Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1082040 in Books
• Published on: 2008-04-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 203 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Mary Ryan, feisty pastry chef at American Fare, a trendy San Francisco restaurant, finds murder on the menu in Johnson's delicious debut, which mixes an unglamorized, behind-the-scenes view of the upscale restaurant trade with a plot replete with well-timed shocks. Horrified to discover the battered body of one of her El Salvadoran employees stuffed in a laundry bag on arriving for work early one morning, Mary debates whether to call her ex-husband, Jim, a homicide detective with SFPD. As it turns out, Jim's former partner, Inspector O'Connor, takes on the case. Lonely and emotionally fragile in the wake of Jim's leaving her, Mary comes to rely on the tough, bullying O'Connor, whose job is on the line, as more than just a friend, while innate curiosity and love of justice propel her to investigate the crime and into grave danger. The down-to-earth Mary, with her keen sense of humor, casts a sharp eye on the novel's flashier characters: American Fare's showman of an owner, an egotistical chef, the suave maitre 'd in charge of the wine, the designer-clad, social-climbing manager. Assorted wives and mistresses, immigrants and a high-profile lawyer fill out the bill of fare. The restaurant business-its food, financing and philosophy-is here in all its complexity for discriminating mystery palates.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Review

Customer Reviews

Not typical of "light mystery"
I gave this book a five star rating because I am a big fan of light mysteries, the characters being thrown into a homicide investigation, the books with cooks, store owners, moms.....but this one I felt was really different. It was actually a little darker than most, a light mystery with an edge. Everything wasn't so wrapped up, no pat ending.
I look forward to the next in the series.

Fabulous first mystery -- culinary too!
Mary Ryan, pastry chef at American Fare -- the hottest restaurant on the West Coast, is 34, recently divorced from Jim, a San Francisco homicide inspector, and cranky.

Getting a chef's jacket and apron from the laundry room of the deserted restaurant, she steps on a laundry bag. It feels hard, not spongy like a bag of dirty laundry. She opens the bag with her chef's knife and finds Carlos Perez, one of her pastry assistants, beaten to death and neatly folded into the laundry bag. After she throws up and hides in the bathroom to make sure whoever killed him has left, she calls 911.

O'Connor, Jim's partner and a friend, is assigned to this case. Mary disobeys O'Connor and puts herself in danger time and time again. But she also helps uncover what has been going on under her nose. Many secrets of the food business at American Fare are uncovered.

I found Mary Ryan to be a likeable character even though her life is dysfunctional at best.

If you like food and mysteries, you will like this debut novel. I am looking forward to reading future books.

A very admirable first effort
Mary Ryan, pastry chef at the trendy American Fare Restaurant in San Francisco, makes a grizzly discovery while alone at the restaurant in the early morning. She steps on a trash bag which contains a body of a fellow worker. The fact that she has made the discovery places her at the center of the investigation. Leading the investigation is O'Connor, the former partner of Mary's ex-husband. He gives her the inside track on the progression of the investigation. As much as O'Connor entreats Mary to stay out of police matters, Mary always seems to find trouble--including a couple more dead bodies.
I liked this formulaic amateur PI debut novel. The characters are engaging, the setting of San Francisco well utilized and the author's occupation as a pastry chef of interest. Ms. Johnson also manages to keep the length just long enough to contain the well paced plot, yet, short enough to be read in one evening. In future books I would like more inside information about the restaurant industry. This is often the only thing that separates these amateur PI novels-- the occupation of the main character. Ms. Johnson should definitely avoid the timeworn device of the villain holding the hero hostage at the end with a gun while divulging all. Otherwise a very admirable first effort.