Few things in life are sweeter than a ripe tomato. That’s why I named my deli and catering company in downtown Seattle “Ripe.” That was years ago, and while the hours are long and the kitchen crazy-busy, I love it.

But I rank a few things even higher on the sweetness scale. My son Gabe is tops. He’s a college freshman now, at Notre Dame on a soccer scholarship. He adores the place, and I must admit, when I flew back for parents’ weekend, I half wanted to stay and enroll myself. Bittersweet, though, to make the trip alone. Patrick’s been gone nearly three years, and every day, I wish he could see the lovely young man our sweet little boy has become. He’d be so proud.

I’ve made a pretty sweet life here in the Lake Union houseboat community, too. After Pat’s murder, still unsolved, I simply could not stay in the adorable cottage we’d worked so hard to make a home, in Montlake, a quiet neighborhood just south of the Ship Canal. Not with the tragedy that happened on our back porch, or the neighbors who glared at me every time I walked out the front door. Too many tensions. But there are few tensions here on the water. Every one of us knows how lucky we are to live in this pocket of the city, with the waves lapping at the shore, the ducks swimming by, the pressures melting away the moment we step past the big willow and onto the docks. My neighbors are the kindest, most creative people I’ve ever met, and they welcomed Gabe and me with true pleasure. Where Snowflake, the white cat who adopted Gabe the day we moved in, came from, I’ve never had any idea. But she’s pretty sweet, too.

And if I’m ticking off the sweet things, I’ve got to include my dear friends, Pepper Reece and Kristen Gardiner. They say it’s hard to make good friends after fifty, and after tragedy, but then along came these two. (Of course, they’re an even dozen years younger than I, and maybe that made the connection easier.) Pepper worked in the office tower Ripe anchors and frequently came in for my justifiably-famous tomato-basil soup and cheesy breadsticks. We chatted, but it was cook-and-customer chat, nothing more. After Pat’s death, she reached out and offered a shoulder. Uncritical companionship, unconditional friendship. She and Kristen have been best friends since literally before they were born; their parents shared a house and their mothers were pregnant at the same time. Their birthdays are only two weeks apart. When they decided to start a weekly movie club, the Flick Chicks, they included me. Our circle’s grown to include Seetha and Aimee, both thirty-somethings. They do say that having younger friends is key to healthy aging. I’ve got that covered.

One rough patch ahead, I’m afraid. The third anniversary of Pat’s murder is coming up. Detective Tracy checks in with me regularly, to make sure I know the case is still open, that they haven’t forgotten Pat. He was one of their own, an Assistant United States Attorney. Part of the law enforcement family. I hear there’s a new FBI agent assigned to the case—it’s a joint investigation—and maybe fresh eyes will make a difference. I’m not looking for revenge. I’m looking for answers. For justice.

Justice for Patrick Halloran. Now that would be sweet.

The Solace of Bay Leaves is the fifth book in the “Spice Shop” cozy mystery series, paperback released October 20, 2020.

Pepper Reece never expected to find solace in bay leaves.

But when her life fell apart at forty and she bought the venerable-but-rundown Spice Shop in Seattle’s Pike Place Market, her days took a tasty turn. Now she’s savoring the prospect of a flavorful fall and a busy holiday cooking season, until danger bubbles to the surface . . .

Between managing her shop, worrying about her staff, and navigating a delicious new relationship, Pepper’s firing on all burners. But when her childhood friend Maddie is shot and gravely wounded, the incident is quickly tied to an unsolved murder that left another close friend a widow.

Convinced that the secret to both crimes lies in the history of a once-beloved building, Pepper uses her local-girl contacts and her talent for asking questions to unearth startling links between the past and present—links that suggest her childhood friend may not have been the Golden Girl she appeared to be. Pepper is forced to face her own regrets and unsavory emotions, if she wants to save Maddie’s life—and her own.

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About the author
Leslie Budewitz blends her passion for food, great mysteries, and the Northwest in two cozy mystery series. The Solace of Bay Leaves, her fifth Spice Shop Mystery set in Seattle’s Pike Place Market, is out in e-book and audio now; watch for the paperback on October 20. A three-time Agatha-Award winner (2011, Best Nonfiction; 2013, Best First Novel; 2018, Best Short Story), she is a past president of Sisters in Crime and a current board member of Mystery Writers of America. She lives in NW Montana.

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