Dru Ann Love wanted me to tell you about a day in my life, so here it is. If it’s TMI, well, what can I tell you?

My name is Mary Ticcarelli, and I live across the hall from a younger man named Quincy Lazzaro. He’s a good guy, but he’s as mixed up as a jigsaw puzzle. Give me enough time, I’ll figure out where the pieces belong.

I’ve taken him under my wing and he’s like a son to me, God help him. I worry about him, I feed him and try to keep him from doing something stupid. But that’s what you do for family.

You know how it is. A mother can take care of ten kids, but ten kids can’t take care of one mother. In Quincy’s case, he needs about ten mothers. Maybe more.

Quincy and I co-write the “Cooking with Betty” column for On Topic Magazine. He has a journalism degree, so he writes; I’m a former restaurant owner, so I handle the recipes. I could probably write the column better than him, but he needs to pull his weight.

Together, we’re known as Betty Ann Green, America’s Sweetheart Homemaker. The thing is, Betty doesn’t exist. I’m telling you because Dru Ann assured me you’d keep it under your hat. So make sure it stays between us.

But enough about Quincy. This is supposed to be a day in my life. I wake up every morning at five and feed Menu, my cat. I took him in after I helped Quincy solve the murder of a Westport diet guru. Between you and me, he couldn’t have done it without me.

Then I do a half hour of Tai Chi for Over 60. I’m in my eighties. But you’re only as old as you feel. After that, I get on my computer. I skip Facebook, that’s for old people, and stick to reading blogs like Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen. You have to keep up with the competition.

Next, I start cooking. I love putting a new twist on classics like making hot wing lasagna. The recipes often end up in Cooking with Betty. I bring my creations across the hall to feed Quincy; otherwise, he’d live on microwave frozen pretzels and canned tuna.

Lately, Quincy has more on his mind than Cooking With Betty. He’s trying to turn his work as a food columnist into a career as an investigative journalist. He makes believe he doesn’t want my help, but I know better.

Right now, we’re looking into the murder of the director of a prestigious cooking academy. She died as the academy was preparing to move from Connecticut to New York, and there are more secrets simmering beneath the surface than there are pots on my stove. And when Quincy starts asking questions, you know I’ll be right there beside him. After all, somebody has to make sure he doesn’t get himself killed.

Readers, for keeping our secret, I’m sharing my Crab Sauce recipe HERE.

SIMMERING SECRETS
Series: A Reluctant Food Columnist Mystery, Book 2
Genre: Culinary Cozy Mystery
Release: November 2026
Format: Print, Digital
Purchase Link

When celebrity chef Connie Langston announces she’s moving her prestigious culinary academy from Connecticut to New York, she ignites a firestorm of controversy. Before the evening is over, she’s dead.

Everyone assumes it was a tragic heart attack. But food columnist Quincy Lazzaro suspects it was murder.

By day, Quincy secretly writes the wildly popular Cooking with Betty food column with the help of his irrepressible octogenarian neighbor, Mary Ticarelli. With his loyal cocker mix, Dexter, never far from his side, Quincy wants more than recipes and restaurant reviews. Determined to reinvent himself as an investigative journalist, he starts asking questions that make powerful people increasingly uncomfortable.

His girlfriend, Detective Nina Esteves, wishes he’d leave murder investigations to the police. Quincy has no intention of listening.

As he digs deeper into Connie’s death, Quincy uncovers simmering rivalries, hidden motives, and dangerous secrets surrounding the academy’s future. When a second murder proves Connie’s death was anything but natural, Quincy and Nina race to catch the killer, each following a very different path.

In the high stakes world of fine dining, where the rich and privileged guard their reputations as fiercely as their fortunes, some secrets are worth killing for.

About the author
Ang Pompano is an Agatha Award–nominated mystery author, editor, publisher, and blogger. He is the creator of the Blue Palmetto Detective Agency and Reluctant Food Columnist series, and his short fiction has appeared in numerous anthologies. A co-founder of Crime Spell Books, he also co-edits the annual Best New England Crime Stories anthology. Ang writes about mystery and food on Mystery Lovers Kitchen and serves on the board of Sisters in Crime Connecticut. Reach out to Ang at angpompano.com.