Murder is the Main Course * Shawn Reilly Simmons * Red Carpet Catering #4

When a high-profile movie wrap party at an elegant historic estate is shattered by a ruthless homicide, an elite film-set caterer must trade her chef's knife for a magnifying glass to slice through a menu of deceptive suspects.

The Story: Written by prominent culinary cozy author Shawn Reilly Simmons, this fast-paced fourth installment in the acclaimed Red Carpet Catering universe transforms an upscale Hollywood celebration into a treacherous criminal workspace. Penelope Sutherland is finally ready to relax as her catering crew finishes their grueling schedule on a major film production. Her low-friction routine permanently shatters during the highly anticipated movie wrap party when a prominent industry figure is discovered dead. Because Penelope’s signature gourmet dishes are the center of the event, her commercial sandbox fractures under a heavy defensive shield of immediate police suspicion.Refusing to let her hard-won professional sanctuary hit a permanent timeline deadline, Penelope launches a synchronized counter-campaign. Armed with her sharp diagnostic toolkit, she moves step-by-step through a dark ledger of secret studio blackmail, casting-couch rivalries, and volatile family parameters. From auditing kitchen logistics and ingredient tracking lines to mapping the suspicious behavioral metrics of elite actors, producers, and directors, she pierces through the glamorous armor of showbiz privilege. Working against a strict administrative deadline before a corrupt killer frames her business, Penelope executes an investigative dragnet to unmask the predator before her own future hits a final curtain call.

Perfect For: Enthusiasts of traditional, fair-play cozy puzzle mysteries, cooking and baking hobbyists who crave behind-the-scenes culinary aesthetics, and readers who devour the lighthearted, food-centric detective stories of authors like Joanne Fluke, Laura Childs, or Diane Mott Davidson.