If You Cannot Stand the Heat

Robin Allen

Midnight Ink, 2011 - Fiction - 272 pages

Poppy Markham practically grew up at the family restaurant in Austin, Texas, and, until recently, worked as a sous chef under her surly stepsister, Ursula. Poppy's not sure if her dad will ever forgive her for leaving the family business to become a public health inspector- the most reviled figure in the restaurant industry- but when he asks her back into the kitchen to help out during the restaurant's grand re-opening, she can't refuse. Chaos ensues when the guest of honor, Michelin-rated chef Évariste Bontecou, is found stabbed to death with Ursula's knife. Sacre bleu! Sorting through everyone who had it in for the hot-headed, philandering French chef is worse than deboning a Coho salmon. Could it be the bad-boy sous chef eyeing his chance at the top or the conniving waitress rumored to be Évariste's paramour du jour? The closer Poppy gets to the truth, the hotter things get. And as everyone knows: if you can't stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen.--From back cover.

What people are saying

Review: If You Can't Stand the Heat (Poppy Markham: Culinary Cop #1)

User Review  - Matthew Berg - Goodreads

Based on the book itself, would probably give it three-and-a-half. Rounding up mostly because I got it as a free Amazon download. The core conceit of a restaurant inspector turned reluctant detective ...

Review: If You Can't Stand the Heat (Poppy Markham: Culinary Cop #1)

User Review  - Brenda - Goodreads

This book had me guessing everyone for the murder. I enjoyed it.

About the author

Robin Allen is the author of the Poppy Markham: Culinary Cop Mystery series. Her writing has also appeared in The Christian Science Monitor , Country Woman Magazine and Writers' Journal . In addition to writing, Allen has worked as a food server, cocktail waitress, bartender, and barista. She holds a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Texas at San Antonio, and is a member of Austin's Heart of Texas Sisters in Crime (SinC) chapter. She can be found online at RobinAllenTX.blogspot.com.

Bibliographic information

• Title: If You Cannot Stand the Heat; Volume 1 of Poppy Markham: Culinary Cop Series, Robin Allen
• Author: Robin Allen
• Publisher: Midnight Ink, 2011
• ISBN: 0738726079, 9780738726076
• Length: 272 pages
• Subjects: Fiction / Mystery & Detective / General; Fiction / Mystery & Detective / Women Sleuths