Winner of the 2022 IndieReader Discovery Award for short stories
A sinister cook, a cursed cake, and a casual dinner between neighbours that goes murderously wrong.
This collection of culinary mysteries ascends the jagged culinary heights you've hungered to explore but could never find on a map: a family business that depends on a cursed recipe, a remote mountain village with a taste for revenge, a peculiarly peckish ghost.
As the characters swoon over every unforgettable mouthful and sometimes bite off more than they can chew, you'll find yourself asking: What would I be willing to pay for the meal of a lifetime?
Fourteen short stories and thirteen recipes will chill, thrill and entertain. The suspenseful stories range from thrillers and mysteries to ghost stories and are a great gift for all crime fiction lovers.
If feasting on culinary noir leaves you hungry, extend your pleasure by preparing the dishes featured in the stories. Most recipes are vegetarian. All recipes provided are cyanide-free.
'The 14 well-crafted culinary noir stories in Spiljak's debut collection efficiently establish character and mood. Fans of Rob Hart's Take-Out and Other Tales of Culinary Crime will feel sated.'
Publishers Weekly
'The stories feature strong, interesting characters, imaginative situations that range from funny to terrifying to everything in between, excellent plot twists, beautiful writing to please the senses, and great integration of the culinary aspects.'
IndieReader
