Diese Autorin verfasst fesselnde Kriminalromane, insbesondere mit der Köchin und Catererin Darina Lisle in der Hauptrolle, deren Berufsleben oft in spannende Handlungsstränge verwickelt ist. Ihre Erzählungen sind durch lebendige Schauplätze bereichert, die ein tiefes Verständnis ihrer gewählten Umgebungen widerspiegeln. Über diese beliebte Reihe hinaus hat sie auch eine fesselnde Reihe von Mysterien geschaffen, die im London des 18. Jahrhunderts angesiedelt sind und historische Atmosphäre mit spannungsreicher Erzählweise verbinden. Ihr unverwechselbarer Stil zeichnet sich durch atmosphärische Details und nuancierte Charakterzeichnungen aus.
Bei einem erlesenen Kochwettbewerb sitzt Darina Lisle, Köchin und Hobbydetektivin aus Leidenschaft, unter den Juroren.§Die Einladung der Siegerin, ein Wochenende auf deren Landsitz zu verbringen, kommt ihr gelegen, und sie nimmt ohne Bedenken an. Dort erwartet sie aber nicht das versprochene warme Büffet, sondern ein eiskalter Mord. Schnell vergeht ihr der Appetit an den kulinarischen Leckereien, die dem Opfer zum Verhängnis wurden.
Darina Lisle wird zur Detektivin, als ihre Freundin an einer Pilzvergiftung stirbt und ihr Catering-Service in Verdacht gerät. Um ihre Firma zu retten, muss sie herausfinden, wer hinter dem Verbrechen steckt.
Estranged from her obstinate lover, Detective Sergeant William Pigram, culinary expert Darina Lisle seeks distraction in her burgeoning career. Judging the cookery competition at a posh London hotel, she is flattered by the attentions of handsome restaurateur Simon Chapman, and intrigued by Verity Fry, the competition's vivacious winner. During the awards ceremony, Darina learns that Verity's family runs an organic farm in the West Country. When she accepts an invitation to visit Fry's Farm, Darina hopes for an idyllic rural interlude and, perhaps, a flirtation with Simon, whose Somerset restaurant is in the same vicinity. What Darina finds on the farm, however, is a puzzling hostility focused on Simon. Verity's stolid mother, sullen sister, and savvy fiance, all display seething resentments where the appealing young man is concerned. But before the confused visitor can sort out their thorny history, sudden death strikes Fry's Farm. While the family is reeling from its loss, Darina starts asking questions. She does not have time to make sense of one death before another occurs. The second tragedy has her involved with pieces of poisoned pate and a lethal tree. Confused by the clues, Darina can't get a handle on the killer's motive until she receives help from an irresistible source.
Accompanying American heiress Belle Seldon on a visit to her ancestral family home in Somerset, Ursula Grandison soon discovers that the decaying stately Mountstanton House and its inhabitants has many secrets, including a crumbling marriage and a missing dowry.
The Society of Historical Gastronomes is gathering for a weekend symposium on food from the past. Darina Lisle has been asked to cater the occasion and has prepared a multitude of exquisite dishes - from salmagundis to a deepe coffyn - culled from ancient recipe books. But when the chairman is found stabbed to death with a boning knife, the professional pique of the attendant foodies takes on a more sinister meaning. Discarded lovers, jealous colleagues, and a plagiarized author have good reason to resent the victim's success. Darina, too, is under suspicion and determines to clear her name by revealing the murderer's true identity.
Darina Lisle is accompanying her recently widowed mother for a reviving stay at the Conifers Spa health farm, hoping it will enable her to lose some of the weight gained since her honeymoon in the south of France. Weight is not the only challenge being faced by an entertaining and varied collection of what is healthy eating? Is being overweight something to worry about? The spa itself, run by a friend of Darina’s, is in a severe financial crisis, and there are staff troubles. Darina’s husband, William, is part of the investigating team called in when death is discovered. Possible motives multiply. Darina herself is faced by personal and career challenges that force her to reassess some long held preconceptions as she tries to sort out the puzzles surrounding the murder, then finds that she is confronting an unexpectedly strong and violent killer.
