According to the other cops, Rosie Epstein would have been a great detective if she'd only had balls. The thirty-two-year-old dealt with the obnoxious males of the Boston Police Department for ten years before a rich kid in a Lincoln ruined her knee and ended her career. Yet, just as she settles in for a life of painkillers and whiskey, the murder of a botanist and the kidnapping of his Chinese assistant forces her to shove a gun and a gold badge back into her purse.

A Tasty Murder, set in Boston in 1975, is a mystery wrapped around a flavor-enhancing spray made from an orchid that has no fragrance, the murder of its discoverer, and the power to kill wielded by a conglomerate of wealthy cattle ranchers in Texas. Rosie's disdain for government and her "as good as any man" attitude have molded her into a cop, cold when she has to be, who doesn't hesitate to use her gun, but is constantly on the lookout for love.