Edgy Cozy Mystery
3rd in Series
Setting – Virginia
Olive Lane Press (December 6, 2021)
Paperback : 320 pages
ISBN-13 : 979-8985231816
Digital ASIN : B09MMHLSSJ
He who laughs last, laughs longest.
Unless he’s dead.
When romance author Hazel Rose is dropped by her publisher, she sees herself heading down a path strewn with has-been authors. While disappointed, Hazel won’t give up without a fight—she signs up for a mystery-writing class, thinking that crime fiction will jumpstart her career.
But what’s a mystery-writing class without a mystery? So when Randy Zimmerman, an obnoxious classmate given to laughing at others’ expense, is murdered, Hazel tackles the case. Solving a real-life murder will surely lend authenticity to her creative writing.
She recruits her book group pals to help with the investigation. Trouble is, there are more suspects than they bargained for—even Hazel herself, who endured Randy’s thumbs-way-down review of her writing, had a motive.
A second body drives the stakes higher, and Hazel doubles her efforts to find who’s behind the murders, unearthing secrets that a killer would go to any lengths to keep hidden.
Will Hazel succeed? Or will this be “The End” for her?
Maggie King is the author of the Hazel Rose Book Group mysteries. Her short stories appear in various anthologies, including the Virginia is for Mysteries series, 50 Shades of Cabernet, Deadly Southern Charm, Murder by the Glass, and Death by Cupcake.
She is a member of James River Writers, International Thriller Writers, Short Mystery Fiction Society, and is a founding member of Sisters in Crime Central Virginia, where she manages the chapter’s Instagram account.
Maggie graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology with a degree in Business Administration and has worked as a software developer and a retail sales manager. She has called New Jersey, Massachusetts, and California home. These days she lives in Richmond, Virginia, with her husband and two indulged cats. When Maggie isn’t writing she enjoys reading, walking, cooking, traveling, movies, British TV shows, and the theatre. Visit Maggie at www.maggieking.com
Author Links:
Website: http://maggieking.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MaggieKingAuthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MaggieKingAuthr
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authormaggieking/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4758759.Maggie_King
Purchase Links:
Amazon Universal Book Link (ebook) Barnes & Noble (print) Bookshop.org (print) GoodReads Link Kobo
From My Kitchen: Mushroom Barley Soup
By Hazel Rose
In Laughing Can Kill You, my husband and I enjoy a lunch of mushroom barley soup. I often boast that my recipe closely matches the famous one from Langer’s Delicatessen in Los Angeles—so closely, that one wouldn’t be able to tell them apart in a blind taste test.
I lived in Los Angeles for many years (as did Wonderful Author, my creator) and often enjoyed Langer’s mushroom barley soup. The deli remains famous for “serving the world’s best pastrami and other deli classics.” Langer’s is included in the Los Angeles Times legendary "101 Best Restaurants in LA" list for 2021.
My recipe is adapted from Slow Cookers for Dummies. It never disappoints. It’s perfect for cold winter evenings, although I fix it year-round.
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 large onion, minced
3 carrots, diced
3 celery stalks, diced
½ pound small white mushrooms, stems trimmed, quartered
¼ pound shiitake mushrooms, stems trimmed, quartered
1 bay leaf
3 tbsp. minced Italian flat-leaf parsley
1 cup pearl barley
1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper.
6 cups of beef broth
2 cups water
Spray slow cooker with cooking spray
Place onion, carrots, celery, mushrooms, bay leaf, parsley, barley, salt, and pepper in slow cooker. Pour broth and water over all and stir to combine.
Cover and cook on low for 5 to 7 hours, or until vegetable and barley are tender. Add salt to taste.
Enjoy!
***
My Tips:
The Slow Cookers for Dummies version has an additional ingredient: lean beef stew meat. If you’d like to use it, cut the meat into ½-inch cubes and add to slow cooker with the other ingredients. For enhanced flavor, brown the beef first.
Use chicken broth instead of beef broth; or make it vegan with vegetarian broth or water.
Add garlic (I add it to everything).
Add salt only at end of cooking, as needed.
The Italian flat-leaf parsley is optional. Any parsley will do, even dried (in a smaller amount).
Add worcestershire sauce and/or lemon juice.
***
Do you love mushroom barley soup? Have you had it at Langer’s? Try both versions and compare. I haven’t been to Langer’s, or even to Los Angeles, in many years, so they could have changed their recipe. Let’s hope not.
May 2022 be a happy and prosperous year for you.
Hazel Rose
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Hi Celticlady! Thanks so much for letting me share one of my favorite recipes.
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