I am woman, hear me roar. I can bring home the bacon, fry it up in a pan. Song lyrics and catchy slogans have become my philosophy ever since I divorced my skirt-chasing, ambulance-chasing hubby of twenty-some years. Hi! My name’s Piper Prescott, and I’m the proud owner of Spice It Up! in Brandywine Creek, Georgia, a town so small you practically need a magnifying glass to find it on a map.
It isn’t always easy being me. I used every red cent of my divorce settlement to purchase a building dating back to Prohibition. The original building burned to the ground when a still exploded in the basement setting fire to half the town. Folks still bemoan the fact, our town got little press since the event coincided with the St. Valentine’s Day massacre in Chicago. I’ve hit a few bumps in the road since opening day, but I’m happy to report my little shop and I are doing just fine these days, thank you very much.
One of my favorite ways to draw customers into Spice It Up! is by hosting cooking demonstrations. My very first one wasn’t exactly a rip roaring success but it was memorable. No doubt about that. Folks are still talking about how I ended up downing the wine instead of adding it my sauce. But I like to think I’ve learned from my mistakes. Doug Winters, local veterinarian, gourmet cook, and my sorta boyfriend, has agreed to show everyone how to make spicy chicken curry. It’s hard to hold people’s attention, however, when sirens start blaring and emergency vehicles barrel down the street. Was I the only one who noticed the coroner’s van? I wondered.
And that was only the beginning of trouble with a capital “T.” You see, my best friend in the whole wide world, Reba Mae Johnson, had made a perfectly innocent remark about wanting a certain someone dead. Naturally, it didn’t take long for hunky police chief, Wyatt McBride, to get wind of this. When the “certain someone” turns up deader ‘n skunk, the spotlight of suspicion falls on Reba Mae. What kind of BFF would I be, if I didn’t help a friend in need? So, I took out my sleuthing skills—much to McBride’s chagrin—and did everything I could to find the real killer and prove Reba Mae’s innocence.
Curried Away is the fourth book in the Spice Shop mystery series, published by Minotaur Books, December 2016.
Piper Prescott, proprietor of Spice It Up!, has persuaded Doug Winters, the mild-mannered vet she’s been dating, to demonstrate Indian cuisine at her shop. But before Doug’s presentation of classic chicken curry is completed, Ned Feeney, local handyman, bursts in with news of a murder.
Sandy Granger, the director of a local production of Steel Magnolias, was found strangled in the third-floor balcony of the Brandywine Creek Opera House. Sandy, it seems, had not endeared herself to cast or crew. Complaints about her ran the gamut from her management style to her lack of people skills. Everyone connected with the production falls under suspicion, including Piper Prescott’s BFF, Reba Mae Johnson, who made it well known how unhappy she is that she was cut from the cast.
When the spotlight for the dastardly deed shines on Reba Mae, Piper rushes to her friend’s defense. Who among Sandy’s detractors was angry enough to wrap a silk scarf around her neck―and pull tight? Will Piper succeed in solving the case before she becomes the killer’s encore performance? And will she ever learn just how to prepare the perfect curry? As delicious as it is charming, the latest entry in Gail Oust’s mouth-watering Spice Shop Mysteries is sure to delight both old fans and new.
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About the author
Friends often accuse Gail Oust of flunking retirement. While working as a nurse/vascular technologist, Gail penned nine historical romances under the pseudonym Elizabeth Turner for Avon, Pocket, Berkley, and Kensington. It wasn’t until she and her husband retired to South Carolina that inspiration struck for a mystery. Hearing the words, “maybe it’s a dead body,” while golfing with friends fired her imagination for the Bunco Babe Mystery series originally published by NAL. In conjunction with Beyond the Page Publishing, the Bunco Babe series has been republished in digital format as the Kate McCall Mysteries complete with new titles and a whole new look. Gail is currently writing the Spice Shop Mysteries for Minotaur/St. Martin’s. When she isn’t reading, writing, or sleeping, she can usually be found on the golf course or hanging out with friends. Connect with Gail at gailoust.com.
All comments are welcomed.
Giveaway: Leave a comment below for your chance to win a $20.00 Amazon gift card. The giveaway ends December 21, 2016. Good luck everyone!
This is a series I started and read a couple, then I think I forgot about it. Now I am 2 books behind and from today’s post, excited to catch up on the series! Thanks Dru Ann for refreshing my memory! Thanks Gair, for the chance to win an Amazon gift card and get the books I am missing!
I want this book so badly! I should post later in the day, it I am a night owl. Lol!
