Cornbread and Corruption: A Southern Cozy Culinary Mystery

by Dee Thompson

Cornbread and Corruption

A Covington Mystery

Lila Mae Covington is out to win the blue ribbon... not a murder charge.

When the Peach County Fair’s beloved cornbread competition turns deadly, all eyes fall—once again—on local legend Lila Mae and her prize-winning skillet. Moments after tasting her signature jalapeño-cheddar blend, a food judge keels over into a plate of chili, and whispers swirl faster than sweet tea in a summer storm.

With her reputation on the line (and her cast-iron skillet under suspicion), Lila Mae and her tech-savvy daughter Callie must stir up the truth before the real killer disappears into the crowd. What they uncover is a recipe for disaster—one involving rigged contests, syrup-based money laundering, and a fairground scandal baked to perfection.

From shady side deals to a secret “pantry room” hiding more than canned peaches, the Covington women find themselves once again in the middle of a mess only they can clean up. And when someone tries to silence them permanently, it becomes the corruption runs deeper than a skillet full of sausage gravy.

Cornbread and Corruption serves up murder with a side of molasses-smooth wit, irresistible Southern flavor, and the sharpest sleuths this side of the biscuit line.

55 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 18, 2025

About the author

I earned a BA in Drama and an MA in Creative Writing and I have worked as a freelance writer, a journalist, and a paralegal. My essays have been included in the award-winning books Call Me Okaasan [2009] and The Divinity of Dogs [2013]. I have written a number of novels and they are all on Amazon: Ghosts in the Garden City [2019], Leaf Season [2019], Heart of My Own Heart [2020], Return to Marietta [2022], Dancing in the Wreckage [2023] and The Wedding Conspiracy [2023]. Additionally, I’ve published a cookbook, What’s for Dinner, Mom? and I compiled and edited a posthumous memoir of my mother’s writings, Singing to the Cows [2021]. In December 2023 I published a memoir called Talking Back, Stories from the Big Hair and Pantyhose Years, and it’s available on Amazon. It includes a lot of stories about my first 15 years as a paralegal. I also wrote a guide for new paralegals, Paralegal 411: Tips, Tricks and Timesavers for the Litigation Paralegal. I’ve published numerous articles online and in print, and I’ve been writing a personal blog, The Crab Chronicles, since 2005.