Book note: Recipe for Murder, by Lisa Harris

Recipe for Murder by Lisa Harris (Heartsong Presents Mysteries, Barbour Publishing, 2008) is an enjoyable cozy mystery featuring a couple of lively older sleuths (amateurs, and rookies at that). Widow Pricilla Crumb is in her 60s, and cooking at her unmarried son's hunting lodge in Colorado. She invites widower Max Summers, an old friend of hers, and his daughter to the lodge, because she wants to play matchmaker between her son and Max's daughter. Meanwhile Max, retired after 35 years in the Air Force, is becoming strangely attractive...

Pricilla is a busybody, but a responsible one. She even confesses to murder - when she thinks she killed somebody accidentally with food poisoning after perhaps not checking an expiration date. When she finds that she's innocent, and finds that she doesn't have a lot of faith in local law enforcement, she decides to uncover the killer. Max, thinking she's in over her head (a good guess), joins forces with her.

The book is full of humor. On top of that, Max and Pricilla and their children remind me of people I know. (How nice, to have regular folks, and families, in a mystery.)

Pricilla is a mystery fan, which adds to the fun.

Lisa Harris has a website here. She blogs at Heart of Africa.

There's an interview with her here, in which she talks about Recipe for Murder, and its evolution. It sounds like there are sequels waiting in the wings. Oh, good.

I am on a cozy mystery reading jag, and so is a friend of mine. Any suggestions on what to add to our to-be-read stacks? (If you're also looking for suggestions, a reader left several recommendations in the comments at this post.)