Food critic Haley Snow is back in another release in the Key West Food Critic Mysteries. As always, the carefully researched locale is an important element of the story. When Haley receives word that an old friend, Catherine Davitt, is coming to Key West to investigate a long-ago missing person's case, Haley jumps in to lend assistance. It turns out this case is personal The missing person was a dear friend of Catherine's. Her disappearance goes back to the 1970's when she was camping with a group at Mangrove Key. Some Key West history is introduced into the plot as Catherine Davitt researches a book on Hemingway's wives. Another first rate release in this delightful series. Highly recommend.

Enjoyed this one very much, another great cozy mystery from author Lucy Burdette. Never disappoints, highly recommend

First I must say I do love the cover of this book. Then I must say what fun I had reading this book. I have been enjoying the books in this series and having a lot of fun reading them and this one delighted me as much as the others I have read.

Wonderful writing, great characters and a story that kept my interest with its story and its food references and recipes. I haven't read all of the books in this series (there are quite a few) but the ones I have I have thoroughly enjoyed.

Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

It wasn’t for me . Started off nice, felt like a standalone. I liked the storytelling but it felt a little boring at times.

An interesting combination of two timelines with the overlap of characters.
The details of the late 1970's was very familiar and believable.
Great twists and turns with our favorite female sleuths on the case.

The heat is turned up for Hayley Snow and her friends in the next installment of the Key West Food Critic mystery series by USA Today bestselling author Lucy Burdette.When food critic Hayley Snow receives an intriguing email about a mysterious, decades-old disappearance, her curiosity is piqued. Writer Catherine Davitt has returned to the Keys to research a book about Hemingway’s wives, but she’s also on the hunt for the truth about her missing friend. Hayley quickly agrees to help investigate and they hit the road to see what clues they might find.Back in the late 1970s, Catherine and her friend Veronica were part of a group of lost souls camping in the mangroves of Big Pine Key, until Veronica vanished, and the sheriff’s office cleared out the camp. Catherine and Hayley begin interviewing Big Pine Key residents who were around at the time of Veronica’s disappearance, but uncover more questions than answers. Catherine and Hayley stop to speak with a motel owner who frequented the fringes of the commune, but they find him stabbed to death. Then Catherine also goes missing, and signs point to a connection between the old case and the new murder. It’s up to Hayley to unravel the knot of secrets and lies before time runs out.

From start to finish I was hooked on this story. I thought it was wonderfully written. The characters came to life off the pages. Will recommend to others.

Food critic Hayley is approached by an older woman who wants to find out what happened to her friend more than 40 years earlier. The two had joined a commune in the Keys until one day Ronnie just vanished. Catherine tried to get the local police to take it seriously at the time but the group was involved in drugs and free love and people were always coming and going.

Hayley and Catherine revisit the island and question some of the people who had been involved. It seems like there is a lot to the story that is being kept secret. Things take a sinister turn when one of those people is murdered and Catherine, herself, is gone. No one is sure whether that is a sign of guilt or if something more nefarious has befallen.her. But as Hayley gets closer and closer to the truth, the killer is just as determined to keep the truth hidden. And the killer is not afraid to clean up the situation by whatever means are necessary.

It turns out that the toxic relationships that most of the group were trying to escape would manifest in the most deadly way in the group dynamic. Lots of twists and some hair raising excitement before the villain is brought to task. Four purrs and two paws up.

One day Hayley Snow, our favorite Key Zest Food Critic/Amateur Sleuth receives an email from a woman named Catherine Davitt. She is in town writing a novel about Hemingway’s toxic love affairs. But Catherine has another motive, she has never given up on finding out what happened to her friend in the late 1970’s. The two young women had come down to the Keys seeking freedom and adventure. They wound up joining an eclectic group camping out in Big Pine. When the beautiful Veronica went missing the group dispersed and for decades Catherine has longed for answers to her friend’s supposed disappearance. We all know that Hayley Snow cannot resist a good mystery. Together with her faithful and funny sidekick, Miss Gloria, and against her husband’s better judgement, the detective work begins. The women start by tracking down Catherine’s old group of friends, researching records at the Sheriff’s department and generally being an excellent pair of nosey bodies extracting alibis from an array of dubious characters. As the unlikely secrets begin to unravel, the cold case looks more and more like murder. Fabulous local author Lucy Burdette serves up another cozy mystery that will leave you hungry for more—Key West has never tasted so deadly!

