by Sandra Murphy

Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win a copy of Cinco de Murder, and a link to purchase it from Amazon, and an indie bookstore where a portion of the sale goes to help support KRL.

Ready for some spicy chili? Broken Boot, Texas, is the place to go. It’s the first chili cook-off but the plans are in place and it looks to be a great success. The contestants are getting set up and tourist are arriving for free samples and all the dancing.

Josie Callahan is a waitress at the family restaurant and a part-time reporter. She and her Chihuahua, Lenny, are well-known. They’ll both be in the big parade, dancing folklorico and Lenny’s costume is ever so cute.

Josie’s Uncle Eddie is in charge of the chili cook-off. He’s on the city council now and wants to make a good impression although there are some members who are hoping he fails. When one of the chili makers is found dead in his tent, it could have been a heart attack, a head injury, or plain old murder. Josie and Lenny are ready to help solve the case, partly to get the story but mostly to help Uncle Eddie.

The dead man wasn’t popular with the other chili cooks. It’s decided the cook-off must go on which seems cold-hearted except few people are mourning the death. It’s also a good way to keep all the cooks in town during the investigation.

Josie’s family is a close one, sometimes too close but always out of love. Lenny is, as it should be, a superstar Chihuahua, stealing every scene. A potential romance for Josie with the delectable Detective Lightfoot adds a bit more spice. The behind-the-scenes information on how a chili cook-off is set up and judged along with the rivalries between cooks adds an interesting touch. You may not be ready to sign up for the nearest chili cook-off after reading this, but you sure will be hungry. Luckily, there are recipes—Venison Chili, Jalapeño Poppers, Texas Eggs, Huevos Rancheros with Salsa, Chicken Quesadillas, and Pecan Pralines.

To enter to win a copy of Cinco de Murder, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “cinco,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen May 12, 2018. U.S. residents only. If entering via email please include your mailing address, and if via comment please include your email address.

Check out other mystery articles, reviews, book giveaways & mystery short stories in our mystery section. And join our mystery Facebook group to keep up with everything mystery we post, and have a chance at some extra giveaways.

Use this link to purchase the book & a portion goes to help support KRL & indie bookstore Mysterious Galaxy:

Cinco de Murder (Taste of Texas Mystery #3)

You can also use this link to purchase the book on Amazon. If you have ad blocker on you may not see the link:

Sandra Murphy lives in the shadow of the Arch in St. Louis Missouri. She writes about eco-friendly topics, pets and wildlife for magazines and reviews mysteries and thrillers for KRL. A collection of her short stories, published by Untreed Reads, From Hay to Eternity: Ten Tales of Crime and Deception can be found at all the usual outlets. Each one is a little weird and all have a twist you won’t see coming.

Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases using those links. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.