Linda Barnes: Cities of the Dead (USA 2015)

From the Publisher:
Former PI and independently wealthy actor Michael Spraggue attends a get-together of great New Orleans chefs where the secret ingredient is murder
Sophisticated Boston Brahmin Michael Spraggue will never forget the flaky strawberry tarts Dora Levoyer made for him when he was a little boy. A French immigrant who has worked for Michael's eccentric aunt Mary for decades, Dora has an old-world sensibility, an elegant palate, and a past that cannot be spoken of. Deserted by her husband long ago, she has fought hard to put him out of her mind. But when Dora is invited to a banquet held by the finest chefs in New Orleans, she sees a man who looks just like her missing spouse. Before she can confront him, he is found with a chef's knife embedded in his heart -- and every piece of evidence points to Dora as the killer.

At his aunt Mary's behest, Michael hops the first plane down to New Orleans -- a mysterious city where the dead, like the living, have dangerous secrets.

Cities of the Dead is the 4th book in the Michael Spraggue Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

Linda Barnes: Cities of the Dead. A Michael Spraggue Mystery. Open Road Media, ISBN: 9781504014526 (July, 2015), eBook, 1.12 MB (ca. 186 p.), $7.99.

Linda Barnes: Cities of the Dead (USA 1997)

From the Publisher:
When the great chefs of New Orleans stage an elegant banquet, tempers burn hotter than cayenne pepper. Up-and-coming Cajun chef Joseph Fontenot is found with a slender French cooking knife through his heart, and all the evidence points to Dora Levoyer, sublime cook to Boston's wealthhy and eccentric Mary Spraggue Hillman.

A guest at the banquet, Mary summons her nephew Michael Spraggue, actor-cum-private detective, to the scene. And soon Spraggue is investigating a murder case that will leave his mouth burning and his mind spinning. One thing is certain: the solution to the murder will make for a spicy mystery indeed!

Linda Barnes: Cities of the Dead. A Michael Spraggue Mystery. Dell, ISBN: 0440220955 (January, 1997), 245 p., $5.99.