"amusing amateur sleuth"

In Washington DC nobody could accuse Annie Capshsw of being a slacker. During the day she is a bank teller; while at night she runs the business and helps outdoing everything but cooking since she can't even boil water.

Jim, the owner and Annie's boyfriend is sponsoring a six week bar food cooking class. When Annie's best friend Eve sees one of the students is Brad Peterson, she runs off crying, but not before everyone in the class heard her say she wants to kill him. Later Eve tells Annie that Brad is a weasel, who enjoys hurting others; because of him she belongs to a support group helping people like her cope with these weasels. Not long afterward Eve's wish comes true as someone kills Brad. Because of her loud angry comment at Bellywasher's, Eve is the prime suspect as she apparently had the motive. Annie does not believe for a moment that distressed as Eve was, she could kill anyone even someone she loathes. She plans to affirm her belief in Eve by uncovering the identity of the culprit.

While investigating, a cooking student Kegan assists Annie so that the audience follows the quirky escapades of Batwoman and Robin (a modern day gender bending version of the 1960s spoof TV show that is). Whereas the eccentric cast adds humor to the amateur sleuth; the victim receives no empathy as he was a harassing predator who used his power position to force sexual favors from females whose other choice was being fired with a campaign to paint the woman as a deviant. Readers will appreciate this amusing whodunit with its serious workplace undertone.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted November 2, 2007

Summary

Cooking class is back in session for best friends—and sometime sleuths—Annie and Eve. But this time, Annie finds herself on the teacher's side of the cutting board, helping out during a bar food cooking class at D.C.'s latest hotspot, Bellywasher's. And her best friend, Eve, is in more hot water than ever—as the prime suspect in a student's murder.