Hayley Snow has decided to help her mother with her catering business in a big event at the Harry Truman White House, and even when her boyfriend, a quite handsome detective, advise her that is not a good idea, she can not stay out of trouble and of course, decide to participate in the event. But, the trouble will be waiting there, of course! ;)
When the gold medal from the famous writer Ernest Hemingway disappear, the first suspect is one of the helpers of Hayley for the event, but he is a family friend too, so she will try to help him, of course! But this will not be a normal case, politics are involved in this mysterious case, because the medal has a high money value, but the political price is really high too, so it's a simply robbery or someone wants to keep it for themselves?
It was interesting how this book explored the relation between Cuba and America, all their problems and how each part saw the other. But let me say something, both of them had their guilty part, maybe one day they would accept their mutual responsibility in the conflict.
Of course Ernest Hemingway's life will be discussed and explored, he was a great writer, but he was human and had his own problems and faults, I will not take a side on this, there are a lot of biographies to read if you want to know more about him and decide what do you think of the human behind the great writer.
I was quite interested in Hayley's love problems, not only because there had a big part of the plot, but because she confronts them and instead of keeping the doubts by herself, she talks with Nathan about them and tries to discover why she feels the way she feels and unravel if she is being fair or seeing things that are not there. I will not tell you what will be the result of the confrontation, you will have to read the book if you want to know more.
I liked the story, it was complex and quite interesting, but sometimes it was too much descriptive and too many characters on it, but clearly this is simply an opinion. The mystery is original and surprising and let me say that there are some delicious recipes to try at the end of the book!
This is the 8th book of the Key West Food Critic Mystery, but you can read it as standalone.
Ready for a deathly menu?

Hayley Snow returns in Death on the Menu, a delightful mystery that takes readers to beautiful Key West. In the eighth installment of the Key West Food Critic series, Hayley and her crew return for another fun romp through murder, mayhem, and Key West. This time, Hayley is busy pulling double duty covering a crucial Cuban / American delegation meeting at the historic Little White House for Key Zest magazine and helping her mother cater the event. However, things quickly turn sour when Ernest Hemingway's treasured award, on loan to the US from Cuba, goes missing. As Hayley scrambles to find the award and repair any ruffled feathers at the conference, things go from bad to worse when a murder occurs at the conference. Hayley knows she has to act fast to avoid an international incident - and catch a killer.

I've long been a fan of Hayley Snow and her antics, and Death on the Menu delivers once again. One of my favorite elements of this series are the supporting characters - they so make the book! I love, love, love Miss Gloria, Hayley spunky octogenarian roommate! Lorenzo, Hayley's fortune teller friend, has also been a favorite of mine throughout this series and I'm so glad that he made another appearance! He's such a fun character and I love the influence he has on stories. It's clear that a lot of thought and planning went into the details surrounding the US - Cuban meeting. I loved all of the details about Cuban culture, food, and history. Bravo!

Thank you NetGalley for this opportunity to read this book and the special thank you for the publisher and the author, Lucy Burdette, for this amazing book. I promised an honest review so there is it.

To me this was the first book by the Lucy Burdette. Death on the Menu seems to be 8th book in the Key West Food Critic Mystery series, but it doesn't matter. Or it seems that those characters feels so familiar even they were quite unknow to me. It was so great and I hope that some day I will se this book series in my hometown and country, in English or translated in Finnish, because this was so great and I want so many other people get to the same opportunity to read this wonderful book. Cover was nice and the characters were quite interesting persons and of course Hayley Snow was like a new friend with interesting job and environment where to live. I think that I learn many new things for US and Key West in the same time, when I read this book.

This is my first venture into The Key West Food Critic Mysteries. It was my first time reading Lucy Burdette’s writing. I received a hardback review copy through a review club on Facebook. The opinions expressed are my honest thoughts.

