The third in a delicious series featuring a dinner club that tries out new recipes--while trying to catch a killer The Culinary Capers Dinner Club is planning a fall picnic for their next meeting. What could be better than sharing delicious food with friends under a beautiful autumn sky? But when club member Alison Malkovich opens the back of her SUV to load in the picnic supplies, she finds a dead body. To make things worse, it's the body of her ex-husband, and now she's the prime suspect. Because Alison is a police officer, she is suspended and warned not to do any investigating of her own. That's not about to stop J.J. and the Culinary Capers gang though. They know that Alison is innocent, and after all, they do have some experience solving crimes. INCLUDES DELICIOUS RECIPES  Praise for the Dinner Club Mysteries "A savory morsel of mystery and culinary goodness. Food lovers will delight in the meal planning and the mystery as both are rich with surprising ingredients. Wiken has a winning recipe with spunky heroine J.J. Tanner and the Culinary Capers Dinner Club.”—Jenn McKinlay,  New York Times  bestselling author of the Cupcake Bakery Mysteries “Wiken serves up generous portions of suspense and food lore.”—Victoria Abbott, national bestselling author of the Book Collector Mysteries “This story has it all: murder, mystery and food. Wiken weaves a tale that will have readers guessing up until the very end. With the introduction of characters who are fun, quirky and quite charming, fans will want to come back to Half Moon Bay for more. The pace of the book is quick and the writing is solid, so it keeps the interest of readers. Great new cozy series!”— RT Book Reviews “A delicious new culinary mystery that is absolutely to die for...a great start to a new series and I can't wait to see what happens next for these characters.”—Moonlight Rendezvous (5 stars) “The characters are well-developed, realistic, and very likable … an entertaining mystery that will be hard to put down once you begin.”—Thoughts in Progress “A deliciously entertaining cozy mystery with plenty of suspects and talk about food.” —Open Book Society Linda Wiken is the author of the national bestselling Ashton Corners mysteries under the pseudonym Erika Chase and is the former owner of a mystery bookstore. Chapter 1 The horn of a passing car blared so loudly, J.J. Tanner almost knocked herself out when her head snapped up and hit the doorframe of the SUV she was helping to pack. "Ouch, ouch, ouch!" "Are you okay, J.J.? It's that idiot Darrell Crumb making an ass of himself each time he passes by." Alison Manovich glared at the taillights of the old beat-up Ford pickup. J.J. rubbed the back of her head and tried not to wince too much. "An admirer, is he?" Alison made a face. "Just erase that thought from your head, girl. He's the last guy on earth I'd be interested in, if I were even interested in meeting someone." "Can't you do one of your cop things and arrest him for harassment or such?" "Not worth the effort. So far." Alison leaned the folding camp chairs up against the side panel inside the back of her silver SUV. "There should be enough room for a couple of coolers in here. Surely all the food we need for the annual Culinary Capers dinner club picnic will fit into two." J.J. joined her at the back of the SUV and glanced in. "I'd say that's plenty of room. In fact, there's also lots of space for Beth, Connor, and me. And if Evan decides to drive his new sports car, he can put some food on his passenger seat, after all. It will serve him right. Show-off." J.J. grinned as she said it. Evan Thornton wasn't really a show-off, just flamboyant at times. He'd been the one who'd invited her to join the dinner club after she'd moved to Burlington, Vermont, a couple of years earlier. She'd left behind a broken heart along with a broken engagement in favor of an offer to work for her friend Skye Drake's event planning business, Make It Happen. Evan was their landlord, and now a close friend, as were all the members of the club. Alison shook her head, her blonde ponytail flipping from side to side. "Who would have thought those two would just up and buy a sports car? It's a totally new image for Evan and Michael. It must have cost a small fortune." "Well, it's not as if they have a family to support. They both have very good jobs and a house, so they're entitled to play with a car." Alison sighed. "You're right, of course. I'm just seeing a little green, I guess." "I can see you behind the wheel of a convertible, especially in your cop uniform. Now, that would be an attention-getter." Alison's response was drowned out by the very loud arrival of a motorcycle. Both women stared in surprise, wondering who'd joined the party. When the Harley-Davidson came to a stop just inches away from them and Connor Mac lifted off his helmet, they broke into shrieks. "OMG, when did you get that?" Alison asked, dancing around