An Interview with Lucy Burdette by E. B. Davis

When a fierce rivalry between key lime pie bakers leads to a pastry chef's murder, food critic Hayley Snow is fit to be pied.

During the week between Christmas and New Year's, the year-round population of Key West, Florida, faces a tsunami of tourists and snowbirds. It doesn't help that outrageously wealthy key lime pie aficionado David Sloan has persuaded the city to host his pie-baking contest. Every pie purveyor on the island is out to win the coveted Key Lime Key to the City and Key Zest food critic Hayley Snow is on the scene to report it.

Meanwhile, Hayley's home life is turning more tart than sweet. Hayley's new hubby, police detective Nathan Bransford, announces that her intimidating mother-in-law is bearing down on the island for a surprise visit. Hayley offers to escort Nathan's crusty mom on the iconic Conch Train Tour of the island's holiday lights, but it becomes a recipe for disaster when they find a corpse among the glittering palm trees and fantastic flamingos. The victim--Au Citron Vert's controversial new pastry chef--was a frontrunner in Sloan's contest.

It's bad enough that Hayley's too-curious mother-in-law is cooking up trouble. Now, the murderer is out to take a slice out of Hayley. Can she handle the heat of a killer's kitchen?

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The Key Lime Crime is Lucy Burdette’s tenth Key West Food Critic mystery. Main character, Hayley Snow, is a food critic with Key Zest magazine. Hayley is a likable character because she cares about people, especially victims of murder. Solving cases introduced her to Nathan Bransford, a police detective who serves on the on the Key West force.

She also befriends Miss Gloria, an octogenarian and houseboat owner, who invites Hayley to be her roommate. When renovations on Nathan and Hayley’s own houseboat are delayed, the newlyweds and Miss Gloria are forced to cohabitate making for cramped quarters and a stressful situation. And then there are two cats, a dog, and one bathroom. And then there’s the murder of a pastry chef. And then, Hayley’s mother-in-law, who refused to attend their wedding, drops in for a visit. Can anyone not have sympathy for Hayley?

If you’ve ever tried to make Key Lime Pie, you’ll also have sympathy for those who make it regularly. Key limes are the smallest dang things. To get the amount of juice needed for one pie, I squeezed over twenty of the itty-bitty things by hand.

Here’s a link to my previous interview with Lucy when her fourth book in the series was released. Please welcome Lucy Burdette to WWK.                                                                                  E. B.  Davis

I keep trying to envision Key West with all of the tourists and attractions. How many square miles is the Key? Does the city encompass the entire area of the Key? How many people are residents? How many visitors does it get?

The island of Key West is four miles by about two, depending where you measure. It makes up the City of Key West along with a couple small islands and part of Stock Island, the next one north. There are about 24,000 residents, but this can swell to 75,000 during a busy event like Fantasy Fest, which was featured in Killer Takeout.

Miss Gloria gives Hayley marriage advice. Was Miss Gloria ever married?

Yes, Miss Gloria was married to her husband Frank for many years. They had two sons who live in Michigan, and are greatly relieved to have Hayley looking out for her. (Don’t ask me exactly how many years she was married because I am terrible at keeping track of details!)

I love Hayley’s cat. How did he get his name, Evinrude?

Evinrude is the name of a motor, and it seemed like a good choice when we were looking for something nautical. He is modeled after my gray tiger Jack the cat, who was a wonderful guy who accompanied me on many moves during my 20’s and 30’s.

I like my Key Lime Pie to have a graham cracker crust, tart filling (preferably green) with lots of browned meringue. What do you think is the most important part of Key Lime Pie? The crust, filling, or topping?

We agree on the first two—graham cracker crust and tart filling. It should be pale yellow however, if it’s made from real key limes. The green pies are usually doctored with food color. I prefer whipped cream, but I’ll eat any of them. And my hub and I did eat many while I was writing!

How was Key Lime Pie developed by a sailor?

This may be an old wives’ tale, but some people say sponge fishermen developed the first key lime pie when they were out at sea with few fresh ingredients available. Those included eggs, condensed milk, citrus, and soda crackers. Others say that Aunt Sally created the first pie in the late 1800s in Key West. I will leave that argument to the food historians.

Are Key Lime martinis any good? They could be cloying.

Of course, I tried the recipe from David Sloan which he allowed me to print in the back of the book. It was quite delicious, but I wouldn't advise more than one of them! And probably not too often ...

Where are key limes grown?

As with other citrus fruits, they require a tropical environment. So that means they can be grown in places like Florida, Texas, and California. Probably more frequently they come from Mexico.

You begin each chapter with a quote. Are they real quotes? I loved the one by Julia Child.

