| Libby is going to be on a televised cooking show and she is terrified. She doesn't even want to be on it. Libby just wants to be at her small shop cooking for customers, but Bree Nottingham, a big wheel in town from whom she and her sister Bernie get a lot of their catering business, coerced her into doing it. What makes it worse is that Libby is afraid of the hostess Hortense Calabash, whose cruel comments have ruined the cooking careers of some of her guests.
Before the show can go on, Hortense is killed by an explosion from the oven in her test kitchen. That is shocking enough, but the producer of the show, Joe Estes, says there is a lot of money tied up in the show, so he wants to keep Hortense's death a secret for now so that the cooking contest can be taped and broadcast as planned. Surprisingly, Joe and Bree, who was called to come to the studio, get the chief of police Lucas “Lucy” Broad to go along with the plan. Then Bree gets Lucy to include Libby and Bernie as investigators into Hortense's death. Libby and Bernie, along with their dad who is the ex-chief of police, have investigated two murders in the past. To motivate them, Lucy starts suggesting something about enforcing codes and regulations for food establishments. Libby and Bernie get the hint. Now Libby and Bernie will need to investigate those who were in the studio when the explosion occurred: the five other contestants for the cooking show, Hortense's personal assistant, and Joe Estes. They will also have to cater some parties, cook for their regular customers during the Christmas season, and be on the televised cooking show, maybe for a week as co-hosts if they win the contest. | ||
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Plot & Themes Tone of story - very humorous How difficult to spot villain? - Difficult, but some clues given Time/era of story: What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 60% Murder of certain profession? Kind of investigator Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book Any non-mystery subplot? descript. of violence and chases - 20 % Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40 % Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30 % How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10 % Crime Thriller Yes Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes Main Character Gender - Female Profession/status: Age: - 20's-30's Ethnicity/Race Main Adversary Identity: - Male Age: - 40's-50's Motive of antagonist - money/treasure How sensitive is this character? Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor Intelligence - Average intelligence Setting United States Yes The US: - Northeast City? Yes City: - New York Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment Unusual form of death? Yes Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |
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