean up nice.  When I’m not wearing the standard black-and-white checked chef’s pants and double-breasted white jacket, I have a weakness for floaty dresses and dangly earrings. 

Ten years ago, I had packed my bags and headed off to New York’s Culinary Institute of America (fondly referred to by its alumni as the CIA) to learn how to cook professionally and swear creatively.  Before that I had lived all my life in the Cape Cod town of Fair Harbor, Massachusetts, population, 6,798. 

Actually, 6,797.  Now.

   

After graduating from the CIA, I single-mindedly climbed my way up the New York restaurant ladder. Back then I was known as Samantha Barnes, the rising star. My big mistake was marrying another chef.  Male chefs are, shall we say, pretty darn macho.  He told me my love had changed him. Hah. Now I’m known as Samantha Barnes the fallen star of a viral YouTube video in which I and my hubby mixed it up in a kind of chef fencing match.  I won.  My knife skills had always been better than his.

So, out of a job (bad) and out of a marriage (good), it seemed like a no brainer to retreat home to the Cape when I found out I’d inherited my Aunt Ida’s house in Fair Harbor. There I landed a gig writing restaurant reviews (good) and, on my first assignment, promptly found a dead body (bad). And here’s the kicker.  Guess who’s the first law enforcement officer on the scene? The town’s new harbor master (good), who turns out to be my first, disastrous love (bad). But did that stop me from trying to find out whodunit on my own (good) and almost doing the whole Davy Jones Locker thing in the process (bad)?  It did not.  Because here’s the thing: As a general rule I don’t think people should get away with killing other people. 

But here’s the other thing: Until recent events taught me better, I tended to take what people said and did at face value. What you saw, I thought, was what they were. What they said, I assumed, was what they meant. This misconception has not always worked out well for me (see failed marriage, above).  Unfortunately, I learned this lesson too late. In retrospect, I got every player in this little drama wrong. 

And one of them disastrously, murderously wrong.

 

About Amy Pershing

Amy Pershing is a lifelong mystery lover and wordsmith who spent every summer of her childhood on Cape Cod. In her previous incarnations she was an assistant editor at Viking Penguin, a restaurant reviewer for Playbill magazine’s Restaurant Reporter, and a journalist at the Rome (Italy) Daily American before eventually going on to lead employee communications at a global bank. A few years ago (with the final college tuition bill paid), she waved goodbye to Wall Street in order to write full time (and spend more time sailing on Cape Cod!). A Side of Murder is the first book in the Cape Cod Foodie mystery series featuring Samantha Barnes, a disgraced but resilient ex-chef and the world’s most reluctant YouTube star. While Sam tries to balance her new job as the local paper’s “Cape Cod Foodie” with her complicated love life, a posse of just-slightly-odd friends, a falling-down house and a ginormous puppy, she also discovers a new talent – a propensity for falling over dead bodies … and for solving crime.

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