Roberta Isleib ’75 Writes Delicious Mysteries
Roberta Isleib ’75, who writes under the pen name Lucy Burdette, writes cozy mystery novels with a foodie twist. A clinical psychologist-turned-mystery author, Isleib has written 26 books. Her latest, A Delicious Deception, out July 14, is the 16th in her series set in Key West and following food critic Hayley Snow, who lands at the center of murder cases she must solve time and again.
This time Hayley, who is benched from her food critic duties because she is nine months pregnant, is tasked with escorting a young woman who needs to pick up her daughter for a custody exchange. Chaos ensues as the parents disappear, leaving Hayley with their terrified daughter. Once a body is found, Hayley is again on the case.
Isleib says as a reader, she finds mystery series relaxing and loves to analyze the ways other writers incorporate food into their storytelling. She writes to PAW: “Whether food occupies center stage or appears only in passing, the meals characters prepare, share, or criticize often tell readers exactly who they are. For me, books that combine memorable characters with memorable meals are especially satisfying.”
PAW asked Islieb to recommend three reads with a culinary twist, and she suggested these:
Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club
By J. Ryan Stradal
If you enjoyed listening to Garrison Keillor’s Prairie Home Companion, imagine yourself sitting by a lake in the summer with the Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club. Stradal’s novel features memorable characters revealed through their relationships with food, the rhythms of the rural Midwest, family conflicts, and the struggles of restaurant life. Readers who love this one can also savor his two earlier foodie novels, The Kitchens of the Great Midwest and The Lager Queen of Minnesota.
By Barbara Ross
Some authors make food the engine that drives their books. Ross’s Clambake mysteries are a delicious example. Her main character, Julia Snowden, returns to her small hometown in Maine to help save the family clambake business. Repeat readers know the menu by heart and expect a murder wrapped in family ties and small-town intrigue. Start with Clammed Up, and you’ll soon imagine yourself rocking on a breezy porch on the coast of Maine.
By Ann Cleeves
Food can illuminate character even in books where cooking isn’t central. Mystery writer Ann Cleeves is especially gifted at this. In Raven Black, a character is memorably described as “a stick of forced rhubarb.” With a line like this: “She tried to imagine Mr. Ross, sitting at their kitchen table while her mother hacked at the overcooked meat and picked away at him with her questions,” Cleeves reveals volumes about her characters and their relationships. Start Cleeves’ Shetland with Raven Black series and prepare to be transported to the rugged northern Scottish islands.
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