Stick a Fork in It

In Allen’s fun sequel to 2011’s If You Can’t Stand the Heat, Austin, Tex., health inspector Poppy Markham targets a new restaurant still under wraps, Capital Punishment, which features prison décor (electric chair, anyone?) and a menu of executed criminals’ last meals. The restaurant can’t open without her okay, and problem after problem keeps her returning to recheck progress—which stalls when Troy Sharpe, ex-jock and co-owner, is found hanged from the catwalk. The other owners—Troy’s twin brother, Todd, and the Sharpes’ schoolmate, Danny MacAdams—are determined to open on time, but construction chief Miles Archer struggles to get everything working at once. Determined to find out if Troy’s death is suicide or murder, Poppy must also contend with the mystery of the snack truck she can’t catch up with to inspect as well as her complicated love life. Lots of plot twists help make this a must-read for cozy lovers. Agent: Kimberley Cameron, Kimberley Cameron & Associates. (July)