As the national bestselling Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries continue, the merchants of Jewel Bay, Montana, try to heat up chilly winter business with a new film festival. But their plans are sent reeling when a dangerous killer dims the lights on a local vendor... In an attempt to woo tourists to Jewel Bay and cheer up the townies, Erin Murphy, manager of the specialty local foods market known as the Merc, is organizing the First Annual Food Lovers’ Film Festival, filled with classic foodie flicks and local twists on favorite movie treats. But when her partner in planning, painter Christine Vandeberg, is found dead only days before the curtain rises, Erin suspects someone is attempting to stop the films from rolling. To make matters worse, Nick—Erin’s brother and Christine’s beau—has top billing on the suspect list. Convinced her brother is innocent and determined that the show must go on, Erin has to find who’s really to blame before Nick gets arrested or the festival gets shut down. But the closer she gets to the killer, the more likely it becomes that she’ll be the next person cut from the program... INCLUDES DELICIOUS RECIPES! Praise for the Food Lovers’ Village mysteries “An intriguing sleuth who loves gourmet food, family, and her hometown, plus recipes to die for distinguish a delectable mystery.”—Carolyn Hart, New York Times bestselling author of Don’t Go Home “Clever, charming, and completely yummy. Leslie Budewitz cooks up a delectable mystery!”—Hank Phillippi Ryan, award-winning author of The Wrong Girl “Small-town charm and big-time chills. Jewel Bay, Montana, is a food lover’s paradise.”—Laura Childs, New York Times bestselling author“Seamless and satisfying.”—Sheila Connolly, New York Times bestselling author“A delicious new series...Charming.”—Sofie Kelly, New York Times bestselling author “Engrossing and satisfying.”— Fresh Fiction Leslie Budewitz is passionate about food, great mysteries, and her native Montana. She is the author of the Food Lovers’ Village mystery series, including Crime Rib and Death Al Dente , as well as Assault and Pepper , the first book in the new Spice Shop mystery series. Also a lawyer, her first book, Books, Crooks and Counselors: How to Write Accurately About Criminal Law and Courtroom Procedure, won the 2011 Agatha Award for Best Nonfiction and was nominated for the 2012 Anthony and Macavity awards. Leslie loves to cook, eat, hike, travel, garden, and paint—not necessarily in that order. She lives in northwest Montana with her husband, Don Beans, a doctor of natural medicine, and their Burmese cat, Ruff, an avid bird watcher. Acknowledgments The Cast THE MURPHY CLAN: Erin Murphy, manager of Glacier Mercantile, aka the Merc Francesca “Fresca” Conti Murphy, Erin’s mother and the Merc’s manager emeritus Tracy McCann, salesclerk and budding chocolatier Chiara Murphy Phillips, Erin’s sister and co-owner of Snowberry Gallery Landon Phillips, age five, Chiara’s superhero son Nick Murphy, aka Wolf Man, Erin’s brother and a wolf biologist FESTIVAL CREW: Christine Vandeberg, painter and chief organizer of the Food Lovers’ Film Festival Larry Abrams, retired Hollywood lighting director, Film Club advisor Zayda George, president of the Jewel Bay High School Film Club Dylan Washington, future filmmaker VILLAGERS AND FRIENDS: Kyle Caldwell, head chef at Caldwell’s Eagle Lake Lodge and Guest Ranch, and car nut Sally Grimes, owner of Puddle Jumpers Children’s Clothing and Toys Danny Davis , Kyle’s high school buddy and fellow car nut Rick Bergstrom, aka Farm Boy, hunky grain salesman Adam Zimmerman, hunky Wilderness Camp director and Erin’s college classmate Jack Frost, aka the Junkman, Christine’s feisty neighbor Ned Redaway, longtime owner of Red’s Bar J.D. Beckstead, Ned’s grandson and a sign of change at Red’s Wendy Taylor Fontaine, baker extraordinaire Mimi and Tony George, Zayda’s parents and proprietors of the Jewel Inn THE LAW: Kim Caldwell, sheriff’s detective and Jewel Bay’s resident deputy Ike Hoover, undersheriff FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS: Mr. Sandburg, Erin’s sleek, sable Burmese cat Pepé, Fresca’s lively Scottish terrier Pumpkin, Christine’s full-figured orange tabby Bozo, Tracy’s Harlequin Great Dane, a rescue dog • One • “I need to talk to you.” One hand on the aluminum stepladder, I peered out the broom closet door, wondering who needed me and why she whispered about it so urgently. A blond teenager in gray leggings and purple running shoes, hair in a ponytail, stood at the open door to the Playhouse control room, her fleece-clad back to me. “Later,” came the reply. Older, male, firm. “Now,” she demanded, and I recognized Zayda George—high school senior, track star, president of the student Film Club. “Coming through,” I called, and wriggled my way out the door and into the wide passage leading to the lobby, both hands gripping the six-foot ladder. In the shadows, Zayda froze. I didn’t need bright lights to know she’d been pleading with Larry Ab