'An irresistibly delicious mix of cooking and murder' Trisha Ashley'Takes two of the world's greatest pleasures - food and mystery writing - and combines them exquisitely. I devoured it!' Thomas MogfordChef Charlie Hunter's arrival in the beautiful Chilterns is the fulfilment of a long-held dream: to open her own restaurant in an idyllic countryside location.But instead of rural peace and a chance to lick her wounds, Charlie finds something ugly stirring under the chocolate box perfection. When a prominent local builder is found dead in suspicious circumstances, Charlie the outsider becomes a suspect.And the only way to clear her name seems to be to find out who the real killer is.Using all the craft Charlie's learned in kitchens discipline, timing, preparation and grim determination she will be as relentless in her quest to bring a murderer to justice as she is in creating the perfect meal.

­Alex Coombs was born in Lambeth in South London and studied Arabic at Oxford and Edinburgh Universities. Murder on the Menu is the first in a new series: the Old Forge Café Mysteries. Alex lives in the Chilterns.