Bell, Cook, and Candle: An Angie Amalfi Mystery [Mass Market Paperback]

Joanne Pence (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 8, 2002

A Dash of Darkness

For once Angie Amalfi's newest culinary venture, "Comical Cakes," seems to be a roaring success! There's nothing funny, however, about her homicide detective boyfriend Paavo Smith's latest case. Paavo's investigating a series of baffling murders that may be rooted in satanic ritual. And when Angie is called upon to deliver a humorous confection to the mysterious owner of a decadent after-hours goth club, the inquisitive gourmet baker suddenly finds herself up to her neck in the demonic business. it gets harder to focus on pastry alone when strange "accidents" and desecrations to her delectable, fresh-baked creations begin occurring with frightening regularity. And if Angie can't help Paavo track down a maniacal serial killer with an obsessively unhealthy interest in her, she might end up as devil's food of a different kind.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A deranged seer, a family of operatic Italian Americans and a group of Satan worshipers are only a few of the screwball players in Pence's (To Catch a Cook, etc.) over-the-top mystery. While launching her new business, Comical Cakes, culinary adventuress Angie Amalfi stumbles upon an alien world when a prospective client turns out to be the nocturnal proprietor of an after-hours goth club. Though perturbed by her meeting, Angie thinks little of it even after her long-suffering boyfriend, homicide detective Paavo Smith, informs her that a young woman was found raped and murdered in a ritualistic manner. A short while later, another body turns up, setting San Franciscans on edge. Although hard-charging Angie is eager to help with the case, she's so preoccupied with her expanding business that she doesn't even pick up on Paavo's not-so-subtle attempts to propose. Meanwhile, the body count rises, and the police, in their effort to wrap the case up in record time, nab the wrong man. Despite the novel's chaotic organization and self-centered heroine, who's fond of telling everyone else what to do even though she never listens to advice herself, this light confection is sweetened by a colorful assortment of local characters and a sunny location.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

“High energy and fun...Joanne Pence has an amazing knack for building fascinating characters and compelling plotlines.” (Romantic Times BOOKclub )

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Avon (January 8, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061030848
• ISBN-13: 978-0061030840
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #831,540 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Angie and Paavo keep getting better and better!, March 24, 2002

By 

Book CraZ "BookcraZ" (Florida USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Bell, Cook, and Candle: An Angie Amalfi Mystery (Mass Market Paperback)

After the last book in this series, I was ready for Angie and Paavo to start talking marriage. Well, so was Paavo! But Joanne Pence skillfully keeps us in suspense about that as well as about the identity of the ritualistic killer who seems to be targeting Angie for his ultimate victim until the exciting climax. I look forward to the next mystery in this series because with Joanne's talent, she's bound to keep readers in suspense about pulling off a wedding while scaring the daylights out of us with a clever mystery. She has another winner on her hands!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Angie Amalfi meets a vampire, February 26, 2002

By 

Moe811 (New York USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Bell, Cook, and Candle: An Angie Amalfi Mystery (Mass Market Paperback)

Angie Amalfi's new Comical Cake business is very time consuming, yet successful. It however is putting a definite strain on her friendships and social life. Paavo wants to propose, but she is too busy. And to top it off, a really creepy Baron, who runs a Goth club wants her to bake him a cake. Paavo is engrossed in a series of grisly ritualistic murders.

This is a pretty entertaining mystery. Amazon recommended it and I gave it a try. The characters are a bit bizarre and fit in excellently with the story line. There are many twists and turns in the plot and I enjoyed it a great deal.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars humorous novel that has cross-genre appeal, January 9, 2002

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bell, Cook, and Candle: An Angie Amalfi Mystery (Mass Market Paperback)

After numerous false starts, plenty of failures, and several times quitting out of boredom, Angle Arnolf has finally found a business that she performs well and that people appreciate. "Commercial Cakes" is doing so well that Angie barely has time to sleep. This frustrates her boyfriend homicide detective Paavo Smith, who after much deliberating, has finally worked up the courage to ask her to marry him.

Every time Paavo begins to propose, Angie is distracted, called to the phone or falls asleep. She ends up hiring two employees who are into the Goth scene while Paavo happens to work on a serial killer case involving Goths. He doesn't know how, but based on experience with his beloved, Paavo expects Angie is going to become involved in his case though he hates it when she places her life in danger.

Joanne Pence writes an ingenious mystery that is both hilarious and deadly serious, sometimes at the same time. The proposal scenes are hysterical while the action scenes involving the Goth cult are frightening even as they seem otherworldly. BELL, COOK AND CANDLE is a humorous novel that has cross-genre appeal.

Harriet Klausner