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Some like it hot“Delightful . . . Ms. Pickard has given the protagonist a new least on life!”—The New York Times
When Eugenia Potter receives an urgent phone call from the manager of her ranch near Tucson, she's only too happy to drop everything and fly home. Something inside of her is calling her back to the desert. Why else would be preparing spicy Mexican meatball soup at her cottage in Maine when the menu clearly calls for clam chowder?
But once she arrives home, Mrs. Potter show more discovers that her ranch manager and his granddaughter are missing from her ranch, Las Palomas, and feared dead. When a guest at a dinner gathering thrown by Mrs. Potter is food poisoned—apparently from eating her famous 27-ingredient chili—she knows she must act quickly before the murderer strikes again. And it doesn't hurt to have the help of a long-lost beau to spice up the danger with romance . . . show less
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Virginia Rich wrote three mysteries in a series with a pleasant and comfortable protagonist, and an emphasis on food. The series ended rather abruptly with the author died, yet it was picked up again by another writer who was also a fan. She has written the characters faithfully, using Mrs. Rich's notes, and the series holds up just fine.
This isn't a book I would be afraid to read at night, nor will it keep me awake trying to figure out who the killer is. For that matter, it will not make me queasy when I look at raw meat, either. It is, however, a nice, easy-going trek through the Arizona desert. I arrive at my destination about the same time the author tells me "We're there". I enjoy occasional trips like this one, though it is sad to show more see the people close to Mrs. Potter all kicking the bucket like they are. In this new installment, we at least get to see the setup for future relationships.
Will I read the next in the series? Sure, but it's more of a "why not?" than it is an "OMG when is the next one coming out?" It was enjoyable, very much so, but lighter than I usually read.
PS - Yay for the hard cover edition which has the recipes printed on the flaps! show less
This isn't a book I would be afraid to read at night, nor will it keep me awake trying to figure out who the killer is. For that matter, it will not make me queasy when I look at raw meat, either. It is, however, a nice, easy-going trek through the Arizona desert. I arrive at my destination about the same time the author tells me "We're there". I enjoy occasional trips like this one, though it is sad to show more see the people close to Mrs. Potter all kicking the bucket like they are. In this new installment, we at least get to see the setup for future relationships.
Will I read the next in the series? Sure, but it's more of a "why not?" than it is an "OMG when is the next one coming out?" It was enjoyable, very much so, but lighter than I usually read.
PS - Yay for the hard cover edition which has the recipes printed on the flaps! show less
Light, breezy, inconsequential but still enjoyable. More predictable than the Jenny Cain series but still a fun read.
Slightly different in tone from Virginia Rich's writing, this is the continuation of her Eugenia Potter series. A problem on Mrs. Potter's ranch brings her back to Arizona, where a valued employee is murdered. Was disappointed that the author seems to be developing a love interest for the character--there has never been one before.
The fourth book in the Eugenia Potter series continued by Nancy Pickard with notes left by Virginia Rich. I admit I haven't read the other books in the series and only picked this up because Nancy Pickard wrote it. Eugenia Potter owns a ranch in Arizona. She's at her house in Boston when her ranch manager Ricardo Ortega calls to urgently have her return to the ranch though he won't say why. By the time she arrives in Arizona Ricardo and his granddaughter Linda have disappeared. A decent cozy mystery though the villain is a bit too apparent.
Cozy mystery. Spunky widow. Fluff with a side of sagebrush.
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43+ Works 5,951 Members
Nancy Pickard is best known for her Jenny Cain mysteries. Her first novel was "Generous Death", and she began writing the culinary adventures of Mrs. Potter when the creator of the character, Virginia Rich, passed away in the mid 1980's. Rich's husband found a box of notes and newspaper clippings that were related to books that Virginia had hoped show more to write and they included a few first drafts of chapters. Pickard's relationship began with Rich when, as a fan, she wrote a letter to her after finishing "The Cooking School Murders." They were both mystery writers married to cattle ranchers. After her death, Rich's husband wanted to find another writer to continue Virginia's work, which eventually led to Pickard. The unfinished manuscript for "The 27-Ingredient Chili Con Carne Murders" was continued by Pickard and published in 1993. Before her death, Rich wrote "The Cooking School Murders" (1982), The Baked Bean Supper Murders" (1983), and The Nantucket Diet Murders" (1985). The other Eugenia Potter novels written by Pickard were "The Blue Corn Murders," which turned the character Mrs. Potter into a more vigorous older woman, followed by "The Secret Ingredient Murders." Pickard is the past president of Sisters in Crime and received the Anthony, Macavity and Agatha awards for five of the ten novels in her popular Jenny Cain series. She was also a two-time Edgar Award nominee and a winner of the American Mystery Award. (Bowker Author Biography) Virginia Rich and her heroine, Eugenia Potter, were beloved by mystery fans for years. Now Nancy Pickard, the Edgar-nominated author of the Jenny Cain series, has taken up the mantle. A great fan of Mrs. Rich, Nancy Pickard is the co-author of The 27-Ingredient Chili Con Carne Murders and the author of The Blue Corn Murders. (Publisher Provided) Nancy Pickard lives in Kansas with her family. "Ring of Truth" is the second Marie Lightfoot novel. (Publisher Provided) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The 27-Ingredient Chili Con Carne Murders; The 27 Ingredient Chili Con Carne Murders
- Original publication date
- 1992; 1993
- People/Characters
- Eugenia Potter
- Important places
- Northcutt's Harbor, Maine, USA; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Maine, USA; Arizona, USA
- First words
- For the first time in her life, Mrs. Potter welcomed bad news.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)"Let's eat," she said.
- Disambiguation notice
- with Nancy Pickard
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 328
- Popularity
- 96,636
- Reviews
- 5
- Rating
- (3.44)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 5
- ASINs
- 5
