Cooking Most Deadly
by Joanne Pence
Although food writer and dilettante chef Angie Amalfi is ready to start thinking about cutting a wedding cake with her delectable homicide detective boyfriend Paavo Smith, Paavo's got other things on his mind — mainly, the grisly murder of two San Francisco women. While he combs the city for clues to the brutal slayings, Angie begins a quest of her own: searching for a little gem of a restaurant for a magazine review. She discovers three grumpy old men who make a mean marinara, but seem to know nothing about how to run a business. At least not a culinary business. As Angie deals with the diamond-in-the-rough eatery and her sisters' unwelcome wedding advice, Paavo's inquiry points to Angie as next on the killer's hit list. The ever-game Ms. Amalfi takes off her oven mitts to join the investigation. But Angie's leaping head first into the stewpot for sure — because a murderer with a vendetta is more than willing to give one nosy chef her lethal just desserts.