Liver Let Die by Liz Lipperman

Jordan moves to Ranchero, Texas to work for a small town newspaper after leaving Dallas and her ex-fiancé behind.  She wants to be a sports reporter, but she settles for running the personals desk.  Then disaster strikes.  The food columnist has a personal water craft incident and will be unable to review restaurants or publish recipes while she recuperates.  The editor offers Jordan the job (for no extra pay, but free meals and the satisfaction of seeing her name in print).  Jordan jumps at the opportunity and then freaks out a bit.  She is a fast food maven and can’t cook anything.  The art of making grilled cheese eludes her.  Yet, she’s headed out to a fancy restaurant to try her hand at being a foodie.

I was pleasantly surprised by this cozy mystery.  This is a mystery that is light-hearted yet not light on substance.  There are a few storylines going and while some things seem pretty straightforward the whodunit (and whydunit) are not obvious at all.  Jordan is a savvy reporter and balks at any situations that would put her in danger.  Her friends are great and quirky and I would like to return to Ranchero, Texas for the next installment.