This is a fun mystery that truly takes you away and transports you to Florida at Christmas time. In the 10th Key West Food Critic mystery author Lucy Burdette introduces us to Haley's Mother in law who is full of secrets, has a intense dislike for food and is closed off to a relationship with Haley. Her new husband is busy working and has left Haley to entertain his Mother. Their home is not done and Haley is still living at Miss Gloria's with Nathan and a pack of cats and dogs. The usual charcters are back Miss Gloria and Haley's cast of foodie friends. Its a fun romp through Florida's Key West after a killer of a local chef who perfected Key lime pie much to the envy of the other chefs on the island . Good cozy fun that will keep your mind of the pandemic and make you hungry with all the key lime pie references.

Hayley Snow is a Key West food critic who has penitence for being in the wrong place at the wrong time...or the right place at the right time?

In this installment of Lucy Berdette’s Key West Food Critic Mystery, The Key Lime Crime, Hayley Snow is joined by none other than her new Mother in Law, Helen, who has surprised Hayley and her new husband, Nathan, by joining them for New Year’s week. As Nathan is swamped with work, he sends Hayley, Miss Gloria and his mother on a Christmas Light Tour of Key West. The seemingly innocent tour takes a turn when something doesn’t look quite right bringing the ladies to revisit one of sights on the the tour.

With Key West police department having their hands full with tourist crowds, and against the wishes of Nathan, Hayley and Helen set out to solve a murder!

This was my first foray into one of Lucy’s novels and I’m happy to say it will not be my last. Even though reading the most recent installment of the Key West Food Critic Mystery series might have given me some spoilers, the character depth and writing style leaves me wanting more. By the end, I felt like I knew Hayley and Miss Gloria in real life and look forward to connecting with them more in other readings. Additionally, for a cozy mystery, the twists and turns left me on the edge of my seat and I did not see them coming!

Overall, I would give this a 4.5 / 5. It did take me a bit to get into it, but once I did I couldn’t put it down.

I am not, as a rule, fond of cozy mysteries; give me plenty of blood, life-threatening action and bang-up endings any day of the week. But I'll also say this: There's nothing like a well-written cozy to take the edge off all that gore and angst and provide an enjoyable few hours of reading.

And this is just such a book. Admittedly, I'm new to the series; this is, I've read, the 10th featuring the personable and delightfully unobnoxious Hayley Snow, a food critic in Key West, Fla. I suppose my interest initially was piqued by the setting; honestly, I've never really wanted to visit anywhere in too-hot Florida except for one spot (you guessed it). Maybe it's the Hemingway connection (one of my retired English teacher husband's favorite authors); maybe it's the six-toed cats; maybe it's the chance to be Buffeted by some of my favorite music - I can't say for sure. And I can't discount being able to indulge in one of my favorite desserts, key lime pie.

Of the latter, there's plenty to go around here (although I must admit that after reading the book I'm more enthralled by the key lime martini, for which the author provides a recipe - among others - at the end). For those wondering if they'll be lost starting with a book so far into a series, my answer is an unequivocal no; I had no trouble whatsoever understanding what is going on.

Hayley, newly married to Key West cop Nathan Bransford, is covering some of the food events being held on the island during the tourist-crowded week between Christmas and New Year's. While their houseboat is being renovated, she and Nathan are living with a somewhat kooky next-door neighbor. All that suddenly becomes complicated when Nathan's mother announces an unplanned visit - starting the very next day. She and Hayley have never met, this is Nathan's busiest time of the year and the houseboat is overcrowded as it is. Not the best time, then, for Hayley to witness a nasty incident involving one of the bakery-submitted key lime pies - and certainly not to find a dead body.

Hayley's innate curiosity kicks in, of course, aided and abetted by that of her mother-in-law and their elderly houseboat hostess. Nathan (also of course) doesn't take kindly to their intrusion into the investigation, but readers of cozies know that only serves as an incentive for the heroine to dig in her heels. Will she learn the murderer's identity without putting herself and her friends in mortal danger? Will Nathan forgive his bride for ignoring his advice? You'll just have to read the book to find out. All I'm willing to do at this point is say thank you to the publisher, via NetGalley, for letting me read and review this very entertaining book.

