Murder on the Menu

'An irresistibly delicious mix of cooking and murder' Trisha Ashley 'Takes two of the world's greatest pleasures - food and mystery writing - and combines them exquisitely. I devoured it!' Thomas Mogford Chef Charlie Hunter's arrival in the beautiful Chilterns is the fulfilment of a long-held dream: to open her own restaurant in an idyllic countryside location. But instead of rural peace and a chance to lick her wounds, Charlie finds something ugly stirring under the chocolate box perfection. When a prominent local builder is found dead in suspicious circumstances, Charlie the outsider becomes a suspect. And the only way to clear her name seems to be to find out who the real killer is. Using all the craft Charlie's learned in kitchens - discipline, timing, preparation and grim determination - she will be as relentless in her quest to bring a murderer to justice as she is in creating the perfect meal.

­Alex Coombs was born in Lambeth in South London and studied Arabic at Oxford and Edinburgh Universities. Murder on the Menu is the first in a new series: the Old Forge Café Mysteries. Alex lives in the Chilterns.