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As she struggles to make a living in a society where women have few rights and little freedom, she teams up with old friend and private investigator Thomas Jackman, who soon finds himself drawing on Ursula's investigative abilities as they battle to save an innocent woman from the noose.

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.

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.

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 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.

When Darina Lisle is asked to write a cookery book sponsored by Finer Foods, a firm that imports exotic gourmet delicacies, she sees it as an exciting challenge. But Darina soon discovers that Finer Foods' profits are plummeting and the finances are in a shambles. To add to all of this, she notices a deep-seated antagonism between the new managing director, Joel Madoc, and the other directors, and the tension is only heightened when Joel announces his engagement to the owner of a local delicatessen. Soon tragedy strikes in Finer Foods' demonstration kitchen - was it accident or murder? When a second death is only narrowly averted, Darina becomes convinced that the police are on the wrong track. Darina soon finds herself doing some tricky international investigating on her own. As she becomes more deeply involved in the mysteries surrounding Finer Foods, will she be able to solve this difficult recipe for murder?

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.