Topped Chef (Key West Food Critic, #3)

by Lucy Burdette

[MurderByDeath]

Well, this book was the one that decided whether I continued with the series or not. I was left feeling disappointed by the first two - the main character was just scatter-brained and a bit of a mess. Not the heroine I want to rally behind. So I figured, one more book, if it's as disappointed as the first two, it's gone.

I'm happy to say this book is a marked improvement over the first two. Marked. Hayley isn't a ditz and she's finding her groove and her backbone. The plot was very well laid out with no clear path to who the killer was until then end. Some might not appreciate the lack of 'clues', but it does make for an ending I personally didn't see coming.

I'll admit to being bone dead tired when I read most of this book, so there might have been a fourth star had I been more alert, BUT, the lack of any kind of romantic tension and the over-usage of internal dialogue/introspection would have taken that fourth star away anyway. So, definite signs of improvement, and I'm actually curious about the fourth book and what it will bring. So, we'll see.