"Filled with amazing St. Louis culinary dishes and deathly mayhem"
Reviewed by Audrey Lawrence
Posted January 2, 2012
Mystery Cozy
Single mom Josie Marcus, with the help of her 76 year old
mother Jane, manages a happy lifestyle for herself and
daughter Amelia by working mystery shopping assignments.
Mostly, she has loved her work and had a keen eye for
observing details for her reports, but there were parts of
this assignment she wasn't so sure about. Was she really
expected to eat pigs' ears and fried brain sandwiches?
Hoping to help out her mother's long-time friend Tillie and
promote her famous toasted ravioli, Josie is dismayed by the
drunken actions of Clay and Gemma Lynn, who were unwelcomed
patrons of Tillie's restaurant and thinks twice about
recommending the place for tourists. Yet, before the heart-
breaking news can be told to her mother, an even more
dangerous culinary scandal happens!
Torn to the quick by what happened to Tillie, Jane begs
Josie to help investigate the situation. Moving between
savoury food locations and unsavoury parts of town, Josie
begins to rely on Ted, her veterinary boyfriend to help her
out. With the pressure to solve a murder on her mind,
Josie now has another dilemma. What will she do if he pops
the big question?
Elaine Viets' love for the unusual and distinctive culinary
dishes of her native city of St. Louis, Missouri shines
through both in her mystery novel as well as in her shopping
tips on where to find these intriguing delights. In this
well-crafted and wonderfully witty story, she builds on her
previous books of Josie's role as mystery shopper and
investigator while also balancing out handling her 'tween
daughter as she turns into a teenager and making a big
decision about Ted. DEATH ON A PLATTER will be a tasty
treat for both existing and new fans alike! Dig in!
SUMMARY
Josie Marcus plans to savor sampling the local St. Louis
cuisine for a City Eats food tour. But her appetite is
ruined at Tillie's Off the Hill Italian Restaurant when
another customer is poisoned. Was the victim the real
target-or is someone trying to ruin Tillie's reputation?
It's up to Josie to find a killer who has no reservations
about preparing a dish to die for...
Excerpt"You want me to eat brains? Do I look like a zombie?" Josie
Marcus asked.
"Not raw brains," Harry the Horrible said. "Or people
brains. These are cow brains. I want you to eat fried brain
sandwiches. You're supposed to mystery-shop restaurants for
a food tour. Brains are real St. Louis food."
"They're disgusting," Josie said.
So was Harry, Josie's boss and the head of Suttin
Services in St. Louis. Harry loved to give Josie awful
mystery-shopping assignments. He never forgave her for
reporting a rude saleswoman who turned out to be Harry's
niece.
Rudeness seemed to run in the family. Harry was barely
visible over the mound of yellowing papers on his desk.
More papers were piled on his guest chair. He didn't move
them.
Outside, it was a golden September day where autumn
leaves danced in a playful breeze. Inside, Harry's office
was a frosty February where dust motes circled in the dead
air. Harry kept his cave chilly.
"Brains are a delicacy." Harry bared his teeth in a
smile that made Josie want to back away. "You only have to
go to one brain sandwich place. And look at all the other
good food you get to eat – toasted ravioli, St. Louis
pizza."
"I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the brains,"
Josie said. "Did you ever eat brain sandwiches?"
"Sure," Harry said. "If you cover them with ketchup,
they're not half bad."
That wasn't reassuring. Harry would eat Alpo with
ketchup. The wastebasket beside his desk looked like a
culinary crime scene heaped with red-spattered takeout bags.
Harry looked like a case for the fashion police. Bunches
of coarse brown hair sprouted from his fingers, ears,
nostrils and at the base of his dingy collar – everywhere
but his scalp. Mother Nature had had a sense of humor when
she'd made Harry. His mother had cooperated when she gave
him a name that was both a description and a joke.
Harry switched gears from gloating to righteous. "Last
time, you complained when I asked you to mystery-shop a
salad restaurant. Now you're upset because I want you to
eat good old St. Louis grease. Choke down the brains and
then enjoy the rest."
Choke was right, Josie thought. "Why do I have to eat
brains? St. Louis has so many good restaurants. We're a
city of foodies, a mini-San Francisco. St. Louisans love to
go out to dinner. Our restaurants are known for their
menus. They serve organic and locally-grown food."
"So what did you have for dinner last night, Miz
Foodie?" Harry asked.
"Macaroni and cheese," Josie said.
