Bell Cook And Candle: An Angie Amalfi Mystery [Mass Market Paperback]

A deranged seer, a family of operatic Italian Americans and a group of Satan worshipers are only a few of the screwball players in Pence's (To Catch a Cook, etc.) over-the-top mystery. While launching her new business, Comical Cakes, culinary adventuress Angie Amalfi stumbles upon an alien world when a prospective client turns out to be the nocturnal proprietor of an after-hours goth club. Though perturbed by her meeting, Angie thinks little of it even after her long-suffering boyfriend, homicide detective Paavo Smith, informs her that a young woman was found raped and murdered in a ritualistic manner. A short while later, another body turns up, setting San Franciscans on edge. Although hard-charging Angie is eager to help with the case, she's so preoccupied with her expanding business that she doesn't even pick up on Paavo's not-so-subtle attempts to propose. Meanwhile, the body count rises, and the police, in their effort to wrap the case up in record time, nab the wrong man. Despite the novel's chaotic organization and self-centered heroine, who's fond of telling everyone else what to do even though she never listens to advice herself, this light confection is sweetened by a colorful assortment of local characters and a sunny location.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

High energy and fun...Joanne Pence has an amazing knack for building fascinating characters and compelling plotlines. -- Romantic Times

A Dash of Darkness

For once Angie Amalfi's newest culinary venture, "Comical Cakes," seems to be a roaring success! There's nothing funny, however, about her homicide detective boyfriend Paavo Smith's latest case. Paavo's investigating a series of baffling murders that may be rooted in satanic ritual. And when Angie is called upon to deliver a humorous confection to the mysterious owner of a decadent after-hours goth club, the inquisitive gourmet baker suddenly finds herself up to her neck in the demonic business. it gets harder to focus on pastry alone when strange "accidents" and desecrations to her delectable, fresh-baked creations begin occurring with frightening regularity. And if Angie can't help Paavo track down a maniacal serial killer with an obsessively unhealthy interest in her, she might end up as devil's food of a different kind.

San Francisco native Joanne Pence grew up amidst the rich cultural diversity and culinary excellence of that city. A graduate of U.C. Berkeley with a master's degree in journalism and a Phi Beta Kappa key, she has taught school in Japan, written for magazines, and worked as an operations analysis manager. Fiction writing, however, always has been her first love. Her background, as well as her Italian and Spanish heritage, are reflected in her critically acclaimed, award-winning mystery series. Joanne Pence now lives north of San Francisco with her husband, two teenage sons, three cats and a golden retriever.