From Publishers Weekly
Food, wine and good mysteries make for an unbeatable combination as shown in this anthology of 16 short stories, mostly by established pros, including the two editors. Bishop (co-editor of 2002's
Death Dines at 8:30) serves up a delightful romp set at the Inn at Hemlock Falls, "Waiting for Gateaux," while James (
Decorated to Death, the most recent entry in his Simon Kirby-Jones series) offers a cast of quirky and greedy characters in "All in the Family." In Donna Andrews's amusing "The Birthday Dinner," her series heroine, Meg Langslow, must attend a birthday dinner hosted by her Aunt Millicent, who "hasn't poisoned anyone in years." Molly Murphy, Rhys Bowen's Irish sleuth, spends her first Christmas Eve as a maid in the home of renowned political leader Sam Wilcox and finds herself involved in murder in "Proof of the Pudding." In "Sing a Song of Sixpence," Anne Perry introduces English Victorian detective Theolonius Quade and the remarkable Lady Vespasia, who discover a Christmas pudding containing more than the usual surprises. Brief author interviews and intriguing recipes at the end of each tale enhance a volume certain to delight any palate, but since poison is the weapon of choice, readers may need to let the stories digest before trying the recipes.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
Fans both of short mystery stories and of food-themed writing will gobble up this anthology of 16 plots with recipes. An upper-class English household at the time of the American Civil War serves as the locale for Anne Perry's invention of Justice Thelonius Quade, who is called upon to determine the host's murderer at a holiday party featuring a cake with more hidden surprises than the dinner guests can imagine. A recipe for Victorian butterscotch candy supplements the story. Rhys Bowen sets her condensed mystery in turn-of-the-century New York City. It, too, has a Christmas theme and features plucky Irish immigrant investigator Molly Murphy. The recipe? Traditional British Christmas Pudding in all its glory. Each story also features a brief interview with the author. Whodunit fans will revel in these concise mysteries, and they will find the recipes amusing, but only serious cooks will be able to follow the generally barebones directions, for they lack specific detail that kitchen novices generally require.
Mark KnoblauchCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
