The Butter Did it - Softcover

Richman, Phyllis

3.48

369 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0061096253 ISBN 13: 9780061096259

Publisher: HarperCollins, 1998

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It is the eve of City Tastes, Washington, D.C.'s gourmet gala featuring the delectable handiwork of the city's culinary stars. Renowned restaurant reviewer Chas Wheatley expects to fill her biting Washington Examiner column with reports of a sassy soupe en chamise or a poor palourde en beignets. But when chef Lawrence Levain's heart suddenly stops the night before the event, everyone is quick to name his soaring cholesterol as the culprit. Except Chas, whose discriminating senses smell murder.

Armed with her saber-sharp pen and critic's eye for things amiss, Chas circuits the restaurant scene, doling out biting reviews and delicious recipes, while probing into Lawrence's untimely demise. With a dollop of help from her loved ones at home and a soupcon of advice form a secret admirer at work, Chas's tastebuds lead her down a dangerous trail of revenge and murder, where her next bite could be her last.

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From the Author:

Restaurant reviewing is a clandestine business
As the Washington Post's restaurant critic for the past 20 years, I've grown accustomed to using an assumed name, investigating everything I eat, stealing menus and keeping my opinions under wraps. Thus it was a short step to writing mysteries. In inventing Chas Wheatley, Washington Examiner restaurant critic who unexpectedly becomes a sleuth, I also created a platform for the juicy stories of the restaurant world (here populated by real and imagined chefs), the lore of cooking and the lure of journalism. It gave me the opportunity to enjoy the dishes of my dreams with no overcooking, excessive salting or clashing flavors. And I could at last shine a spotlight on the people behind those meals I've been critiquing all these years. Chas Wheatley, unlike me, has been a chef--and the former lover of a superstar chef who suddenly dies in the prime of his career. The police consider his demise a "natural", but Chas suspects murder, so she plies a food-fanatic detective with fritto misto to enlist his cooperation. Her world is filled with chefs, headwaiters, reporters and a grown daughter who'd rather have "just a salad." Even the (real) White House pastry chef plays a role in solving the murder. But this is more than a murder mystery. It's a murder mystery that explains why you shouldn't order clam fritters for lunch on Monday, how to handle a supercilious waiter and what you'll need to prepare your own risotto, fat-free potato salad or chocolate-hazelnut calzone.

Synopsis:

In a debut mystery, a restaurant critic for The Washington Post assigns her alter ego, Chas Wheatley, to cover a gourmet festival in downtown Washington, D.C., where the untimely demise of a chef stirs up trouble. Reprint.

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