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  • Published: 18 August 2026
  • ISBN: 9798892426251
  • Imprint: Crooked Lane Books
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 320
  • RRP: $70.00

A Delicious Deception

A Key West Food Critic Mystery




Mother-to-be Hayley Snow bites off more than she can chew in the sixteenth installment of Lucy Burdette’s USA Today bestselling Key West Food Critic mysteries.

When Sheriff’s Deputy Darcy Rogers asks Hayley for a small favor, she can’t say no. Nine months pregnant and temporarily benched from her food critic duties, Hayley’s itching for a distraction and eager to help. All she has to do is tag along while a young woman picks up her daughter from her father at Monroe County’s safe custody exchange location. Easy, right?

Wrong.

In the chaos of the Sheriff’s Office open house, the mother disappears. Then the father bolts, leaving Hayley with a terrified girl and the realization that something has gone terribly wrong. Hayley and Deputy Rogers head north up the Keys to search for answers. 

When a body turns up, Hayley realizes this isn’t just a missing-persons case—it’s a race against time. With the little girl’s safety at risk, Hayley must trust her instincts—and her heart—to uncover the truth.

  • Published: 18 August 2026
  • ISBN: 9798892426251
  • Imprint: Crooked Lane Books
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 320
  • RRP: $70.00

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Praise for A Delicious Deception

Praise for the Key West Food Critic Mysteries:

“A charming series.”
 —Diane Mott Davidson, New York Times bestselling author

“Hayley Snow is one of my favorite amateur sleuths.”
 —Jenn McKinlay, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author

“Food, fun, and felonies. What more could a reader ask for?” 
 ―Lorna Barrett, New York Times bestselling author