Leslie Budewitz is an American author who is well-known for her mystery novels that combine her passion for food and mystery. She was born in Montana and attended Notre Dame Law School and Seattle University. After practicing law in Seattle for a few years, she returned to her home state of Montana, where she continues to practice employment law and civil litigation. However, she has mentioned that she finds killing people in books to be more enjoyable than practicing law.
Budewitz has won the Agatha Award three times and is a best-selling author of the Food Lovers' Village and Spice Shop mysteries. The seventh installment of the Spice Shop mysteries, titled "BETWEEN A WOK AND A DEAD PLACE," is set to be released on July 18, 2023. In this book, Pepper Reece, the owner of the Spice Shop in Seattle's Pike Place Market, is forced to investigate a murder that takes place during the Lunar New Year festivities in the Chinatown-International District. Budewitz was inspired to write this story after visiting the Wing Luke Museum in Seattle and touring a community center and residential hotel dating back to the 1880s.
In addition to writing as Leslie Budewitz, she also publishes standalone moody suspense novels under the name Alicia Beckman. Her first book in this genre is "BITTERROOT LAKE," and her latest is "BLIND FAITH." Budewitz fell in love with Seattle's Pike Place Market as a college freshman and has made it her mission to eat her way through the place. She enjoys writing about the city and making regular research trips, which she refers to as "eating research."
Budewitz is also the author of the Food Lovers' Village Mysteries, which are set in fictional Jewel Bay, Montana. The first book in the series, "DEATH AL DENTE," won the 2013 Agatha Award for Best First Novel. She has won two other Agatha Awards for Best Short Story and Best Nonfiction. In her thirty-plus years as a lawyer, Budewitz has drawn on her experience to write "BOOKS, CROOKS & COUNSELORS: How to Write Accurately About Criminal Law & Courtroom Procedure." She is a past president of Sisters in Crime and a former board member of Mystery Writers of America.
Budewitz loves to cook, eat, hike, travel, garden, and paint. She lives in northwest Montana with her husband and gray tuxedo cat. She enjoys connecting with readers and encourages them to sign up for her newsletter, which offers updates on new releases, launch parties, and book giveaways. Subscribers also receive a free download of "The End of the Line," a short story inspired by an odd sight on a trip to Greece. Readers can join Budewitz at her website, LeslieBudewitz.com, or on Facebook at Leslie Budewitz & Alicia Beckman.