This was not for me. I struggled to finish it. It didn’t seem to fit in with the others in this series.

A culinary cozy for the win!

While this is the 22nd (!) book in the series, it could have been a standalone from the way it read. From start to finish, the story was intriguing and entertaining. Burdette’s mastery of storytelling felt urgent and compelling, and delicious with all the mentions of Key West recipes (also included at the end of the book).

I did feel like the characters were on a continuing journey, with a great deal of back story that I missed out on, it didn’t detract from the relationships as they exist during this adventure.

Well crafted, fun and fast paced, this was a great way to end my staycation!

I love it when my mystery has another mystery imbedded in it - it's like 2 stories in 1! In A Poisonous Palate, Hayley becomes involved in a cold case from the 1970s when she's asked to help investigate. Of course this isn't as simple as it sounds, but if anyone can figure it out and tie it all up it's our girl Hayley!

This series is one of my all-time faves - Hayley, Miss Gloria, Nathan, and the rest of the gang never disappoint and each time I read one of the books (A Poisonous Palate is the 14th!!!) I want to move to Key West, buy a houseboat, and start solving mysteries and munching yummy local food. Thanks, Lucy Burdette, for another winner!!! A+++

Dollycas's Thoughts

Key Zest food critic turned amateur sleuth Hayley Snow was scrolling through her emails. There was one from a name she didn't recognize but the subject line was intriguing "Hemingway toxic love and an old story". Catherine Davitt had written several books and she is now researching Hemingway's relationships with his wives. But it isn't her first trip to the area. Catherine and her friend Veronica were there back in 1978. They joined a group camping in the mangroves outside of Big Pine Key. Each had their reasons for being there and there was some friction from time to time but all seemed surprised the day Veronica just disappeared. The sheriff's department did investigate but never found her. Now it is a cold case. With Catherine is back in the area she wants to figure out what happened to her friend and she has asked for Hayley's help.

Hayley agrees.  There were a few people still living in or near Big Pine Key who had camped in the mangroves. Sadly, none were very forthcoming leaving Hayley and Catherine with even more questions. Then they went to interview a local motel owner who had hung around at the camp but he wasn't talking. He was dead, recently stabbed. Shortly thereafter Catherine goes missing. Hayley knows both events are connected to Veronica going missing all those years ago.

Can she piece the clues together and get past all the secrets and lies in time to solve the new cases and the old?

______

I really enjoyed returning to catch up with Hayley, her detective husband Nathan, her parents, her best friend, octogenarian, and next-door neighbor Miss Gloria. Miss Gloria is smart as a whip, clever, and funny. She is up for anything and jumps at the chance to help Hayley in any way she can. She is my favorite character in this series but the entire core cast is likable and genuine. Nathan and Hayley's relationship is strong and comfortable. He has accepted that she is going to get into some crazy situations and investigations but he still worries and will always be there to aid her in everything she does. Her parents are supportive too but have less time to worry as they are busy with their catering business. All these characters continue to develop nicely.

The mysteries Hayley is trying to untangle send her in circles as the information she needs comes out in drips and dabs. She had to visit some people several times. Good thing she is tenacious. I was delighted to follow the clues right along with her. I thought I had the culprit pinned down when Hayley found herself in a precarious situation but I was all wrong. As I kept reading my heart started pounding. I was truly surprised but there was still something up in the air and Hayley needed to solve that mystery too. What an ending!

The way Ms. Burdette plotted out this story was interesting. Within the chapters is Catherine's story about her time at the camp in 1978.   The snippets made that time more real as we learned why these girls ended up in Big Pine Key and their time there. I also liked how she weaved in Hemingway's history within the story.

A Poisonous Palate contains a complicated mystery with endearing characters, and plenty of humor that kept me totally captivated from beginning to end. Then we got to the recipes for all the food that had my stomach growling continually. I highly recommend the entire Key West Food Critic Mystery Series. They are all fun and entertaining, but this is my new favorite. That Miss Glory, I sure do love her!

I knew the mystery involved poison. The title, right? Even though I noted this massive clue from the very start I still didn’t solve it. I thrilled to the clever surprise ending involving watches, crocodiles, guns, ravines, and a jungle temple, as well as the complex connections between suspects told through old journal entries. Burdette has crafted a page turner and I highly recommend!

