Liz Lipperman

I think it was the clever title that first drew me to this book. “Liver Let Die: A Clueless Cook Mystery” fit the story perfectly. The clueless cook in question is Jordan McAllister. Her ambition in life is to be a big time sports reporter, but instead she’s stuck doing the personal ads for a small town newspaper. When the paper’s food critic takes a leave of absence, Jordan’s boss insists that she take over the weekly Kitchen Kupboard column. There are only two problems: Jordan show more can’t cook, and she knows nothing about gourmet food.

Jordan’s first assignment is to review a new steak house in town. Oh no! Up pops another problem: She doesn’t eat beef. Her waiter, J.T., suggests she order the very expensive foie gras. Of course, Jordan is clueless as to what it actually is, and after taking a tiny nibble, she ends up hiding the rest of it in her purse. Ruining the purse wasn’t the worst thing about the dinner; later on, her waiter is found stabbed to death outside of her apartment. Because J.T. was on his way to visit her, the police suspect she is the murderer.

Overall, I thought LIVER LET DIE was a fun read and well constructed cozy mystery. There were two stories going on that were loosely intertwined, and you don’t find out until the end which one J.T.’s death fit into. This book was full of colorful characters, humorous moments and witty dialogue. One thing that had me giggling was how Jordan would take her friends’ common recipes and make them “gourmet” for her column by giving the dishes foreign names. For the most part, Jordan was a very likable, down-to-earth “every woman,” but she did have a couple TSTL moments. Though, it was funny because she pointed out her stupid moments as they were happening. There’s also a budding romance between Jordan and the mysterious Alex Montgomery, someone she’s not quite sure she can trust.

The book includes several recipes that were mentioned in the story. I especially want to try the Budin de Papitas Fritas con Pollo.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. show less

The Dead Sister Talking Mysteries series by Lizbeth Lipperman merges contemporary, small town mystery with a touch of romance and a twist of the paranormal. Jailhouse Glock, the second installment, features rookie cop and single mom Maddy Castillo (nee Garcia), elaborately framed for the murder of a drunken lech in the station lock up. With the evidence mounting against her, Maddy turns to her sisters for help to unravel the conspiracy between an impersonator, a murdered witness and a stolen show more necklace, to clear her name.

Maddy is oldest of five sisters, one of whom, Lainey, was featured in book one, Heard It Through the Grapevine and another, Tessa, who despite being dead, is never far away when her siblings are in trouble. Each ‘Garcia girl’ differs from one another but share a tight, sisterly bond, and a penchant for getting into trouble. Their dynamic is believable and entertaining and I particularly enjoyed their banter, especially Tessa’s unfiltered wit.

I thought the plot of Jailhouse Glock was interesting and well thought out with a complexity often missing from cosy mysteries. It takes some careful planning, and a little luck, to so thoroughly frame Maddy as a corrupt cop. Despite the warnings from Vineyard’s police chief, who is also Maddy’s brother in law, the girls have few qualms about interfering in the investigation, and side with Maddy as she sets out to find the real killer, following a trail that reveals greed, betrayal and more bodies, one of which is very nearly her own.

This was such a fun read with appealing characters, a cleverly crafted mystery and I’m looking forward to reading the next one. show less

My mama always told me "If you cook, you have to clean up". She sewed while I cooked and I cleaned up. I did the same for about twenty years after I got married. But my second husband is a great cook and he cleans up. It is like a long vacation to me. This is the first culinary cozy that I have read where the main character is "clueless" about cooking. I figure that she doesn't have to clean up. Pretty smart right?

In "Liver Let Die", by Liz Lipperman, Jordan McAllister was writing personals show more for a scrawny salary but she is plunked into the job of writing restaurant reviews but she knows nothing about cooking, except that is how make a fried bologna sandwich.

Jordan's real ambition is to be a sport writer, she is athletic, loves watching sports and would so much love to write sports articles. But when you can barely buy the bologna, you take what you can get. Just because she doesn't cook, it doesn't mean that she hates food. When Jordan tastes something wonderful, she closes her eyes and savors it. The easy but mouthwatering recipes for the food that makes her heart sing are in back of the book. Jordan is a non-beef eater except for hamburger due to a bad childhood experience. I am a vegetarian and I don't eat beef for other reasons so we would get along just fine. I grew up eating casseroles and eating rich desserts and that is the kind of food you will find in this book.

This is a great cozy, not just food wise. It is loaded with the quirky characters that live at the same apartment that she does, they cook and take care up her like a mother would. Liz Lipperman's mystery kept me guessing, action plus twists and turns. I am already looking forward to the second in this series, 'Beef Stolen Off". I loved the characters in `Liver Let Die' and I look forward to meeting up with them again. show less

Jordan McAllister always wanted to be a sportswriter. But after graduating from journalism school, she followed her boyfriend to Dallas, where she was unceremoniously dumped. Wanting to get away from him, she took a job writing personal ads for the newspaper in tiny Ranchero, Texas, "just until something more suitable turned up".

The paper's resident food critic has an accident, and Jordan is "called up" to cover for her. The only problem is that Jordan knows nothing about food. Has first show more assignment is to review an upscale local restaurant. She allows the waiter to convince her to order the foie gras, even though she has no idea what it is. Reluctant to eat it, she stuffs it into the lovely evening bag she's borrowed from her landlady.

Late the following night, she gets a phone call from the waiter asking if he can come over to talk about something. She falls asleep while waiting for him, and only realizes that he hasn't turned up when the police knock on her door wondering why a young man found murdered outside her apartment has her contact information in his pocket.

This is a promising start to a darkly comic small-town mystery series. Jordan is a smart, tough protagonist who, like many sit-com characters, doesn't let lack of knowledge about a subject keep her from tackling it.

The book closes with some of the recipes Jordan uses in her food column.

*FTC Full Disclosure: Many thanks to the publisher, who sent me a copy of the book for review purposes. show less