Killer Pancake (Culinary Mystery Series #5)

On the day of the banquet Goldy finds herself confronting an angry mob of demonstrators--"Spare the Hares"--who object to Mignon Cosmetics' animal-testing policies. As she struggles to carry forty pounds of lowfat fare from her van to the mall where the banquet is being held, she hears an ominous squeal of tires and a horrifying thump. Seconds later, a Mignon employee lies dead on the pavement. And soon the police discover that this hit-and-run was no accident.

Now Goldy is enmeshed up to her saute pans in a homicide investigation.  Could the murder have had something to do with Spare the Hares--or with the exotic flower found near the dead body? Though busy serving up Hoisin Turkey and Grand Marnier Cranberry Muffins, Goldy decides to start digging at Mignon's million-dollar cosmetics counter. But when another murder takes place and Goldy herself is attacked, the caterer turned sleuth knows she must step up her search for a gruesome killer. For this time was only a warning. Next time she'll be dead--and it won't be pretty.

A scrumptious new entree in the bestselling mystery series, starring caterer/sleuth Goldy B. Schulz. Her latest assignment, catering for Mignon Cosmetics, has Goldy on a collision course with a killer, sending her sleuthing at a department store make-up counter, and tussling with a violent animal rights group called "Spare the Hares."

When Goldy, owner of Goldilocks' Catering, faces the challenge of whipping up a sumptuous lowfat feast for the Mignon Cosmetics' company banquet, she rises to the occasion brilliantly...only to discover just how ugly the beauty biz can be!

On the day of the banquet Goldy finds herself confronting an angry mob of demonstrators—"Spare the Hares"—who object to Mignon Cosmetics' animal-testing policies. As she struggles to carry forty pounds of lowfat fare from her van to the mall where the banquet is being held, she hears an ominous squeal of tires and a horrifying thump. Seconds later, a Mignon employee lies dead on the pavement. And soon the police discover that this hit-and-run was no accident.

Now Goldy is enmeshed up to her saute pans in a homicide investigation.  Could the murder have had something to do with Spare the Hares—or with the exotic flower found near the dead body? Though busy serving up Hoisin Turkey and Grand Marnier Cranberry Muffins, Goldy decides to start digging at Mignon's million-dollar cosmetics counter. But when another murder takes place and Goldy herself is attacked, the caterer turned sleuth knows she must step up her search for a gruesome killer. For this time was only a warning. Next time she'll be dead—and it won't be pretty.

Publishers Weekly

For Colorado's Goldy B. Schulz (last seen in The Last Suppers), the catering proves far less rewarding than the sleuthing when she's called on to prepare a banquet for the Mignon cosmetics company. Forced to forsake mayonnaise and butter in this low-fat luncheon, Goldy is in ``caterers' hell.'' But that's a better place than where Mignon super-saleswoman Claire Satterfield ends up-which is dead. According to Julian Teller, Goldy's catering assistant, Claire had recently suspected she was being followed. Adding to the mystery is a local reporter who has taken to using Mignon's ultra-expensive potions while trying, none too subtly, to extract information Goldy might have gathered from her husband, homicide detective Tom Schulz. When Goldy's initial inquiries earn her an anonymous warning to clear off, she becomes more determined. As always, Davidson includes recipes as she brings events to a proper boil in this latest lively and satisfying outing for Goldy, who not only solves the mystery but also finds, much to her delight, that coffee can save your life. Mystery Guild selection; author tour. (Oct.)

Diane Mott Davidson lives in Evergreen, Colorado, with her husband and three sons and is at work on her next novel.