Welcome to my tour stop for Bread of the Dead, the first book in the Santa Fe Cafe series by Ann Myers. This is a cozy mystery and the tour runs September 28-October 23 with reviews, interviews, guest posts and excerpts. Check out the tour page for the full schedule.
Bread of the Dead (Santa Fe Cafe Mystery #1)Release Date: September 29, 2015 by William Morrow
368 pages
The Day of the Dead is approaching in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and cook Rita Lafitte is busy decorating sugar skulls, taste-testing pan de muerto (bread of the dead), and refashioning her post-divorce life. She loves her job at Tres Amigas Cafe and feels like she’s found a good home for herself and her teenage daughter…until her kindly landlord is found dead next door, seemingly from suicide.Although Rita discovers evidence of murder, the police aren’t convinced, especially one of the lead detectives who’s also Rita’s ex-husband. To uncover the truth behind her friend’s death, Rita teams up with her octogenarian boss Flori, the town’s most celebrated snoop. Soon, their investigation encompasses other crimes, including break-ins and the murder of their number-one suspect. Rita won’t feel safe until the killer is caught. But when she unearths a long-buried secret, will she become the next victim?
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Ann Myers, her husband, and extra-large housecat live in Colorado but, like Rita, feel most at home in Santa Fe.
What gave you the idea for this book?
Hi, Beth. Thanks for having me on Curling Up with a Good Book! Does it sound silly to say that my obsession with bread recipes partially sparked the idea for Bread of the Dead? I love baking—almost too much—and am always eager to try new recipes for holiday breads and cakes. Pan de muerto (bread of the dead) has such a great name, and it’s made for Day of the Dead, perfect for a mystery. It’s also really yummy, like a buttery brioche, but with anise and orange flavorings. And you can make it into skull and crossbones shapes! What other bread has all that?
Beyond the title and culinary theme, I also wanted to set a book in Santa Fe. My husband and I spend a lot of time there for his work, and it feels like a second home. Or where we’re meant to be. Sometimes I think I take after my main character Rita in that respect. She’s an outsider who feels she’s found her true home in Santa Fe. She gets to learn about New Mexican cooking and culture in the books, which is a great excuse for me to do the same. I’ve bought a lot of new and vintage New Mexican cookbooks in the past few years, all in the name of research, of course. Ha!
Three (3) copies of Bread of the Dead by Ann Myers (US)
Ends Oct. 28
Prizing is provided by the publisher, hosts are not responsible.
Prizing is provided by the publisher, hosts are not responsible.
Sounds like a great read.
ReplyDeleteExcellent guest post! And I love that it was recipes that sparked the idea. I wish I could eat bread cause they all sounded so delicious in the book!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for hosting a tour stop!