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Chill Before Serving: A Mystery for Food Lovers
 
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Chill Before Serving: A Mystery for Food Lovers [Paperback]

Cynthia P. Lawrence (Author)


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Book Description

April 2002
Chill Before Serving mixes California cuisine and murder in a provocative mystery spiced with humor.

Catherine Deean, in her second appearance, is a caterer serving the glitzier areas of L.A. When her boss, Nick, hires an old buddy as a temporary chef, he also takes on trouble. Polley Arbusto has fled San Francisco under suspicion of poisoning the guests in his own upscale restaurant. The murders continue in L.A., with Catherine a near victim.

Cat’s search for the murderer and the motive leads her on a chase from the gay scene in San Francisco to the badlands of Borrego Springs near the Mexican border. We meet her aunt, who’s given up coconut cake for parsley cocktails, a Chinese American detective who dotes on crab ravioli, and a San Francisco reporter who brings her news and romance.

Her dangerous pursuit of truth leads Catherine to a killer out for vengeance, and a story of wrongdoing as fact-based and shocking as today’s headlines.


Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In Lawrence's second clever and amusing culinary mystery to feature Cat Deean (after 1993's Take-Out City), the capable, hardworking caterer finds herself in hot water when her boss, L.A. restaurateur Nick Dellacasa, hires a noted but nasty chef, Hippolytus "Polley" Arbusto. Polley left San Francisco under suspicion of having poisoned his restaurant patrons. Is the chef crass but charming, or mean and murderous? When the bodies start to pile up, Cat narrowly misses joining the victim list after receiving a bottle of poisoned porcini oil. Our sleuthing heroine follows the murder trail between L.A. and San Francisco, consulting friends in the gay community, her ex-husband, her new reporter lover, Aunt Sadie with her new interest in organic foods and natural remedies, a suave Chinese-American detective and a red-faced bear of an inspector. The author portrays all with quips and quirks-and nearly everyone has reason to hate Polley. Ultimately, Cat confronts a large pharmaceutical company with its aggressive marketing head, chatty receptionist and questionable ethics. Cuisines dipped into include mouthwatering Asian, Argentinean, Mexican and Italian, with spices and seasonings, appropriate wines and various coffees. Readers will be licking their chops right up to the thrilling denouement at a remote desert park.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 264 pages
  • Publisher: Mystery and Suspense Press (April 2002)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0595217915
  • ISBN-13: 978-0595217915
  • Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.7 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,082,724 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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