Diet of Death: A Quincy Lazzaro Mystery

by Ang Pompano

Betty Ann Green is the Oprah of the cooking world. No wonder cookbook authors, celebrity chefs, and weight-loss experts alike would kill for a mention in the “Cooking with Betty” column in On Topic Magazine. Diet Guru, Dr. Alan Tolzer, is no exception. He craves the chance for instant success for his latest Westport Diet Book with an interview by the columnist. It’s enough to make him swallow his pride and try to patch up his long-standing feud with the reclusive Betty. No surprise there. Everyone sells their soul in one way or another in the cooking industry. But murder is on the menu when Betty’s assistant, Quincy Lazzaro, arrives for the interview. Quincy becomes entangled and his complicated relationships with both Betty and investigating police sergeant Nina Estevez is nothing less than a recipe for disaster. Bringing the murderer to justice without exposing the secret to Betty’s success proves to be more difficult than a fad diet.

Kindle Edition

Published August 3, 2020

Reviews

[Mark Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quincy Lazzaro has found success writing a monthly food column for a magazine. Unfortunately, it is published under the name Betty Ann Green, so he has to keep his real identity a secret. That does cause problems every so often, like when Dr. Alan Tolzer wants to bury the hatchet with Betty, and insists they meet in person. Dr. Tolzer is famous for creating the Westport Diet, and he has an institute nearby, so Quincy goes there hoping that his usual trick of saying he is Betty’s assistant will work to get a meeting. While Quincy is there, Dr. Tolzer dies. The institute is quick to say it was natural causes, but some things Quincy saw lead him to question that. Can he figure out what really happened?

It took a couple of chapters to full get into this book, but once I did, I was along for the ride. I really liked Quincy, and the rest of the cast grew on me pretty quickly as well. The plot was a little rough with a few leaps in it. Don’t worry, everything makes sense at the end, but a bit more set up would have helped me as I was reading it. Still, it has some interesting twists and complications that I really enjoyed. Unlike many culinary cozies, there are no recipes, but based on the humorous scenes where Quincy was cooking, I think that may be a good thing. Overall, I really had fun reading this book. I’m anxious to see how Quincy and the series grow in future books.

NOTE: I received a copy of this book.

Read my full review at Carstairs Considers.

[Sandy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quincy Lazzaro is actually "Betty" as he is the one who writes the Cooking with Betty column in On Topic Magazine. This column is very popular and many chefs, cookbook authors, and diet gurus want a mention in it. Dr. Alan Tolzer is a diet guru who wants Betty to approve his newest diet book - The Enhanced Westport Diet with Kopi Berries. Quincy usually just introduces himself as Betty's assistant who does all her interviews. Tolzer wants Betty! After a short and angry interview between the two of them, Tolzer dies. Murder? Heart problems? Asthma? Quincy is caught up in all of this because he wants to be an investigative reporter - not a cooking columnist. He doesn't even cook and uses recipes from a neighbor and his ex-wife! Pompano usually writes short stories; I found this book to be too long. I finally skipped the middle and just read the beginning and the end. I also felt that this book could have used more editing. The explanation of Tolzer's death was interesting.

[Ryan Hoffman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cozy mystery with an interesting premise that is laugh out loud hilarious and also intriguing. The protagonist is Quincy Lazaro, known in print as Betty Ann Green from his Cooking with Betty food column for magazine Quincy as "Betty" discredits the Westport diet created by Dr Alan Tolzer. After that Tolzer agrees to bury the hatchet, as long as he gets to do it in person. Quincy, as Betty's assistant, decides to go in and see what he can do. only it doesn't go as planned and Tolzer ends up dead. This was fun to read. The characters and setting stood out and the mystery was decent.

[Carol K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been on so many diets myself that the title of this book caught my eye right away. They all seem like the Diet of Death after awhile. I also love books with food. This is a very good story and I hope there will be a second one.

[Marcia-Lee Finocchio · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Recipe for Murder

Entertaining storyline that keeps you guessing who did it and what was the motive behind the killing. Quincy a food columnist who wants to branch out from writing food recipes to playing detective!