Good cosy mystery, set in the Florida Keys and featuring their famous Key Lime Pie. An enjoyable read, that had interesting characters and a setting that brought back memories of a fabulous summer holiday.

The Key Lime Crime by Lucy Burnett’s - “When a fierce rivalry between key lime pie bakers leads to a pastry chef's murder, food critic Hayley Snow is fit to be pied. During the week between Christmas and New Year's, the year-round population of Key West, Florida, faces a tsunami of tourists and snowbirds. It doesn't help that outrageously wealthy key lime pie aficionado David Sloan has persuaded the city to host his pie-baking contest. Every pie purveyor on the island is out to win the coveted Key Lime Key to the City and Key Zest food critic Hayley Snow is on the scene to report it. Meanwhile, Hayley's home life is turning more tart than sweet. Hayley's new hubby, police detective Nathan Bransford, announces that her intimidating mother-in-law is bearing down on the island for a surprise visit. Hayley offers to escort Nathan's crusty mom on the iconic Conch Train Tour of the island's holiday lights, but it becomes a recipe for disaster when they find a corpse among the glittering palm trees and fantastic flamingos. The victim--Au Citron Vert's controversial new pastry chef--was a frontrunner in Sloan's contest.”
I enjoyed this book as much as I have enjoyed all of Lucy Burnett’s books about Key West. I loved the characters and I love traveling via the pages to Key West. There were plenty of twists and turns to undercover the murderer and let’s face it, who can resist reading anything about pie?? Great book - if you haven’t started this series yet, you’re missing out. Thank you to Net Galley for an advanced reader’s copy.

Delightful story set in Key West. I love Key West and have had the opportunity to visit several times in the past, so I could easily imagine the locations and Hayley's movements around the area.

Haley is a food critic and in this mystery is reporting on a Key Lime Pie contest among various shops in Key West. She is married to a Nathan police officer and they live on a houseboat. Suddenly, with almost no warning, Nathan's mother decides to come visit. This is the busiest time of the year for tourism being the week between Christmas and New Years and neither Haley nor Nathan is certain how they will entertain her during her visit. When Nathan's mother Helen discovers a dead body, schedules become even more complicated.

The victim was a newcomer to the island who opened a bakery specialize in pastries. Because she was competition to other bakeries in a small area, there were plenty of people who might have wanted to see her business closed. But would that be enough to cause a murder?

Haley is also hoping to warm up to cold Helen who adored Nathan's first wife. Will the two women ever fine peace with each other?

Like many "foodie" mysteries there are some good looking recipes at the end of the book. I can hardly wait to try them and to read more books in this series.

I always like to know what Hayley and Miss Gloria are up to in Key West so it was fun to see what happened this time. However, I think there was way too much talk about key lime pies! Who makes the best key lime pie in Key West? After a while I was thoroughly sick of that pie and didn't care at all about the contest. Enough already!
But I loved knowing more about T-bone and I also liked reading the recipes at the end of the book. Very excited to next read about their honeymoon trip.

An absolutely delightful cozy! I love the setting of Key West and the timing of Christmas/New Year's was a bonus. I haven't read others in this series so didn't know what to expect but really enjoyed it. The mystery was very good with lots of suspects and red herrings. The characters were great. Varied personalities with lots to love. The food descriptions were divine and really made you want to go to Key West immediately to try some pie and all of the restaurants. Loved the animals too. Really good story!
I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher and voluntarily chose to review it.

When a fierce rivalry between key lime pie bakers leads to a pastry chef's murder, food critic Hayley Snow is fit to be pied.
During the week between Christmas and New Year's, the year-round population of Key West, Florida, faces a tsunami of tourists and snowbirds. It doesn't help that outrageously wealthy key lime pie aficionado David Sloan has persuaded the city to host his pie-baking contest. Every pie purveyor on the island is out to win the coveted Key Lime Key to the City and Key Zest food critic Hayley Snow is on the scene to report it. Meanwhile, Hayley's home life is turning more tart than sweet. Hayley's new hubby, police detective Nathan Bransford, announces that her intimidating mother-in-law is bearing down on the island for a surprise visit. Hayley offers to escort Nathan's crusty mom on the iconic Conch Train Tour of the island's holiday lights, but it becomes a recipe for disaster when they find a corpse among the glittering palm trees and fantastic flamingos. The victim--Au Citron Vert's controversial new pastry chef--was a frontrunner in Sloan's contest.It's bad enough that Hayley's too-curious mother-in-law is cooking up trouble. Now, the murderer is out to take a slice out of Hayley. Can she handle the heat of a killer's kitchen?

