Visiting the Emerald City

In August, I visited the Pacific Northwest for the first time when I attended the National Conference of State Legislatures Summit in Seattle, Washington. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about several western states’ legalization of marijuana, hearing historian Jon Meacham, and taking a tour of the state capitol in Olympia, organized by Chuck Williams of the SC Senate Security staff. I arrived the weekend before the conference and spent a glorious morning with Robert Dugoni and his wife Cristina at Alki Beach. Also, I got to see Wicked on tour at the Paramount Theatre. The perfect musical for the Emerald City!

Leslie Budewitz' Spice Shop Mysteries

Leslie Budewitz

Two-time Agatha Award winner Leslie Budewitz has a wonderful new series of Spice Shop Mysteries. The first, Assault and Pepper, was released in March, and the second, Guilty as Cinnamon, is scheduled for publication in December. The series protagonist is Pepper Reece, who after divorcing and losing her job as a law firm’s Human Resource officer, becomes the proprietor of a spice and tea shop in Seattle’s Pike Place Market. When a panhandler is found dead in her shop doorway and an employee is arrested, Pepper has to investigate, even though it means reconnecting with her ex, a bicycle cop.