Maya Corrigan
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  • Home
  • Bio
  • Writings
    • For Book Clubs
    • By Cook or by Crook
    • Scam Chowder
    • Final Fondue
    • The Tell-Tale Tarte
    • S'more Murders
    • Crypt Suzette
    • Gingerdead Man
    • Stories and Nonfiction
  • Mystery Museum
    • Mystery Exhibits
    • Detective Story Origins
    • Edgar Allan Poe
    • Mystery Fashions
    • Poe and Austen
    • Poe and Lincoln
    • Poe, Dickens, and Ravens
    • Holmes & Dracula
    • Christie's Tricks
    • Christie's Hit Play: The Mousetrap
    • Poe Trivia Quiz
    • Christie Trivia Quiz
    • Sleuthing Sweethearts Quiz
  • Food
    • Gingerbread's Dark History
    • Chocolate's Poisonous Past
    • Candy Corn's Haunted History
    • Pie's Peculiar Past
    • Chowder in History and Literature
    • S'mores History
    • Recipes >
      • Five-Ingredient Main Dishes
      • Easy Pies and Tarts
      • Six Sweet Recipes
      • Gingerbread Cookie Recipe
  • News/Events

BY COOK OR BY CROOK: Five-Ingredient Mystery #1


Mystery books are about solving personal mysteries, not just figuring out who the murderer is.
Haunted by the car accident that ended her career as a cookbook publicist, Val Deniston has left Manhattan for a quieter life near the Chesapeake Bay. Now living with her grandfather in the tourist town of Bayport, she enjoys running the Cool Down Café at the sports club. After a club member is murdered, Val cooks up a scheme to find the killer who framed her cousin for the murder. Meanwhile Granddad creates havoc in the kitchen, the least of Val's problems with a murderer after her. 

While trying the solve the murder, Val faces the challenge of sharing a house with a man raised fifty years before she was. Her grandfather dispenses advice that Val often resents. When a newcomer to town starts paying attention to her, Granddad reminds her of her rotten taste in men and warns her to stay away from the guy because he looks like a hitman. Of course, she ignores her grandfather’s warning. The mystery of who that guy is and what he wants takes her a while to solve.

Val has other personal mysteries to solve. What caused the accident that destroyed her career? She had a concussion and can’t remember what happened. Could she have done the terrible thing that the only eyewitness accuses her of doing? As she deals with the frightening things that happen because she tries to solve a murder, her memory returns little by little. Realizing the truth about herself helps her in a showdown with the murderer.

See book club discussion topics.
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The paper version is back in print! Order it from Kensington Books, Amazon,  Barnes & Noble, or your independent bookstore. This title is also available wherever you buy e-books.  

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