I loved it being Christmas time...it was fun to read how the Key’s do Christmas! I also really enjoyed the addition of Helen..With great characters, great setting, and great food….Lucy Burdette has put together another stellar recipe for a great who dun it! This is the tenth addition to this series, and she continues to “whip up” fantastic and engaging mysteries that will have you (if you're like me) guessing until the end!!

Being in isolation for the duration my reading has been kicked up to uber maximum level. What a treat to have the 10th Key West Food Critic mystery to let me escape to Key West at Christmas time. The newlywed Haley Snow has a whole lot to juggle these days. It's tourist season in Key West and, as a writer for Key Zest magazine, she has her hands full with the Key Lime pie contest. As I have a real weakness for that delectable creation, I was drawn into the mystery from the description of the plot. The competition is intense and it soon produces a corpse. Too bad the ones to discover the body are Hayley and her new mother-in-law, a woman she has only just recently met. Oops. Awkward to say the least. I like her mother-in-law, Helen and hope she makes a repeat appearance.
The mystery was complex and kept me guessing, something that I have come to depend on from this series. The characters were multifaceted and the writing style flowed smoothly. It was a very nice armchair trip to the Florida Keys.
My thanks to the publisher Crooked Lane Books and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

This one was so cute! I loved the main characters, and it was just adorable. The mystery was a bit predictable, but enjoyable. Overall this was a cute book, and I’ll definitely be looking into more books in this series.

Interesting quirky read. This book let my interest. I especially like the correlation with food and mysteries. I am a big fan of Joanne Fluke and this book reminds me of her work.

The question is what is the most stressful for newlywed Haley Snow, finding a dead body or the surprise visit of her mother-in-law, Helen. Helen declined an invitation to Haley and Nathan's wedding yet now after they stumbled across a murder she always want to tag along with Haley and instigates questioning possible suspects in the murder.

I am a long time fan of the Key West Food Critic Mystery series. The characters are interesting and the setting enticing. In this story I saw growth in Hayley's character and got to understand Nathan better thanks to the addition of his mother to the cast of characters. There is a great twist near the end too.

Thanks to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for an ARC. The opinions expressed are my own.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review

I really liked this fun cozy mystery! Hayley faces an unexpected visit from her mother in law and while they're exploring Key West they find a corpse. And not just any old corpse!

This cozy has plenty of twists and turns and surprises. It really is a ball to read!

The Key Lime Crime is the tenth novel in Lucy Burdette’s Key West Food Critic Mystery series. It was the first book I read in the series, but it was easy to jump right in and go along for the ride. Newlywed Food Critic Hayley Snow is once again embroiled in a murder investigation on the tiny island, this time with her mother-in-law along for the ride.

There was no shortage of suspects in the murder of newcomer to Key West, Claudette Parker. Burdette keeps the reader guessing and the plot moving. It was a fun and fast read and I wouldn’t mind picking up the rest of the series.

I received this Advanced Reader Copy of The Key Lime Crime from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Key Lime Crime by Lucy Burdette is the 10th book in the Key West Food Critic Mystery series, and it was great. Hayley Snow is the food critic writer for Key Zest Magazine, which keeps her busy, and she recently married her detective boyfriend Nathan Bransford. Nathan tells Hayley's that his intimidating mother is coming for a surprise visit. On top of that it's the week between Christmas and New Year, and key west is full of tourists, and Hayley has to cover the Key Lime pie contest. While taking Nathan's mother on a Conch Train Tour to see the holiday lights, they find a women dead body, and she is wearing a santa suit. Hayley is determined to get to the truth, about the women's death, along with all the other events going on. When I read a Hayley Snow mystery it's like visiting my friends in Key West! This book does not disappoint. I strongly recommended this book/ series, to get the most out of the series you might want to read them in order.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This is the tenth in the Key West Food Critic Mystery series. It is set between Christmas and New Years. Haley meets her mother-in-law who has unexpectedly come for a visit. Haley’s parents graciously host Helen Bransford as the boat cannot hold everyone.

