The title caught my attention right away. The writing and characters kept my attention.

Lilah works part time in her mother and dad’s real estate business, but her heart is in the kitchen, surrounded by her bake ware, casserole dishes, crock pots, and creative recipes. Little did she know, one of those dishes would we used as a murder weapon. While willingly hiding the fact she’s the true creator of this masterpiece, her customer, Perpetua Grandy, a terrible cook, takes the credit at the St. Bart’s bingo event. The dish is a favorite of the parishioners…until an additional ingredient, poison, kills Alice Dixon, the president of the church guild, who always insists on taking the first bite of “Pet’s chili”.

The list of suspects is long. Was it Alice’s ex-husband, Hank, who had serious conflicts with Alice, especially over their dog, perhaps Hank’s new girlfriend, or any one of many acquaintances of Alice, whose snooty personality and superior attitude had made many enemies over the years? Soon, a whole new list of suspects emerge when a congressman is poisoned after eating at a local Italian restaurant. What is the common link?

Jay, the son of another client, Ellie Parker, is sent to investigate the crime. After a shaky meeting, sparks begin to fly between Lilah and Jay, especially after Lilah receives a threatening message.

One of my mentors, Terry Kay, always said, “I don’t care how your writing makes you feel. All I care about is how it makes the reader feel.” (paraphrased, but that’s the message). Julia Buckley’s writing puts me straight into the story. The characters come alive and make me think I know them, personally. I was two-thirds finished before I knew it and couldn’t wait to reach the conclusion.

My only problem was getting hungry whenever Lilah cooked!

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About Julia Buckley

Julia Buckley is a Chicago writer. She has two series with Berkley Prime Crime, along with a variety of mystery novels available on Kindle. Her newest release, DEATH IN DARK BLUE, is now available in bookstores and online.

Her hobbies are reading, writing, binge-watching TV series on Netflix, and hanging out with her husband, sons, four cats and one giant Labrador.

Visit Julia at her Website, or her Facebook page, Julia Buckley Mystery Novels, or see her on Twitter. You can also explore her inspirations for Blue Lake on her Pinterest page.

Amazon link to all the Undercover Dish Mystery Books!