This third Pancake House Mystery starts as autumn brings mists and mellow fruitfulness to Wildwood Cove, a town on the Olympic Peninsula enlivened by the prospect of filming down at the beach. This should bring added custom to the Flip Side pancake cafΓ©. Marley McKinney the thirtysomething owner, hasn't seen the cult horror film The Perishing, but the remake is scheduled so she's interested.
OF SPICE AND MEN takes us into a type of cafΓ© I haven't tried, so the mocha mascarpone crepes caught my attention. Next it was mushroom asparagus. Waffles are also served with sweet or savoury fillings; meanwhile the owner's cat is called Flapjack. The food seems very popular. Of course, it's a draw for actors and production team; the characters are well drawn and we quickly see some of the tensions inevitable on location. But Marley overhears tensions turning to threats. Soon after, she sees smoke billowing from the door of a caravan with movie makeup artist Christine asleep inside, and bravely rushes to assist.
Christine had been screamed at by the jealous actress Alyssa Jade. Actor Chase Lowman had also behaved aggressively. Could one of them have wanted her dead, or was it a mere accident? The police start looking for a criminal when Christine can't be revived. Marley -- along with reassuring her nervous boyfriend Brett -- tries to examine what she knows and see if there is a clue to the killer. Then she learns that Brett used to date Alyssa Jade a few years ago, before Marley moved to the district. Talk about awkward.
I enjoyed all the interpersonal details in the tale, which expose more and more that poor Marley hadn't known, as well as demystifying Hollywood. The location is a big factor in the proceedings, with gales, beach runs and arrogant references to 'out in the sticks'. There's even a haunted house. The end feels a bit formulaic but is very well described and wrapped up -- in more than one way.
Sarah Fox lives in British Columbia. She includes a couple of spicy recipes at the back of her book. I am sure OF SPICE AND MEN will prove very popular and I am looking forward to reading more of Marley's exploits.
Lights. Camera. Murder? Wildwood Cove’s star turn is soured by a sneaky killer in this delicious cozy mystery from the USA Today bestselling author of The Crêpes of Wrath. Bonus content: includes original recipes inspired by the Flip Side Pancake House menu! With a Hollywood film crew in town to shoot a remake of the horror classic The Perishing, the residents of Wildwood Cove are all abuzz. Even Marley McKinney, owner of The Flip Side Pancake House, can overlook the fact that the lead actress, Alyssa Jayde, happens to be an old flame of her boyfriend. After all, the crew loves Marley’s crêpes—so much so that Christine, the head makeup artist, invites her onset for a behind-the-scenes tour. But when Marley arrives, the special-effects trailer is on fire . . . with Christine inside. The cops quickly rule Christine’s death a murder, and Alyssa a suspect. Marley’s boyfriend insists that the actress is innocent, but when Marley sticks her nose into the complicated lives of The Perishing’s cast and crew, she discovers more questions than answers. It seems that everyone has a hidden agenda—and a plausible motive. And as the horror spills over from the silver screen, Marley gets a funny feeling that she may be the killer’s next victim.
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