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A Murder Most Fowl: A Food Truck Mystery
by Carmela Dutra
A Murder Most Fowl: A Food Truck Mystery
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – California
Publisher : Crooked Lane Books
Publication date : September 9, 2025
Print length : 336 pages
Hardcover ISBN-13 : 979-8892423175
Paperback ISBN-13 : 979-8892423182
Digital ISBN-13 : 979-8892423199
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A food truck run by twins serves up a clucking good murder in this cozy debut mystery, perfect for fans of Lucy Burdette and Joanne Fluke.
When their late aunt Dolly passes away, twins Beth and Seth Lloyd inherit a chicken themed food truck. Despite the challenges, the siblings rise to the occasion, even going as far as signing up their truck Kluckin’ Good to compete on a top cooking show and ruffle a few feathers for some good publicity. But the competition goes from heated to lethal when a contestant is found dead.
With the elimination competition becoming far too literal, Beth and Seth will need all the help they can get to get out of the frying pan without landing in the fire. With their loyal assistant–and Beth’s best friend–Rylie by their side, they’ll have to follow the bread crumbs to untangle a very twisted case before either one of them is put on the chopping block.
This humorous series debut with a mouthwatering mystery will charm readers and keep them guessing right until the not-so-bitter end.
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Beth’s Mac-and-Cheese Poppers: Bite-Sized Comfort with a Kick
Everyone thinks running a food truck is glamorous. Spoiler: it’s mostly grease, paper napkin math, and praying the fryer doesn’t die in the middle of a lunch rush. But every now and then, I get to whip up something that makes the chaos worth it.
Enter: Mac-and-Cheese Poppers.
They’re gooey. They’re golden. They’re portable. Basically, they’re everything Seth claims he doesn’t need until he eats six in one sitting. These little guys have been my secret weapon on Food Truck Showdown—perfect for impressing judges who like their food creative but secretly just want comfort carbs.
The best part? You can make them at home, no truck required. (And unlike me, you won’t have a camera crew hovering while you drop breadcrumbs all over the floor.)
Mac-and-Cheese Poppers
Makes 30–36 bites (depending on how much you “taste-test” before baking)
Ingredients:
Special equipment: 2–3 mini-muffin pans, mini-muffin liners
Nonstick cooking spray
Kosher salt
½ pound elbow macaroni
½ cup heavy cream
4 oz cream cheese, room temperature
2 large eggs
1 Tbsp yellow mustard
½ tsp sweet paprika
1 small clove garlic, finely grated
2 cups shredded mild cheddar cheese (about 6 oz)
2 Tbsp breadcrumbs
1 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
Hot sauce, ranch, or marinara for serving (optional, but highly encouraged)
Instructions:
Step 1
Preheat oven to 400°F. Line mini-muffin pans with liners and coat generously with cooking spray.
Step 2
Cook macaroni in salted boiling water until al dente. Drain and rinse under cold water until cool. Drain again.
Step 3
In a large bowl, beat together heavy cream, cream cheese, eggs, mustard, paprika, and garlic until mostly smooth. Stir in macaroni and cheddar until combined.
Step 4
Spoon heaping tablespoons of mac-and-cheese mixture into muffin liners. In a small bowl, mix breadcrumbs with melted butter until it looks like wet sand. Sprinkle over each popper.
Step 5
Bake 25–30 minutes, until golden brown and set. Cool for at least 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy warm or at room temperature, with your dip of choice.
These poppers have a 100% success rate in two very important areas:
Disappearing from the plate in under five minutes.
Keeping Seth too busy chewing to criticize my driving.
Snack wisely because these poppers are dangerously delicious and have been known to cause temporary food envy. But take it from me, if you can make these perfectly golden bites, you can survive anything. Long days on a competitive food truck show that somehow involves fried chicken, flour chaos, and the occasional murder.
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About Carmela Dutra
Hailing from the Bay Area of California, Carmela Dutra cherishes her family, rainy days, and making others laugh.
After years of working on her award-winning indie children’s picture books, she transitioned into crafting cozy mysteries filled with emotion, humor and heart.
When she’s not penning her latest tale, Carmela enjoys sketching, sipping copious amounts of coffee, and over-cuddling her allergy-inducing cats and dog. She shares her life with her best friend and husband, raising two dinosaur-obsessed sons. A lover of alternative rock, Carmela often writes to its rhythm and finds comfort in rewatching The Big Bang Theory and M*A*S*H.
Author Links: Facebook / Instagram / Threads / Twitter/X
Purchase Links
Amazon Barnes & Noble Bookshop.org Penguin Random House
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Sounds like a fun read.