The Cornbread Killer (Heaven Lee Culinary Mysteries)

Features

• Cover Type: Mass Market Paperback with 272 pages
• Published by: St. Martin's Minotaur; First Edition edition December 15, 2000
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0312974272
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0312974275
• Book Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 0.7 inches
• Weighs: 5.6 ounces

From Publishers Weekly
Chef Heaven Lee is up to her ears in work as she juggles running her restaurant, Cafe Heaven, and the food committee for Kansas City's Eighteenth and Vine Historical District dedication and jazz festival. The area's revitalization is cause for a celebration intended to bring together many diverse groups from the city and beyond in a long-overdue tribute to the area's musicians and their music. But planner Evelyn Edwards, brought in from outside, has ruffled a lot of local feathers, as has Miss Ella Jackson, elbowing into K.C. with her Harlem-launched Miss Ella's Soul Food chain. With her daughter studying abroad and her current love off in Houston for two months, Heaven turns to her friends Mona Kirk and Detective Bonnie Weber when the situation gets dicey. More than the food begins to heat up with Evelyn's electrocution onstage at the Ruby Theater, and the arrival of a documentary film crew and a Russian piano prodigy. Mix in the theft of a painting and the disappearance of Charley Parker's plastic sax from the new Jazz Museum, and matters reach the boiling point. Preservation, recognition and reconciliation are among Temple's (Death by Rhubarb; Bread on Arrival) themes this time around; when local restaurants refuse to supply the festival's soul food, Heaven calls upon the ladies of the city's black social clubs to take charge and work their magic. At the start of each chapter, Temple whets the appetite with instructions for dishes such as Escargot with Pernod, Greens with Leeks and Apples, Hoppin' John, Kansas City Chili and Banana Pudding Trifle, all of which are served during the festivities--making this a pleasure for anyone who likes their mysteries served with recipes on the side. Author tour. (Dec.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal
Restaurant-owner, chef, and part-time sleuth Heaven Lee mixes herself up with trouble in Kansas City--again. When a blackmailing events planner for an upcoming neighborhood black heritage celebration dies under suspicious circumstances, several members of the celebration committee--including Heaven's good friend Mona--squirm with nervousness. Add to this mix several returning jazz musicians with old grudges, a jealous former star of the black baseball league, and at least two musical imposters, and Heaven has her hands full. An abundance of interesting action, characters, and recipes will place this high on the acquisitions list.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Reader Reviews
This review is from: The Cornbread Killer (Hardcover) This is the second book that I have read in the Heaven Lee series. The characters are very quirky, and the setting of a Historic District Dedication in Kansas City, leaves all sorts of possibities for mayhem. These are all fulfilled, plus a few that I didn't think about. Comment | | (Report this)