Mysterious Reviews, mysteries reviewed by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books, is publishing a new review of Killer Mousse by Melinda Wells. For our blog readers, we are printing it first here in advance of its publication on our website.
Killer Mousse by Melinda Wells
A Della Carmichael Mystery
Berkley Prime Crime (Mass Market Paperback)
ISBN-10: 0-425-21981-X (042521981X)
ISBN-13: 978-0-425-21981-2 (9780425219812)
Publication Date: February 2008
List Price: $7.99
Synopsis (from the publisher): Meet Della Carmichael, owner of a cooking school in Santa Monica, California, and, as of this week, star of a brand-new cable cooking show. But she's about to add another credit to her resume: suspect.
The first live airing of In the Kitchen with Della opens like other cooking shows - with a chef surrounded by bowls of ingredients in a shiny studio kitchen. But it ends like a crime scene detective show - and Della is the suspected perp.
Della's "killer mousse" lives up to its name when her predecessor, Mimi Bond, taste tests it - and winds up dead on the floor. Proving that she didn't poison the mousse will be no piece of cake for Della. She'll have to expose unsavory secrets, get mixed up in heated family affairs, and figure out why Mimi, who couldn't make instant oatmeal, was hired in the first place.
Review: Melinda Wells introduces Della Carmichael, owner of a cooking school and the newly hired star of a weekly cooking show on cable television, in Killer Mousse, yet another culinary series featuring recipes of delectable and delightful meals and treats featured in the book.
Della's first day on the set begins inauspiciously. Though the taping goes well, she's thrown off a bit by the presence of Mimi Bond, the previous host of her show, sitting in the front row. When Della asks if anyone in the studio audience would like to try her killer mousse, so named because the taste was to die for, Mimi volunteers. She declares it awful and promptly drops to the floor, dead. Della's the obvious suspect, but she knows a thing or two about murder investigations: her late husband was a homicide detective. Knowing she is innocent, she decides that she may be able to offer an independent, insider perspective on who might have wanted Mimi dead ... and why.
It's hard to state definitively what, if any, original perspective Killer Mousse brings to this crowded mystery subgenre. Being the widow of a detective, Della is possibly more astute (or at least less flighty) than the typical culinary amateur sleuth. And the other characters in the book lean more towards the interesting than the merely odd. Both pluses. But the murder mystery plot is straight-forward and offers nothing innovative in terms of means, motive, or opportunity. Fans of culinary mysteries will no doubt find this new series delightful, but those looking for a mystery with a bit more substance may be disappointed. (The included recipes, however, are definitely worth a try. The author's often humorous notes add a personal touch that makes them seem particularly special.)
Special thanks to Melinda Wells for providing a copy of Killer Mousse for this review.
Review Copyright © 2008 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved.
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