No matter what my mother goes around telling everyone, I did not resign from my high-tech business position in Chandler, Arizona, and start a charcuterie catering service and sandwich shop in quirky Cave Creek as a result of a breakup with my philandering boyfriend. That would be far too cliché, even for me.

The truth is, I always wanted to start a business in the food industry, I just needed to acquire some capital first. Chan-Tech Industries did that for me. Now I can follow my real passion. That is, if I can escape from Edith Ellory, renown food critic and obnoxious ghost whose house I’m renting.

Yes, you read that correctly – ghost, spirit, phantasm, apparition, whatever you want to call it, Edith appears whenever she wants, in whatever bizarre outfit she’s managed to commandeer from the netherworld. Oh, and don’t let me forget the bells and whistles! She shows up like a mini-tornado complete with whirling colors and a haze that only I can see. And she nags like crazy! Hates my choice of clothing and has a few things to say about the way I prepare charcuterie boards, too.

“Flute the edges! Flute the edges!” If she tells me one more time how I should prepare cured meats, I’ll heave! But that’s not the worst. The worst is that Edith believes she was murdered in her house. My house! And even though the coroner’s report says she died in her sleep at age 77, Edith says otherwise.

Naturally, she refuses to leave until I help her find out who murdered her. And here I thought the only other inhabitant in the house was Speedbump, a young beagle who snuck in when the movers arrived and now belongs to me.

I keep telling Edith I’m not a detective but that has hasn’t stopped her from coming up with all sorts of possible suspects. And wild goose chases that have nearly gotten me arrested! Worst of all is Imogen Brodeur, her age-old nemesis from culinary school. Edith’s insistent Imogen is the one responsible for her demise but I’m not so sure.

Meanwhile, I have all I can do to get a burgeoning business started and retain my sanity. Not that easy for someone who’s barely out of her twenties. But if Edith’s right, and I do solve her murder, I’ll be rid of her for good. So, I’m putting my best Miss Marple skills to work and following the clues. Wish me luck! I’ll need it. I’m Katie Aubrey and if you’re ever in Cave Creek, Arizona, stop by the Char-Board on Cave Creek Road and say hi!

Laid Out to Rest, A Charcuterie Shop Mystery #1
Genre: Cozy
Release: July 2022
Purchase Link

Next time you rent a house, make sure you’re the only occupant.

If it wasn’t for a flamboyant, self-absorbed ghost occupying Katie Aubrey’s rental house, the thirtysomething former business tech turned charcuterie chef would be able to concentrate on her new sandwich shop and catering business. But as luck would have it, former food critic and septuagenarian Edith Ellory will not let go. Not until she convinces Katie to find out who killed her.

In spite of a coroner’s report stating Edith had died peacefully in her sleep, her apparition insists she was murdered. Not only that but she’s convinced she knows who did the dastardly deed. Vowing not to give Katie, or her laidback beagle a moment’s peace, Edith takes them on a wild goose chase through all the restaurants that received scalding reviews from her.

If Katie ever expects to have her new charcuterie business up and running, she’ll have to do more than arrange cured meats and cheeses.

The real killer is closer than she thinks and no amount of culinary design sense will prevent her from the same fate as Edith’s.

About the authors
New York native Ann I. Goldfarb spent most of her life in education, first as a classroom teacher and later as a middle school principal and professional staff developer. Writing as J. C. Eaton, along with her husband, James Clapp, they have authored the Sophie Kimball Mysteries (Kensington), The Wine Trail Mysteries (Kensington Lyrical Underground and Beyond the Page Publishing), and the Marcie Rayner Mysteries (Camel). In addition, Ann has nine published YA time travel mysteries under her own name. Visit their website at jceatonmysteries.com and jceatonauthor.com, on Facebook and at timetravelmysteries.com.

When James E. Clapp retired as the tasting room manager for a large upstate New York winery, he never imagined he’d be co-authoring cozy mysteries with his wife, Ann I. Goldfarb. Non-fiction in the form of informational brochures and workshop materials treating the winery industry were his forte along with an extensive background and experience in construction that started with his service in the U.S. Navy and included vocational school classroom teaching.

All comments are welcomed.