BIOS:

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Leslie Budewitz writes the Spice Shop mysteries set in Seattle’s Pike Place Market, along with the Food Lovers’ Village series and historical short mysteries set in Montana. As Alicia Beckman, she writes stand-alone suspense. A three-time Agatha-Award winner, past president of Sisters in Crime, and former board member of Mystery Writers of America, she lives in NW Montana.

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Leslie Budewitz blends her passion for food, great mysteries, and the Northwest in two cozy mystery series, the Spice Shop mysteries set in Seattle’s Pike Place Market, and the Food Lovers’ Village mysteries, set in NW Montana. She also writes historical short mysteries, set in Montana. As Alicia Beckman, she writes moody, stand-alone suspense. A three-time Agatha-Award winner (for Best Nonfiction, Best First Novel, and Best Short Story), she is a past president of Sisters in Crime and former board member of Mystery Writers of America. She lives in NW Montana.

Leslie’s books are “pure enjoyment” (Suspense Magazine) and “a treat for the senses” (Library Journal).

200 words
Leslie Budewitz blends her passion for food, great mysteries, and the Northwest in two light-hearted mystery series, the Spice Shop mysteries set in Seattle’s Pike Place Market, and the Food Lovers’ Village mysteries, set in NW Montana. She also writes historical short mysteries set in Montana, and as Alicia Beckman, moody stand-alone suspense. A three-time Agatha-Award winner (Best Nonfiction, Best First Novel, and Best Short Story), she is a past president of Sisters in Crime and board member of Mystery Writers of America. She lives and cooks in NW Montana.

Also a lawyer, she’s written a guide for writers, BOOKS, CROOKS & COUNSELORS: HOW TO WRITE ACCURATELY ABOUT CRIMINAL LAW AND COURTROOM PROCEDURE, winner of the 2011 Agatha Award for Best Nonfiction, making her the first author to win Agatha Awards for both fiction and nonfiction.

Leslie’s short stories have won Agatha and Derringer awards, been published in Ellery Queen, Alfred Hitchcock, and elsewhere, and recognized in Best American Mystery Stories of 2009.

A native Montanan, she lives at the foot of the Rocky Mountains with her husband, Don Beans, a musician and doctor of natural medicine, and their gray tuxedo cat, an avid birdwatcher.

Suspense Magazine calls her books “pure enjoyment.” Library Journal reviewer Lesa Holstine calls them “a treat for the senses.”

All cover art and photos on these pages may be used with a book review or an article about Leslie; please credit photos to Leslie except where otherwise noted.

See the About Leslie page for Q&A sure to whet your readers’ appetites! 

Author photos:
Color web res
Color, print res
B&W print res

Photo credit: Brenda Ahearn

Malice 2011 Agatha winner photo

Photo credit: Elizabeth Zelvin

Malice 2013 Agatha winner photo

Photo credit: Deborah Lacy

Additional photos:

Mr. Kitten, my supervisor
Ruff on desk
Edited manuscript page
My desk 

The novels, in order: 

The Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries:
Death al Dente (#1, 2013)
Crime Rib (#2, 2014)
Butter Off Dead (#3, 2015)
Treble at the Jam Fest (#4, 2017; reissued March 2021)
As the Christmas Cookie Crumbles (#5, 2018; reissued November 2021)
Carried to the Grave and Other Stories (#6, May 2021)

Erin and the Villagers also star in “A Picture of Guilt,” in Murder in the Mountains: A Destination Murders Short Story Collection (2022)

The Spice Shop Mysteries:
Assault and Pepper (#1, 2015)
Guilty as Cinnamon (#2, 2015)
Killing Thyme (#3, 2016)
Chai Another Day (#4, 2019)
The Solace of Bay Leaves (#5, 2020)
Peppermint Barked (#6, 2022)
Between a Wok and a Dead Place (#7, 2023)
To Err is Cumin (#8, July 16, 2024)
Lavender Lies Bleeding (tentative title) (#9, July 2025)

Pepper also stars in the short story “Seafood Rub,” in Murder at Sea: A Destination Murders Short Story Collection (2023)

To be continued!

Historical Fiction:
All God’s Sparrows and Other Stories: A Stagecoach Mary Fields Collection (September 27, 2024)

Written as Alicia Beckman:

Bitterroot Lake (April 2021)
Blind Faith (October 2022)

The Spice Shop Mysteries (books 1-3) and the Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries (books 1-3)
Editor: Thomas Colgan, Editorial Director, Berkley Group
Publicity: Roxanne Jones, Publicity Assistant
Berkley Prime Crime/Penguin Random House

The Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries, books 4 and up and All God’s Sparrows
Bill Harris, Publisher/Editorial Director
Beyond the Page Publishing 

The Spice Shop Mysteries, books 4 and up 
Rene Sears, Editor
Seventh St. Books

Bitterroot Lake & Blind Faith
Terri Bischoff, Acquiring Editor
Madeline Rathle, Marketing Director
Crooked Lane Books

Books, Crooks & Counselors: How to Write Accurately About Criminal Law & Courtroom Procedure
Editor: Kent Sorsky
Quill Driver Books