SummaryWith two straight number one Los Angeles Times bestsellers,
three consecutive Agatha Award nominations, two Anthony
nominations, and Lefty and Macavity Awards already in the
pot, mystery author par excellence Jerrilyn Farmer is
cookin'! Now her oh-so-delectable creation, spunky
Hollywood event planner and caterer to the stars Madeline
Bean, finds herself in a murderous stew once more, in an
exceptionally tasty hardcover debut simmering with
intelligence and outrageous humor and spiced with real
surprises. It's another great gig for Mad Bean Events: catering the
gala season wrap party for the runaway TV hit, gourmet cook-
off game show Food Freak. But Madeline's going to have to
keep her delicious Cajun treats simmering on the stove a
while longer now that the studio has decided to film one
more episode . . . and the head writer has mysteriously
disappeared. The good news is the show's producer must
replace the missing writer and offers Maddie the temporary
position, since there's no one in L.A. who's more up on her
food facts than La Bean. Joining the show's oddball staff, Maddie must quickly meet
the demands of this intense, new, behind-the-scenes world
of television, and is soon busily creating clever culinary
puzzles for the show's contestants. But in her new office
she immediately uncovers tantalizing hints as to the
missing writer's whereabouts. And solving puzzles in real
life is a Maddie Bean talent second only to her superb
knowledge of edibles. Certain clues she finds scattered
around the workspace -- including a troubling Post-it note
that hints of homicide -- have her wondering whether the
AWOL writer truly flew the coop ... or was written off for
good! A Hollywood writer's life had sounded sweet, but Maddie
finds the whirlwind of twisted off-camera affairs of the
Hollywood demi-mighty -- where ego-wrestling is an extreme
sport -- can leave a bitter aftertaste, especially when a
rare and priceless packet of Kool-Aid, an amorous celebrity
chef, and a bubbling Cajun gumbo from hell leads her
indirectly to a murder. Suddenly, Madeline Bean's having-
her-cake-and-eating-it-too temp job becomes a recipe for
disaster, setting the cagey caterer in the lethal sights of
a killer.
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