Nothing could drag chef Angie Amalfi away from San Francisco and her beloved policeman fiance Paavo Smith –– except for a job preparing the banquet her all–time favorite soap opera characters will consume during an upcoming Christmas Reunion Special. So Angie eagerly takes off for the estate where the now–defunct "Eagle Crest" was originally filmed. Not thrilled to be staying in the very room from which the young actress Brittany Keegan took a real–life fatal tumble years earlier, Angie is equally disturbed –– and intrigued –– when another corpse turns up in the cellar. Both deaths have been ruled accidental, but the bitter accusations flying back and forth among the reunited cast suggest otherwise. And now that Angie's a guest star in this deadly serial drama, she's suddenly in serious danger of being written out of it permanently.
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Editorial Reviews
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“Will have readers rapidly turning the pages...snatches of humor, real life intrigue and sparks of passion.” (Rendezvous )
“Joanne Pence shows her talent as a mighty good mystery writer.” (BookBrowser Review )
“Now here is a series with real characters...highly recommended.” (Mystery News )
“Pence’s tongue-in-cheek humor keeps us grinning.” (San Francisco Chronicle )
“Joanne Pence just gets better and better as each episode unfolds.” (Mystery News )
“This confection is sweetened by a colorful assortment of local characters and a sunny location.” (Publishers Weekly )
“Tasty and tempting reading.” (Romantic Times BOOKclub )
“Joanne Pence provides laughter, love, and cold chills.” (Carolyn Hart )
“Joanne Pence outdoes herself with this intricate and intriguing novel...without a doubt, Ms. Pence’s greatest book to date.” (Romantic Times BOOKclub )
“High energy and fun...Joanne Pence has an amazing knack for building fascinating characters and compelling plotlines.” (Romantic Times BOOKclub )
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.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Soap Opera Reunion, Food and Murder,
By Dawn Dowdle "Mystery Lovers Corner reviewer" (Lynchburg, VA USA) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Two Cooks A-Killing: An Angie Amalfi Mystery (Mass Market Paperback)
Angie Amalfi has been offered a chance of a lifetime. She is to prepare a Christmas meal for the reunion special of her favorite soap opera, Eagle Crest. This meant she had to be separated from her San Francisco homicide detective finace Paavo Smith. But it is only for a short time. The special is being filmed at the Waterfield estate owned by Dr. Sterling Waterfield. Dr. Waterfield, a friend of Angie's father, is a widower and lives with his two sons, Junior and Silver. Junior once dated Angie's sister, Frannie, but things hadn't worked out. Eagle Crest had ended ten years earlier, but now the cast was being reassembled for a ten year reunion, a Christmas reunion. When she arrives, she finds the crew there, but no stars have arrived. She also finds out that Emery Tarleton, the director, wants her to recreate the Christmas meal from an earlier Christmas show and that the actress Brittany Keegan who had played Julia Parker had died in the house. The official reports were that she died in Los Angeles, but in reality she had died in the house. Worse yet, she fell out of the window of the third floor bedroom Angie has been given! Soon Angie becomes aware that someone is trying to sabotage the filming. The actors arrive and it is soon apparent that they are not very friendly Angie starts looking into the death of Brittany. It was classified as a suicide, but things just don't appear to be so simple. Many things happen on the set and Angie knows that she needs to unravel the mystery before someone else is hurt, including herself. I like this series. Angie is a very likeable character. The soap opera actors in this book are so realistic and Angie is the ultimate fan put into a very strange situation. The setting of an estate really assists in this book because everyone is living together but they can leave the estate when needed. I highly recommend this book and series.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Angie and Paavo are as great as Nancy and Ned...,
By Huntress Reviews (United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Two Cooks A-Killing: An Angie Amalfi Mystery (Mass Market Paperback)
Imagine getting a job working in Courtlandt Manor of Pine Valley. To a soap fan this is a dream job, one Angie Amalfi has a chance to live when she lands a job providing the Christmas dinner for the cast of her favorite soap's, Eagle Crest, reunion show. The dream quickly is transformed to a nightmare. The "chef" is an odious little man who makes Angie's life miserable whenever they come into contact. He's determined to not let her into "his" kitchen. The stars are aloof and not nearly as likeable in person as their characters. Everyone Angie knows seems to be dropping in to leave a prop for her to place on the set so they can say their knick knack is a part of the scene, and she has discovered that getting this job might be less a measure of her talent and more a facet of her father's match making schemes. Toss in an old, unsolved murder, a tabloid reporter, and a fresh "accidental" death, and you have a fine hash. The love of Angie's life, Paavo, is not too thrilled with life either. He misses Angie, and her cooking. Then, referred by Angie's pesky friend Connie, he has a missing person's case dumped in his lap by a "little person", Minnie Petite. The only good part of that is it ties to Angie's situation, and brings them together again. **** Angie and Paavo are the best mystery couple since Nancy and Ned. You might die laughing, but it is a good way to go. As always, there are recipes guaranteed to kill your diet if you make them included. ****
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not as good as earlier books in series,
By
This review is from: Two Cooks A-Killing: An Angie Amalfi Mystery (Mass Market Paperback)
Career-challenged chef Angie Amalfi has been hired to cook a sumptuous Christmas dinner for a TV show, and she couldn't be more thrilled. Not only will she get to meet the stars of her favorite nighttime soap as they reassemble for a holiday reunion show, but she'll get to show off her cooking skills to Hollywood and maybe become the next TV celebrity chef. But when she arrives at the winery where the "Eagle Crest" reunion is to be taped, reality falls far short of her expectations. The actors are a bunch of self-absorbed, bitter people who seem to be obsessed with an "accidental" death of a young actress that took place on this very set 11 years ago. Angie decides that if her feast is to be anything but a disaster, she must solve the mystery of what happened to Brittany Keegan and get people focused again on holiday cheer and her wonderful cooking. Meanwhile, Angie's fiance, detective Paavo Smith, is off solving a series of gang-related killings and the disappearance of a "little person." While this mystery series endures and plucky Angie is always likable, I can't say this is the strongest book in the series. For one thing, now that Angie and Paavo are engaged, the sexual tension that marked the earlier books is completely absent. Angie and Paavo are rarely even together, and the subplot with Paavo and the gang killings is not connected in any way to the main mystery--and altogether superfluous. The mystery itself, however, is clever, the various suspects are colorful. I particularly liked the scruffy tabloid reporter, Digger, who was one of the more fleshed-out characters. And the climax scene when Angie finally serves her elaborate dinner is a real hoot. In short, fans of the real nighttime soaps "Falconcrest," "Dynasty," and "Dallas" will enjoy this homage to the genre, and die-hard Angie Amalfi devotees will also enjoy it. If you're new to the series, however, you might try the earlier books, particularly the first two, which are still available.
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California State Highway 29 cuts through the heart of the Napa Valley, linking wineries and towns. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
homicide inspector, reunion show, slide bolt Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Eagle Crest, Brittany Keegan, San Francisco, Fred Demitasse, Bart Farrell, Cliff Roxbury, Gwen Hagen, Little Drummer Boy, Kyle O'Rourke, Minnie Petite, Julia Parker, Rhonda Manning, Adrian Roxbury, Emery Tarleton, Los Angeles, Merry Christmas, Rudolf Goetring, Digger Gordon, National Star, Napa Valley, Camille Spentworth, Santa Claus, Paavo Smith, Rebecca Mayfield, Sterling Waterfield New!
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