Two Cooks A-Killing

Angie Amalfi #11

by Joanne Pence

Nothing could drag chef Angie Amalfi away from San Francisco and her beloved policeman fiance Paavo Smith except for a job preparing the banquet her all time favorite soap opera characters will consume during an upcoming Christmas Reunion Special. So Angie eagerly takes off for the estate where the now defunct "Eagle Crest" was originally filmed. Not thrilled to be staying in the very room from which the young actress Brittany Keegan took a real life fatal tumble years earlier, Angie is equally disturbed and intrigued when another corpse turns up in the cellar. Both deaths have been ruled accidental, but the bitter accusations flying back and forth among the reunited cast suggest otherwise. And now that Angie's a guest star in this deadly serial drama, she's suddenly in serious danger of being written out of it permanently.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Christmas

319 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published October 28, 2003

About the author

Joanne Pence is a USA Today best-selling and award winning author of two mystery series, contemporary and historical romance, fantasy and thrillers. She is the author of the Angie Amalfi culinary mystery series, which is still in print after twenty years, and now has 15 books (the latest, COOKING SPIRITS was an April 2013 release), and a novella (Cook's Christmas Capers, Dec. 2013). She has just begun a new series, the Rebecca Mayfield mysteries. ONE O'CLOCK HUSTLE is the first full-length novel, and THE THIRTEENTH SANTA is a novella which shows how the two main characters met.

Joanne's books have won many awards and honors, including RWA's Golden Heart and Rita Award nominations, the Independent Book Seller's Golden Quill, the Daphne du Maurier award, the Willa Cather Literary Award in Historical Fiction (for DANCE WITH A GUNFIGHTER), and the Idaho Top Fiction Award for ANCIENT ECHOES.

Joanne was born and raised in San Francisco and now makes her home in the foothills of Boise. She has been president of the Boise chapter of Sisters in Crime, a founder and board member of the Popular Fiction Association of Idaho, and founding member and current board member of the Idaho Writers Guild. A graduate of U.C. Berkeley with a master's degree in journalism, Joanne has written for magazines, worked for the federal government, and taught school in Japan.

Reviews

[Deb Sharp · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was a really exciting book,lots of action.

[George · Rating 3 out of 5]

#11 in the San Francisco gourmet chef Angie Amalfi and her fiancé homicide detective Paavo Smith mystery series.

It is April and Angie is excited to be hired to prepare a Christmas meal for the reunion special of her favorite TV soap opera, “Eagle Crest” which has been off the air for 10 years. The cast and director are constantly bickering, someone is trying to sabotage the filming and there is the shadow of the death of cast member during the final episode. Angie starts investigating with all the subtlety of an out of control bull dozer upsetting people even more and a causing a complete mess of a lavish dinner she had prepared.

[Jody Hamilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a fun read in the Angie Amalfi series. Enjoyed the two seemingly unrelated plot points, which are then woven together at the end. The meal, created & cooked by Angie, is hilarious as the cast of the TV soap opera gathers around the table to partake of the delicious dishes. If you're a fan of Angie, definitely a book to read and enjoy!

[Lynn Howard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read but because it included a cast and actors in the cast, it was often confusing to figure out who was the actual character. Had to keep referring to the cheat sheet in the front of the book.

[Cheryl · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wish Goodreads would add a category for "couldn't finish" instead of Read. Almost half way in and just didn't care about the characters or the supposed plot line.

[Watergirl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked it a lot

[T.L. Cooper · Rating 3 out of 5]

Joanne Pence's Two Cooks A-Killing is an amusing and entertaining mystery that centers around her series character Angie Amalfi and Angie's fiance, Detective Paavo Smith. Angie's naivete about the real continues to put her in dangerous situations as she makes decisions that leave the reader wanting to grab her by the shoulders and give her a good shake. I laughed out loud when Angie replaced the winery's wine with a better stating wine and serves it to the cast of those there for the shooting of the Christmas special of an old television show, Eagle Crest as well as the owners of the winery where the show is shot, especially when one of the sons of the estate's owner asks if it's their wine. Something about this book reminded me of the days when I used to sneak viewings of Falcon Crest because my parents didn't think I should watch the show. Two Cooks A-Killing: An Angie Amalfi Mystery is a quick, easy, fun, entertaining read.

[Emily Cullen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gourmet cook Angie Amalfi is thrilled to take a catering job for the Christmas reunion show of the soap opera she loved as a child. She is staying in the same room as the actress who accidentally fell to her death. But was it really accidental? Angie goes sleuthing to find out the real truth. I read this book because it had a Christmas theme to it and it's one of a series of Angie Amalfi mysteries. It was romantic and fun but not a series that's really for me.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this entry in the Angie Amalfi series. I was thinking this was going to be a Christmas book and it turned out to be a Christmas in April book, where a cancelled soap opera was gathering to film a Christmas themed reunion episode along with resolving some conflicts that occurred when a cast member died. Lots if fun in this one.

[Diana Thacker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoy the main character