Courting Disaster: An Angie Amalfi Mystery [Mass Market Paperback]

Joanne Pence (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 30, 2004

This twelfth culinary mystery from Joanne Pence has everything a mystery reader could ever want: romance, intrigue and, of course, murder. Loveable amateur sleuth and budding chef Angie Amalfi continues her adventures in this exciting addition to a popular series.

Dilettante chef and amateur sleuth Angie Amalfi is at it again, in another culinary mystery in this successful series. Angie has reluctantly agreed to let her mother plan the party to celebrate her engagement to Paavo, her hunky detective beau. But as she frets over whether her mom will pull it off, a new situation surfaces––Stan, her next door neighbour, falls for a mysterious pregnant woman, and gets in over his head. With stalkers, baby–smuggling, and, of course, murder in the days leading up to the party, Angie must concentrate on solving a complicated crime, and reluctantly leave the party planning to mom.

o Perfect for fans of Janet Evanovich and mystery readers who love stories with a dash of romance.

o Each instalment in the series features several delicious recipes from the kitchen of Angie Amalfi.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Joanne Pence was born and raised in San Francisco. A graduate of U.C. Berkeley with a master's degree in journalism, Joanne has taught school in Japan, written for magazines, and worked for the federal government. She now lives in Idaho with her family, which includes a multitude of pets.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Avon (November 30, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060502916
• ISBN-13: 978-0060502911
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #407,209 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amusing, some romance, and welll-plotted, April 2, 2005

By 

M. C. Crammer (Decatur, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Courting Disaster: An Angie Amalfi Mystery (Mass Market Paperback)

The detective of this San Francisco-set mystery (and that is a big part of the charm) is Angie, a woman with enough money that she doesn't need to work, which is a good thing because she's not very good at holding down a job despite her ability as a cordon bleu cook. Angie is engaged to a homicide detective. Her mother is planning their engagement party, and the fact that the party is a secret from Angie is driving her crazy -- she's trying to find out where the party is, the theme, etc. But the real mystery plot involves what's going on in a Greek waterfront restaurant. Angie's neighbor and friend Stan "discovers" the restaurant and falls in love with a pregnant woman associated with the restaurant. She turns to Stan for help and Angie gets involved. Before they know it, they're involved in some puzzling things going on at the restaurant, including trouble coming from the baby's father. THen there's Angie's father, who is being stalked by an employee but doesn't want his wife or daughter to know -- so the father seeks out the help of Paavo, Angie's fiance.

As you can tell, there's lots of stuff going on in this book, enough so that the reader moves around among multiple plot lines. It's not difficult to follow, however, in part because the characters are such...characters. Larger than life and likeable, except for the villains.

I intend to read more in the series -- although there are enough in the series that I will be busy for a while.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Courting Disaster, December 13, 2004

By 

AK "Bro" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Courting Disaster: An Angie Amalfi Mystery (Mass Market Paperback)

With a full schedule to juggle, Angie has little time to plan an engagement party; so she leaves that to her mother, soon regretting the decision as she frets over what her mother will do to the party. That is the least of her concerns soon, as murder, a stalker, a missing new mother, a harried neighbor and the dreaded color purple keep Angie's life interesting. Her neighbor, Stan, seeks solace for his heart broken state over Angie and Paavo's approaching wedding and his loss of free food, by courting a lovely waitress, who happens to be very pregnant. When she suddenly gives birth, Stan becomes her savior, until she vanishes and the child's father is killed. Going to the authorities to investigate would put the baby into the hands of CPS- but there's always Angie, who kind of has police credentials because she has helped out her fiance' before on his police cases. Right? Right. Paavo has his own worries. Someone is scaring Angie to death, and it could become the real deal if he doesn't catch the stalker.

**** Angie Amafali's saga is always so much fun that you can't help but smile when a new entry comes along. It has all the warmth and zaniness of more famous books, but less angst to weigh it down. Her romance with Paavo has a reassuring quality in a very unreassuring world. As always, the adventure continues in the back with recipes to inspire you to imitate one of Angie's safer hobbies. This is a Christmas gift to give yourself. ****

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Slow start., January 5, 2005

By 

Huntress Reviews (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Courting Disaster: An Angie Amalfi Mystery (Mass Market Paperback)

Meet Angie Amalfi, chef and freelance food critic. With her "surprise" engagement party around the corner, Angie is in a whirlwind of motion trying to figure out the details. Then a mysterious woman appears at her neighbor's door.

Angie's neighbor is named Stan. He has just been drawn into the life of this woman and her baby. Now Angie must help the woman and Stan out of a murderous baby smuggling ring.

**** A slow start but by the end it was a worthwhile read! Angie and Stan's antics are enough to capture any reader's attention. ****

Reviewed by K. Blair.