In her eagerly awaited fiction debut, the Washington Post's best-loved, award-winning food writer, Phyllis Richman, has cooked up a tempting tale of mousse, mayhem, and murder: a tautly woven insider's look at the food and newspaper worlds.
Laurence Levain was a culinary superstar, and the high-profile owner and chef of Chez Laurence, an internationally renowned restaurant in Washington, DC. When Levain collapses in his clogs the night before a star-studded black-tie benefit dinner, all bets are on his soaring cholesterol level. But one person has her doubts—Chas Wheatley, the Washington Examiner's saber-penned restaurant critic. Still carrying a torch for Levain after an affair they had years before, she breaks out all her investigative resources to find the culprit. But the big-city newspaper and food communities are deadly competitive.
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“A terrific and stylish first mystery by the Washington Post’s restaurant critic…How can you not love a writer who includes a reference to the wry and passionate folksinging McGarrigle sisters? Four stars for a stunning debut.”
— Booklist
“A marvelously drawn restaurant critic who can solve a crime as easily as she can tell you the inside scoop for a dessert pizza…I’m ravenous for more!”
— Diane Mott Davidson, New York Times bestselling author“Washington Post restaurant critic Phyllis Richman certainly knows her food, and her skill at keeping a lively mystery plot simmering is almost as impressive.”
— Amazon.com, editorial review“[A] delectable tale of manslaughter, edibles and romance…Susan O’Mally’s wry narration adds the appropriate amount of seasoning to this tale…This is a yarn worth savoring.”
— AudioFile“Writing with practiced assurance, the author has a fresh, blithe, sometimes raunchy style far beyond the talent needed for her real-life food critic’s job at the Washington Post.”
— Kirkus Reviews" I read this for a lit class "
— Christina, 1/24/2009" Okay fluff with a few culinary tips "
— Bobbie, 11/6/2008Phyllis Richman was the Washington Post food critic for more than twenty-three years. She is the author of the Agatha-nominated, bestselling Chas Wheatly books as well as The Washington Post Dining Guide. She’s been an award-winning syndicated columnist and food editor and serves on the executive committees of the James Beard Awards and the Julia Child Cookbook Awards. She lives in Washington, DC.
Susan O’Malley (a.k.a. Bernadette Dunne) is the winner of numerous AudioFile Earphones Awards and has twice been nominated for the prestigious Audie Award. She studied at the Royal National Theatre in London and the Studio Theater in Washington, DC, and has appeared at the Kennedy Center and off Broadway. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.