Excerpt from Recipes for Love and Murder by Sally Andrew, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

My bird flew closer and landed in a sweet-thorn tree. It was a shrike. Hunting.

Hattie did not touch her milk tart, and I couldn't sit still any longer.

"What is it, Hattie, my skat?" She swallowed some air and put the envelope on the table.

"Oh, gosh, Maria," she said. "It's not good news."

I felt the tea and melktert do a small twist inside my belly.