The Food Detective

Josie Welford desperately hopes for a fresh start. Widow to one of Britain's most wanted criminals, she begins a new venture as the licensee of the local pub in Kings Duncombe, and soon becomes a thriving member of the community. That is until Inspector Nick Thomas, the man who put her husband in jail, appears on the scene. Now an inspector for the Food Standards Agency, he advises Josie to change from her local suppliers. How could Josie ever have foreseen the terrible consequences of this simple decision? Very soon she finds herself an outcast once more, ostracised by her erstwhile friendly neighbours. Even her employees are being warned off. Her hopes of a new life in tatters, she hears that the local vet has disappeared. Could the two things be connected? And why does everybody act as though they have a secret to hide? Bringing a reluctant Nick on to the case, Josie prepares to investigate.

Judith Cutler, Birmingham's Queen of Crime, began her working life as a college lecturer. She has written nearly forty novels, with protagonists ranging from the nineteenth-century vicar-detective Tobias Campion to Chief Superintendent Fran Harman. Now Jane Cowan joins their ranks. Judith is married to fellow writer Edward Marston, whom she partners in the speaking duo 'Murder Ancient and Modern'.