Brenda H. (booksinvt) -
Helpful Score: 1
Death of an Italian Chef is the fourteenth installment in the Hayley Powell Food and Cocktails mystery series set in Bar Harbor, Maine and featuring newspaper columnist Hayley Powell. Hayley, her husband Bruce and her brother Randy are all enjoying dinner at the island's newest Italian restaurant, Romeo's when Chef Romeo suspects that Hayley is actually there to write a review for her column. The Chef asks her honest opinion and when Hayley claims that she likes her spaghetti carbonara better, he challenges her to a cookoff. The result - he agrees that hers is better and asks her to quit her job at the paper and come work with him. While tempting, Hayley declines his offer.
Bruce leaves for New York City to cover the criminal trial of an island resident and Randy's husband Police Chief Sergio is in Brazil visiting his family. Bored, Hayley and Randy set out for the movies but before the film ends Randy suffers a medical emergency and is rushed to the hospital. Recovering from surgery in his hospital room, Randy gets a new roommate - Chef Romeo. The Chef has suffered a heart attack and begs Hayley to cover the restaurant for him while he's hospitalized.
When the Chef dies, the doctors claim it was his heart. Randy, however, thinks he saw a man come into the room and inject something into the Chef's IV. Sergeant Vanessa Herrold who is covering for Sergio says the drugs were playing tricks on Randy's mind and she doesn't believe him. But when the duty nurse suddenly goes missing, Hayley knows her brother obviously saw something and sets out with the help of her best friends Mona and Liddy to flush out a killer.
Laugh out loud moments, a twisted plot and tasty recipes make for a delightful addition to the series. An unexpected development at the finish will have readers salivating for Hayley's next adventure.
Bruce leaves for New York City to cover the criminal trial of an island resident and Randy's husband Police Chief Sergio is in Brazil visiting his family. Bored, Hayley and Randy set out for the movies but before the film ends Randy suffers a medical emergency and is rushed to the hospital. Recovering from surgery in his hospital room, Randy gets a new roommate - Chef Romeo. The Chef has suffered a heart attack and begs Hayley to cover the restaurant for him while he's hospitalized.
When the Chef dies, the doctors claim it was his heart. Randy, however, thinks he saw a man come into the room and inject something into the Chef's IV. Sergeant Vanessa Herrold who is covering for Sergio says the drugs were playing tricks on Randy's mind and she doesn't believe him. But when the duty nurse suddenly goes missing, Hayley knows her brother obviously saw something and sets out with the help of her best friends Mona and Liddy to flush out a killer.
Laugh out loud moments, a twisted plot and tasty recipes make for a delightful addition to the series. An unexpected development at the finish will have readers salivating for Hayley's next adventure.