Miss Gloria wanted to return to a stop along theisland tour for a better look. There they find a dead body and a kitten. Helen is interested in tagging along with Haley as she does her job errands after they stumble upon a dead body.

They try to find information about the victim and her past life to see why someone would want to kill her. In the process, Haley has a few articles due – one on Key Lime Pie. They use the Key Lime Pie search as method to gain information on the victim.

Lots of twist and turns and a few surprises. We learn more about Nathan and Helen Bransford, and Miss Gloria.

Loved the book.

I received an advanced copy. Bonus- recipes included. I am not required to leave a positive review.

The Key Lime Crime is book ten in the A Key West Food Critic Mystery series by Lucy Burdette.
It's the week between Christmas and New Years and Key West is overflowing with tourists. The town is also hosting the first key lime pie contest and it's looking some what cut throat between some of the bakers. Newlywed Haley is set to report on the contest when hubby Nathan, drops the bomb, his mother is coming to stay and meet Haley. Of course there are no rooms available and Nathan is working overtime, what to do with Helen. It's decided she can stay with Haley's mom. When one of the top chefs in the competition is found dead by Nathan's mother during a Christmas tour, Haley is thrown into another investigation with not only, Miss Gloria, Helen also wants in.
There are plenty of suspects and twists and turns that have you guessing to the end. As with any great cozy the setting is great, as are the characters, there is the perfect mix of quirky. You also get humor and love of family and pets. The only problem with this book is you will be left a craving for Key Lime pie.
I was given an ARC by NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for an honest review.

Burdette's Key lime Crime takes us to the ultimate pie adventure for Hayley Snow. The books opens with Hayley under stress. A morning spat with Nathan followed by a traffic citation. Our girl is feeling grouchy. She, Nathan, Miss Gloria, along with 3 pets have been living in very close quarters for too long. Overcrowding is not only part of their personal space. This time of year, between Christmas and New Years, is the height of the tourist season. The streets are filled with revelers., The hotels are booked, you might say overbooked, Her articles for Key Zest are due, The cherry on her stress sundae? Her mother-in-law will arrive for a visit. Tomorrow. If all this doesn't call for a helping of pie, nothing would. One of the island's best known self promoters, David Sloan has chosen this week to stage a Key Lime Pie Event.. The plans state that the event will end with the 'crowning' of the Queen or King of Key Lime Pie, i. e. the creator of best pie in Key West. Hayley watches, wide eyed as the kick off introducing the participants turns slap stick; one chef flings a pie into Sloan's face. Might the tosser, Claudette, be more than an entitled "Karen'? Sadly yes. Her next appearance is as the corpse. It is not just Hayley who discovers the body. Helen, her new mother in law, has a sense that something is wrong. They discover Claudette sprawled among Christmas lights, wearing a Santa suit. Miss Gloria notices a poignant part of the crime scene. Hidden next door is an abandoned kitten, once owned by Claudette. The kitten, the corpse, and the key lime pies flow together forming an entertaining mystery.. All the suspects have plausible motivations. Hayley's journalistic curiosity takes over abetted by Helen's eagerness to find the perpetrator. Who is Helen, really? Why is she in Key West? One of Burdette's strengths as a writer is to incorporate real settings and real people into Hayley's life. In the Key Lime Crime, many of the restaurants are part of Key West. A reader can search online and find images of the pies. But this is not needed. Burdette's descriptions are enough to entice. After all, there is no such thing as too much pie.

Highly recommended for cozy mystery readers and lovers of Florida fiction.

This tasty cozy mystery is one of my favorite series. The title would have drawn me in even if I didn't already love the series. Haley is such a fun character, bubbly and fun. She has her hands full in this one dealing with her cantankerous Mother in law. The pie baking contest, the scenery and the well written mystery keeps you turning the page to a satisfying ending. Look forward to more in this series.