Murder on a Designer Diet (A Red Carpet Catering Mystery) (Volume 3)
By: Shawn Reilly Simmons
Rating: 5 of 5
This is the third book in the Red Carpet Catering mystery series. The series sleuth is a caterer for movie and television sets. It’s an interesting twist in the cozy mystery genre and provides a peek into the backstage of making movies, etc.
Penelope Sutherland is the owner and catering chef of Red Carpet Catering. She and her crew have taken a short job on an Indy film in New York City. The hours are difficult and sporadic as some days (or nights rather) they work until dawn.
She and her homicide detective Joey, are guests at a fashion show for men and spend a wonderful evening together. Things go completely haywire after Penelope received a muffled telephone call in the early hours of the next day. She is worried that her best friend Arlena’s brother, Max, is in trouble and convinces Joey that they must go investigate.
Things go from bad to worse in quick order and ends up with the two of them potentially being arrested in connection with a murder.
While the relationship between Joey and Penelope continues to grow and mature, I was sorry to see so little of Joey in this book. On the other hand, the surprise ending was not something I expected.
The whodunnit and the whydunnit were interesting and unusual for me. This series has improved with each book. I have enjoyed them all but I am really getting caught up in the characters. For that reason, I recommend reading the books in order.
I was provided a digital advance reader copy of this book by the publisher via Netgalley.