Burdette’s Key West Food Critic mysteries serve as mini-Key West vacations for me, and this one expands the series’ setting locale to the Lower Keys. If you’re a regular Key West visitor and have not pinned a dollar to the wall of the quirky No Name Pub yet, you definitely should. Or you can hoist a brew and visit as you read The Poisonous Palate, with sides of murder, toxic relationships, and scrumptious food (I loved the crabcakes with avocado and mango salsa; recipes included – delicious, as always!).

This is a compelling whodunit mystery with not one but maybe two murders, one in the past and another very much in the present. Tropical Key West and Hemingway’s mystique frame the mysteries, and Ernest Hemingway’s relationships with women shed light on modern toxic relationships most of us have either known or observed. When I read Julia Child’s quote at the start of Chapter 31, I laughed out loud: “I think every woman should have a blowtorch.” While I laughed, I definitely understood, and appreciated Burdette’s wise counsel on relationship problems sprinkled throughout the tale.

Hayley Snow and her gang of family, friends, and lovable pets bring Key West to life as usual, and the role of one of my faves, octogenarian Miss Gloria, did not disappoint. She plays a crucial role in this twisty tale, and whenever she’s involved I wish I, too, lived on a houseboat in the Key West Bight with such a delightful elderly friend.

I highly recommend The Poisonous Palate, crammed full of Florida Keys references, mouth-watering food, and relatable anecdotes. Thank you to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for allowing me to read a copy of this book in advance of its publication.

Hayley Snow is contacted by Catherine Davitt who has returned to the Keys to research a book about Hemingway’s wives & toxic love. But Catherine wants answers about her friend Veronica who went abruptly missing from a campsite in 1978. This cold case takes a modern-day twist when Catherine & Hayley find the stabbed body of motel owner Ned. Ned had been one of the motley crew of adults who hung around that fateful summer. Then Catherine goes missing and Hayley wonders if she has been a sucker all along.

This was an intriguing cold case during a more innocent time when sex, drugs and hijinks were abundant.

A Poisonous Palate by Lucy Burdette takes us back to South Florida where we join food reviewer Haley Snow and her elderly sidekick, Miss Gloria. Sleuthing is kind of a sideline for the two of them although Haley has gained somewhat of a reputation. Thus, the email she had received from a woman named Catherine Davitt requesting help to solve the disappearance of her friend that had taken place years earlier. Haley and Miss Gloria were intrigued and Haley agreed to help the woman after they had met and talked. Often during the following days, Haley wondered if she was anything other than a taxi. Then there was Danielle’s wedding coming up. That was important, too. Then Catherine disappeared. It was all a bit much.

Haley is a fun character and Miss Gloria is hilarious, filling the exact role for which she was intended. Her sons thought she needed to be in a home and she did all she could to thwart them. She is perfect. We don’t really see too much of Nathan, Haley’s husband, who was busy trying to get a promotion in the local police department. The trend seems to be mysteries that are rooted in the past or took place in the past and this is no exception. It was complicated because people lie and much of the evidence and many of the witnesses are gone. That didn’t stop Haley from digging and eventually rooting out the truth, as always. It was a fun novel (minus the deaths) with a good mystery and good characters. Thanks Lucy Burdette for this world.

I was invited to read A Poisonous Palate by Crooked Lane Books. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #CrookedLaneBooks #LucyBurdette #APoisonousPalate

A Poisonous Palate: A Key West Food Critic Mystery
By Lucy Burdette
Crooked Lane Books
August 2024

Review by Cynthia Chow

Newly married and living with her husband on a houseboat in Key West, food critic Hayley Snow has been involved in a multitude of murders and criminal investigations. So it’s surprising that it’s taken this long for her to have been approached by someone else wanting her to consult on their own mystery. Catherine Davitt is returning to Key West to research Ernest Hemmingway for a book she is writing on his toxic relationships, but she wants Hayley’s help in solving the mystery of a friend who went missing in 1978. Veronica was one of a group of twenty-somethings camping out together in Big Pine Key, and after she suddenly disappears Catherine is the only one to report her as missing. Considering the intertwined romantic relationships and drug use due to the “square groupers” of marijuana bales that washed up on shore, the police were less than diligent in investigating the case. While the private detective Catherine hired found nothing concrete, her suspicions are bolstered when she and Hayley discover the body of one of those same fellow campers before they can question him. Ned was a four-time married owner of a decrepit motel whose failed relationships mirror those of Hemmingway, the famous and infamous author of the short story collection, “Men without Women.”

