Review

Literary agent Lila Wilkins loves her job and is pleased to have been put in charge of a celebrity chef event with cookbook signings and cooking demonstrations, as well as culinary writing contest. Lila is excited over what this event means to the Novel Idea Literary Agency and to the entire town of Inspiration Valley, North Carolina. She is also thrilled to meet the celebrity chefs she has admired. However, things don’t go as Lila had planned. Many of the chefs are extremely arrogant and are nothing like their TV personas. When a murderer strikes, Lila has to jump in and investigate to salvage what’s left of the celebration as well as prevent any more deaths.

This book is the third in the Novel Idea mysteries series. The book gets off to a great start. The idea of cooking demonstrations by celebrity chefs is a good one and the parts when the chefs talk about their dishes and their recipes are some of the best parts of the book. I really felt like I was a part of the celebration in these scenes. Another highlight is the main characters, especially Lila. I like reading about her friendship with barista Makayla, as well as her romance with Sean. Sean is a police officer, but he doesn’t try to keep Lila from participating in the murder investigation. The two make a good couple and are both respectful and loving toward each other. Lila has a son, Trey, in college and when he adds a lot to show Lila in another light as a mother, as well as to the plot of the story. Her mother, psychic “Amazing Althea” seems like a good person at heart, but doesn’t really fit in with the rest of the characters. If her character is developed more, she may add to the series instead of serving as filler.

The book is good, but there is a lot of repetition in the investigation with chefs lying to each other and to Lila, throwing private tantrums, and then smiling and laughing for the camera. The story goes on quite a while with nothing of substance related to the investigation happening. There is a subplot with Makayla’s secret admirer that is cute, but unbelievable. The writing contest subplot is much more interesting and ties in better with the main subject of the book. The solution to the mystery held some surprises for the reader, and is interesting, but a little far-fetched.

Although this installment was a bit of a disappointment, it is still well-written and the excellent characters make it a worthy read. Readers who enjoy books by Lorna Barrett will like Books, Cooks, and Crooks. “Lucy Arlington” is a pen name for collaboration between authors Ellery Adams and Sylvia May so fans of either of those authors will definitely want to give this series a try.

Reviewed by Christine