Crunch Time

In Davidson's enjoyable if overplotted 16th culinary novel of suspense (after Fatally Flaky), Colorado caterer Goldy Schulz hires longtime friend and chef Yolanda Garcia as her catering assistant, after a string of bad luck forced Yolanda and Yolanda's irascible great-aunt, Ferdinanda, out of their rental home. Yolanda has been making extra money cooking meals for Ernest McLeod, an ex-cop turned PI, who also let the pair live in his guest quarters. But when McLeod is murdered, Yolanda's connections to his various investigations—from a cheating spouse to an illegal puppy mill—create suspicion. Goldy insists that Yolanda, who's also afraid of an abusive ex-boyfriend, and Ferdinanda stay at the Schulzes' house so she and her sheriff's investigator husband, Tom, can keep an eye on them. Goldy must once again sift through Aspen Meadow's unending supply of dirty secrets and suspects while whipping up delicious meals. 6-city author tour. (Apr.)