Truffles to Die For Release Blitz #rabtbooktours

 

The Cook and Inspector Mysteries, Book 9

Cozy Mystery, Culinary Cozy Mystery

Date Published: June 25, 2025

Buried secrets, a killer in disguise, and not even the truffles can be trusted...

When culinary dreamer Angie Amalfi sets her sights on chocolate stardom, her kitchen becomes a cocoa-covered lab of decadent disasters and divine delights. Her goal? To invent the perfect chocolate candy—“angelinas”—a melt-in-your-mouth masterpiece that could finally make her name in San Francisco’s cutthroat foodie scene.

But when Angie donates her “not-quite-there-yet” test batches to a local charity mission, she stumbles into more than gratitude. The mission’s minister seems to have secrets simmering beneath his saintly smile, and when Angie volunteers for their big fundraiser, she’s suddenly stirring up something far more sinister than ganache.

Her fiancé, Inspector Paavo Smith, warns her to stay away—especially with rumors swirling of police corruption and a killer on the loose. But when Paavo is framed and suspended, Angie ditches her spatula for sleuthing gear. Someone’s cooking up a setup—and she’s not about to let Paavo take the fall.

To help clear his name, Angie will need more than her confectionery skills… and the clock is ticking.

Sink your teeth into Truffles to Die For—a deliciously suspenseful cozy mystery. Indulge yourself in murder with a chocolate twist!

 

The Cook and Inspector Mysteries

 

Death on a Silver Platter, Book 1

A Quiche Before Dying, Book 2

The Marinara Murders, Book 3

Close Encounters of the Deadly Kind, Book 4

Death by Devil’s Food, Book 5

Blind Date’s Bitter End, Book 6

The Taverna Affair, Book 7

The Music Box Mystery, Book 8

Truffles to Die For, Book 9

 

Series on Amazon

 

 

About the Author

Joanne Pence is an award-winning, USA Today best-selling author of The Cook and Inspector Mysteries, the Inspector Rebecca Mayfield mysteries, the Ancient Secrets supernatural suspense novels (under JM Pence), as well as contemporary romance, historical fiction, romantic suspense, and a fantasy. Her novels present a variety of times, places, and reading experiences from mysterious to thrilling, emotional to lightly humorous, as well as powerful tales of times long past. Her books have won or been nominated for a number of high honors, including the Willa Cather Literary Award for Historical Fiction; North American Book Award for Mystery; Idaho Top Fiction Award; The Golden Quill, RWA's Rita and Golden Heart Awards, Daphne du Maurier Award, Independent Bookseller's Golden Scroll, and Romantic Times Career Achievement Award and Best Amateur Sleuth Award.

"Joanne Pence is a master of the mystery genre. She pulls the reader in and sets the roller coaster in motion."--Carolyn Haines, USA Today bestselling author

"Joanne Pence provides laughter, love, and cold chills." --Carolyn Hart, NY Times bestselling author

"Angie Amalfi is the Queen of the Culinary Sleuths" --RT Book Club

"Joanne Pence is a master chef"--Mystery Scene magazine

"Pence's tongue-in-cheek humor keeps us grinning." --San Francisco Chronicle

 

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Candy, Cigarettes, and Murder Review

 

Genre: Amateur Detective, Cozy Mystery, Culinary Mystery

Buy Link: https://amzn.to/3IYeH20

Blurb

Recently widowed, Emma Banefield looks forward to a getaway birthday weekend with her free-wheeling sister, Nicole Earp, sipping chocolate martinis at the peaceful, historic Dulce Inn. When a rude stranger, a nasty food critic, and a madhouse of temperamental artists greet them, all hope for a tranquil weekend evaporates faster than dew on a hot desert morning.

Overlooking the riotous atmosphere is doubly hard after Em discovers the body of a hotel guest, and a second murder affects Nic personally. Now, entrenched in a caper that pits them against a surly detective, they cozy up to a hotel staff hiding dangerous secrets to uncover clues to the killer.

Using their smarts and love of all-things mystery, will the Chocolate Martini Sisters solve the crime ahead of the obstinate Chief Detective or find themselves trapped in the middle of a third murder?

Free use image from Open Clipart Vectors

Ornery Owl's Review

Four out of Five Stars

Sisters Emma and Nicole hope for rest and relaxation during their annual vacation at the Dulce Inn. Instead, they are treated to murder when someone axes the notorious food critic and wannabe artist David Shaw. There are plenty of people with ample reason to want Shaw dead, not the least of whom is the hotel's self-important owner, Jillian Jackson. Following Shaw's death, someone attempts to poison the inn's temperamental chef Grayson Payne, who himself had reason to want David Shaw dead.

There are plenty of red herrings in the story to keep readers guessing. The plot is compelling and the characters are engaging. The sister sleuths have a friendly dynamic rather than being at each other's throats, however, they are different enough to keep them from becoming two different iterations of the same character. Their dynamic is realistic and charming. I appreciated a story featuring middle-aged female heroines.

The one thing that kept me from giving the book a five-star rating was Emily's obsession with calorie counting and dissatisfaction with not having a size zero physique. Her behavior was, sadly, realistic. Nonetheless, it detracted from my enjoyment of the story. As someone who became bulimic at twelve years old and tried to hate myself thin for a good thirty-three years of my life, I would love to read about a plump heroine who kicks ass, takes names, and frankly doesn't give a damn what anyone else's opinions of her are. 

The book kept me guessing all the way through, and that is what I want from a mystery. The flow of the story was right in the Goldilocks zone: not too quick, but not too slow either. It hit the just right sweet spot. It also didn't hurt that the story is set in Arizona, which is a place I love to visit although when summer comes I'm glad enough not to live there. 

If you like cozy mysteries and plucky middle-aged heroines, you will surely enjoy Candy, Cigarettes, and Murder. I will read other books in the series as they are released.