Rest in Pizza

Life is never dull for Eleanor Swift, owner of A Slice of Delight, a pizzeria in the sleepy town of Timber Ridge, N.C., as shown by Cavender’s charming fourth pizza lovers mystery (after 2011’s A Pizza to Die For). When a dead body turns up in her restaurant yet again, Eleanor and her wisecracking younger sister and business partner, Maddy Spencer, must race to find the killer among a host of colorful suspects: a chef’s inebriated wife, a snappy television producer, a wronged assistant chef, and a local bookstore owner hiding a big secret. Meanwhile, Maddy and Eleanor wrestle with their always complicated love lives and the always complicated ins and outs of owning a small business. Though this foodie cozy drags in the middle and suffers from some overwritten passages, the two lovable, dynamic protagonists and the warm smalltown atmosphere more than compensate. Agent: John Talbot, the John Talbot Agency. (May)