A day in my life? Jam. My life is jam. A while ago I would have said my life was totally jam, but these days, I’ve got a little more on my plate (so to speak).

I came back to my hometown of Shavano, Colorado, a couple of years ago after a bad experience as a line cook in Denver. My jam company, Luscious Delights, is just beginning to take off after a lot of hard work on my part getting it into the farmers market and some other local venues. But getting Luscious Delights off the ground has occupied most of my time, which meant no social life to speak of for the past few years. That tunnel vision has begun to change lately thanks to my meeting a local chef, Nate Robicheaux, who’s gotten me out of my rut.

In fact, life would be looking pretty good right now if it weren’t for another Shavano chef, Brett Holmes. Brett and I worked together in Denver, and he was always someone who wouldn’t take no for an answer. Which is to say I told him several times I wouldn’t go out with him (major sleaze factor), but he just kept asking. Actually, asking isn’t the right word. More like demanding or maybe even threatening. Just recently Brett and I had a very loud argument in front of most of the vendors at the Shavano Farmers Market. Nate showed up in time to run him off after things started to get physical, but not before half of Shavano got the idea that Brett and I were definitely not BFFs.

So you can see why things became a little…sticky when someone killed Brett in his own kitchen a few days later. A lot of people in town think the killer has to be me, including the new chief of police, Ethan Fowler. Even though I have a decent alibi, I really don’t have any choice but to investigate—my business is on the line since nobody wants to buy jam from a murderess.

So that’s where I am right now. My best friend, Susa Sondergaard, is helping me in my research, and the two of us are trying to find out what kind of guy Brett was. I mean, I already knew he was a jerk, but what variety of jerk was he exactly? And who would be most likely to do said jerk in by conking him on the head with an iron frying pan?

I’ve got friends in Denver who can tell me what Brett was like when he was a line cook there, and we’ve got some leads here in Shavano, too, who may give us some idea of who hated Brett enough to wield that skillet. This investigation is really cutting into my jam-making time, but I figure it’s more important to track down suspects than to come up with some more of my killer pepper peach preserves. You should pardon the expression.

Will we succeed in our mission? Hard to say, but we’re certainly giving it a try. After all, the local newspaper once called me “the jam queen of Shavano.” And I’m certainly not giving up my throne without a fight!

The Pepper Peach Murder, A Luscious Delights Mystery #1
Genre: Cozy
Release: January 2023
Format: Digital
Purchase Link

Roxy Constantine is the jam queen of Shavano, Colorado. But her social life is a bust, and she’s still recovering from a bad experience as a line cook in Denver. Things improve when she meets tasty local chef Nate Robicheaux, but she’s also fending off the attentions of another local, Brett Holmes, who won’t take no for an answer. When Brett threatens to derail Roxy’s career, the two have a very public fight. A few days later, Brett is found murdered in his restaurant kitchen, and suddenly Roxy’s a prime suspect. Now Roxy must find the truth about Brett and his murderer before the town of Shavano decides her reign as jam queen is over for good.

Meet the author
Meg Benjamin is an award-winning author of romance. Meg’s Konigsburg series is set in the Texas Hill Country and her Salt Box and Brewing Love trilogies are set in the Colorado Rockies (all are available from Entangled Publishing). Her new cozy mystery series, Luscious Delights from Wild Rose Press, concerns a jam-making sleuth based in the mythical small town of Shavano, Colorado. Along with contemporary romance, Meg is also the author of the paranormal Ramos Family trilogy from Berkley InterMix and the Folk trilogy from Soul Mate. Meg’s books have won numerous awards, including an EPIC Award, a Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, the Holt Medallion from Virginia Romance Writers, the Beanpot Award from the New England Romance Writers, and the Award of Excellence from Colorado Romance Writers. Meg’s Web site is MegBenjamin.com. You can follow her on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter. Meg loves to hear from readers—contact her at meg@megbenjamin.com.

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