Beth Kalikoff, Dying for a Blue Plate Special

Beth Kalikoff, Dying for a Blue Plate Special - In Tacoma, Jewel Feynmann worries that her business Blue Plate Catering is failing; if she goes bankrupt she does not want to go back to the Jewish epicenter of metropolitan New York where her family awaits the return of the prodigal child.

Helene Moore, who met Jewel over fried ice cream, offers the caterer work at Commencement Bay University better known as Zoo U. Because of an accidental death in the kitchen, the school needs an outside caterer. Jewel accepts the job because she needs the money. However, everything goes wrong when the Zoo U Dean Matthew Mulcahy dies from food poisoning served by Blue Plate. As Homicide Detective Ben Hartsock investigates the murder, he also tries to date Jewel, who wonders if there might be a non-kosher conflict of interest even if his kisses are tasty. Still, with her company in jeopardy, Jewel conducts her own investigation into the murder.

DYING FOR A BLUE PLATE SPECIAL is a delightful, amateur sleuth, police procedural who-done-it starring a likable Jersey transplant. The storyline is lighthearted in terms of the heroine's jewel of an investigation and much more professional in a support role when Ben makes inquiries. Fans will enjoy this fine Washington State blending.

Five Star, May 2005, 228 pp.

ISBN: 1594142971

Harriet Klausner