In the opening of the book we get a bit of information on Cuba and the US relations and history. I’m not into politics and I debated jumping it or at least speed reading it. Don’t make that mistake. It’s there for a reason. Honestly I found it to be more interesting than I was expecting. I did spend a bit of time remembering a friend I had years ago, especially when I read about Carmen’s husband crossing. My friend’s husband came over from Cuba during the sixties. I was reminded of his stories of what his childhood Cuba was, his adventure coming here and how he said his life was changed living here. He was always grateful and proud that he was a citizen here. Thinking about him made the story very relatable. Take the time to really read that even if you are like me and not into politics so much. It is relevant to the story.

This is the eighth book in the series. I was expecting that I missed a lot, especially in regards to the characters and relationships. I was surprised to find that I was able to jump right in. The author is excellent at weaving in the important characters and their relationships. As I was getting acquainted with everyone, I thought that it was so well done that I could have read all eight books and not really noticed she was catching up new readers. That was one of the best jobs I have seen in combining the information in a way that was relevant to both types of readers. I enjoyed many of the characters in this book. They have invested me in the series, making me want to read the previous books as well as new ones.

The mystery itself was well written. There were many possibilities thrown out at the reader. I was deceived more than once thinking it was this one or that one. The author did well in leading me on a chase. Like I said above the politics play a part but the author did well humanizing it. I was enthralled and, as the pace picked up, I found myself racing through, truly interested in it all.

Another thing the author is exceptional at is bringing the sights, the smells and sounds alive. She is excellent at descriptions. You will get to know Key West very well. Warning: you will get hungry. But don’t worry. There are recipes at the end of the book. I cut down the recipe for the flan. I don’t have the equipment to make that much flan at once. I would say I also did not have enough people to eat it but the flan is addictive. Ropa Vieja has a lot of ingredients making it look intimidating. Try it. It is easy to follow and taste amazing! The Cuban sandwiches are easy to make and delicious. The Baked Bananas was incredible! I love plantains so this recipe was actually the first one I tried. I haven’t tried the other recipes but I plan to.

I recommend the book. It was a lot more fun to read than I was initially expecting. I plan to read the rest of the series.

Well, Obama and Jimmy Buffet fans may just love this book. The plot kept me in stitches but you lost me when you threw in Obama. Miss Gloria reminded me of my grandmother. I love foody cozies. This one was just a bit disappointing to me. Again, just my opinion. I still recommend others give it a shot!

In Lucy Burdette’s eighth Key West Food Critic mystery, Hayley Snow is at it again. Not only is she Key Zest’s food critic but is somewhat of an amateur sleuth. Hayley’s mother is tasked with catering a three day conference between Key West and a Cuban delegation at the Harry Truman Little White House and has asked Hayley to help with the event. Hayley’s mm really needs this event to go well to help her fledgling catering business. On the first night of the event, Hemingway’s Nobel Medal for “Old Man and the Sea”, which was on loan from the Cuban Delegation is stolen and Gabriel, one of the people assisting Hayley’s mom goes missing and is suspected of taking the medal. Maria, Gabriel’s sister, ask Hayley to help, as it turns out, Gabriel is found dead! Can Hayley figure out what happened to Gabriel and the medal before anyone else turns up dead? Also, can Hayley keep up with her job and relationships while solving the mysteries going on in Key West?

Lucy Burdette continues to add wonderful and interesting storylines to this cozy Mystery Series! Not only are they great whodunnits, but the characters are fun and interesting and keep you wanting to know more and hear more from them.

I absolutely loved this story! Hayley is fun to follow and I love the colorful and wonderful characters that surround and support her. Truly a fun and great read that I highly recommend!

What a lovely book! I never read other instalments in the "A Key West Food Critic" series so this came as a wonderful surprise.
It was fascinating and fun to read and made me fall in love with Key West and wishing to be there to visit the locations that describes.
The plot is somewhat unusual for a cozy mystery as usually they don't mix world affair with the mystery plot, this mix was highly appreciated and it gave an insight on a part of history that isn't very well known.
The historical and political background is well researched and it helps to understand other points of view on the Cuban immigrants.
The cast of characters is very likeable, I really like both the main character and her elderly friend.
The plot is full of twists and turns and the ending came unexpected.
It took me a bit to warm up to this book and then I was hooked and couldn't put it down.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to Crooked Lane and Netgalley for this ARC