Killer Crab Cakes by Livia J. Washburn (2009, Paperback)

I love the over 60 crowd in this cozy. Ms. Washburn is great at getting a group of diversified personalities to live under the same roof and yet love and respect each other.
This cozy takes Phylis Newsom to the Texas Gulf Coast with her boyfriend, Sam, and other roomies, Carolyn and Eve, to house sit, or rather inn sit when her cousin, Dorothy and her husband leave for a family emergency. Oak Knoll Inn is located near Rockport, Texas and that is where the "Just Desserts" competition will be held this year, and as usual, Phylis and Carolyn are going head to head for first place. But....not before one of the inn guest is murdered and the other 3 couples, plus Phylis and her friends, are all put under suspicion. Even though Phylis wants to stay out of this one, if the murder isn't solved, the inn's spotless reputation will be put under the gun. Not bad enough one murder was committed, but then there are two! The police chief and his assistant, his daughter, Kate, run the small police dept. and are willing to look to Phylis for some answers on who she believes may have done the deed, but not so willing to share info. Phylis goes out on a line when she tells a fib to get some major info which may put her life into jeopardy. She also has to deal with the truly awful grown kids of the deceased, who are as well liked as Swine flu!
In this book the baking competition takes a back seat to the murders and it isn't until almost near the end that some tried and true recipes are used by Phylis and Carolyn. Usually both of them are sneaking in and out of the kitchen trying to develop new recipes, but not this time. One reason is that the inn has a full time cook, Consuela, and they would have been under-foot, but this cozy was a great read and the recipes looked mouth-watering! I always enjoy Sam's Gary Cooper style, even though he is a great John Wayne fan. Carolyn has a bit of a chip on her shoulder, but a warm spot for her friends. Eve is the man crazy roomie who is always on the look-out for any middle aged (or over) eligible guy. It all comes together to form a perfect mystery.