Leslie Budewitz is passionate about food, great mysteries, and her native Montana. She is the author of the Food Lovers’ Village mystery series, including Crime Rib and Death Al Dente, as well as Assault and Pepper, the first book in the new Spice Shop mystery series. Also a lawyer, her first book, Books, Crooks and Counselors: How to Write Accurately About Criminal Law and Courtroom Procedure, won the 2011 Agatha Award for Best Nonfiction and was nominated for the 2012 Anthony and Macavity awards. Leslie loves to cook, eat, hike, travel, garden, and paint—not necessarily in that order. She lives in northwest Montana with her husband, Don Beans, a doctor of natural medicine, and their Burmese cat, Ruff, an avid bird watcher.