Irene Foxglove is going to ruin my family Christmas in Texas and Charlie’s wedding—I just know it. She and her entourage are here in Fort Worth for the holiday, staying in the Stockyards. Imagine that: the diva and faux French chef who despises everything Texan in the historic Fort Worth Stockyards. Patrick, my beloved husband, reminds me I invited them. Maybe I did, but I didn’t mean it.

Oh, hi! I’m Henny James. I have a TV cooking show in Chicago, but I’m in Fort Worth for Patrick’s first Christmas with my family and for my best friend’s wedding. I’m to cater the wedding supper, my first catering gig and I’m both nervous and excited. The nervous part is mostly because of Irene.

Irene had a cooking show in Fort Worth until the station manager found out that she had not really studied at Cordon Bleu but instead at Chicago’s Kendall College. He fired her and gave me a show called “From my mom’s kitchen.” Texas food, not French. Irene despises the station manager but thinks of me as her other daughter. And Patrick points out on my part, it’s a love/hate relationship. Irene can be difficult, demanding, and irrational, but she is also a treasure, passionate about her friends, funny, sometimes deliberately and sometimes accidentally, and she is brave when she has to be. And, yeah, she’s a good cook. A businesswoman, no. But a good cook, yes.

Now that we’re all in Fort Worth, each day begins no later than seven-thirty because that’s when Irene inevitably calls me. This annoys Patrick and jumpstarts my daily anxiety. During the day I mostly cook with mom as we plan ahead for lobster Newburg for forty. Some days Irene joins us to make her gougeres or paté in my mom’s kitchen which has never before produced anything more exotic than a Texas sheet cake. Mom and Irene, once at terrible odds, have suddenly bonded, which only adds to my confusion.

And in the evening? I take the French delegation someplace typical of my hometown for supper—Irene, her billionaire French lover Chance Charpentier (theirs is a long story, but I’m a bit in love with him myself), their grown daughter Gabrielle who is the most spoiled, self-centered person I’ve ever met, and their chauffeur/pilot/security chief Jean Claude, a steadying influence. So far, Irene loved the menudo at a hole-in-the-wall Mexican café, hated the barbecue at one of the city’s most lauded barbecue joints, and declined chicken fried steak.

But tonight is Charlie’s wedding to Rick Scott, followed by the supper at the Scott mansion. Yes, they have money, and, yes, his mother has pretensions. As Charlie said, Nora Scott eats nails for breakfast. Irene is to be my sous chef—another long story—and I know without a doubt she’ll do something to ruin the supper. Chance assures me he has made her promise to mind her own business and make no caustc remarks.

I have prepared for anything that could go wrong, from spilled drinks to guests who don’t like lobster. But there’s this nagging sense I am missing something. Why didn’t I think of murder?

Irene Deep in Texas Trouble, An Irene in Chicago Culinary Mystery Book #4
Genre: Cozy
Release: April 2023
Format: Print, Digital
Purchase Link

Deep in Texas Trouble is all about love and romance—and murder.

It’s Christmas in Texas. Henny’s best friend, Charlie, is marrying the love of her life, rich and spoiled Rick Scott, and Henny is to cater the wedding supper. Irene and Chance are spending the holiday with Henny’s family, and Irene steps in as Henny’s sous chef. When there’s a sensational murder at the supper, Irene is the prime suspect. Saving Irene is complicated by a mysterious stranger, threatening notes, a runaway couple, and a kidnapping. But Henny persists—and learns that there are all kind of couples in this world.

Come on down to Texas to wander the historic Fort Worth stockyards, watch a rodeo, learn about a new competitive sport, and eat some Texas food. While Irene detests most of the Texas menu, you’ll probably like it.

Recipes included.

About the author
After an award-winning career as a western writer, Judy Alter turned to mystery. She is the author of three earlier series—Kelly O’Connell Mysteries, Blue Plate Café Mysteries, and Oak Grove Mysteries. Irene Deep in Texas Trouble is the fourth in her new Irene in Chicago Culinary Mysteries, following the successful Saving Irene, Irene in Danger, and Finding Florence. Alter is retired as director of a small academic press and lives in a cottage in Fort Worth with her dog, Sophie. She is the mother of four and grandmother of seven and is an avid cook. She’s even written a book about cooking in her cottage, Gourmet on a Hot Plate.

All comments are welcomed.