Dear Friendly Readers,

You are the first to know, A POISONOUS PALATE hits bookshelves today!

Have you ever had an email land in your inbox that surprised you, maybe even helped unravel a knotty problem? (Not necessarily this email, unless the problem is what to read next LOL.) This happened to me as I was struggling with discovering a plot for my fourteenth Key West mystery. One morning in September 2022, a fan wrote to tell me about her experience camping on Big Pine Key with a group of young people in the late 1970’s. Here was a little bit of it:

It was an unforgettable experience. We never discovered any dead bodies. It was a strange time where we were taking chances on strangers that seem reckless now, but we only encountered good people. We ended up going back to Michigan but wonder what if we had stayed there?

“Oh wait,” said the mystery writer part of my brain, “she didn’t find a body, but surely my character would.” I was off to the races with a plot for A POISONOUS PALATE that switches from present to past and back again. There’s a disappearance, then a new murder, followed by another disappearance, and maybe an old murder. It was a blast to write and I hope you have fun reading it too! If the process of moving an idea from brainstorm to book interests you, you’ll like this blog post about how I decided to use the email; It’s worth reading for the old photos alone.

You can buy the book at all the usual places, or order a signed copy from RJ Julia booksellers or An Unlikely Story I’m sure my friends at Key West Island Books and Books and Books in Key West will carry A POISONOUS PALATE, but I won’t be there to sign them until November.

And ps, you also might enjoy this post about the challenge of keeping a long series fresh—I work very hard on this. 

This is one of my favorite meals—fresh crab cakes with avocado salsa—and a recipe that Hayley Snow’s mother Janet makes for a rehearsal cocktail party.

If you’re in New England this month, I would love to see you at one of these events:

August 8, 6:30 p.m.
RJ Julia Booksellers
Book launch party with Sarah Stewart Taylor
768 Boston Post Road
Madison, CT
(203) 245-3959 to reserve a seat

August 13, 6:30 p.m.
An Unlikely Story
Book talk with Hank Phillippi Ryan and Sarah Stewart Taylor
111 South Street
Plainville, MA
(508) 699-0244

Now a favor: If you enjoy this new book (or any of the others), please write a review. It can be short and sweet, and you can post it wherever you spend bookish time—Goodreads, Bookbub, Facebook, Instagram, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc. I will be so appreciative! Why do this, you ask? Because word of mouth sells books, and more sales means I can write more books!

Thanks so much for reading, for taking this journey to the Keys with me!

Xox, Lucy

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