It’s a pleasure to welcome my dear friend and writing partner, Fiona Leitch, back to Off the Beaten Track to mark the publication of Book 5 in her Nosey Parker cosy mystery series, A Cornish Recipe for Murder.
Tell us what inspired you to write A Cornish Recipe for Murder?
I’m a massive fan of The Great British Bake Off and I thought it could be a lot of fun, planning a murder around the big tent! Plenty of scope for suspects – not just contestants, but the presenters and judges, and the crew… Bake Off is such a popular show, with versions filmed all around the world (we have The Great Kiwi Bake Off here, which is almost identical apart from the presenters!), so I’m hoping that means there’s a wide audience for this book.
What’s your most recent read that you’d like to recommend?
I love Jane Harper’s work, and I literally just finished The Lost Man. Oh my god, it’s so good! Lots of twists and turns, you think you know what’s going on and then…another twist! Highly recommended.
What has been your author highlight over the past year?
The relaunch of the Nosey Parker series, with all new covers (and titles). The old covers were lovely and colourful, but the new ones are beautiful; classy, and somehow more British! I think they really reflect the tone of the books inside.
What are you working on now?
Book 6 of the series, A Cornish Seaside Murder. I’m also working on an idea for a whole new series, set in London, still cosy and fun but very different. Plus I recently finished a quirky crime novel set in the Australian Outback, which I’m in the process of finding a home for.
What do you hope readers will take away from A Cornish Recipe for Murder?
I hope readers get a lot of laughs, and maybe a few new recipes!
My thoughts
This book is an absolute, twisty-turny blast. I am such a huge fan of Jodie and the gang. It’s a terrific series – funny and clever, as well as a great who-dunnit? series – and this latest book is a great addition.
More about the book
‘When popular TV baking contest and national institution ‘The Best of British Baking Roadshow’ rolls into town and sets up camp in the grounds of Boskern House, a historic stately home near Penstowan, former police officer Jodie ‘Nosey’ Parker finds herself competing to represent Cornwall in the grand final.
But with a fellow contestant who will stop at nothing to win and a drag queen host with secrets of their own, Jodie discovers that the roadshow doesn’t just have the ingredients for the perfect showstopper cake, but also for the perfect murder…
And when a body is found in the grounds of the house, Jodie is drawn into another high-stakes case along with local DCI Nathan Withers.
Can Jodie expose the culprit? Or will the murderer become the real showstopper?’
Where to get it
Amazon UK | Amazon AU | Amazon US | Amazon CA
Barnes & Noble | Waterstones | Foyles | A&R | Dymocks | Booktopia
And all good book retailers
About Fiona Leitch
Fiona Leitch is a novelist and screenwriter with a chequered past. She’s written for footballing and motoring magazines, childbirth videos and mail order catalogues; DJ-ed at illegal raves in London, been told off by a children’s TV presenter during a studio debate, and she was the Australasian face of a series of TV commercials for a cleaning product. All of which has given her a thorough grounding in the ridiculous, and has helped her write funny stuff. She writes the Jodie ‘Nosey’ Parker series for HarperCollins, because she loves thinking about Cornwall, food, and murdering people (not necessarily in that order).
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