Summer

27 September 2009

DIM SUM DEAD: A Madeline Bean Catering Mystery - Jerrilyn Farmer


From the back of the book: Award-winning, #1 Los Angeles Times bestselling author Jerrilyn Farmer is earning a reputation as one of the funniest and most outrageous new mystery authors in years. And now, her fabulous sleuth--witty, sexy, cool party planner Madeline Bean--introduces us to the latest craze on the LA scene....
MAH-JONGG???
Yep. In hip Hollywood, that kitsch old game is fast becoming the next 'new' obsession--and that calls for a party! Madeline Bean and her charming partner Wesley Westcott are determined to throw a gonzo Chinese New Year banquet. But among the hot mah-jongg tiles, the stamy dim sum and the frosty Singapore Slings, no one expects to find one of the players ice-cold dead!
Meanwhile, in one of the historic celebrity mansions that Wesley is restoring as a sideline, a well-aimed crowbar uncovers a stash of precious objects--including an antique mah-jongg set. As Madeline pieces together how these two events are connected, she must separate the yin from the yang to uncover a killer. It doesn't take a fortune cookie to spell it out. There is always a price to pay....whether gambling at mah-jongg--or murder.
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I have been in the mood for the cozies that I have on Mt Git'r'Read and this one seemed to leap off the shelf..or out of the drawer...and into my hands. I don't always like foodie cozy mysteries, but I liked the premise of this one and I wasn't disappointed. I like that Mad is a caterer in LA, fascinating as that town can be, and the food wasn't the center of the action so much as an enhancement or garnish (it is a foodie cozy). I've not read this author or series before, but it will definitely not be the last. I really like Mad and her buddies and employees. Madeline is a good planner, always prepared, so (to me) she makes a believable amateur sleuth. I pretty much plowed through this fairly quickly for a purse book. I don't always get time with my purse books on certain schedules, but this one went with me to the gym and kept me on the recumbent bike longer to get just a few more pages in...so it's a good fitness book, too!
Five fitness foodie cozy beans.....

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