The evocatively named Allie Catt is used to rising above her circumstances. Whether it’s her indifferent parents’ absurd choice of name for their only child or the heartbreaking end of her engagement, Allie has grown to be the kind of twenty-something woman who learns from adversity and shapes herself into someone stronger, wiser, and, most importantly, kinder. Her love of books helps, of course, as does her vocation of feeding people as a caterer and personal chef. In fact, she’s very excited for her next gig catering a mid-morning tea for her hometown of Bramblewood, North Carolina’s Feast For The Eyes bookstore.

But not even she knows how to deal when she arrives at the bookstore early on the morning of the event to find an anxious crowd outside… and a dead bookstore owner behind the counter. Kindly Marigold Markel was practically family to Allie, partly due to the fact that Allie is best friends with Marigold’s niece Tegan. At first glance, Marigold’s death looks like an accident. Allie has her suspicions, however, even before it’s confirmed that Marigold was deliberately poisoned.

When Tegan is subsequently accused of Marigold’s murder, Allie knows that there’s no way she can stay out of things, even if her interference might cost her her burgeoning relationship with Bramblewood Police Detective Zach Armstrong. Zach wants her to leave the detecting to the professionals, but Allie has no interest in letting Tegan take the fall for Marigold’s murder. So what if Tegan stands to gain the most from Marigold’s death, or that she definitely had the means to commit the heinous deed? 

As Allie seeks to clear her best friend’s name, her investigations will lead her into the crosshairs of the real killer. Will Allie be able to escape unscathed, or will Zach’s greatest fears be realized?

Lightly-themed around Jane Austen’s Pride And Prejudice, this culinary cozy series debut perfectly hearkens to the romance and manners of its inspiration even as it presents a very modern murder mystery. Murder On The Page isn’t my favorite of Daryl Wood Gerber’s works – that distinction is still held by the charming books of her A Fairy Garden mystery series – but it’s sure to please cozy fans, bibliophiles, and, perhaps most importantly of all, readers who love delicious recipes with their mystery novels.

Thirteen of these recipes were included, all for dishes described in the text. As I’ve never really gone wrong with a recipe from this author, I didn’t have to think very hard before deciding to try out the first one listed, as I was definitely in the mood for home-baked cookies:

Chocolate Butterscotch Cookies

(Yield: 20-24)

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 ½ cups packed brown sugar

½ cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 ¼ cup flour

1 ½ teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup butterscotch morsels

1 cup chocolate morsels

Sea salt, if desired

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

In a stand mixer, cream the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until blended, 2-3 minutes. Add egg and vanilla extract and mix well.

In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture.

Stir in the butterscotch morsels and chocolate morsels. If you feel the mixture is dry (it might be), you may add 2 tablespoons water.

If you want large cookies, drop large spoonfuls (about 2 tablespoons each) on the prepared baking sheets, 6 to a sheet. These do spread. If you want smaller cookies, drop small spoonfuls (about 1 tablespoon each) on the baking sheets, 12 to a sheet. If desired, sprinkle with sea salt.

Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes, until lightly brown. Remove from oven and let stand on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack.

These are some of the most delicious cookies I’ve ever tasted! In addition to their wonderful flavor – aided slightly by my skimping just a wee bit on both kinds of sugar – they have a perfect tooth when fresh and warm. I love that Ms. Gerber’s idea of a normal-sized cookie is the same as mine, and actually made exactly 24 from this recipe. I did bake them for a little longer than 12 minutes, but kept a weather eye on each tray so that I could pull them out exactly when they reached that perfect shade of tan, about 15 minutes for my sometimes temperamental oven.

Next week, we head to the Midwest to bake up another treat while investigating the death of a domestic diva. Do join me!

See Also: Cooking the Books: Guilt And Ginataan by Mia P. Manansala