Miss Gloria sums up our question-and-answer session with the narrative below. Let’s get to know Miss Gloria better!

My name is Gloria Peterson, though lots of people call me Miss Gloria. (I am hardly a ‘miss’ as I was married for many years to my dear friend and beloved Frank.) We had two handsome sons, who live in Michigan and worry themselves sick about me living alone on a houseboat in Key West, Florida. I tell them over and over that I’m hardly alone. Houseboat Row is a true neighborhood—my best friend Mrs. Dubisson lives at the end of the dock. We walk together and play mah-jongg, and generally solve the problems of the world. My second dearest friend and daughter by choice, Hayley Snow, lives right next door. And she’s married to a hunky detective who out-worries my sons by a football field. Or that’s what I tell my sons when they start making noises about how I should be relocated to assisted living. If anyone’s going to get to me, they have to go through Nathan first. I suppose they worry because Hayley and I have solved a few crimes and that can be dangerous. I’ve been conked on the head more than once, but mostly I get involved not for my muscle but because I’m a good listener and no one suspects an old lady will be accusing them of murder. Anyway, not to worry, we’ll be off on vacation soon—Hayley and Nathan’s honeymoon, if you want to get technical. Some people find it unbelievable that a couple would invite an elderly lady on their honeymoon. I say it speaks to our relationship and to the strength of theirs.

By the way, my favorite place to chill out on the houseboat is the deck, where I can sit with my cats, Sparky and T-bone, and watch the world go by. Now let’s talk food. People say I’m not much of a cook and that makes me giggle. I think I’m a little smarter than the average bear—if you serve something awful and act all proud of it, people want to take over in the kitchen. People like Hayley, who’s an amazing cook. Lately we’ve been having lots of scones—cinnamon scones, banana date scones, cheese scones, cream scones with raspberry jam and whipped cream on the side. We’re practicing for our trip to Scotland this summer and I couldn’t be more excited. It’s the land of my ancestors and it was the next place Frank and I were going to visit before he had his heart attack and left this world for the next. I’m so looking forward to this trip, and I plan to visit as many cemeteries and thin places as I can. And don’t think that makes me ghoulish—I have a part-time gig as a guide in the Key West cemetery. Believe me, those stones can tell some stories if you’re willing to listen!

A strange thing happens when your age creeps past 80—people start treating you as if you were fragile, as if you were on the way to losing your marbles or shedding your mortal coil. That’s not how I feel, not one bit. Hey, I was even featured in a book review in the Florida Weekly a while back. Here’s what Phil Jason had to say about me in Death On The Menu: Miss Gloria is also a comic character, an older woman who doesn’t take her limitations seriously and becomes a kind of role model for senior citizens.

I love that—a role model for senior citizens. And I love the look of astonishment on people’s faces when they see me accomplish something they never imagined I could manage. I might not be as strong as a young person and I do need a cat nap here and there, but I have perspective, which can be worth a lot. I don’t imagine I’ll need it on our restful trip to Scotland. . .we’ll be with Nathan’s family so what could possibly go wrong?

A Scone of Contention, A Key West Food Critic Mystery #11
Genre: Cozy
Release: August 2021
Purchase Link

A murderer’s out to spoil Hayley’s honeymoon in national bestselling author Lucy Burdette’s eleventh Key West Food Critic Mystery.

Key Zest food critic Hayley Snow and her groom, police detective Nathan Bransford, chose Scotland for their long-delayed honeymoon, hoping to sightsee and enjoy some prize-winning scones. But their romantic duo swells to a crowd when they’re joined by Nathan’s family as well as octogenarian Miss Gloria.

Nathan’s sister Vera takes the women on a whirlwind tour of some of Scotland’s iconic mystic places as research for a looming book project. But the trip takes a deadly tartan turn when a dinner party guest falls ill and claims she was poisoned. And then the group watches in horror as a mysterious tourist tumbles to his death from the famous Falkirk Wheel, high above the Forth & Clyde canal.

Vera and her friends deny knowing the dead man, but after observing their reactions to the fall, Hayley is not convinced. With one person dead, a second possibly poisoned, and the tension among Vera’s friends as thick as farmhouse cheese, Hayley fears her long-awaited honeymoon might end with another murder.

Far away from home, surrounded by unfamiliar faces, eccentric characters, and a forbiddingly gorgeous setting, Hayley must call on all her savvy to keep a killer from striking again and then escaping Scot free.

About the author
Lucy Burdette is the author of the popular Key West Food Critic mystery series. Her alter-ego, clinical psychologist Roberta Isleib, has also published eight mysteries including the golf lover’s mystery series and the advice column mysteries. Lucy’s first novel of suspense, Unsafe Haven, will be published by Severn Press this fall. Her books and stories have been shortlisted for Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity awards. The Key Lime Crime won the bronze medal for popular fiction from the Florida Book Awards. She’s a member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime, and a past president of Sisters in Crime. She currently serves as president of the Friends of the Key West Library. Photo: Lucy with friend Marilyn Vander Veen, who is the inspiration for Miss Gloria.

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