Footprints in the Butter: An Ingrid Beaumont Mystery Co-Starring Hitchcock the Dog [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Denise Dietz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 20, 2005

Ingrid Beaumont, flaky but prolific songwriter for B-movie soundtracks, attends her high school reunion for a wild night of fun. However, the morning-after hangover proves sobering indeed when news of the murder of Wylie Jamestone, a popular local artist and genuine creep, reaches the ears of his classmates. He leaves a mile-long list of enemies and a challenge for Ingrid to find his killer.

Available only in Wheeler Softcover 4.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"An exceptional book by an exceptional talent."
-- Painted Rock Reviews (UNKNOWN )

Product Details

• Hardcover: 408 pages
• Publisher: Wheeler Publishing; 1 edition (July 20, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1597220051
• ISBN-13: 978-1597220057
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,402,324 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

When Denise [Deni] Dietz was in the third grade, she wrote her first story, THE PENCIL WHO GREW UP TO BE A STUB. Although the assignment was to write a one-page story, using an ink pen, Deni wrote a five-page story, first-person...and she used a pencil (the narrator of her story). Whereupon, she received a failing grade for not following orders. Just like her series heroine, diet guru Ellie Bernstein, Deni doesn't follow orders unless they make sense.

Years later, after Deni had enjoyed a short-lived singing career and acting career, she sat at her typewriter, flexed her fingers, and pounded out her first culinary mystery: THROW DARTS AT A CHEESECAKE, inspired by her part-time job as a Weight Watchers lecturer. In "Cheesecake," diet club members are getting killed off at goal weight and eating as if their very lives depended on it. The second book in the series, BEAT UP A COOKIE, revolves around a group of M*A*S*H* addicts and is dedicated to Alan Alda.

Switching to a computer, Deni hit the bestseller list with FOOTPRINTS IN THE BUTTER - an Ingrid Beaumont Mystery co-starring Hitchcock the Dog. She followed that success with her stand-alone, FIFTY CENTS FOR YOUR SOUL, her "reluctant witch mystery," EYE OF NEWT, and the 3rd and 4th books in her diet club mystery series, CHAIN A LAMB CHOP TO THE BED and STRANGLE A LOAF OF ITALIAN BREAD. "Strangle" was nominated for a Left Coast Crime "Lefty" Award as the most humorous mystery of 2009.

Cloning herself into historical romance author Mary Ellen Dennis, Deni wrote THE LANDLORD'S BLACK EYED DAUGHTER. Mary Ellen's STARS OF FIRE will be out December, 2010.

Married to Aussie/Canadian author, Gordon Aalborg (AKA Victoria Gordon), whom she met on-line through a writers loop, Deni, with Gordon, collaborated on a romantic suspense, FINDING BESS, and moved to Vancouver Island, where they are owned by a chocolate Lab named Magic.

Deni likes to hear from readers. She can be reached through her website: http://www.denisedietz.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars High School Reunion Leads to Murder, October 1, 2010

By 

Patricia A. Rockwell "Author of "Sounds o... (Illinois) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Footprints In The Butter (Worldwide Library Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

Ingrid Beaumont is a musician who composes scores for movies. While at her high school reunion, one of her former friends is found dead. The dead man leaves (or Ingrid thinks he leaves) her clues to his killer in the form of riddles and paintings that he created. Ingrid, who likes a challenge, is quickly off and running--trying to find out who killed her friend.

I liked many things about this book. Ingrid is an out-going, open-hearted, and likeable heroine. Her dog Hitchcock adds a lot of comic notes. The love scenes between Ingrid and Ben, the veterinarian, are steamy.

The plot is a bit hard to follow at times and more time is spent on flashbacks of the former high schoolers than on present-day goings-on. Even so, it's a fast-paced read with friendly characters.

2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Nothing special, but goes down easy, February 10, 2005

By 

Joseph P. Menta, Jr. (Philadelphia, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Footprints In The Butter (Worldwide Library Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

Though slightly over-praised in the promotional blurbs on the front and back of the book ("A writer without peer" seems a bit much, for example), "Footprints in the Butter" is nevertheless a fairly painless read and a perfectly good distraction from life's stresses. Chances are, you've seen this type of thing many times before- the quirky heroine who laces lots of observational humor into her first-person musings about the case-but that doesn't take away from the fact that this getting-to-be-threadbare formula is once again done competently here.