When Erin Murphy returns to her Montana hometown from Seattle to manage the Glacier Mercantile — aka The Merc — a market specializing in local foods, she anticipates her biggest challenge will be finding early tomatoes and consistently yummy chocolates–and keeping a close eye on her mother, Fresca, whose pastas and sauces built the business. She never imagines she’ll find the Merc’s former manager dead in the alley behind the shop–on the opening night of Erin’s first big splash, the Festa di Pasta, an Italian food festival kicking off summer. Or that the suspicions of the deputy sheriff–once her best friend–will focus on Fresca. Erin must solve the crime to save her mother and the family business–and stay alive.

The Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries are set in Jewel Bay, Montana, a lakeside resort community on the road to Glacier Park, and will debut from Berkley Prime Crime in August 2013.

My characters blog at KillerCharacters, a group blog “where cozy characters do the talking,” on the 27th of every month. Last month, Erin Murphy wrote in her journal about a summer visit home — and her longing to return. Today, her sister Chiara Murphy Phillips, an artist and gallery owner, emails Erin about the beauty of autumn in the Village–illustrated with a copy of her latest painting.