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 café. 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 café 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.