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For those of you who have not yet had the pleasure of reading Jerrilyn Farmer's earlier books, Madeline Bean is a caterer in Los Angeles, the caterer to the stars. The problem is that she keeps stumbling over dead bodies and she cannot leave a puzzle unsolved, annoying the cops and frightening her friends. This time, however, the body could be hers. She had just finished catering for one of the most prestigious charity events of the year, a dinner and auction to raise money for the Woodburn School of Music. Wes, her partner, and Holly, her assistant, were on their way home when they heard that the rare and valuable musical instrument that had been the climax of the auction had been stolen. Then there was a new story. The body of a woman had been found at the home of caterer Madeline Bean. At that point we are return twelve hours in time and Mad begins the story. In the midst of the frantic preparations for the charity event, she had gone to her van and discovered that someone had dumped papers all over her driveway and front yard. As she gathered the debris, she realized that it was valuable documents belonging to someone who lived nearby. But when she tried to talk to the owner of the papers at the benefit dinner, he angrily accused her trying to blackmail him. Things get even more complicated from there. Assorted murders, thefts, and frauds lead Maddie on a rare and alarming pursuit to somehow understand how these crimes all fit together. And, at the same time. she is having serious relationship problems, having met a new and very delectable man (the brother of one of the charity organizers) but still attracted to Chuck Honnett, the cop. Its a trying time for Madeline Bean! I truly enjoy Maddie's voice as she tells the story. She knows Los Angeles is sometimes unreal and often absurd, especially to the outsider. She views her adopted city with a wry eye, laughing at herself and the world she finds herself in. And yet, she loves this city despite all its warts and eccentricities and that love shines through. We get a savory tour of Los Angeles, from its freeways to its wealthy neighborhoods to the more normal areas where the not-so-glamorous people live and even to its mean streets where hope has been abandoned and the desperate dwell. In every book we see through Mad's eyes a particular facet of this strange and wondrous city. In this we meet the women, the wives (often the second ones) of wealthy men, the women who feel obsessed by the need to retain their husbands love and attention. On the surface they enjoy wealth and power, but they are clinging by their fingernails, fearful of any tiny blemish or flaw, certain their husbands will then trade them in for the new trophy wife. They are not happy women, although many might envy them. They are often despairing and dispirited but of course they show the world the face of perfection. Maddie finds them pitiable and unenviable. We also get to see a glimpse of Los Angeles's history when Mad shops at the original Farmers' Market in the city. It is always a bit of a surprise to realize that Los Angeles has a history and I enjoy the brief glimpses of it in Farmer's mysteries. The plot is intriguing. There are plenty of red herrings to go around and I had no idea how the story was going to come out. It pulled me in and kept me reading and never once did fail to chase after one of those red herrings. This book is funny, in the best sense of the word, but contains undertones of edginess and sadness as well. It is very well-written and flows smoothly, but that does not mean that the story is simple. It challenges us to see the world from a new perspective and that is always a good thing.
Reviewed by Sally A. Fellows, December 2003
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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