"Made from specially aged cheddar?" Harry asked. "And
that macaroni? Did you whip it up in your kitchen from
organic wheat?"
"Kraft makes a quality product," Josie said.
"I thought so. Josie, this is a big deal for the city.
This is a TAG Tour – that's Travel America Guided Tours,
the biggie out of New York City. TAG Tours are designed for
sophisticated travelers who want to explore cities beyond
the usual tourist sites. St. Louis has been selected as one
of ten cities for a TAG Tour. Their New York scouts
identified toasted ravioli, pizza, pig ear sandwiches, and
brain sandwiches as the exotic local dishes."
"Pig ears, too?" Josie's stomach fell like an elevator
with snapped cables.
"That's a specialty in African-American neighborhoods,"
Harry said. "When touring celebrities, including actors,
rap singers and big-league basketball players, come to St.
Louis, they drive up in limos to eat pig ear sandwiches.
White-bread America needs to discover them. TAG is asking
you to eat at these restaurants. If you give the okay, you
only have to visit one. If their first choice fails, you'll
have to eat at two places. Do you want the job or not?"
Josie had to worry about her own weekly food tour at the
supermarket. She had to support Amelia, her eleven-year-old
daughter. This was supposed to be a cold winter. Josie had
barely been able to pay her air-conditioning bill during
the record-breaking hot summer. The heating bills would
devour the last scraps of her bank account.
Josie had no rich relatives or a wealthy husband to
rescue her. She was a single mom and barely made a living
as a mystery shopper. She could afford housing in a good
neighborhood, thanks to her mother. Jane rented Josie and
Amelia the first floor of her two-family flat and never
raised the rent. But Josie's mom wasn't rich, either. Jane
made do with a small bank pension and Social Security.
Mystery-shopping jobs were growing scarcer as businesses
died in the ailing economy. Josie couldn't afford the
luxury of refusing any job, no matter how distasteful.
She'd close her eyes, pour ketchup on the brain sandwich
and eat her way to the good stuff. Josie thought toasted
ravioli was worth a special trip to St. Louis and the
city's pizza was like no other in the country.
"I'll do it," Josie said. She wondered if her daughter
would appreciate this sacrifice on her behalf.
"Good girl." Harry bared his teeth again. He pulled a
paper out of the printer near his desk and said, "Here's
the list. Make one visit at the specified time, either for
lunch or dinner. If TAG likes your report, they may ask you
go back there again. The restaurants that make the cut will
be on the tour. That guarantees them anywhere from fifty to
two hundred prepaid meals once a week. Twice a week, during
the peak tour season."
Josie felt a surge of pride – and power. Thanks to her,
visitors from around the world would be dining in selected
local restaurants. She thought St. Louis was an underrated
city and wanted to show it off to strangers. As a mystery
shopper, she could dole out fat rewards to the restaurants
who met TAG's standards.
She studied the list and recognized most of the names as
small, family-owned businesses. A guaranteed clientele
would be a big perk for them. They could use the cash
infusion and notoriety from a TAG Tour.
"You can bring one other person," Harry said.
"Can I take my friend Alyce?" Josie asked.
"No age or gender restrictions," Harry said. "You can
take a friend – or an enemy, for all I care."
Josie figured Alyce would enjoy the toasted ravioli and
pizza. Her generous proportions reflected her personality.
Josie could see her blond friend tucking into toasted
ravioli and pizza. Alyce was addicted to cooking, so she
would give Josie accurate details about ingredients and
preparation.
Their friendship was unusual. Alyce was a stay-at-home
mom married to a lawyer. Her suburban mansion looked
perfect but Josie always felt at home there. Alyce planned
the dinner parties that advanced Jake's career and belonged
to the committees that helped him. She didn't need a job
outside the home, but mystery-shopping with Josie gave
Alyce the feeling she walked on the wild side.
Some of the places on Josie's list might be a little too
wild. She couldn't see Alyce in a city bar or a cafe in a
marginal neighborhood. Ted Scottsmeyer, Josie's vet
boyfriend, would enjoy those assignments. He'd definitely
like the brain sandwiches and probably the pig ears. The
last four names on the TAG list looked out of place. "Why
is a bakery here?" Josie asked. "And a chocolate maker?"
"Didn't I tell you?" Harry said. "You can have to eat
our chocolate. And gooey butter cake, too. It's another St.
Louis specialty."
"Sweet," Josie said, then realized she sounded like her
daughter.
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