Thanks for noticing! I spend a fair amount of time looking for these. Since I read a lot of novels involving food and also read nonfiction food writing, it's not so hard to find them if you are watching. However, I also try to arrange them so that each quote has a little connection to what's going on in that chapter. Some are a better fit than others.

I was relieved for Hayley when her mother offered to put up Nathan’s mother in her guestroom. Are mothers and mothers-in-law equal if opposing forces even at the best of times?

I think that’s a good point, if they feel as though they are fighting over the couple. In this case, Hayley’s mom has a big edge. However, Nathan's mother was a lot of fun to write. A number of readers have mentioned that they don't know Nathan very well, and that they couldn't quite understand how taken Hayley is with him. So, it was fun to think about what in his background had molded him into the person he is now. And I hope that he is evolving along with Hayley. Hayley's own mother has grown a lot over these books as well. This is my favorite part of writing a series, watching the characters grow and change.

I was miffed at Nathan. Every time he was supposed to spend time with his mother, he bailed. Work was his excuse, leaving Hayley to occupy his mother and try to do her job. Doesn’t he like his mother? Why did he expect Hayley to entertain his mother when she also has a job?

Honestly, I think that Nathan is a little bit afraid of his mother. They have not been terribly close up to this point. And we shouldn't underestimate the stress of having the New Year's Eve crowds descend on the island. It's an astonishing feat for the Police Department to watch over this mob of people who have come to party, often more seriously than is good for them. I did want a believable reason for Nathan to leave Hayley and his mother to solve the mystery, and this seemed like a reasonable solution. You'll see more of the two of them in the next book!

Hayley finds common ground when Nathan’s mom has a premonition as she approaches what ends up being a murder scene. I was surprised by this because Nathan’s mom is a scientist. I thought the science types wouldn’t have premonitions. Is Nathan’s mom atypical?

I suspect that you are right, often science and spiritual leanings are not found together in one person. But who says characters should follow anybody's rules?

Nathan always tries to keep Hayley out of his investigations. But Nathan’s mother criticizes her for not asking enough questions. Is Nathan’s mom a detective? Is she competing with her son?

I want to be careful about answering this so I don't give spoilers for people who are looking forward to reading the story. I will say that there is a trauma in their background that has led Mrs. Bransford to become a sort of detective. And like her son, she is not naturally at ease with people the way Hayley and her mother are. I was very pleased with how everyone ended up working together and look forward to having you read the rest ...

What is Fantasy Fest? How does it result in naked, painted people?

The initial idea was to have an event that would attract visitors in the slow season. A king and queen are elected based on how much money they raise for the Aids charity, and there are parades and parties and even a zombie bike ride. My husband and I participated in that one year (research!)—it was a lot of fun involving face paint and costumes with hundreds of very creative zombies. Some people enjoy the exhibitionist nature of the events, but we prefer the creativity.

Outdoor tables come with heat lamps to ward off the chill—how cold does it get in Key West?

The coldest I’ve experienced was in the 50’s. For Key West natives, that’s the occasion for coats, hats, and even mittens. In the summer, it remains pretty much in the high 80’s, but very humid. Not for the faint of heart!

Nathan’s mom is picture perfect. She doesn’t seem to enjoy most of the things people enjoy, like tasting food or being adventurous. There’s a saying, “Adversity is what makes you.” But adversity also can break you or make you behave in the extreme. Is this Nathan’s mom’s problem?

I envisioned her as a very buttoned up and well-mannered southern lady. After the trauma in her family (see above avoiding spoilers,) she tended even further in that direction. I think that it's true that some people don't care that much about food. Of course, I am not one of them! But Nathan's mother is, and that became a way to set up conflict between Hayley and her new mother-in-law.

What is a pie drop?

I pictured it to be about as silly as it sounds. Contestants would walk to the top of the Key West lighthouse (across the street from the Hemingway house) carrying their pies. The contest involved dropping them and seeing which ones splats on to the ground first. More silly Key West fun!

What is Florida’s stand-your-ground statute?

This is a law stating that a person who is attacked where he or she has a right to be, has the right to stand his or her ground and use force to defend themselves if needed. That’s a very simplistic summary—it’s complicated and controversial!

You provide recipes, but no Key Lime Pie recipe. Why?

I don’t have a key lime pie recipe that’s different enough to call mine, so I thought I’d leave that one to the experts.

What’s next for Hayley, Nathan, and Miss Gloria?

I’m finishing the 11 book in the series right now, and a lot of it takes place in Scotland. Last summer we had a wonderful trip to Scotland, and this book has been a way to relive those memories since we aren’t going anyplace else!

                                          

Painting by Karen Beauprie