Irene in Chicago Culinary Mysteries
I write mysteries. I also write cookbooks.
Hmm… why not mix two of my passions together?!
And thus the first book of the series, Saving Irene, was born.
In this book, the main character, naturally a chef, is named Irene. She, along with her assistant Henrietta, a gay neighbor, and a host of other characters, are involved in a delicious culinary mystery— murder, kidnapping, and gossip aplenty.
The tasty bonus? Several actual recipes are included. Why don’t you sample this book? Pour yourself a glass of wine, curl up, and read this book.
Saving Irene
(#1 in the series)
Published: September 16, 2020.
Irene Foxglove wishes she were a French chef. Henrietta James, her assistant, knows she is nothing more than a small-time TV chef on a local Chicago channel. And yet when Irene is threatened, Henny tries desperately to save her, wishing always that ‘Madame’ would tell her the truth–about her marriage, her spoiled daughter, her days in France, the man who threatens her. Henny’s best friend, the gay guy who lives next door, teases her, encourages her, and shares meals with her, even as she wishes for more. Murder, kidnapping, and some French gossip complicate this mystery, set in Chicago and redolent with the aroma of fine food.
The book’s first chapter is available.
Aaand, this just gets better— the book contains several recipes. Here’s a free sample of one of them!
Irene in Danger
(#2 in the series)
Published: November 2, 2021.
Want a French recipe? Irene will teach you to make salad niçoise. Want murder and mayhem? Irene seems to attract both. With one week until her wedding, Henny James is convinced Irene’s arrival from France will ruin the biggest day of her life. One week to save Irene from the trouble she brings with her and save the wedding. Recipes included.
Finding Florence
(#3 in the series)
Published: July 5, 2022.
Irene is obsessed. And Henny’s life is a mess.
Irene has flown to Chicago from France in her preferred high style – a private jet belonging to her longtime, on again-off again-on again amour, the handsome but mysterious billionaire Chance Charpentier. The reason for the trip? Her infamous “voices” have told her that something is horribly amiss with a person dear to her. When she arrives she learns that a death notice for Florence Sherman, her sometime friend, previous neighbor, and member of an historic Chicago family, has been published in the Chicago Tribune. When she calls Florence’s daughter, Irene’s “voices”-inspired suspicions are confirmed by the strange way Alice, the daughter, and the son-in-law are handling the death. And once Irene discovers her friend’s body is missing, the diva chef refuses to leave Chicago until she solves the mysterious disappearance. But, as long as Irene is in Chicago, Henny’s successful “From My Mother’s Kitchen” TV cooking show, and her precious time with Patrick, husband of her dreams, are seriously compromised by Irene’s insistence that finding Florence trumps any other concerns. So Henny struggles to balance Irene’s demands with the rest of her life and to find Florence, dead or alive, so Irene will go back to France.
Irene’s certainty that the past holds the key to Florence’s disappearance brings in a bit of Chicago history, and food references season the text. An appendix of recipes from both Irene and Henny’s mom is attached.
Irene in Deep Texas Trouble
(#4 in the series)
The fourth—yes, fourth!—book of my Irene in Chicago Culinary Mysteries has been released!
Published: April 22, 2023.
It’s Christmas in Texas. Henny’s best friend, Charlie, is marrying the love of her life, rich and spoiled Rick Scott, and Henny is to cater the wedding supper. Irene, faux Franch chef, diva, and Henny’s one-time mentor, and Chance, Irene’s billionaire lover, are spending the holiday with Henny’s family, and Irene steps in as Henny’s sous chef. When there’s a sensational murder at the supper, Irene is the prime suspect. Things are complicated by a wild set of characters and events—a mysterious stranger, threatening notes, a runaway couple, and a kidnapping. But Henny persists—and learns that there are all kind of couples in this world.
Come on down to Texas and wander the historic Fort Worth stockyards, watch a rodeo, learn about a new competitive sport, and eat some Texas food. While Irene detests most of the Texas menu, you’ll probably like it. Recipes included.
Deep in Texas Trouble is all about love and romance—and murder! Add a mysterious stranger, threatening notes, a runaway couple, and a kidnapping, and Henny James faces a challenge if she is once again to save faux French diva chef from her own folly. Set partly in the Fort Worth Historic Stockyards District and featuring lots of Texas food. Y’all come on down!
Judy Alter has published her fourth Irene in Chicago Culinary Mystery in April (2023), Irene Deep in Texas Trouble. When diva and faux French chef Irene Foxglove visits Texas, all kinds of trouble explodes, including a mysterious stranger, threatening notes, a runaway couple, a kidnapping—and of course, murder and mayhem.
Download Chapter One (.docx)
Irene in a Ghost Kitchen
(#5 in the series)
Fifth! I didn’t expect to write this many Irene series.
Released in June 2024.
Judy’s statement (pre-June 2024): “I have finished a rough draft of Irene’s newest adventure. Ghost kitchens came into our lives and vocabulary during the pandemic, when everyone was afraid to go to a restaurant. A ghost kitchen prepares food for delivery and offers no in-person service. There is no interaction between staff and customer. Trust Irene, however, not to remain anonymous. Her kitchen in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood is Irene’s French Kitchen, and she often prepares pate and gibelotte and other French delicacies for her colleague/competitor, Toby at La Petite Folie.
But the family she left behind—on a farm in rural Minnesota—comes back to haunt her when she rescues a grandniece, angering the girl’s abusive father and putting everyone in danger. There is, I hope, plenty of suspense and lots of good food. Henny and Patrick are involved of course, and Chance learns he can’t save the world. […] I think this is Irene’s last adventure—but you never know.”
