Alphabet Soup Mysteries

The first in the Alphabet Soup Mysteries and opening night is here!One recipe is included in each book! Opening night of Chef Jessica Vasquez's new restaurant: The Crock Pot. With the media spotlighting the opening on the evening news and food bloggers featuring the restaurant online, the pressure is on. At the end of the night, The Crock Pot is a smashing success and Jessica is beaming with pride. That is until she realizes her Sous Chef, Earl, is missing. After a short search, she finds him by the dumpsters, shot to death. Suspicion is cast on Jess. She doesn't want to be compared to her father, so that thrusts her into the role of sleuth to clear her name and save her business. As she digs into the murder, her business is vandalized, and she's harassed by an unknown source. Along with her two besties, Sawyer and Vee, they find the murderer may be closer than they thought.

Jess has some time off, so for the first time in a while, she is going on a date. It's a blind date set up by her General Manager, Noah. However, after waiting for two hours, Jessica is devastated to think she's been stood up. He seemed so nice via texts. As she is leaving the restaurant they were meeting at, she sees police have blocked off the street two blocks down. That's when she learns the truth about her date. He was murdered. For her peace of mind and at the begging of Noah, she begins investigating his death and things get strange and too close to home.

Chef Jessica is asked to cater a funeral service for a family friend. Not something she typically would say yes to, especially with her commitment to the restaurant. But if she can pull this off, it could mean another source of income. But, as she and her team are ready to go, Jess goes to leave the invoice in the office, only to find the assistant funeral director dead near the kitchen area. Initial evidence points to poisoning which leads to suspicion being on Jessica's food. Why do bodies keep ending up dead around Jess? Was this another plot to sabotage her business? Or is something else nefarious happening at Caruso's Funeral Home? With the help of her two besties, Sawyer and Vee, she is determined to find out and once again, clear her name.

Disaster strikes Dashwood, when a fire burns down an abandoned building that was set to be renovated into a high-end apartment complex. It was part of a larger improvement and beautification project for the city with boutique shops and art galleries. This doesn't impact the Crock Pot or Chef Jessica, at least not until the police show up to arrest Marco, one of the bussers, for murder. It turns out that there was a man killed inside the building. Initially, they thought he died from the fire, but the autopsy showed blunt force trauma. As news spreads, nobody can believe the kindhearted, generous, and trustworthy busser could be capable of murder. However, the evidence is pretty damning against him. Chef Jess believes his pleas of innocence and decides to lean into her new nickname. The crime-fighting chef is determined to find the real killer and prove Marco's innocence.

Chef Jessica Vasquez thought beating her rival would be sweet. She didn't expect it to turn deadly.When celebrity chef Garrett Majors challenges Jessica to a gumbo cook-off at the town festival, she's ready to prove her grandfather's recipe is the best. Victory tastes delicious, until Garrett is found murdered an hour later, stabbed with Jessica's custom-made chef's knife.Arrested in front of hundreds of witnesses, Jessica knows she's been framed. But by who? And why?As Detective Upton works to clear her name, the threats don't stop. Someone is determined to destroy everything Jessica has built, her restaurant, her reputation, and her life. When menacing messages escalate and her family becomes a target, Jessica realizes the killer isn't finished.With her roommate Vee and newly hired employee Shayla by her side, Jessica must untangle a web of suspects: Garrett's bitter ex-wife, his humiliated assistant, shady business partners, and mysterious figures from his past. Security footage reveals a stalker in black who watched Garrett all day, the same person who stole Jessica's knife.But the deeper Jessica digs, the more dangerous the game becomes. Someone planned this murder carefully, and they're not about to let a crime-fighting chef uncover the truth.Can Jessica catch a killer before she becomes the next victim? Or will seeking justice cost her everything, including her life?Perfect for fans of cozy mysteries who crave:Amateur sleuths who won't back downFestival competitions turned deadlyFound family dynamicsSouthern comfort food and cultureEdge-of-your-seat suspense with heartGumbo and Grudges is Book 7 in the Alphabet Soup Mysteries series. While each book can be enjoyed on its own, the series is best read in order for full character development.

150,000 bees slaughtered in a single night, and the weapon used could have killed the beekeeper herself.Chef Jessica Vasquez thought she'd seen every kind of crime Dashwood, Texas had to offer. Murder, yes. Organized crime, unfortunately. But when her roommate Shayla's boss, local beekeeper and bakery owner Honey Jacobson, discovers her entire bee operation destroyed by deliberately introduced Asian Giant Hornets, Jessica knows this is something far more sinister than simple sabotage.Murder hornets aren't native to Texas. Someone had to acquire them illegally, learn how to handle the deadly insects safely, and execute a calculated attack designed to destroy Honey's livelihood. Or worse, if Honey had been checking her hives during the release, the aggressive hornets could have killed her.With Shayla's job at Honey's Sweet Treats bakery on the line and eight-year-old twins Ivy and Dove now part of Jessica's household, this case hits close to home. As Jessica investigates between running The Crock Pot and caring for her chosen family, she uncovers a web of suspects with motive and means.Honey's business partner May is drowning in debt and pushing hard for a land sale. Aggressive developer Clark Marlowe has spent over a year pressuring Honey to sell her farm. The struggling Douglas couple, whose competing bakery is failing, would benefit from eliminating Honey's business entirely. And someone has been watching the bakery, gathering information, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.When Jessica starts asking questions, the threats begin. Dark pickup trucks following her. Warnings to back off. Someone doesn't want the truth exposed, and they're willing to do whatever it takes to protect their secret.With Officer Kyle Rafferty working the official investigation and her tech-savvy friend Cullen tracking illegal insect trafficking online, Jessica races to identify the killer before they can finish what they started. Because whoever planned this attack understands one crucial detail: sometimes the most effective way to destroy someone isn't to kill them directly. It's to take away everything they've built, everything they love, and watch them crumble.Can Jessica expose the truth before Honey loses everything? Or will the saboteur strike again, this time targeting the people Jessica loves most?Perfect for fans of cozy mysteries who crave:Culinary settings with mouthwatering descriptionsStrong, determined amateur sleuthsRestaurant drama and kitchen cultureSmall-town secrets and family bondsHeart-pounding suspense with emotional depthHoney and Homicide is the eighth book in the Alphabet Soup Mysteries series. Each book features a delicious new mystery, but the series is best enjoyed in order for character development and ongoing storylines.