Something's Cooking

In Joanne Pence's Something's Cooking, the first installment in the Angie Amalfi culinary cozy mystery series, this cozy would whip you a great storyline with all the right ingredients for this series. For Angelina Amalfi, she's a young woman who writes a food column for a weekly newspaper. When someone sent her a mysterious package, it exploded into her kitchen. That's when she's introduced to Inspector Paavo Smith and his partner Matt Kowalski, when they went to a crime scene and later learned about the bomb. In an instant, there was some kind of chemistry between Angie and Paavo, when someone had sent her threats and a mysterious character named Edward Crane claimed he's her biggest "Fan" and had sent her the recipes for her column. Immediately, Angie hired two bodyguards and later went to Paavo's home under her protection. She had come to know Paavo better and understood his mysterious background. When Matt's killed, Paavo went to Angie for some compassion as he had kept a close distance from her, since he cares so much about her. As Angie decided to search for Crane himself incognito, it had put her into a precarious situation with Paavo. And when she finally figured out who the real culprit was, somebody she knows and trusted, she took matters into her own hands as Paavo saved her life... when something's really cooking between the two of them in the end.

This was a great introduction to the Angie Amalfi culinary cozy series from Joanne Pence. I really cared for Angie and her carefree independent ways and how she concocted her own foodie codes for her recipes in the newspaper. I adored Paavo and how he loved his job and wanted to protect Angie from the dangers of police work. I also loved the location of California and its vivid scenes with the Bodega Bay backdrop for the settings too. This would give you a delectable light read in one or two settings with a hint of romance, a sprinkle of non-stop action, a dollop of drama, and a cup of mystery and intrigue to rise to the occasion.

Will you be ready to read Something's Cooking today?