"Margaret Bragg does not own a single cookbook. She measures in "dabs" and "smidgens" and "tads" and "you know, hon, just some." She cannot be pinned down on how long to bake corn bread ("about 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the mysteries of your oven"). Her notion of farm-to-table is a flatbed truck. But she can tell you the secrets to perfect mashed potatoes, corn pudding, redeye gravy, pinto beans and hambone, stewed cabbage, short ribs, chicken...

In 1902, indomitable heiress Francesca Cahill sets out to catch a serial killer known as "The Slasher" who is preying on penniless Irishwomen, with the help of her former lover, police commissioner Rick Bragg.

"On the morning of her wedding to Calder Hart, amateur sleuth Francesca Cahill is lured away to a private viewing of a portrait that could destroy her entire family: the nude Hart commissioned of her. Her desperate quest to recover the scandalous portrait leads her into a dangerous trap with no way to escape--until it's too late. And when Francesca finally arrives at the church, it's vacant. She has unintentionally jilted Hart at the altar. When Hart...