Debra Goldstein's newest Sarah Blair mystery, FOUR CUTS TOO MANY, is out. She answers out questions about her latest culinary mystery.
How would you describe the plot of the book?
Sarah Blair, who finds kitchens more frightening than murder, gets an education in slicing and dicing when someone in the culinary school where her friend teaches serves up a main corpse. Sarah soon finds that there’s no time to mince words when it comes to finding the real killer.
Writers usually hate writing book summaries. Will you share with us your real book blurb or one you wish you could have used?
Sarah Blair gets an education in slicing and dicing when someone in her friend’s culinary school serves up a main corpse in Wheaton, Alabama . . .
Between working as a law firm receptionist, reluctantly pitching in as co-owner of her twin sister’s restaurant, and caretaking for her regal Siamese RahRah and rescue dog Fluffy, Sarah has no time to enjoy life’s finer things. Divorced and sort-of dating, she’s considering going back to school. But as a somewhat competent sleuth, Sarah’s more suited for criminal justice than learning how many ways she can burn a meal.
Although she wouldn’t mind learning some knife skills from her sous chef, Grace Winston. An adjunct instructor who teaches cutlery expertise in cooking college, Grace is considering accepting an executive chef’s position offered by Jane Clark, Sarah’s business rival—and her late ex-husband’s lover. But Grace’s future lands in hot water when the school’s director is found dead with one of her knives in his back. To clear her friend’s name, there’s no time to mince words. Sarah must sharpen her own skills at uncovering an elusive killer . . .
Includes quick and easy recipes!
Who is your Most Favorite Character and Why?
I’m torn between Sarah Blair and RahRah, but in a sense they compliment each other. Sarah Blair began the series as a woman who was married at 18, divorced by 28, who was starting over with the only thing she got out of the marriage, her Siamese cat, RahRah. When the series began, Sarah was living in an efficiency apartment and although she knows her lawyer boss essentially created the receptionist/secretary job for her, she constantly feared being fired because of her lack of skills. From One Taste Too Many to Four Cuts Too Many, Sarah becomes more confident, assumes more responsibility in terms of her life and personal choices, moves from her efficiency to the carriage house owned by RahRah, and learns to trust again as she builds new and better relationships with family and friends. This evolution also is reflected in how RahRah goes from being a comforting sounding board for Sarah to it being a two-way relationship. Of course, RahRah always is in charge.
Is there a setting in your book that you would like to visit?
Because I like fine dining, good food, and excellent service, I would like to visit the Southwind restaurant. Birmingham, where I live, has become recognized as a foodie community. We have several James Beard honored chefs who each have their own distinctive flair and restaurants. In creating Southwind, I took elements from each, hoping to do all justice. To eat dinner in one restaurant that coordinated the best of each would be divine.
Were there indispensable people without whom you couldn’t have written the book?
Having decided I wanted to write a book that incorporated knives and knife skills, I turned to Susan Mason, owner of B&A Warehouse for a lesson in knives. After I finished my research on different things that would appear in Four Cuts Too Many, I discovered the words wouldn’t flow. Usually, a random sentence or phrase triggers my writing, but this time I couldn’t find a way into the book. I looked forward to a planned trip to the beach with my friends, April Deal and Fran Godchaux. Something about the sand and water always helps me relax and write. This time, it didn’t.
Two days into the trip, I was still staring at sand, white-capped waves, and a blank page. April joined me on the condo’s balcony, and as we watched a beautiful sunset, we talked about knives, murder, and my protagonist, Sarah Blair. When April jokingly mentioned a rhyme she’d jumped rope to as a child, “Went upstairs to get my knife. Made a mistake and killed my wife,” I had my opening.
The remainder of the weekend was perfect. Words spewed out of me. By the time we went home, I was well into writing the book.
Two weeks after we returned home, April unexpectedly died. Four Cuts Too Many, which she helped trigger into existence, is dedicated to April’s memory. It also is dedicated to Fran Godchaux, who indispensably acted as a sounding board, beta and proofreader, and friend.
Judge Debra H. Goldstein writes Kensington’s Sarah Blair mysteries. Her short stories and novels have been named Agatha, Anthony, Derringer, and Silver Falchion finalists. Debra serves on the national board of MWA and is president of SEMWA. She previously was on SinC’s national board and president of the Guppy Chapter.