From the beginning I pictured Paula Dean as the food celebrity in this story. Watching Paula Dean, and reading about the celebrity home cook in this book... well, they don't call 'em Steel Magnolias for nuthin'. Liz Sullivan, though, is another piece of work entirely, and I liked her very much. This is the first book I've read in the Liz Sullivan series, so I'm not totally familiar with her back story; just what was revealed in this book. As the central character in the series, I thought she was fascinating as the hard edged don't-take-crap-from-anyone strong woman covering up a sometimes insecure person with common sense and a soft heart when the right pressure is brought to bear. I've read other authors who try to bring this kind of character off in cozy mystery series, but Lora Roberts actually does it without making her character so contrived as to seem schizophrenic. It didn't matter to me that the mystery wasn't much of a whodunit. I wanted an entertaining read with characters who seemed more real than fictional imitations of people, and that's exactly what I got. Since I am a food channel addict, I also thought I might enjoy a mystery using that kind of scenario. Again, I got what I was hoping for. ( )

Themes: cozy mystery, cooking, TV shows
Setting: modern San Francisco

Liz Sullivan picks up a temp job as a celebrity liaison to a cooking show maven, Hannah Couch. As anyone could have predicted, Hannah is nothing like she is on TV, demanding and unpredictable. But her assistant/partner is even worse. Liz almost walks out on the job, but against her better instinct, she agrees to stay. The next day, one of the women is dead, and Liz is caught in the middle, kidnapped and taken hostage. Sort of.

This is not the first Liz Sullivan mystery I've read. I remember reading the first one a long time ago and enjoying it. It is a cozy, sort of, but the main character is not the fluffy chick that seems to be so common in most recent cozies. Thank goodness. I wouldn't call this great, but it was fun and it was an improvement on the last cozies I just read. It makes me sort of want to go back and read the first in the series, Murder in a Nice Neighborhood. A much better title than this one, BTW. 2.5 stars ( )