This is a new author for me to read. This new book sounds so exciting and awesome that there are several more in the series to read. I will have to get all of them and be able to read one right after the other….I love doing that! Thank you so much dear Dru Ann for the chance to win an Amazon gift card. It would be awesome to win it so I can buy a couple of Gail Oust’s books. God bless you.
Looks like a really good book. Thanks so much for the chance to win. This is a new to me author. I will have to go check out all the books.
I like things spicy, so this series would be a tasty read for me.
I’ve have read some of the previous spice shop books and have enjoyed them very much. Good plots/mysteries and you learn about different spices as well.
I enjoy this series and can’t wait to read Curried Away! Piper Prescott and the other recurring characters are great.
I like these food cozies! Thanks!
I have somehow missed this author several times now. I would really love to win the Amazon gift card, that was one of my Christmas wishes, and I could say I got what I really wanted. Thanks for the great review and giveaway. I am going today to look for the previous books and start at the beginning.
Curried Away sounds like a really good book. Gail Oust is a “new-to-me” author … I need to check out all the books in the Spice Shop mystery series. Thank you for the chance to win.
I found the first book in this series in large print at the library website and ordered it! Thanks.
I haven’t read any of this series and it sounds like fun! Thanks for sharing and Merry Christmas!
Connie
cps1950(at)mail(dot)com
This is a new series for me, but it sounds like one I would really enjoy. Thanks for a chance to win a copy.
I love this series. I have read the first 3 books and I can’t wait to read this one. I will have to get this ordered ASAP. Thank you for the chance to win the gift card, Dru!!
I loved the prior books and was looking forward to this one–Reba Mae is a spunky character and I’m looking forward to seeing Piper get her out of this trouble.
Thanks for including Gail Oust’s series on your blog. I’ve not read any of her books but am sure I will be reading them soon. Thanks for the opportunity to enter your giveaway for a gift card. robeader53(at)yahoo(dot)com
Thanks for this delightful feature and giveaway. This series is special.
Enjoy the series and learning more about spices.
Love the sound of the book. Great series.
Oh, this sounds like an interesting series! How have I missed it before now? Will have to make up for lost time!
I adore Amazon gift cards!ď
Gail is an amazing woman as well as an extremely talented author. I was most delighted when I learned that the Spice series was not going to end after the 3rd book. Delightful, lighthearted reading. I have often found myself chuckling aloud while reading them.
Great fun.
I think this series would really interest me—I have a skirt-chasing ex, too—and I love spices. Thanks for the giveaway.
suefarrell.farrell@gmail.com
I’ve missed this series somehow, sounds great, it doesn’t look I have too many to catch up on.
I have Gail’s book written down to buy after Christmas and Gift cards from family. This would be a great start.
i wish we had a spice shop locally. I would love to learn how to use different spices in my cooking besides what I consider to be basic.
This is a new series to me! I’d love to win so I could buy books! lindaherold999@gmail.com
Great books!
This a new author and series to me , so thank you for a chance to win a gift card to buy the series ! kathambre@ yahoo.com
It sounds like Gail travelled an interesting road before she started writing her spice shop mysteries. Would love to win the Amazon Gift Card!! Thanks so much for the giveaway and Happy Holidays!
I’ve read a couple of the books in the series and would kill to add this one to my home library.
Love the sound of this book. Definitely on my TBR list. Am off to see the rest of the series.
I haven’t read this series yet, but it sounds like an awesome read. Loved the excerpt, definitely adding to my TBR list. Merry Christmas!
This sounds like fun and the cover is really nice too. Thanks for the chance to win this great prize.
A new series to me that I am putting on my tbr list for sure. Thanks for the chance to win a wonderful prize. Hope you all have a wonderful holiday season filled with many blessings and love
What an interesting series! I have added the series to my TBRlist. Thanks for the giveaway.
Love this series & can’t wait to catch up on it. Thanks for the perfect giveaway.
Sounds like a great retirement to me!
I can almost taste the Indian chicken curry. Do you have a recipe for it? I have not read any Spice Shop mysteries but would like do so.Thanks for the chance to maybe try.
New author/series to me – and I’m interested!
How exciting. New author. New series. So refreshing. On my TBR. Spice mysteries. So intriguing. Thanks for a chance to get the gc so I can buy some
This was a terrific book in an excellent series. You can’t go wrong reading a book by Gail Oust.
New series to me. I loved her Bunco Babes Series
I really love that title and cover.
Thanks everyone for your kind and enthusiastic response! I wish you all could be winners. Merry Christmas and all the best in the New Year.