While the responding police very assertively discourage Hayley from once again investigating, she and her best friend/houseboat neighbor Miss Gloria can’t help but be drawn into the case. Hayley isn’t entirely sure that the rather unlikable Catherine didn’t have a part in Ned’s murder, and may even perhaps been jealous enough to have taken out her still-missing friend. Hayley’s Key West detective husband provides sound counsel and a ton of emotional support, while her other friends do the same, all the while sharing meals she plans to review for her Key Zest magazine articles. So when not tasting delicious Floridian meals, Hayley and Gloria track down the remaining campers who have still remained in the Keys. A still-handsome veterinarian, a waitress, Ned’s many exes, and even Catherine “Kit-Kat” herself all become suspects in literally stabbing the motel owner dead.

This 14th in the series shines a light on Ernest Hemmingway and his fascinating and very complicated relationships with the women in his life. Hayley herself has managed to escape the cycle of toxic love relationships, but she recognizes how many of those around her may have fallen into their traps. Fans of the series will enjoy not only the scenic tour through Key West and its cuisines, but also be entertained by the reappearances by Hayley’s close circle of friends. Hayley’s matured throughout the series, and seeing her close relationship with her husband has proven to be ever so rewarding. Chapter-heading quotes from famous food critics and writers add color to the novel, as do excerpts from Catherines 1978 diary. The fast pace and surprising conclusion will satisfy mystery readers, while foodies will appreciate recipes and delicious descriptions of Hayley’s meals. This is another fun novel written by an always reliable and creative author.

I am a sucker for cold cases so I really enjoyed this one. As always, I loved the setting and the characters. Sure, I found Hayley’s reason for investigating flimsy; she’s long past her friends and family being accused so random strangers seek her out based on word of mouth. That said, the mystery itself was interesting and I had no idea who the murderer was until the very end. So, all in all, a fun jaunt in Key West.

#APoisonousPalate #NetGalley featuring Haley Snow and Miss Gloria is the newest addition to this series and really well done.
Catherine Davitt has returned to the Keys to research a book about Hemingway’s wives, but she’s also on the hunt for the truth about her missing friend, Veronica. She reaches out to Haley, asking for her help in finding out the truth about Veronica's disappearance from a campsite that a few young adults were part of.
When Haley begins asking questions, she soon learns that the people involved would rather not relive the events, so it takes some time for Haley to unravel the clues.
I really enjoyed this book, the story was well written and I had no idea who was responsible for Veronica's disappearance, the ending was definitely a surprise.
Miss Gloria is my favorite character in this series, I love her energy and her gumption to always be a part of the investigations Haley becomes involved in.
This is one of my favorite in the series so far, and Miss Gloria really saved the day with her plan!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy of the book.

In “A Poisonous Palate”, the fourteenth book in Lucy Burdette’s Key West Food Critic Mystery series, food critic Hayley Snow finds herself not only investigating a decades old disappearance but a modern day murder. While Hayley isn’t quite sure she can trust the woman who asked for her help in the disappearance, she is still intrigued by the case and starts interviewing people. But she needs to be careful – not everyone is happy about the past being dug up.

This was a really enjoyable mystery. I love the Florida setting and Hayley’s job as a food critic – don’t read these books on an empty stomach! Another favorite of mine is Miss Gloria – the octogenarian who helps Hayley solve cases and isn’t above acting like a helpless old lady if needed to help solve the mystery. And Hayley needs all the help she can get with these mysteries – both are complex with characters not always telling the truth or leaving out important facts. Although the disappearance happened years ago, by the end of the book readers will feel like the know Veronica, the girl who disappeared, and feel like they too spent time camping in tents, eating questionable food, and drinking and drugging too much. The ending, when the killer is revealed, is filled with just the right amount of tension – truthfully I almost felt sorry for the killer. Very well done by Burdette!

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley.

I really struggled with this book. The ploy was really interesting and I kept reading to find out the ending, but I wasn't a big fan of the characters. Especially Catherine. I loved Gloria and Hayley was ok. There was just too much of the telling of every day life. I even got tired of hearing about every meal they ate. I loved the small deer. Didn't know that was a thing so I learned something new. The book just felt like it was drug out.

Thank you to NetGalley, Crooked Lane and the author for my copy