A Fatal Ingredient

Where the meals are unforgettable—and so are the secrets.

After losing her tech job and her live-in boyfriend in the same week, Nina Parrish leaves San Francisco for Milwaukee, determined to prove she can build a new life in the city’s booming restaurant scene. Her latest challenge is helping launch Forge, an ambitious pop-up in Walker’s Point where one flawless night could secure the future of a permanent restaurant.

Then the big night gets even more complicated: Nina’s parents arrive unannounced from California, eager to support the daughter whose sudden career change they still don’t quite understand. Before Nina can survive dinner service—and her family—Forge’s biggest guest collapses and dies during the meal, throwing the restaurant into chaos.

With suspicion falling on the staff and the future of Forge hanging by a thread, Nina starts asking questions the police haven’t answered. As she digs into grudges, hidden loyalties, and the damage Pike left behind across the Midwest food world, Nina realizes someone had every reason to want him dead—and may not be finished yet.

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"A Fatal Ingredient is my favorite book Ardoin has written to date. Excellent characters, perfect pacing, fabulous tension, and suspense that builds and builds until the very last possible moment. Absolutely riveting throughout, and an excellent start to this series!"

—D.F. Hart, author of the Vital Secrets crime thrillers

"A delicious murder mystery that kept me guessing, with a brilliant, instantly relatable cast of characters."

—Angela C. Nurse, author of the Rowan McFarlane Detective Mysteries