Turn up the Heat

THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP
    Published by the Penguin Group
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    This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

    PUBLISHER’S NOTE: The recipes contained in this book are to be followed exactly as written. The publisher is not responsible for your specific health or allergy needs that may require medical supervision. The publisher is not responsible for any adverse reactions to the recipes contained in this book.

    TURN UP THE HEAT

    A Berkley Prime Crime Book / published by arrangement with the author

    PRINTING HISTORY
    Berkley Prime Crime hardcover edition / March 2008
    Berkley Prime Crime mass-market edition / February 2009

    Copyright © 2008 by Susan Conant and Jessica Conant-Park.
    Cover illustration by Alana Machnicki.
    Cover design by Rita Frangie.
    Cover logo by a xb group.
    Interior text design by Kristin del Rosario.

    All rights reserved.
    No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
    For information, address: The Berkley Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,
    375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.

    ISBN: 978-0-425-22663-6

    BERKLEY® PRIME CRIME
    Berkley Prime Crime Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,
    375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.
    BERKLEY® PRIME CRIME and the PRIME CRIME logo are trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

    PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

    10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

    If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”

For Alexa,
    a loyal friend,
    who survived college dining with Jessica
----

A CKNOWLEDGEMENTS

    For sharing amusing insight into the culinary world, narrating chef antics, contributing phenomenal recipes, and answering questions about fish trucks, we thank Jody Adams, Maria Angels and Julio Veliz, Michael Garrett, Justin Lyonnais, Bill Park, Mark Porcaro, and Michael Ricco.
    For outstanding editing skills, we applaud David Grumblatt.
    For assistance in testing recipes, we thank John and Meg Driscoll, Katrina Grumblatt, and Tony and Alexa Lewis.
    For their unfailing help, we thank Natalee Rosen-stein and Michelle Vega of Berkley, and our agent, Deborah Schneider.

ONE

    EARLY May in Boston. There’s nothing else like it. After almost six straight weeks of apocalyptic rain, the sky had suddenly turned an all-but-forgotten blue, the temperature had risen to the miraculously high sixties, and, best of all, the outdoor dining area at my boyfriend’s restaurant was finally open. Josh Driscoll, love of my life, was the executive chef at the five-month-old Newbury Street restaurant, Simmer, and tonight, for the first time ever, Simmer’s fortunate patrons would be able to savor the fruits of Josh’s culinary genius while dining on the sidewalk patio. When Josh had called me earlier today, he’d practically