Here is the new addition to Leslie Budewitz's (A Spice Shop Mystery). It's the second in the series. The first book is "Assault and Pepper," a nice introduction to a new series. This second book can be read as a stand-alone. It helps that the author includes in the front of the books a "Cast of Characters," so to speak, that lists all the people who populate the book and a short description of each person-even their nicknames! The setting is again in the fabulous Seattle Pike Place Market; a rich location for clues and places to hide. The Amazon reader's reviews of this book are interesting and I encourage you to have a look at them.

Did you ever hear of someone dying of a chili overdose? Not to worry, Budewitz doesn't give a recipe for chili. If she had, I'm not sure I'd try it!

Many recipes are included in the back of the book. I didn't know you could make curry or garam masala, did you? Here we have instructions to do just that. Her recipe for Date-Bran Muffins includes a cup of whole wheat flour as well as a cup and a half of wheat bran. A cup of buttermilk makes them moist and a half cup of dates gives some sweet flavor. I gotta' try that recipe!

This new book was reviewed by nine Amazon readers who'd read it. They rated it at 4.9 out of 5 stars. The "Cast of Characters" in the front of the book was very helpful as I read through the book. It's easy to forget just who is who.

This book (BCID # 679-11092692) and another called "Assault and Pepper" (BCID # 67911092584) were mailed to annelis in Finland. These two books make up the (Seattle Spice Shop Mystery Series). Happy New Year annelis!

Thank you very much for the books, Weeder! And A Happy New Year to you, too!
Are you sure you don't want any books from my bookshelf? It is too bad I don't have any books from your wishlist.

I really like this book. And I admire the writers way of describing her town. It feels almost if I were there with her.
I learnt a lot about spices and of running a restaurant. Chilis seem to be very popular here in Finland too. I know a young man who grows different kinds of chili and he participated in a competition of eating chili as fast as possible. He did not win the the Finnish Championship though. Chilis are too strong for me. I don't like even the mild ones.

Chili is the main ingredient also in a popular Finnish scifi novel: The Core of the Sun by Johanna Sinisalo.

I will meet Kirjakko after two weeks and I'll give her both Budewitz novels. We will travel with some other bookcrossers to Tallinna in Estonia for a day's visit.

I take the book with me to the meet-up in Helsinki.
Happy reading!

This is my # 79 in
"KEEP THEM MOVING 2016" Challenge arranged by Booklady331.

Our trip to Tallinn is a week from now, but we had a small meet-up in Helsinki. Is that a Welsh or Lakeland terrier on the cover? I'm sure I'll find out when I start reading this.
Thank you Annelis, also for the Finnish stickers and labels.

Dear me, how time flies - it's been over four years since I got this book!
The foreword brought back memories of a dream gone bust. Not mine, luckily, but those of my workmate's sister. She is an economist with itchy feet. Can't stay in one place or job for too long. She had a good job in some finance business while the economy was still good, but she wanted to fulfil a dream she had had for years - to have a coffee house somewhere abroad. She had been an exchange student in Seattle, US (where this story happens, which triggered off my memory), so she decided to try it out there, where she still had friends who could help her out - like giving her a roof over her head to begin with. She bought a cafeteria called Sip'n'go, which seemed destined to her, as she is called Sirpa and family calls her Sippe. Something like two weeks after the purchase the flat on top of the café had a water overflow and everything in the café was damp. The walls and ceiling had to be opened and dried, which took months. She did have some emergency money saved for a slow beginning due to change of hands, but that was soon gone and insurance wasn't as good as it was supposed to be. During the renovation their customers learned to buy their coffee elsewhere and it was never the flourishing business she had dreamt about, it was very much struggle the whole time and lasted perhaps two years.
About spice shops - I don't really see them here anymore. There was one or two when I was small, but the only one close to a spice shop would be a candy shop chain Weigh'n'go where they have loose candy, loose dried fruits and some loose spices, emphasis on the candy.
There is something fascinating about loose spices stands in Southern-European markets, although I am a no-good cook and would not know how to use those spices. Cinnamon I connect to Christmas; rice porridge and mulled wine.
The dog in the cover is supposed to be an Airedale! It's far too low for an Airedale, and Welsh terriers are spicier, too 😉.

I've tagged Chania with this book, so it will have a good new home once I've finished reading it.

Still reading, just came here to brag about MY little samovar, which granny brought back from a trip to the part of Karelia which is nowadays Russia - over a hundred years ago...

There are citations in the beginning of each chapter. Not many of them are very good, but this was a treasure: `True love is like the appearance of ghosts: everyone talks about it but few have seen it.`- Francois de la Rochefoucauld, 17th century French writer and nobleman. If that was a known fact already in the 17th century, why wasn´t I told before...?

Note to Chania; Paulanni would like to read this book, too, having read part three.
But back to spices; I've never liked the hot Indian dishes, so whenever I'm eating Indian, I choose something mild. Why would I want to put something in my mouth which burns going in (and coming out!!!) and makes your eyes and nose run? Which makes you drink litres and numbs your tastebuds for hours. The use of strong spices originated to covering the fact that the actual food had gone bad, so there should be no need for them in a restaurant in Finland (I hope, I hope). And this does not mean that food should be tasteless, but with those hot spices you can't even guess what animal or vegetable you are eating in the first place.
This brings to mind the time I went to see my British summer mom who had divorced her husband, moved to Plymouth and opened a sea food kiosk. Whenever the sea creatures she was selling were beginning to smell, she just added vinegar... And she stored the food in the same freezer where his son, the pet shop keeper, had mice for his snakes and owls. I've never liked sea food or vinegar and this didn't help.
It was new to me that salt isn't a spice, but a mineral...

Pic: The old spice mill from my Aunt's legacy. I remember using it when I was small and we were baking at granny's.

Finally finished. There were times when the story was just threading on the same place and not going anywhere, which was a bit of a bore. So, when I first noticed that Paulanni had sent part three to the big wide world I was a bit disappointed, but now I am not at least actively looking for more of this series.

Off to somebody who likes culinary books.

Thank you! Looks hot and burning!

Nice! I liked this better than first in series, probably because the people in it were now more familiar. All in all, nice mystery but not the best in genre. Still, I'd like to read more of these.

To Paulannni!

Thank you also for this surprise book I received at the meetup in Tampere! I love spices and quite liked the part three of the Spice shop mysteries, so I look forward to reading the 1st and 2nd part as well, to know how everything began.