Bell, Cook, and Candle

Angie Amalfi #9

by Joanne Pence

Angie's newest culinary venture, "Comical Cakes" seems to be a roaring success! There's nothing fun, however, about her homicide detective boyfriend Paavo Smith's latest case. He's investigating baffling murders that may be rooted in satanic ritual. And when Angie is called upon to deliver a humorous confection the to mysterious owner of a decadent after-hours Goth club, the inquisitive gourmet baker suddenly finds herself up to her neck in the demonic business. If Angie can't help Paavo track down a killer with an obsessive interest in her, she might end up as devil's food of a different kind...

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Cooking, Cozy, Fiction

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

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

[Text Addict · Rating 1 out of 5]

Maybe I'd like this book better if I'd read any of the previous ones, but as it is, I'm not invested in Angie's frenetic personality nor in Paavo's morbid fear of commitment, and the book doesn't do enough to convince me to like them - especially since the beginning catches Angie at a less-than-flattering time, when she gets in a major tiff with her best friend due to her own obliviousness.

And then there's the CREEPY! SATANIST! SERIAL KILLER!!! AIEEEE!

... Well, no, not so much. You'd think the author has never read a book or seen a movie containing any of those things, and so believes using them seems daring and creative. Umm, no, not when it's written as if nobody'd ever done exactly the same things before, only with more panache. Ditto for the guy presented as the everyone-thinks-I'm-crazy fighter of evil.

And there's the visiting with the goth/vampire subculture - again, presented as if nobody's ever written about it before. Uh-huh, sure. Color me not shocked by any of it.

Also, I can *tell* that the killer's POV was being written with deliberate intent to obscure things, and so was that of Zoe, the woman trying to infiltrate the goth/vampire group, and so was that of the evil-fighting guy. That's at least two too many unreliable points of view, okay? Seriously.

Back to the library this one goes, unfinished. I might try one of the earlier ones, since a ninth book in a series usually suggests there was better writing involved at some point, but we'll see.

[Laura Ruetz · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a struggle to get through a book where dislike nearly everything about the main character. Angie is self-centered, shrill and grating. Connie is the same. Angie's boyfriend, the cop, has no backbone. The only characters I liked were Zoe and Rysk, who felt the most organic and relatable. All the other secondary characters were like caricatures. The only reason this isn't a one star review is that I found the actual plot, when you could find it beneath Angie screeching about situations that she caused, was interesting.

I very rarely give anything less than three stars because I can usually find several enjoyable aspects of a book but this one I just couldn't.

[Deb Sharp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book :)

[Nancy H · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another in the Angie Amalfi/Paavo series of mysteries, this one is about a serial killer who is targeting young women and leaving them in a ritual manner for the police to find. Angie gets involved because of her Comic Cakes business, when she is lured to the suspected murder site on the premise of baking a cake for the cult leader who lives there. Paavo suspects that Angie's two new assistants are involved somehow, but even he is completely surprised by their roles in the whole thing. This is a very satisfying read that kept me up until the wee hours just turning the pages as fast as I could read them!

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Angie Amalfi
Paavo Smith
Angie has started a new culinary adventure called “Comical Cakes” but there is nothing funny about Paavo’s latest case he working as a Homicide Inspector in San Francisco. As Angie’s business gets going and strange things begin to happen and Paavo’s case heats up things get interesting. This is a good book, the mystery is good. The supporting characters Zoe and Rysk are quite the pair each with their own agenda which also pertains to Paavo’s case unbeknownst them all. I would read other books by the author.

[Lane Buckner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Humor and horror mixed

Joanne Pence brings characters alive with her human and the drama keeps you guessing until the very end.

Great fun!

[Debbe · Rating 1 out of 5]

A free book at a condo and read at the pool, not an author I would read again.

[Cheryl Landmark · Rating 2 out of 5]

Actual Rating: 2.5 Stars

[Georgiann Hennelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

For once Angie Amalfi,s newest business venture seemed to be a success . But her boyfriend is investigating a series of baffling murders that may be rooted in satanic ritual. And when Angie gets an order for a cake from the goth clubs mysterious owner . she suddenly finds herself up to her neck in the demonic business.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't really care for the beginning of this book but the end helped make up for it. Once again I thought Pence was going for a weird subject (although I realize vampires are in) to use for an Angie story. I really did enjoy the ending of this book and look forward to seeing what the next one holds.

[Beth Revers · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is fairly far along int he series and it is very well done, with touches of the macabre, and almost a hint of paranormal. I think it has elements of cozy in it, but there is a bit too much violence and present gore to really qualify. It is one of those books hard to pigeonhole. I did enjoy it very much though.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am not finding the main character, Angie Amalfi to be very likeable.
I feel sorry for her soon to be fiance and she does not treat anyone she deals with well. How she has such loyal friends is the real mystery.

This is a bit dark for a cozy mystery but there were some interesting plot twists. The story was OK enough that I did read a further book in this series.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Angie continually struggles with finding direction in life, especially direction that utilizes her considerable culinary skills. Comical Cakes combines her talents with her personality, bringing customers and praise along with difficulties in balancing her personal with her professional life.

[Mary Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Angie is finally getting her business on good footing, but it has come at a price. Can she continue this way or will things have to change.