A Slice Of Murder~By Chris Cavender

A Slice of Murder is the first mystery in a series set in Timber Ridge, North Carolina. Eleanor owns a pizzeria named A Slice of Delight which she runs with the help of her sister Maddy. Eleanor gets a call for delivery, but when she arrives at the home, the owner, Richard Olsen, is dead. The following day, the Police Chief, Kevin Hurley shows up at Maddy’s home, demanding more questions of Eleanor. Maddy calls her friend Bob, who is a lawyer to accompany Eleanor to the station. Maddy, against Eleanor’s wishes goes to A Slice of Delight and opens the day after the murder. Maddy suggests that rather than waiting for the cops to solve the murder, she and Eleanor find the killer themselves. When Sheila Olsen, Richard’s sister, comes into A Slice of Delight, Eleanor and Maddy see the perfect chance to dig into Richard’s past. Unfortunately Sheila leaves when both sisters are occupied, so they don’t get any information. Maddy and Eleanor decide to close the shop so they can go investigate. Their first stop was Richard Olsen’s home, Chief Kevin is about to arrest them when Sheila appears from the back of the house, telling him they are helping her clean. Eleanor and Maddy spend time investigating with Sheila until she realizes the amount of money her bother had. Eleanor and Maddy are allowed to go through the “trash,” if they want to take it with them. Eleanor finds a love letter from a woman who is married to the mayor. The sisters decide to go to the pizzeria to calm down. But when they arrive, there are tons of customers standing around waiting for them. After closing the store, Eleanor and Maddy walk to their cars to find Eleanor’s window broken and “Killer written on it. They continue to investigate the murder even though Eleanor had been threatened. When Eleanor checks voicemail, there are a lot of hang up calls. When Eleanor answers the phone, the person on the line offers 200 dollars for a pizza delivery. Maddy finds the call suspicious and calls the Chief. That’s all I will give away!

If you are looking for a light, funny, cozy mystery, then this is a must read. This will be a great series and I’m hoping that it continues. I am looking forward to reading some of the other books this author has written.

***Chris Cavender is a pen name for an author who has written as Melissa Glazer, Elizabeth Bright and Tim Myers.***