As the new food critic for Key Zest magazine, Hayley Snow went from being a culinary groupie to one of Florida’s cutting-edge tastemakers. But as always, when life serves Haley a dream come true, it comes paired with a most exquisite murder.... The annual Key West literary conference is drawing the biggest names in food writing from all over the country, and Haley is there to catch a few fresh morsels of insider gossip. Superstar restaurant critic Jonah Barrows has already ruffled a few foodie feathers with his recent tell-all memoir, and as keynote speaker, he promises more of the same jaw-dropping honesty. But when Hayley discovers Jonah’s body in a nearby dipping pool, the cocktail-hour buzz takes a sour turn, and Hayley finds herself at the center of attention—especially with the police. Now it’s up to her to catch the killer before she comes to her own bitter finish.

Hayley Snow's life always revolved around food. But when she applies to be a food critic for a Key West style magazine, she discovers that her new boss would be Kristen Faulkner, the woman Hayley caught in bed with her boyfriend. Hayley thinks things are as bad as they can get, until the police pull her in as a suspect in Kristen's murder. Kristen was killed by a poisoned key lime pie. Now Hayley must find out who used meringue to murder before she takes all the blame.

"Can't-put-'em-down stories by Key West's best mystery writers," observes legendary adventurer Reef Perkins. Murder In Key West by Michael Haskins. Another adventure by freelance journalist Mad Mick Murphy. His day takes a turn for the worse when he discovers the body of an old newspaper crony — as cold as granite from a Quincy quarry and almost as hard. A Lucky Man by Jonathan Woods. A gonzo tale of a man, a dead body and a mysterious palm reader. The Itinerary by Roberta Isleib (writing as Lucy Burdette). Detective Jack Meigs visits the island only to encounter a puzzling missing person case. Four Fingers and the Dead Drag Queen by Shirrel Rhoades. Retired homicide detective Wharton "Four Fingers" Dalessandro solves crimes on the spot so he can go fishing. Here, he's dealing with a dead drag queen known as Gilded Glinda. Saving Gloria by Jessica Argyle. When Raymond married Gloria he'd hoped to save her — but with her around could he save his own life? Block by Mike Dennis. What happens when a bestselling author meets her fictional character, a murderer who doesn't want to follow the script. Ivory Tower by Hal Howland. Jacquard had just finished the orchestra rehearsal when someone discovers the dead body of the music school's unpopular dean. Loose Cannons by Tom Corcoran. Delivering a boat is no pleasure cruise when you don't trust the owner or his hand-picked crew.

Hayley Snow loves her job as the food critic for Key Zest magazine, tasting the offerings from Key West’s most innovative restaurants. She’d rate her life four stars, until she’s forced into the spotlight…and another murder investigation. Hoping for some good publicity, Hayley’s boss signs her up to help judge the Key West Topped Chef contest. Stakes are high as the winner could be the next cooking-show superstar. Hayley shows up for the filming nervous but excited, until she sees who’s on the judging panel with her: Sam Rizzoli, big shot businessman—and owner of the restaurant she just panned in her first negative review. When Rizzoli turns up dead, the police assume his killer is one of his business rivals. But Hayley wonders whether someone is taking the contest a little too seriously. With the police following the wrong recipe, it’s up to Hayley to find the killer before she’s eliminated from the show…permanently.

The tenth Key West Food Critic cozy mystery is piping hot with pie-enthusiasts and murder suspects. Florida is alight with the frenzy of the holiday season—and when a fierce rivalry between key lime pie bakers leads to a pastry chef’s murder, food critic Hayley Snow is fit to be pied. During the week between Christmas and New Year’s, the year-round population of Key West, Florida, faces a tsunami of tourists and snowbirds. It doesn’t help that outrageously wealthy key lime pie aficionado David Sloan has persuaded the city to host his pie-baking contest. Every pie purveyor on the island is out to win the coveted Key Lime Key to the City and Key Zest food critic Hayley Snow is on the scene to report it. Meanwhile, Hayley’s home life is turning more tart than sweet. Hayley’s new hubby—police detective Nathan Bransford—announces that her intimidating mother-in-law is bearing down on the island for a surprise visit. Hayley offers to escort Nathan’s crusty mom on the iconic Conch Train Tour of the island’s holiday lights, but it becomes a recipe for disaster when they find a corpse among the glittering palm trees and fantastic flamingos. The victim—Au Citron Vert’s controversial new pastry chef—was a frontrunner in Sloan’s contest. It’s bad enough that Hayley’s too-curious mother-in-law is cooking up trouble. Now, the murderer is out to take a slice out of Hayley. Can she handle the heat of a killer’s kitchen?

The true crime story of a love triangle, drug deals, and the 1984 cold case murder of a gay, South Florida teenager. Jeffrey Heagerty was like most young gay nineteen-year-olds in South Florida in the 1980s, commonly finding himself and his friends at the popular Kevin's Cabaret in West Palm Beach on Saturday nights. On one of those Saturday nights in 1984, Jeff vanished from the club, leaving his friends behind even though he was their ride home. His body was found dumped in a canal the next morning and his car was missing, only to be found a month later, abandoned on the other side of town. Rumors of a love triangle, drug dealings and sexual encounters snarled police efforts at solving the case. The investigation stagnated and the case grew cold until the solution came from two unexpected sources: overlooked details in police photographs of Jeff's car and a mysterious letter from an inmate in the Palm Beach County Jail.

“I’ve come to look forward to the annual appearance of this mystery anthology. Who would have guessed so many murders take place on the sunny island of Key West – at least in the pages of books.” —Edward Squires, Not Quite a Novella Here’s another can’t-put-it-down edition of mystery short stories. In these pages you will encounter a dozen intriguing tales by Bill Craig, Robert Coburn, David Beckwith, Barthélemy Banks, Hollis George, Jack Mazur, George Davidson, H.L. Osterman, Earl Smith, William P. Bahlke, Rusty the Writer, and Shirrel Rhoades. Some of these stories are neo-noirs, others cozies, still others heads-scratching puzzlers. You will meet spies, murderers, ex-cops, and private eyes. But the focus remains on Key West, that southernmost island where you will find murder and mayhem in Paradise. Shirrel Rhoades is a publisher, editor, and writer who has lived in Key West for over 20 years, so he knows the island from Fort Zach to Fort East Martello, the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico. He was a founder of Mystery Fest Key West and served three two-year terms as the president of the Key West Art & Historical Society. An avid reader, he loves a good mystery.

"Another outstanding collection of mystery stories by master storytellers ... If you like whodunits this is definitely the book for you!" —Hollis George, acclaimed editor and anthologist. "10 mysteries by 10 masters of the genre ... give me more!" —Nick Teranzi, Online Critics Corner. Key West serves as backdrop for some of the world's best mystery stories. Here is the fifth collection of Murder and Mayhem in Paradise, a hard-hitting anthology that features ten leading writers who explore the dark side of the Southernmost city in the continental US. Mysteries in this volume by these notable writers: Jack Mazur, Shirrel Rhoades, Rick Ollerman, Albert L. Kelley, Wayne "Skip" Kadar (writing as Justin Maxwell), Barthélemy Banks, R. K. Simpson, Robert Coburn, John Guerra, Randy Becker.