The Detective Chef: A Spirit Delaney Mystery Novella

THE DETECTIVE CHEF

Where Culinary Expertise Meets Murder, Mystery & Mayhem

What happens when a world-class chef starts noticing clues other people miss?

Meet Spirit Delaney, the culinary genius at the center of The Detective Chef: A Spirit Delaney Mystery Novella Series.

Spirit knows food. She knows ingredients. She knows kitchens, chefs, restaurants, and the secrets hidden behind an elegant meal.

And when someone dies at the table, that knowledge becomes an unexpected detective’s greatest weapon.

🍴 A Little Food. A Little Murder. A Lot of Mystery.

Welcome to the world of The Detective Chef — a cozy culinary mystery series filled with suspicious chefs, deadly ingredients, hidden motives, clever clues, and twists you won’t see coming.

Each Spirit Delaney mystery novella is designed to give you a quick escape from the day — a perfect lunchtime read, afternoon break, commute, or anytime mental snack.

Short enough to finish. Clever enough to keep you guessing.

THE SPIRIT DELANEY MYSTERY SERIES

Taste of Death

Book One

A celebrated culinary competition.
A formidable food judge.
One fatal taste.

When a judge suddenly dies after sampling a dish, culinary expert Spirit Delaney finds herself drawn into a murder investigation where every chef has something to hide — and the most important clues may be hiding in plain sight.

Spirit isn’t a detective.

She’s a chef.

But sometimes, the kitchen knows more than the crime scene.

READ TASTE OF DEATH on Kindle

Available in paperback

MORE MYSTERIES ARE COOKING

The Spirit Delaney Mystery Novella Series continues with new culinary crimes, new suspects, and new twists. Coming Soon: Seasoned and Skewered, the second in the series.

At the center of every mystery are Spirit and her trusted circle:

Spirit Delaney — culinary genius and unlikely sleuth
Rolf Caden — sous chef and trusted partner in the kitchen
Petal Stone — pastry chef with a sharp eye for detail
Detective Diego Morales — the detective who knows Spirit well
Dr. Emily Chen — medical and forensic consultant

Together, they discover that murder can be found anywhere food and people come together.

And everyone has a secret.

FROM THE KITCHEN TO THE CRIME SCENE

Before becoming an author, I lived in the culinary world.

I catered. I taught cooking classes focused on healthier ingredients and better ways to approach food. I also created Deceptive Delights™, a line of products that found its way onto the shelves of natural food markets — including Whole Foods, before its acquisition.

Then an injury abruptly ended my career as a chef and producer.

But it didn’t end my love of food.

It simply gave me a new kitchen.

The kitchen of imagination.

Today, I’m using everything I learned about food, chefs, ingredients, restaurants, and the people who work behind the scenes to create a different kind of culinary experience:

mysteries where the food isn’t just part of the story — it’s part of the investigation.

You can read more about my journey on the About page.

SOMETHING ELSE HAS BEEN PASSED DOWN TO SPIRIT…

Every family has its stories.

Some families have recipes.

And some have secrets.

Soon, I’ll be opening the pages of a very special family journal — the journals of Spirit Delaney’s great-great-grandmother, passed down through generations and eventually into Spirit’s hands.

These aren’t simply old family stories.

They’re glimpses into a world that shaped the woman Spirit would eventually become.

Through The Journal, you’ll discover fragments of family history, food, places, personalities, and secrets that add another layer to the Spirit Delaney universe.

But be warned:

You may discover something that makes you look at Spirit’s mysteries a little differently.